What car best meets the following criteria?
1. Small - preferably supermini, but up to Focus-size.
2. Economical - at least 35 mpg.
3. Comfortable - smooth ride, good seats.
4. Reliable.
5. Good quality ICE (or easily upgradable)
6. Bright 'luxurious' interior (cream or light grey leather ideal)
7. Reasonable running costs.
8. Max £10k - if used, max 3 years old.
I can't think of anything that comes close. My Yaris scores well on 1, 2, 4, 7, and 8, but poorly on the others. Most cars that score well on 3, 5 and 6 are too big.
Any ideas?
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VW Bora 130TDI Highline.
Meets and exceeds all your criteria easiiy !
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Skoda Fabia
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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The Clio Initiale scores perfectly on all except reliability.
But it's definitely a niche car.
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Some Audi A3s could meet most of the criteria. Of course you'd want a DSG V6 one which would be out of the price range and probably a bit much when you'd got it. But I guess you might find a nice 2 litre one with trimmings for the money.
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A lancia ypsilon is the closest car that is aimed at what you want. It's punto sized but aimed at luxury end of the market. They are all left hookers though but you can get them imported new or second hand. Reliability is the only other question....You would certainly have exclusivity.
Fiat grande punto? Ditto reliability :-)
The alfa 147 is another possibility as they definitely did leather interiors. One of the best combinations is bottle green paint with the tan leather interior. I assume there will be a few with cream leather or grey.
teabelly
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Ford KA luxury, I think would tick most if not all the boxes. As you do not list image I assume this is not an issue.
Carse
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Fiesta Ghia - more supermini than a Focus, smoother ride than a KA, certainly available with cream leather interior.
Reliable enough, but not quite in Yaris league, and possibly not quite as good as KA or Focus.
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I'm tempted to say a top of the range Nissan Micra, given your critera. Also I'd consider the new Clio, there were some deals on here a coupole of days ago which may bring it down to £10k - the minimum spec you'd need for the 'luxury' feel is Dynamique (soft-touch dashboard plastic etc). I'd expected myself to recommend the 207 too, but I saw three last night, and not one of them looked vaguely attractive - I'm very disappointed with it, and having sat in one at the dealers I wasn't all that impressed with the interior compared to the Clio.
Alternatively, of course, you could get a used Focus II (motorpoint), or a Focus I with all the end of the line equipment.
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1. Small - preferably supermini, but up to Focus-size - Audi A2
2. Economical - at least 35 mpg - Audi A2 TDi - 45 mpg+
3. Comfortable - smooth ride, good seats - Audi A2 TDi SE - very comfortable
4. Reliable - Audi A2 TDI SE - never broke down while I owned one.
5. Good quality ICE (or easily upgradable) - Audi A2 had Bose as an option
6. Bright 'luxurious' interior (cream or light grey leather ideal) - Audi A2 optional leather
7. Reasonable running costs - Audi A2 TDi - first serviced at 24,000 miles- £209. Tyres £75 a corner.
8. Max £10k - if used, max 3 years old - Audi A2 TDi SE
Get the hint!
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Honda Jazz meets all the OP's spec, with the possible exception of 'good seats', although that's a personal thing. ICE is pretty good as standard, but can have upgraded speakers fitted.
Leather is a dealer fit (or dealer 'arranged') option, so even this could be added if desired.
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In fact the world wasn't ready for the A2, lovely little car, good concept.
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Peugeot 206 Roland Garros?
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Thanks for all the suggestions.
Unfortunately European manufacturers are largely out of the question due to requirement 4. In particular the recent VAG cambelt issues have reinforced my anti-VAG prejudice, which is a shame because some of their cars are the closest to my requirements. Though even setting aside reliability, I find the dark VAG interiors offputting.
The Jazz is good for 4, but falls down on 3 (wasn't impressed with the ride quality when I was in one recently). And the ICE isn't great, and generally the interior couldn't really be described as luxurious, though it's pleasant enough.
I think the best I've found so far is something like a Volvo S60 D5 SE. Fits all the requirements except, of course, 1. And 7 might be a bit of stretch. And there's a little bit of a question-mark over 4 ... :-)
I need to investigate some of the other suggestions some more - the Nissan Micra SVE for example. I've always like the new Micra interior (perhaps due largely to it not being black). But could I live with the exterior ... ? Not sure. Anyone got a Micra and care to comment on how they like it?
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I need to investigate some of the other suggestions some more - the Nissan Micra SVE for example.
Recent reliability surveys have indicated that there are significant reliability questions with the current Nissan Micra - see for example, the most recent Auto Express Driver Power survey, and the August 2005 report in Which. The most recent JD Power survey, on the other hand, indicated good reliability.
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'I think the best I've found so far is something like a Volvo S60 D5 SE. Fits all the requirements except, of course, 1. And 7 might be a bit of stretch. And there's a little bit of a question-mark over 4 ... :-)'
The Volvo doesn't fit your main requirement which was for a supermini!
Why post a question asking for advice on a supermini then decide on a luxury barge?
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The Volvo doesn't fit your main requirement which was for a supermini!
Have you considered a Lexus IS 200? Smaller than the Volvo, and less European :-)
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'I think the best I've found so far is something like a Volvo S60 D5 SE. Fits all the requirements except, of course, 1. And 7 might be a bit of stretch. And there's a little bit of a question-mark over 4 ... :-)' The Volvo doesn't fit your main requirement which was for a supermini! Why post a question asking for advice on a supermini then decide on a luxury barge?
I haven't decided on the Volvo S60. I just said it came closest to my requirements, while acknowledging that it broke one of the big ones (i.e. 1).
What I'd ideally like is the attributes of the S60 in a much smaller package, but (as this thread confirms), that's pretty difficult to find.
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My wife has a Micra 1.4 SE. Had it from new August 2004, only faults have been the radio, a known fault and took a few weeks without a radio while they sourced radios that weren't faulty. Boot lock, also a known fault and replaced on recall, but had to go back as they didn't fit it correctly, so as you might guess we are not impressed with the dealer performance.
Nothing's perfect though and I'd say we are basically pleased with the car. I think you'd have a problem with the ride though as it's fairly firm. My father has a 2005 Jazz and the ride is better than the Micra. My daughters Peugeot 106 puts the ride of both to shame, but then you'd be worried about reliability wouldn't you. You'll have to compromise on something!
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Toyota Corolla 2.0 D-4D?
2003 '53 reg 5-door, 31K, ABS, aircon, leather, radio/CD, alloys, £9995.
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I need to investigate some of the other suggestions some more - the Nissan Micra SVE for example.
I don`t own a Nissan Micra but recently hired a new 1.2 model for a 400 mile journey and was very impressed with the ride comfort, steering feedback, effortless cruising ability in reasonable silence, the superb all round visibility and great fuel economy.
Ensure you buy a Nissan designed engine/gearbox combination (not Renault sourced) and I am sure you will not be disappointed, - certainly well worth a test drive.
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Toyota Corolla 2.0 D-4D?
A T-Spirit Corolla does give high spec - especially if you can get one with leather but it will be either a dark grey or black whilst the rest of the interior is quite dark too.
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Since attention has turned to the Nissan Micra. Why not a Mitsuoka which has the mechanicals and something extra? A few have made it to the UK already.
www.mitsuoka-motor.com/english/
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