Oh venerable backroom, grant me the knowledge of thine collective wisdom as I am going in flaming circles trying to work out what to get as a replacement for my wife's M Reg Fiesta!
Cash spend budget up to £3,000, plus trade in of said Fiesta, most local small traders have said they'd offer around £500 for it in p/x, so ticket price of new car to be up to £3,500. Needs to be economical, cheap to maintain & repair, low insurance group and have enough poke for motorway and duel carriageways.... so no 1.0 engines, methinks... :-) Would prefer it to be something at least as new as a 2000 reg if poss...
OK, so she mainly does school runs with about a weekly 60 mile motorway round trip to folks thrown in. All of the family is tall (I'm 6'5", she's 5'8", daughter #1 is 6'1" (at 13!) and daughter 2 is 5'2" (but she's only 9...) ) so a bit of room is needed in the back. They manage ok in the back of the current Fiesta, but they don't have much room.
As my wife complains about lack of bootspace and the girls aren't getting any smaller, I am at a loss as to why she wants another Fiesta and I started looking at 206's, Fabias and Clios before realising that they are (apart from perhaps the Fabia) equally as small as the Fiesta, so I'm now thinking of Focus or 306?
Is the Fabia notably bigger that the Fiesta? I've seen reviews saying it's way better than the Fiesta and also reviews saying it's cramped... depends on who's in it, I suppose...?
Any recommendations you can chuck in please?
|
|
You are just about into Focus with that money and the age you want. A very solid car for its price, and good all round. See HJ's opinion in the car by car breakdown on the left. We have one for much the same use and it performs very well.
|
|
Yeah, I'm leaning towards a Focus... but I must admit I have seen quite a few reports saying it's "cramped in the back" so that appears to give the same problem the Fiesta has... although I supposed it mean's "cramped in the back for the size of the car" which still means more space than the Fiesta, right?
|
What about a Mazda 323? We have had one for the last 8 years. Bought it from new and never had any problems what so ever. I think the back seat is a bit more spacious than the Focus and the back hatch is more like a station wagon than a hatch back. It will still be a bit cramped for a family as tall as yours but I think it would be about the best you will get for that type of vehicle.
You really need something larger to be comfortable. Mondeo or Omega size.
|
|
Find a Focus and take the crew for a test-fit.
|
|
|
|
I have a Fabia vRS and find it nearly as spacious as the Mk5 Golf that it replaced, and easily get four large adults in no problems.
Prior to my Golf I had a a Seat Leon 1.4 which was a great car. Think you would easily be able top find a 2000 X/Y reg for your budget, and probably get the 1.6 or 1.9 TDI engine. ( or consider a toledo?)
If not, how about a Volvo V40 for a bit of extra luggae space? Lots to be had for your budget on a 51 plate.
|
yaris: headroom plus space +adjustable back seat + easy to drive and park +good mpg + reliable+low depreciation
madf
|
Hyundai Getz- much lower starting price than a Yaris and a 5 year warranty ,or balance thereof, plus aircon. We did a comparison last weekend and SWMBO has just taken delivery of a pre registered one. A 3 yo should be within budget.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
|
|
oooh blimey. loads to research... off for a lunchtime browse, back in a bit!
|
|
|
|
|
NickS, where are you finding "lots" of V40's on a 51 plate in our budget, by the way...? I can't find one! (looking on autotrader)
|
|
I've just put the front seat of the Focus fully back. I could then sit behind it with enough leg room for a an hour or two. I'm 6'1"
|
|
|
I'm 6'1" with a 34" inside leg and can happily sit behind my 6'6" mate in his Focus. I have difficulty sitting comfortably behind my 5'6" mother in a Fiesta, for comparison.
For the size of car, I'd say that's pretty good going.
The Volvo S40 is no bigger than the Focus - my friend who has one is 6'3", 6'4" and I do fit behind, not very comfortably though (not been in a V40). The 306 is much smaller inside than the Focus, and mine was the sedan (which is longer, if anything, than the hatchback).
|
|
|
|
Coo... dunno where you lot look for pricing, but on Autotrader I'm getting nowhere near the prices you lot are mentioning! I'm based in Leicester and don't wanna go miles...!
|
tinyurl.com/2arsfq
Volvo V40. 51-plate, 23 miles from LE11AA and £3,495.
113k but it looks clean enough and it's an automatic, which will have pushed the price up by £300 or so...
Not that I'd start my search with an Ovlov.
|
£3,295
Distance:
36 miles
5 photos
2000 VOLVO V40 1.6 XS 5dr Estate (private)
23,700 miles
Manual
Petrol
5 Door Estate
Manual, 23,700 miles, ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Anti theft system. Only 2 owners from new (mother/daughter) 23k very low mileage. £3,495.
£3,495
Distance:
36 miles
8 photos
2001 51 Reg VOLVO V40 1.8 S (trade)
Borrowfield.Com
Automatic
RED
Petrol
Estate
5 Doors, Automatic, Estate, Petrol, Metallic Red. ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, 6 MONTHS NATIONWIDE WARRANTY COVER, Alloy wheels, Driver airbag, Electric
madf
|
OK, you guys are better at looking than me! I'm actually more interested in the Focus to be honest, but I appreciate the find - looks quite interesting!
Can I ask what used car search engine you used please?
Ta.
|
I used Autotrader .. if you set it Nationally you can find all cars within age and mileage ranges...
If you look on the lefthand border of the screen under the BCA advert...:-))
madf
|
|
|
|
Coo... dunno where you lot look for pricing but on Autotrader I'm getting nowhere near the prices you lot are mentioning! I'm based in Leicester and don't wanna go miles...!
have a browse thru the mercury tonight , you never know what might be in there!!
|
Dammit! Don't you hate it when your other half outsmarts you on car knowledge... Spoke to her at the weekend about Fiesta/Focus size and she was adamant that the new shape Fiesta (02 on) was bigger than the old one. On research, it turns out she's only blooming well right... 5 inches longer and a bit wider too (oo-er missus). So... she still wants a Fiesta, but it has to be the new shape.
So... looking at spec sheets, it looks like the new shape came in April 2002, so I assume this means that any "51" plate will be an old shape and any "02" or "52" will be a new shape, right? Just saw some site where it described the "new shape" fiesta that appeared in September '02 and that's thrown me!
|
The new five door came in in April 2002 (on an 02) and the three door in I think October 2002 (52 plate). When my parents bought their Focus in November 2002 there were still some old-shape Fiestas available unregistered. Anything 51 plate or older will be an old-shape; anything on an 02 or 52 could be either, obviously with more newer shape ones the newer you get.
It's easy to tell the old from the new though: the old one looks like your old car, the new one looks like a miniature Focus.
There's still not as much room in a Fiesta as in a Focus though. The Focus is not much bigger and likely to be at least as cheap with more selection available in your budget as it's an older design. Running costs won't be much worse either if you stick to a 1.6.
|
We've just changed from a new shape Fiesta to a Hyundai Getz. The Hyundai seems to have a bit more room than the Fiesta. I was quite keen on getting a Nissan Almera. Stacks of room inside, reliable and cheap as well.
For £3500 you can get into an 03 reg car with around 30000m. Worth a look!
|
Yeah, I saw an Alera the other day and thought it was worth considering. Then I lloked at What Car's verdict... "First, the downsides. It?s cramped by the class standards and rear room is particularly poor, although the boot is a decent size." and thought again!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
