I don't suit small cars and they don't suit me. Bluebirds, Accords, Xantias, Octavias. They're my size. I once had a 6 cylinder Cresta but my knee got so badly damaged by the corner of the windscreen it had to go.
So I need a smaller car for the usual 3 and a half miles to the bank or 40 miles to the airport sort of thing. And 3 or 4 times a year half way down England, right across France and on to the Costa Pile. Quite a long way. Fast -usually . France one day Spain the next. And then back again of course. Must be comfortable and relaxing. Must be able to get out of it after 9 hours feeling OK.
So I need a 3 cylinder 1.4 turbo diesel Superb or a 2.5 litre turbo diesel Micra.
I've always thought small cars are not built as well as big cars and have flimsier components.
I'm probably wrong about that these days.
After days spent looking at websites I am no closer to the perfect compromise between round town runabout and continental cruiser. What cars sit perfectly on the balance point between the two requirements ?
There must be some. Any ideas please?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 24/11/2007 at 23:48
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Yaris, Mazda 2 or Jazz might fit your requirements.
I was out in a Jazz a couple of weeks away and was very suprised at how spacious and well built it was for a small car. I remember one of the more reputable magazines claiming it was engineered to a standard that cars costing 10 X as much should be - I took that with a pinch of salt until I drove one. It has the magic seat system as well which could come in handy for luggage space on your longer journeys.
Come to think of it the Colt and Note might also be good for you.
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Fabia vRS - but the ride might be a bit jiggly.
Audi A2.
ONe of the really specced-up Renault Clio´s (Avantguarde? Atea Ego will know).
That´s about all I can think of.
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5 years ago I went through this process. I had a Focus which was too large for just the two of us and after 50,000 miles the interior was starting to fall to pieces, even with light use.
I wanted something slightly smaller, but with a quality feel and build, good economy, but wasn't tiring to drive on a motorway - this is the problem with many superminis.
I ended up with an Audi A2. Problem is they stopped making them about three years ago, but if you can find a good 1.4TDi 90PS it may be worth a look.
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a) bank trips - taxi
b) spain trips - train
Just a thought! Oh, the freedom of it all.
Papho
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Just buy something huge. It doesn't matter. All this 'oh I need a shoebox or it wont park' stuff is piffle. I have few issues using a 4.7m long car as my town car. Infact in the last 3 months it's been over 70mph on just one journey :p
Parking sensors and electric mirrors make reverse parking a big car easier than a small car without these aids anyway.
Edited by MichaelR on 24/11/2007 at 22:31
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Kia Rio
One of the larger small cars with good engines.
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I have the same problem with cars. Since the advent of airbags, steering wheels are bigger and in many cars my knees are pressed against the steering wheel.
My previous car was a Fabia VRS. It has plenty of room for the driver, the seat is quite comfortable and supportive for long journeys (although not always easy to keep clean unless you get the leather limited edition), and the ride quality is excellent on motorways. Not to mention the effortless performance and fantastic economy and running costs. Equipment levels are quite good, but make sure you get cruise control if you regularly drive long distances.
The downsides are the ride can be over-firm if the road is bumpy, and the service interval of 10,000 miles is quite poor these days.
The one I had did 60k miles in three years without ever failing me, and I traded it in for more than 50% of its original purchase price.
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Refinement with hopefully low running costs and not too big suggests a Mégane 1.5 dCi, Focus 1.6 tdci, etc. A Kia Rio is a good small car but it definitiely feels small and not that refined when you're using it on the motorway - fine within its class but it's not a cruiser.
But I tend to agree with Michael that most of the time, a small car is usually not significantly more manoeuverable than a larger one and if it's doing a low mileage then depreciation will be much, much more important than fuel economy and there, an older, larger car will win by a mile.
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What are your budget and annual mileage Tony? I'm not sure if you are looking particularly for a diesel.
It sounds as if your priorities are comfort and manoeuvrability, with reasonable performance. I'd go along with the suggestions above of a diesel Skoda: try a Skoda dealer and look at the Fabia vRS and Octavia vRS, which have more comfortable seats than the lesser versions as well as more performance.
Other VW group cars might fit the bill - Golf, A3, A4, or SEAT Leon or Altea. One of the strengths of these is that they all have very tight turning circles - quite impressive for FWD.
I think you'd be better off with a medium-sized manoeuvrable car than something too small that won't be much good going across France. The Jazz is excellent in many ways but a bit frenetic at mororway speeds: a new version is due next year.
Good luck and tell us how you get on.
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It's an interesting question - what is the perfect compromise? I've been pondering this myself - what shall I replace the ageing Mondeo estate with?
As I put a value on the ability to lug some junk about, my best 'all round' car would have to be a Skoda Octavia estate. My mates diesel can achieve over 70mpg if he mimses on a run (I know, I know!) and the only thing that's failed in 140,000 miles is a headlamp bulb.
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We have a Honda Jazz as a second car and it is excellent. It has lots of use and will continue to do so, especially to keep the miles low on our Audi A6 Avant.
The Jazz is spaceous with ingeneous rear seats, good build quality, good spec and cheap to run. It's 1.4 engine returns 50+mpg on petrol - remind me how much cheaper is petrol these days......... . The only thing about the Honda Jazz is that they are sought after and as such have very good residuals prices, but whe you have one you should get your money back at resale. You could sell your soul and buy a Clio.........
Depending on your budget, stick to German cars (Audi, BMW, Mercs if you an afford them) or Japanese (Honda, Toyota, Nissan) which are ultra reliable.
Good luck.
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I'd go along with the suggestions above of a diesel Skoda: try a Skoda dealer and look at the Fabia vRS and Octavia vRS which have more comfortable seats than the lesser versions as well as more performance.
Why go for the vRS versions? The "normal" 1.9 TDis are just as good and have a far better ride - I had a Fabia Estate TDi and used it to travel Europe every year for 6 years and it was very comfortable, the preformance gains of the vRS versions is marginal in normal day to day driving, and if you are really that desperate for extra power from the engine then chip it!
Edited by b308 on 26/11/2007 at 11:56
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Why go for the vRS versions?
Presumably becuase the normal versions offer unacceptably poor performance.
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>> Why go for the vRS versions? Presumably becuase the normal versions offer unacceptably poor performance.
About 1.5 secs slower 0-60 and about 10mph on the top speed - for normal driving including long distance high speed driving that sort of margin is not even worth bothering about.
Image? Yes I suppose there's that, but if he's looking at 1.4s and 1.5s in other cars, I hardly think that would be an issue.
As regards chiping, if its new then it should be ok, if its s/hand I'd rather have a 100bhp 1.9 than a vRS - far less chance of it being flogged/chipped already!
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Why go for the vRS versions?
Performance, just as good economy, better residuals, image, seats, image....
As for chipping a lower model car with the TDI, then it can be done but there is potential impact to the durability of the car (especially the clutch / gearbox) and to your insurance. Factor in the cost of the chipping and higher insurance for a modified car and you would probably have been better off buying a VRS in the first place.
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What about something inbetween like an xsara ? The HDi models are lovely cruising, and have great suspension/shock absorber setup for long distance. 50mpg still possbile when keeping up with traffic in the 3rd lane and often overlooked by many.
Edited by smokescreen on 25/11/2007 at 19:50
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"Comfort" and "crossing France" lead me to suggest the car built precisely for that job: a diesel Renault Scenic.
I have a 1.4 petrol 2001 model. It not a sharp-handling car, and its not lively. But if you're going to drive 16 hours, relaxed handling is what you want, not something that requires your undivided attention to keep it on the road. Its also quite handy around town.
I'm suggesting diesel because the car feels as if it was designed with diesel's low-down torque in mind and the petrol engines were afterthougths. Also, the difference in price between diesel and petrol on the continent isn't to be sneezed at!
The high-up seating position is comfortable, the small dimensions make it easy to manoeuvre in town the rest of the year, and yet the boot is big enough to carry all the holiday stuff you're likely to need. Whoever designed them has obviously been stuck in the never-ending traffic jam of "la rentree" with les enfants hollering in the back and thought long and hard about how to build a car that made the process as tolerable as it can be.
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Buy a car that suits the daily trips and rent a car for one that suits your long ones - anything else is a compromise that will cost you either comfort or money.
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Tony, you have not told us why exactly it is that you need a smaller car.
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