My cars do 3 miles to town,5 miles to the supermarket, 1 mile to the pub (when it is raining) or 1400 miles to the south of Spain.
The long journeys call for excellent autoroute cruising--10 hour days behind the wheel,need good seats ,economy ,reasonable speed, reliability.
The local runs call for little more than a gutsy battery.
How small can I go ,car wise , before I`m in silly territory.
A Smart would be silly So would a Yaris I suspect. Any views on a C3 ? A Ka ? Fiesta ? A 206 ? A polo ?
Any help from personal experience would be much appreciated.
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Fiesta is the smallest that you can go, and I'm talking about the new one, not the old one.
A Ka would be very silly, it just isn't designed for the long runs and you would get sick of the noise very quickly.
To be honest, if I ever did runs like that, I would look at a Focus, the smaller engined ones are still very economical around town (and quick, our police force seem to like their 1.4s when flying around the city centre on a call) and yet they're ideal for long runs and very comfortable. They also have low insurance.
A Yaris might not be as silly as you think, they're very spacious inside and very comfortable (more roomy than my old style Fiesta), my nana flys all over the north of England in her's without any complaints, and they get around 50 mpg on the motorway, although I would look at the 1.3, as they have a lot more guts.
Oh, before I forget, if you look at a Fiesta, make sure it has the Zetec engine, or if you're interested, the TDCi. Do NOT buy the 1.3 petrol, it's outdated, underpowered, over-thirsty, and no good for cruising the motorways!
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A Ka might not be that silly, I did 800 mi from Calais to Bordeaux in a day in a Ka once, it wasn't too painful.
Once it was up to 90 on the autoroute it was ok, getting there was a bit slow though.
Good fuel economy, a bit noisy in the cabin though. Get something with A/C otherwise the wind noise from having the windows open for 1400 miles will drive you nuts. The A/C will rob a bit of power out of smaller engines.
mike
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A Ka might not be that silly, I did 800 mi from Calais to Bordeaux in a day in a Ka once, it wasn't too painful.
I am sorry to be pedantic but Calais > Bordeaux is only about 550 miles and not 800.
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I agree a Ka is not silly for long journeys. At least no more so than a Yaris. I regularly do 200 miles from Berkshire to South Devon in a Ka and it is rather good. As good as many bigger cars I have driven. It is stable, comfortable in the front, and easy to drive. I get 48mpg on mixed motorway and local driving. It can (allegedly) do 90 easily and still feel very stable. (Actually it can - allegedly - do 115 mph on the clock and still feel stable.) Yes it is noisy on a rough road. The real problem is probably lack of space in the back for passengers. Also it is quite hard for rear passengers to get in and out. For elderly people it is probably a no no.
I have been in the back of a Peugeot 206 and it felt a bit cramped. No better than my Ka I would say.
The Punto is probably the roomiest smallest budget hatchback.
How about a Mercedes A class? Much better for longer journeys. Easy to park. Bit pricey though.
Or a Ford Focus? Pretty good mpg, and loads of room.
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Have a look at a Rover 200 SDi (or 25 version if you want newer) - that's the turbo diesel with intercooler. They have plenty of punch on the motorway and go for miles on the sniff of an oily rag. I've known three people with these and they all used them for motorway work and were pleased with them.
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if youre on a tight budget a bog standard KA is not a bad bet, however make sure you change the plugs every year re the problems recently reported
if spending more then the Yaris is THE car to have, however for the more expensive ones maybe youd be better off upgrading to a bigger car ?
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Fiesta 1.6. 100mph capability, VERY comfortable, great in town. 40mpg. Ford spare and servicing. Great reliability and anonymous so less chance of being broken into (security best in class) - in town centre car parks..
Not that I have exceeded 70 mph in the UK.
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a Skoda Fabia (particularly the Tdi) is the Supermini most at home on Motorways.
55mpg normally, 65mpg on a long motorway run.
AND with a punchy engine.
AND quiet. (3000rpm equals 93mph!)
Good seats, good ride, and HEAPS of legroom (I am 1.90, and can move the seats back so far that I cannot reach the pedals!)
Tdi HAS to be the machine for Spain (yes, I go once or twice a year myself).
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I agree. Something small-ish (Fiesta or Focus size) with the biggest turbo diesel you can afford.
In price order, that might mean Fabia, Megane dCi 120, Golf TDi 150, 320d Compact... Probably down to the Fabia or Megane, depending on how important size is to you, and the plushness of Renault seats.
The Ka isn't a joke on long journeys, but you can do much better and it will feel like it's being worked hard at 85 mph.
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Why get a small car? Bigger ones are cheaper s/h and with the few normal miles you do it's not going to make so much difference? I used to do the big trips in a BMW540 which was great, but the Audi A8 wins hands down. Even my 4.2 averaged almost 30MPG and I averaged 110mph. The 2.8 is very solid mechanically and virtually as good on long trips. And the boot is big enough to get a Ford Ka in. Massive savings at auction on these, you should get a nice R/100k for £7k.
PB.
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Although I've had paint & gearbox problems with my car, the Merc A160 is a corker to drive... quick off the mark and has done indicated 115mph with 4 adults on board no stress. V comfy for very long distances. Overall consumption in the 2,500 miles I've owned it is 36mpg - 60% town, 40% mway & autobahn. Quite a bargain as well - my nearly new was 5.5k off the new list price
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