What car for parents in their eighties?

[swlove]

My parents are both in their early eighties and are looking for a second hand car of between 1-4 years old. The newer the better.
They want a car that it is easy to get in and out (ie not too low or too high). It should have an automatic transmission and a petrol engine.
Budget 15.000-20.000 euro but prices here on the continent are higher than in the UK.

They have looked at a Renault Captur and will also have a look at a Volvo V40.
They don't want a Japanese or a German car.
The car will be used mainly for city driving but also for occasional holidays 300 kms away or so.

I think a big car will be hard for them to handle and a small car is not very safe if they have an accident.
I find it hard to put myself in their shoes: they are older and not petrolheads.

So what nice and reliable cars can you suggest?

[DoubleD]

A taxi

[TehRin]

A bus pass.


On another note, Nissan Note?

[Gavin0478]

Honda Jazz

[anonymous-user]

Why not japanese or german? Typical pensioner racism.









I'm joking !

[Slow]

Hyundai i10/20/30

[Leins]

For his 80th birthday my father treated himself to a Golf GTi. Found it easy to get in and out of, DSG meant his dodgy left hip wasn't affected, and he loved driving it. Life's too short, etc.

[BoRED S2upid]

Why not German? I was going to suggest a smart easy to park and easy to drive also not to low.

[Defconluke]

Renault's always seem to do well in Euro NCAP tests so Captur or Scenic is probably a good shout.

Small car's aren't necessarily unsafe though - a new C3 has exactly the same adult occupant safety rating (88%) as the Captur despite being a much smaller car.

[mac96]

Not a make/model suggestion, but my Dad's recent car buying experience (he was 92 at the time) proved that all other things being equal, 4 door cars are easier to get in and out of- smaller front doors open further in car parks and other confined spaces.
At least- that was his view, and it does depend where the car will be used!

[mr_spock]

Vauxhall/Opel Mokka? Not too big, not too high.

[swlove]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Four door is definitely a good idea.

Have put the following options to them:
older Volvo XC60 (outside budget I think)
Mini One (pretending not to be German)
Peugeot 2008
Skoda Yeti
Dacia Duster
Citroen C3

Not sure if all of these can be had as an automatic.

Now waiting to see what they think.

[DoubleD]

So why no German or Japanese cars?

[swlove]

>So why no German or Japanese cars?

It's their preference.

Edited by swlove on Saturday 20th May 14:09

[TooMany2cvs]

DoubleD said:

So why no German or Japanese cars?

I think we can take a reasonable guess...

It's probably not even worth attempting to explain that a Captur and a Juke are the same basic thing, but the Juke's built by Geordies, while the Renault's built by the Spanish who were pretty much on the same side as the Germans and Japanese in the war (but kept the politics going for a LONG while after)...

[swlove]

>I think we can take a reasonable guess...
You did guess it :-)

And I agree that it is a bit fuzzy whether a car is German, British, French etc.

[DoubleD]

You had better remove the Yeti from your list then.

[TooMany2cvs]

DoubleD said:

You had better remove the Yeti from your list then.

Only in the same way as the Dacia had also better go.

[Frankthered]

It is confusing these days, isn't it? My last three cars have been "Japanese" but all built in Britain.

If they'd consider Korean, a Kia Soul might work for them.

[TooMany2cvs]

Frankthered said:

It is confusing these days, isn't it? My last three cars have been "Japanese" but all built in Britain.

If they'd consider Korean, a Kia Soul might work for them.

If they're considering the Mokka suggested above (ooops, German!), then that's already a Korean choice...