An automatic quandary....

[kieranblenk]

I have posted on this forum before looking for a replacement for our venerable Swift; we did originally settle on a Suzuki Baleno brand new but decided that paying for a new car on PCP to do 12-14k a year in seemed excessive.

Back story - the Swift is an 11 plate 1.5 petrol auto (the last of the pre facelifts) has been owned for the last 4 years as my partners first car and has now got nearly 90k on the clock. It has been tremendously bulletproof, but it's a bit small really now when our other car is a Fabia.

We aren't in a mad rush to replace but want to explore options among this area of the market. I've been looking on Auto Trader but just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Budget is about £8k but could stretch a touch for the right car. It's used for commuting 18 miles each way, 15 miles is motorway and 3 miles is town centre crawling. The rest of the miles is just weekend trips and looks out.

So the criteria is to put the feelers out;

-Sub 12 seconds 0-60
-Would like 40mpg upwards
-Must be automatic (auto only licence)
-Bigger than the Swift
-Relatively cheap to run
-Reliable (I'm a bit wary about DSG boxes etc)
-Newer than an 11 plate preferable but not essential
-Comfortable on motorways
-Not bothered about petrol or diesel
-No real prejudice against any makes but would prefer nothing French or Vauxhall
-The car will probably have about 50k put on it over the next 4 years so nothing that's on its last legs.


All suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks!

[Dimebars]

Ford Fiesta

You may be able to squeeze into a newer 1.0 at your budget

[kiethton]

Something like a Skoda Octavia may work well?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

or even a Skoda Rapid if you're ok with slightly questionable looks?

[Slushbox]

As a Baleno owner, I'm a bit biased, but pre-purchase did a lot of mooching around dealers. There's a lot of cheap B-segment cars on the market. My shortlist was the Fiesta, Polo, and Renault Megane. (A bit 'French'. ) Originally considered a new Swift, but Baleno is more refined, and has a lot more rear space and a big boot. Good on motorways.

Baleno won because it's nippy, roomy, has a good Sat-Nav/reversing camera thing, and I got a 2017 demonstrator for a good price with 1200 miles on the odo. Baleno prices went up in January though. They are now relatively expensive.

You could add Seat and Skoda to the list. The new Astras, despite being Vauxhall, are getting good reviews. There are quite a few used Golfs around at the price, too.

As to finance I picked up a cheap loan from First Direct at 3% pa. so I pay about £100 a month for the 2017 Baleno SZ-T. Arranged online in five minutes and P/X'd the old car at the dealer so only had to fund £6K of FD loan.

Dealer finance schemes tend to throw in free servicing or extended warranties, so may be 'better' than a personal loan at the expense of a couple of extra %% per annum.

Edited by Slushbox on Wednesday 4th April 09:39

[Pica-Pica]

Honda Jazz Auto. They are CVT autos. The Jazz has a reputation for reliability and versatile space inside. Often derided as a pensioner’s special, they are a good car. My sister-in-law has gone from a Jazz manual to a Jazz Auto because of a weak left wrist after a fracture.

[kieranblenk]

Slushbox said:

As a Baleno owner, I'm a bit biased, but pre-purchase did a lot of mooching around dealers. There's a lot of cheap B-segment cars on the market. My shortlist was the Fiesta, Polo, and Renault Megane. (A bit 'French'. ) Originally considered a new Swift, but Baleno is more refined, and has a lot more rear space and a big boot. Good on motorways.

Baleno won because it's nippy, roomy, has a good Sat-Nav/reversing camera thing, and I got a 2017 demonstrator for a good price with 1200 miles on the odo. Baleno prices went up in January though. They are now relatively expensive.

You could add Seat and Skoda to the list. The new Astras, despite being Vauxhall, are getting good reviews. There are quite a few used Golfs around at the price, too.

As to finance I picked up a cheap loan from First Direct at 3% pa. so I pay about £100 a month for the 2017 Baleno SZ-T. Arranged online in five minutes and P/X'd the old car at the dealer so only had to fund £6K of FD loan.

Dealer finance schemes tend to throw in free servicing or extended warranties, so may be 'better' than a personal loan at the expense of a couple of extra %% per annum.

Edited by Slushbox on Wednesday 4th April 09:39

The Baleno is a really good car for the money, I'm glad you're happy with it. My mother in law had two of the old style Balenos for years and while dull they were bulletproof. She now has a Splash and in 6 years it's never put a foot wrong. My partner loves the Swift so a Baleno was a natural progression, but I just wanted to be sure we hadn't missed anything.

[kieranblenk]

kiethton said:

Something like a Skoda Octavia may work well?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

or even a Skoda Rapid if you're ok with slightly questionable looks?

We've looked at both of these with me having a new shape Fabia, great suggestions I'll keep both on the list.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say take a look for one of these:

Clio 1.2T GT It means (I've supplied a lot of these so far they're proving very reliable) stretching your budget but these are good cars.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.6 GT

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or you could go all out & get one of these:

Clio 200

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Other options:

Alfa Romeo Veloce 1.4T Half leather/Nav (the 1.4T drivetrain is proving to be very reliable)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Veloce

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.4T Astra GTC Sport The Astra range are real value for money buys at the moment.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Astra Elite

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Kia C'eed 4 Tech these are very reliable absolutely loaded with tech & a nice interior.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Don't be afraid of EDC/DSG boxes but make sure the fluid & filters have been changed on schedule, otherwise take £300 off the price to get it done.

From the list above if insurance & running costs are within your parameters then it's a no brainer get the Clio RS200 but if you need to be more sensible then I'd look for the:

1.2T GT Clio]
1.6 Kia C'eed 4 Tech
1.6 Astra Elite

[ZX10R NIN]

Do any of the above fit the bill?

[Valgar]

Yaris Hybrid or Jazz Hybrid

[kieranblenk]

ZX10R NIN said:

Do any of the above fit the bill?

Thanks ZX, the Astras, Alfa and Kia are on the list.

Edited by kieranblenk on Thursday 5th April 10:16

[kieranblenk]

Hi all,

To resurrect we have found a few Fiesta 1.6 Titanium Powershifts for sale locally and in budget. Before we investigate further does anybody have any experience of this engine/gearbox combination? My brother in law has a 1.0 Ecoboost manual and it's a nice little car, but I believe the 1.6 is the old natural aspirated engine and therefore may be less stressed with less probable bork factor?

[Nickbrapp]

If it’s the same engine as the fiesta 1.6 powershift it’s a decent engine, 100bhp.

My mum has one in a fiesta and it’s great, very nippy and smooth changes, it’s only a 5 speed box so a little nosier at motorway speeds but it’s great around town etc

It’s a 13 plate and been fine since new

[gareth_r]

There have been class actions in the US, Australia, and Canada about problems with the Fiesta/Focus Powershift transmission. Have the same issues surfaced in Europe?

[kieranblenk]

An update - we bought a house in mid-April so the car hunt had to go on hold, but since we moved in a fortnight ago we've been looking at different options and tried a few models with no avail. Either the car hasn't been right, or the insurance was astronomical. The only car we've been close to was a Mini Clubman which sold just 20 minutes before we got there - a shame as it was a stunner but if you're not fast you're last!

However, we've spotted what looks to be a gem and we are going to look at an 11 plate Audi A1 this week, 44k on the clock with full Audi history. Its a 1.4 TFSI S-Tronic Sport and whilst probably no bigger than the Swift it would be big enough for what we need to be honest. From the pictures it looks very clean. Insurance is also the cheapest out of all of the cars we've looked at bar the Vauxhall Corsa and Toyota Aygo would you believe.

However I'm really concerned about the TFSI engine coupled with an S Tronic throwing up serious problems as it's already 7 years old now, it is older than I would have liked as I was hoping for something around 3/4 years old. My Mam has a 65 plate diesel A1 as a work car on the NHS scheme and it's been a great little workhorse, but in terms of A1s is there anything I'd need to look out for?

This is the car below;
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2018...

[ZX10R NIN]

I have to be honest I'd be buying one of these three over the A1 that car seems okay but the cars below would be first in the que:

Clio GT Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Giulietta Sportiva/Veloce

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Suzuki Kizashi

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Cee'd 4Tech

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

If you want a VAG product then the Seat Leon with the much more reliable 1.8 is hard to beat:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Tuesday 3rd July 10:17

[kieranblenk]

Just to round up this thread,

After months of deliberation and despite the fact that my partner didn't want a French car initially, we've just bought a 2015 Renault Clio 1.5 dCi Dynamique S EDC in white, ex motability with 24k on the clock in pristine condition. We are delighted with it.

Thanks to everyone for their help - especially ZX who recommended the Clio in the first place.

[ZX10R NIN]

Glad you got sorted Kieran it sounds like you've bagged a good one Dynamique S spec pretty much comes with everything you could want.