Small car that eats potholes, 5K
Discussion
The new school run has a nifty shortcut but it's all back roads covered with smallish potholes, lumps and bumps. I'm looking for ideas of something small that makes light work of these types of journeys. No big SUV's or 4WD's as there's a couple of really narrow sections too! Currently have a jazz which is impressive in so many areas but terrible on these type of roads.
I'm thinking a focus or suzuki SX4 would probably do the job, but there must be others to consider?
I'm thinking a focus or suzuki SX4 would probably do the job, but there must be others to consider?
As an ex Jimny owner, I'd have to disagree. The solid front and rear axles that make them so good off road, mean they have a horrible ride on anything but the smoothest of roads. You definitely won't break one bouncing over potholes, but it will be a long way from comfortable!
Any standard small hatchback will likely be a million times better as long as you have sensible sized wheels.
Any standard small hatchback will likely be a million times better as long as you have sensible sized wheels.
Bikerjon said:
Yes I'd like to try a Suzuki Jimny as I see they get recommended a lot. Strong money for the age of car though.
Yeah, Prices go crazy once the first snow hits, particularly in the Scottish highlands. Picked mine up in the summer for £2k last year (56 plate, 100k miles), had two offers for £3k for it during winter a few months after. It does have a strange depreciation curve. They are £15k new, drop like an absolute stone to £6-7k over the first 3 years. Then pretty much hold between £3-5k well there condition remains clean, only dropping into the £1-2k range generally when they are rusted to pieces or have been used as farm trucks/offroad slags. Bar a few niggles they are fairly bulletproof though. The bodies rust around the front and rear mounts, but is easy to protect against if caught early, the 4WD system becomes somewhat unreliable after 10 years or so due to corroding vacuum pipes for the front hubs, it's cheaply and easily converted to manual hubs though which are bulletproof, particularly with the older manual t-cases (newer ones are electronically acuated, very reliable but every now and then you hear of one sticking). Certain ages suffer from gearbox issues (05s and 06s). Good owners community around them, full of knowledge and modders.
The way they drive is an aquired taste, they are quite old school, revvy DOHC motor is powerful enough but needs worked, they are rolly polly but actually are fairly chuckable once you get used to the way the weight moves about.
EDIT: Oh yeah, it's not comfortable going over potholes, you can hit them at any speed without so much as knocking your alignment off though. Doesn't take long to get completely desensitised to any semblance of discomfort though, they do benefit greatly from a comfier set of seats though, personally mine has a set of Recaros out of a Suzuki Ignis Sport. They bolt into the Jimny frames with a little modification.
Edited by caelite on Sunday 16th September 19:06
aka_kerrly said:
What size wheels and tyres is the Jazz on? Could it be an option to go a wheel size an inch smaller an tyre profile a bit larger?
Has the smaller option 15" wheels with 65 profile tyres so not too bad really, but I just don't think the suspension is up to it for these types of roads. As a city/urban car it's ace, for country lanes I've always found it terrible!aka_kerrly said:
What size wheels and tyres is the Jazz on? Could it be an option to go a wheel size an inch smaller an tyre profile a bit larger?
Mine is on the sensible wheel/tyres option and the ride is at best borderline.OP, I had a Citroen Cactus as a courtesy car and the ride and handling were noticeably better than my Jazz, even if the rest of the car wasn't.
Bikerjon said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I had forgotten about Citroen so will definitely look into some of the models mentioned as they do seem to have a reputation for a comfy ride. Will also see if I can test drive a Jimny as well.
If you want comfortable suspension, most things French are normally ok. How small do you want? Our cars get battered by pot holes and stable yards, so we're always aware of ride and grip. We had 2 Subaru Outbacks over 10 years and they were extraordinarily reliable. We never had a breakdown and the only failures we had were a couple of CV boots and 2 front suspension bushes. They were both 3 litre cars, so they were thirsty, but running costs are not only the fuel costs.
My wife wanted something economical for local knocking about. We had a sub £500, 2007 Fiat Panda for a year and 9000 miles of stable yard commute. It returned over 50mpg overall. With Winter tyres, it never got stuck and coped quite well with the lanes and potholes. I fitted 2 shock absorbers before I sold it, that was all it needed and it had no other faults.
I replaced it with a similar aged Panda 4x4, which is excellent. The suspension is a tad softer and it rides a couple of inches higher. It has taller, wider tyres, that make it less jiggly and more refined...and it still returns 45mpg from it's 1242cc petrol engine. It will also cruise at 70 to 80mph without complaint. If I wanted to spend more than the £1500, I'd buy a newer one.
I would avoid a Jimny if you want any comfort/ride quality...or performance. I like them and have often thought about them, but my wife rejected the idea because they are SO slow and agricultural.
Foresters are excellent. We have two petrol turbos in the family. Both are 10 years old now and they have both served really well. The manual one had a clutch at about 100,000 miles and my mum's auto had rear shocks. Both cars had secondary air sytem valve failure. Those have been the only faults.
If you like Hondas, is the Honda CRV too big? Toyota RAV4?
My wife wanted something economical for local knocking about. We had a sub £500, 2007 Fiat Panda for a year and 9000 miles of stable yard commute. It returned over 50mpg overall. With Winter tyres, it never got stuck and coped quite well with the lanes and potholes. I fitted 2 shock absorbers before I sold it, that was all it needed and it had no other faults.
I replaced it with a similar aged Panda 4x4, which is excellent. The suspension is a tad softer and it rides a couple of inches higher. It has taller, wider tyres, that make it less jiggly and more refined...and it still returns 45mpg from it's 1242cc petrol engine. It will also cruise at 70 to 80mph without complaint. If I wanted to spend more than the £1500, I'd buy a newer one.
I would avoid a Jimny if you want any comfort/ride quality...or performance. I like them and have often thought about them, but my wife rejected the idea because they are SO slow and agricultural.
Foresters are excellent. We have two petrol turbos in the family. Both are 10 years old now and they have both served really well. The manual one had a clutch at about 100,000 miles and my mum's auto had rear shocks. Both cars had secondary air sytem valve failure. Those have been the only faults.
If you like Hondas, is the Honda CRV too big? Toyota RAV4?
Edited by Toed64 on Monday 17th September 23:41
Edited by Toed64 on Wednesday 19th September 09:55
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