5 door city cars?

[Craikeybaby]

I know these are the least PH cars ever, but hopefully some PHers have experience.

Our family is outgrowing my wife’s Fiat 500, we need something that will fit 2 child seats in the back and a pushchair in the boot. So Fiesta sized, but ideally also “a bit cute”.

The obvious choice to meet the cute factor is the Renault Twingo, but it is too small. I guess that would rule the Smart out too.

So far we’ve had a look at the Micra, Jazz and Yaris. The Micra was OK, but seemed big on the outside but small on the inside and I didn’t get the best feeling about the dealer, which is a shame as it is the most convenient.

The Jazz was by far the most practical, but the interior wasn’t the best. The main plus point is that there are some good lease deals available.

The Yaris was the best of the three, but I expect the most expensive.

What else is worth looking at? Are the Polo/siblings worth the premium?

[Nickbrapp]

Yes, jap is just a bit crap from the inside where you spend all your time. Not as refined as the others. And just don’t feel as nice,

All cars now are pretty similar to drive I think

I would recommend the new Ibiza. Really nice car inside and out, can be had with a 1.0 dsg if you like or manuals or a 1.5 tsi with 150bhp

My sister has one, with a pano roof and LED headlights and it’s a really nice car to be in. She got £2k off with car wow so it was £15k all done and dusted which I think is pretty good.

We also looked at the fiesta but no led headlights and a bit naff inside.

The other car I would look at in this size is a Volvo xc40 although they are quite a bit more expansive.

Would the 500x not fit the bill?

[sparkythecat]

Looking for a similar style of car a few months ago, Mrs S considered the same offerings on your list, then chose a Kia Rio.
To me it's just a Korean Ford Fiesta, but she seems happy enough with it.

[CJ1]

Have a look at VW Up’s! I’ve had a couple as Courtesy cars, and they are far more spacious than my Polo. They are such a “boxy” shape and make the most of their small floor plan, big windows too and amazing visibility. Maybe even a Up GTI? Don’t even bother with the 1.0 60ps, at least a 90ps TSI.

[davebem]

Fiat panda, same ish size as the 500 but the boot is taller so the pushchair can go diagonally. We replaced 500 with a smart forfour but kids no longer in pushchair.

[Craikeybaby]

Nickbrapp said:

Yes, jap is just a bit crap from the inside where you spend all your time. Not as refined as the others. And just don’t feel as nice,

All cars now are pretty similar to drive I think

I would recommend the new Ibiza. Really nice car inside and out, can be had with a 1.0 dsg if you like or manuals or a 1.5 tsi with 150bhp

My sister has one, with a pano roof and LED headlights and it’s a really nice car to be in. She got £2k off with car wow so it was £15k all done and dusted which I think is pretty good.

We also looked at the fiesta but no led headlights and a bit naff inside.

The other car I would look at in this size is a Volvo xc40 although they are quite a bit more expansive.

Would the 500x not fit the bill?

I’ve seen some good deals on the Ibiza, so that is on the list too, we ran out of time to visit the Seat dealer today.

The usual hatchback suspects already seem expensive enough, I’d like a Volvo, but probably above our budget.

500X has been mentioned but not sure we want a crossover.

[Shiv_P]

TBH get a fiesta if your mrs likes it. Best to drive in class, the mk8 interior is not bad at all when specced nicely and the engines seem to be quite good.

[Craikeybaby]

sparkythecat said:

Looking for a similar style of car a few months ago, Mrs S considered the same offerings on your list, then chose a Kia Rio.
To me it's just a Korean Ford Fiesta, but she seems happy enough with it.

I’m going to look at a Hyundai i20, as the dealer is next to work. I get the impression that she’d rather have s nicer car with less toys, than a blinder up cheaper car if you see what I mean.

Although just priced up the Yaris we liked in the dealer - £20k! Ouch!

[Craikeybaby]

CJ1 said:

Have a look at VW Up’s! I’ve had a couple as Courtesy cars, and they are far more spacious than my Polo. They are such a “boxy” shape and make the most of their small floor plan, big windows too and amazing visibility. Maybe even a Up GTI? Don’t even bother with the 1.0 60ps, at least a 90ps TSI.

My brother had an Up, not too sure we’d get a pushchair in the boot, will check the Up/siblings when I’m next at a VW group dealer.

[Craikeybaby]

davebem said:

Fiat panda, same ish size as the 500 but the boot is taller so the pushchair can go diagonally. We replaced 500 with a smart forfour but kids no longer in pushchair.

I actually quite like the Panda, but it has been ruled out for style reasons.

[Craikeybaby]

Shiv_P said:

TBH get a fiesta if your mrs likes it. Best to drive in class, the mk8 interior is not bad at all when specced nicely and the engines seem to be quite good.

Will try and get her to the Ford dealer as she isn’t too keen on the Fiesta.

[ZX10R NIN]

I second the Fiesta or the second option I'd recommend is a Clio.

[nojoeing]

I can recommend a Nissan Note 2nd gen if you are looking for practicality. We've got one and it is by far the biggest small car I have ever been in. Rear legroom is very big and the seats move to increase boot capacity.

The interior is however awful. Everything is hard plastic but at least it is very easy to clean. It seems that is the common theme with Japanese (small) cars.

I have a Civic myself and went for a spin in the Note around the street and I couldn't believe how light everything is. Steering, clutch, everything feels very light and easy to operate but I think that is common with modern cars, especially if they have electric power steering.

The only thing is that the boot might not fit a pushchair but it depends on the rear seat position.

[kieranblenk]

Suzuki Swift or Citroen C3 are a bit more interesting, as is the Mazda 2. A curveball option, although you will need to try it for size is a run out Audi A1 Sportback.

[Nickbrapp]

kieranblenk said:

Suzuki Swift or Citroen C3 are a bit more interesting, as is the Mazda 2. A curveball option, although you will need to try it for size is a run out Audi A1 Sportback.

I forgot the c3, they are very funky and no doubt have a great ride

[Craikeybaby]

kieranblenk said:

Suzuki Swift or Citroen C3 are a bit more interesting, as is the Mazda 2. A curveball option, although you will need to try it for size is a run out Audi A1 Sportback.

Ruled out Mazda//Suzuki as the local dealer was such a nightmare to deal with when I had a new MX-5, which is a shame as the cars are good.

I'll check out Citroen, I admire them, but not sure I'd want to run one for 10 years. A1 could be interesting too, I didn't realise they were on run out.

[kieranblenk]

Craikeybaby said:

Ruled out Mazda//Suzuki as the local dealer was such a nightmare to deal with when I had a new MX-5, which is a shame as the cars are good.

I'll check out Citroen, I admire them, but not sure I'd want to run one for 10 years. A1 could be interesting too, I didn't realise they were on run out.

Yep, new model due imminent so dealers will more than likely want to do a deal on outgoing cars. My Mam has had one for over 3 years (1.6 TDI S Line) after a DS3 and before that a Mini and she loves the A1, so much so she's kept it longer than any other car she's had.

[Craikeybaby]

Interesting, they are the cutest of the VW group Polo siblings, but just need to convince my wife she could live with the Audi image.

[M1C]

Be sure to check out the interior space on the A1. We've got a little Peugeot 107 and there is far less space in the back of the A1, it's very tight in there.

[Nickbrapp]

Craikeybaby said:

Interesting, they are the cutest of the VW group Polo siblings, but just need to convince my wife she could live with the Audi image.

Remember the A1 you’ll be looking at is the older version and the new polo Ibiza and fabia are already on the new platform that the A1 Will use soon. The new A1 is a pretty ugly thing.