Swift sport, S1 or GTE

[adz86]

Hi everyone

I wanted to get some thoughts from this group who might be able to help with some questions about mine the missus next car choice.

She's recently changed jobs and lost her company car. This has left us at a bit of a shortfall in the semi practical car department and we've been looking at some options. Not completely stuck as we still have my weekend car we can get by with, but its not practical long term.

Some base criteria

• Don't have kids, but they're probably 18-24 months away
• Need 4/5 doors so we can ferry friends & family when needed
• Probably needs to be a hatchback as I enjoy a bit of DIY and can often have bits of wood picked up from B&Q
• Want something fun.
• The car we had (T-Roc) was great, refined, easy to drive in, but think we got caught up in the mini SUV craze and TBH for what we need, can probably get away with a decent hatch, estates are a no-go.
• Daily commute is only 13 miles each way, with the occasional 250 mile trip every 3-4 months. Around 9-10k per annum.
• Ideally £15-£18k, but can stretch a bit further if find something ideal.
• Want it to last the next 4-6 years at least, so need to consider reliability, maintenace, servicing, current millage (lower than 45k), etc

So this brought us to the following options
Golf GTE - 2017+, higher end of the cost spectrum, but can probably save a little on fuel. Like the idea of being able to do 60-80% of our driving on electricity. GTE mode can be fun when we want it to be. Its a golf so similar interior to the T-Roc with decent build quality. However, really not interested in a GTI, GTD, or R (dont know why, but just don't)
Audi S1 - Really like german build quality and think Audi's have the best interiors. Reviews seem to think they are a lot of fun and still practical in 5 door. Had Audis before and enjoyed them.
Suzuki Swift Sport (2018+) - Quality isnt as good as germans, but still looks good. Reviewers seem to think they are really fun and the missus has always wanted one. Had a MX5 in the past and the thought of something lightweight again is an intriguing prospect. Should be able to hold its own on motorways + its about £5k cheaper than the other two.

All have a boot of around 270ish litres so drop down from what we had before (380), which always felt like a lot of space. But still feels workable, just need to consider if we do have kids in a few years, how much stuff I'm going to have to store in the car. If anyone has any of these with young kids, I'd like to know how you get on.

Got test drives booked for next weekend which will probably answer a lot of questions, its the ownership side I'm most interested in.

Thanks for the replies in advance

Edited by adz86 on Saturday 25th July 18:10

[So]

Which one did she like when she test drove them?

[adz86]

Bookig test drives next weekend. Really looking for ownership guidance and things to probably note.

[So]

One of my kids has a new at 19 plate new shape swift sport and it is a blast and has shown no problems so far.

The quality isn’t German but you’d be surprised if you sat in one. And cheap!

Having said that, the A1 isn’t as good as it could be quality wise. Almost seems a bit basic.

[deltaS4]

I would avoid the Golf GTE. I have one on a lease. It's a year old and is full bugs and faults. Not a car to run out of warranty or long term. Plenty of threads on the speak ev forum. It's lovely to drive cheap to fuel but it's not going to be a long term prospect. It feels unfinished.

[ChrisH72]

If kids are 18-24 months away I would say both the swift or the a1 will be too small if you are using them as your Main family car.

With a budget of 15-18k I’d be going up a size to at least focus/golf etc. Even then, you would appreciate the height of your old t-roc when lifting baby carrier and travel system in and out.

[jwilco]

Depending on how much you want the possibility of kids to influence the decision, I'd say all three of those are probably too small. Even a standard Golf boot (without the GTE batteries) would be a stretch every time you need to go away for a night or two!

[ZX10R NIN]

As others have said the GTE seems to be having a few issues so if you want one make sure it has an extended warranty or buy something like a Leon FR:

1.8T Leon FR Technology 180

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Or the Estate Version

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Also look at the 308 GTI it has a big boot & is a nice alternative to the German offerings & is a cracking steer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...


In all honesty I'd recommend a Q30 with 1-2 years Manufacturers Warranty left & servicing canl be taken care of by Nissan to begin with & any good Indy/Mercedes Specialist, with the fit & finish being a step ahead of the Golf & on par with Audi, when the kids come along they're a nice size.

They're also at the lower/below budget for a newer car they're not a hot hatch like the 308 above but are a very good all rounder.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Another good alternative is the A3 S Line Sportback:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Or the 430i Gran Coupe

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

This is the sensible option if having a swift set nice handling family car then it's hard to look past the Mondeo:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[smashing]

I had the previous generation of swift sport, it was fantastic but the boot was stupidly small!

[Court_S]

I personally really like the GTE. A friend / colleague runs one as a family car and it’s been perfect for him reliability wise for the last three years. His kids are 11 and 9 and for fine. The boot is a bit small but still seems very usable.

The S1 will be dinky inside. I know when I looked at an A1, once my seat was in the right position there was zero room behind it.

No real experience of the Swift but I do like them.

A Golf sized car will be fine as a family car. We managed with an E90 for a few years and they’re really not very big inside.

[dmsims]

As a GTE owner I would love to know what these bugs / faults are

It's a great car

Battery side of things has 8 year warranty

VW £0 excess, comprehensive warranty is £200 p.a. (I would not run one without!)

Can she charge at work ?

ETA when you test drive make sure the garage have charged it

[adz86]

Hi

Thanks for all the responses so far. It's generally sounding like these wouldn't be suitable for kid(s) so either need to swap out again then or look for something long term now.

@Delta54 - Thanks, I'll go have a look around that part of the forum. The reason we would be looking for a 2017 or newer is because I know there is a standard 8 year battery warranty + whatever warranty we would get with the garage we buy it from.

@Dmsims, can you get the warranty from VW even if you don't buy from them? Luklcy we work in the same town so drive in together and park at my work, but there aren't any charging spots (something I would argue to get installed though)

@ZX10R NIN - Thanks for the links. Large hatch's / estates are out. She's not comfortable with large cars like the Mondeo or 430i, although I would take one (A5 sportback) if she was. Also really thrown off by peugeot/renault reliability, the few people who I do know who've had these makes have always had issues.

[paddy1970]

I think you should also consider a Ford Fiesta ST3 MK8. This will be a lot of fun but the boot will be quite small (on par with the S1 or Swift Sport).