Economical Hatchback for Town Driving - 5k budget

[dawsonz]

Hello, we're looking to get a small/economical car for my wife to do what will predominantly be town driving, c10 miles a day.

It will need to be spacious enough that it can fit two child seats in the rear, albeit the kids won't be in the car for very long.

We have a budget of around £5k, ideally I'd like something that would do as close to, if possible more, than 50mpg.

I have considered the following so far;

Volkswagen Up / Seat Mii / Skoda Citigo - within budget, evidently reliable and very economical, reservation is perhaps the size..
Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost - I like the Fiesta, my concern is that within our budget most of the cars are > 80k, and I have read about issues with the ecoboost engine, in addition to this, most are now due a belt change, which is an expensive job.
Renault Clio 0.9 - Generally seem to be reliable and again, economical.

Summary of requirements:
Petrol
Manual
5 doors
50mpg
£5k budget

is there anything else to consider, or perhaps something that stands out from the list above?

[Silvanus]

Dacia Sandero, will probably be newer than everything else in budget. Tried and tested tech, including the 0.9 Renault unit and the better specced cars have as much kit as everything else in the price bracket. Loads about and very cheap to run.

Bit of a wild card is the Chrysler Ypsilon Twinair, based on the Fiat 500/Panda but more practical. They suffered huge depreciation from new so a massive bargain now and full of kit, quirky but fun little things. Proven to be reliable cars and highly rated by owners

Other than that go for a 5 door Citigo, these seems to be the best value in the VW Up! Family.

[MikeB444]

Mazda 2 or Suzuki Swift?
Bit bigger than the Up/Citigo types and tend to be a bit cheaper.
I believe the petrol engines for both are chain driven so no belts to worry about.

Also Nissan Note is very versatile but don't think it gets 50mpg.

[samoht]

For 10 urban miles a day I'd definitely be looking at a Nissan Leaf

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301042...


Electric works really well in low speed stop-start urban driving, will make it a load less stressful. Also cheaper to run with less to go wrong, bar the inevitable battery deterioriation that doesn't matter if you only need to drive a few dozen miles a day.

[anonymous-user]

I have to get a new car due to ULEZ and £5K is pretty much my budget. My current car does 60MPG and has £30 road tax and I am looking for something that gives similar figures.

Cars on my shortlist are :

UP!/Citigo/Mii
Kia Picanto/Rio
Hyundai i10/i20
Clio 0.9TCe.
Dacia Sandero Stepway 0.9TCe. Same engine as the Clio, although they look a bit low rent and old to me, especially the old school panel gaps.

I have dismissed the Fiesta and Peugeot/Citroens with the 1.2 engines due to the whole wet belt disintegrating and blocking the oil pickup issue.

Have to say I am toying towards the Rio, but I want to have a good look underneath one to see how crusty they go.

Citigo would probably be the most sensible choice, but they are a bit smaller than I would like.

I like Renaults and I would definitely consider the Clio if I could find a decent one in budget.

[ZX10R NIN]

Newer shape Kia Ceed 2:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301113...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212292...

500L Twin Air:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301163...

1.0T Focus Titanium make sure the recall work has been done & you'll have a good car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301163...

[The Cardinal]

Skoda Fabia Mk3 - 2014+. Very competent little cars; it was the recommended buy by all the magazines when new.

You'd only get a high-miler for £5k, but closer to £6k opens up a wider choice with lower miles.

[dawsonz]

Thanks for the replies so far, some useful info and cars to consider that I hadn't thought about initially, please keep them coming.

[anonymous-user]

£5K is a horrible price point in these post covid times. Pre covid it would have bought you something half decent, now it seems to be the next price point up from shed level.

Before you know it you have done some man maths and are looking at £10 to £15K cars as it "will be cheaper in the long run"

I have spent days trawling eBay, Autotrader and Facebook and I am none the wiser what the best thing to do is.

[Carguy44]

Up your budget by a small amount and you could get a 2016 Astra K 1.0

[dawsonz]

Joey Deacon said:

£5K is a horrible price point in these post covid times. Pre covid it would have bought you something half decent, now it seems to be the next price point up from shed level.

Before you know it you have done some man maths and are looking at £10 to £15K cars as it "will be cheaper in the long run"

I have spent days trawling eBay, Autotrader and Facebook and I am none the wiser what the best thing to do is.

You make a good point, the way the prices have shifted has quite an impact on that 'sweet spot' for finding something half decent.

Thankfully we've a car to sell, and use that towards it, which in turn eases pain of the rising costs (a little).

[CG2020UK]

Seat Ibiza or step up to an Astra.

Personally I find the 1L ecoboost Fiesta best in class but you pay for it vs the competition.

[edc]

For the space for child seat I'd look at a Honda Jazz.

[Hitch]

If you can wait a month or two your options will increase as the fizz seems to be coming off the used car market. Might make lower mileage/newer versions of your favoured models affordable.

My father has a 2014 Fiesta 1.0 which has been brilliant and often has two of ours in with their seats. I have a 1.0 Focus and get 39mpg driving it like a 17 year old. I got 45mpg driving sensibly for a month so 50mpg in a Fiesta seems plausible.

Agree with the comment on the Fabia 1.0. I had one as a courtesy car in 2016 and thought it was a brilliant car. They're kind of square, so you get a sense of a bigger car in the interior.