Eco cars

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VS02

Original Poster:

2,007 posts

59 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
A family member is looking at downsizing to one of these cars. I will have regular access to them but it’s not going to be mine, I have my own car. However I will be contributing to the price so it cant be a pile of ste

Narrowed to these

Honda Jazz eHEV
Yaris Hybrid (new model)
Renault Clio eTECH
Vauxhall Corsa-e
Nissan Leaf

Please keep it to just these cars please.
The top 2 contenders are the Jazz and the Yaris so ideally this is the most important comparison.


Usage:
A mix of town journeys, short-ish motorway journeys, long journeys by all people using it.
Used by 4 family members, 1 family member is a teenager and will probably learn to drive in it.
Mileage around 15k p.a. so will get very regular use
Will be stored on the road as driveway is taken up by other cars on the road (the Is300h will still get used more, currently on 100K miles already so will enter semi-retirement). Hence why the PHEV and corsa-e may not be the best choice, but can work around that

Wants:
Automatic
At least some electrical assistance
A lot of kit (reverse camera, sensors, CarPlay, dab radio, folding mirrors, nice interior)
High residual values (clio and corsa not the best then?)
Big car feel
Can seat 4 in comfort
Not as slow as a snail



Car can be leased, PCP, cash etc


So far the favourite is the new model 2022 Toyota Yaris 1.5 Hybrid eCVT in “Dynamic” trim so if anyone has experience in this please can you drop a comment

VS02

Original Poster:

2,007 posts

59 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
Anyone?

ChrisH72

2,125 posts

51 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
VS02 said:
Anyone?
Well you haven't mentioned V8 have you?!

No experience with these cars but I was actually reading a review of the Yaris today. It sounds like a decent car by all accounts. Apparently the ride is a bit hard on 17s which your preferred spec will have. The up side to that is it may be a bit more fun to chuck down B roads. Toyota claim 80% running on electric but in the real world its nowhere near that. CVT auto so the engine can sound thrashy under hard acceleration. Oh and boot space isn't brilliant if that's a concern.

I'm sure someone here must have tried one though.

VS02

Original Poster:

2,007 posts

59 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
ChrisH72 said:
Well you haven't mentioned V8 have you?!

No experience with these cars but I was actually reading a review of the Yaris today. It sounds like a decent car by all accounts. Apparently the ride is a bit hard on 17s which your preferred spec will have. The up side to that is it may be a bit more fun to chuck down B roads. Toyota claim 80% running on electric but in the real world its nowhere near that. CVT auto so the engine can sound thrashy under hard acceleration. Oh and boot space isn't brilliant if that's a concern.

I'm sure someone here must have tried one though.
I reckon the Yaris is a good shout. Mum already drives a Lexus IS300h (which she’s keeping) so she is keen on Toyota/Lexus - natural choice would have been a CT but they are truly hateful - we tried one already and the ride was like granite, rear legroom was hopeless, it was ugly and inside is very dated.

If the Yaris is chuckable that would be good a choice then. Can’t imagine the Jazz or Corsa being very fun. There’s a new GR Sport trim for 2022 which is all badged up like a GR and has sports seats but none of the grunt! Can’t imagine if that’s just a bit embarassing!


Frankthered

1,619 posts

179 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
Must admit, I haven't driven any of these - I do have a 3rd gen 1.3 petrol Yaris and it's fine - the latest model does appear to have moved things on quite a bit though.

You do appreciate that the Leaf is an EV too?

Speaking of which, you might get a better response if you post in the EV & Alternative Fuels section - just a thought.

(They will all probably tell you to get one of the EVs though!!)

VS02

Original Poster:

2,007 posts

59 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
Frankthered said:
Must admit, I haven't driven any of these - I do have a 3rd gen 1.3 petrol Yaris and it's fine - the latest model does appear to have moved things on quite a bit though.

You do appreciate that the Leaf is an EV too?

Speaking of which, you might get a better response if you post in the EV & Alternative Fuels section - just a thought.

(They will all probably tell you to get one of the EVs though!!)
Yeah sorry I only put the Leaf in after I typed up the thread.
The leaf, Corsa and Clio (iirc) will all need to be charged up so was wondering their feasibility in the real world if they can’t always be charged on the drive.

In addition doesn’t the Leaf have a horrible interior?

My mum is only truly interested in the Yaris - and it’s my favourite too - she’s not keen on the Renault or the Corsa. The reason I put them in the comparison is to see if they were a better car than the Yaris and Jazz, as the corsa has incredible lease deals and a lot of kit and the normal Clio won many awards and has a nice interior.
The Jazz looks a bit weird (I think in a rather unusual way - I like different)

I’ll have a look at the other forum

Silvanus

5,147 posts

22 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
Friend I work with was looking at small electric cars, from what we looked into and from what she said after testing, I wouldn't go for any of your shortlist, except for maybe the Corsa. She narrowed it down to the Peugeot e208, the sensible one and the new Fiat 500 electric, the fun one. I'd say both are better than what you have on your list. In the end she slightly changed his criteria and has gone for a Mazda MX-30.

VS02

Original Poster:

2,007 posts

59 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
Silvanus said:
Friend I work with was looking at small electric cars, from what we looked into and from what she said after testing, I wouldn't go for any of your shortlist, except for maybe the Corsa. She narrowed it down to the Peugeot e208, the sensible one and the new Fiat 500 electric, the fun one. I'd say both are better than what you have on your list. In the end she slightly changed his criteria and has gone for a Mazda MX-30.
I do like both (the 208 is controversial with my parents) and the 500 is liked too but the males of the house (including me)said they would feel like tossers driving the 500. I love the styling. The budget only allows for a base spec 500 too and the 208 is out of budget.


Also 15k p.a. and Fiat 500 … how would it fare?

Silvanus

5,147 posts

22 months

Sunday 26th June 2022
quotequote all
VS02 said:
Silvanus said:
Friend I work with was looking at small electric cars, from what we looked into and from what she said after testing, I wouldn't go for any of your shortlist, except for maybe the Corsa. She narrowed it down to the Peugeot e208, the sensible one and the new Fiat 500 electric, the fun one. I'd say both are better than what you have on your list. In the end she slightly changed his criteria and has gone for a Mazda MX-30.
I do like both (the 208 is controversial with my parents) and the 500 is liked too but the males of the house (including me)said they would feel like tossers driving the 500. I love the styling. The budget only allows for a base spec 500 too and the 208 is out of budget.


Also 15k p.a. and Fiat 500 … how would it fare?
Not sure what is says about me, but I'd be happy driving about in a 500 electric, in a nice bright colour, maybe I'm a tosser haha. The Mazda she got is an unusual little thing (in a good way), but expect its out of budget if the Pug is. Chances are its going to take sodding ages to actually get any of the cars mentioned because of supply problems, why don't get your name down for a 2023 Fiat Panda EV, next gen looks good

Shouting George

1 posts

35 months

Monday 27th June 2022
quotequote all
I test drove both the Yaris and Jazz before deciding on the Jazz.

The Yaris is certainly a more fun car to drive,it has a small car feel and is happy to
be driven in a more spirited fashion.

It has dual zone climate, which the Jazz doesn't get.

You can spec some nice upgrades on it like a panoramic roof, HUD display and
better stereo, which aren't options on the Honda.

It's not a Jazz, there's no denying the Hondas reputation as an OAP
wagon puts many people off.


The Hondas cabin feels more premium than the Toyota.

Its interior is very roomy, it really feels a bigger car than it is when
inside , the back seat space is bigger and the rear doors open far wider than
the Yaris.

Its rear seats can fold vertically , which I though i'd never use, but are
genuinely handy if you're ever moving stuff around.

The Catalytic converter is not easy to access on the Jazz, but apparently easy to get at on the Toyota if that's a worry.

The Jazz has a nice ride, but gets a bit crashy on rubbish roads.
Its road departure safety system is enabled by default every startup which annoys lots
of owners, doesn't really bother me though.
The heated steering wheel on mine goes from cold to nicely toasty then immediately cools down and repeats the cycle.

Can't really think of anything else that's a pain with it.



The Yaris is apparently even more fuel efficient then the Jazz, and I'm
getting low 60's on average on mainly shortish journeys.

Both cars in Higher trim have all the kit you'd want.


VS02

Original Poster:

2,007 posts

59 months

Friday 1st July 2022
quotequote all
Shouting George said:
I test drove both the Yaris and Jazz before deciding on the Jazz.

The Yaris is certainly a more fun car to drive,it has a small car feel and is happy to
be driven in a more spirited fashion.

It has dual zone climate, which the Jazz doesn't get.

You can spec some nice upgrades on it like a panoramic roof, HUD display and
better stereo, which aren't options on the Honda.

It's not a Jazz, there's no denying the Hondas reputation as an OAP
wagon puts many people off.


The Hondas cabin feels more premium than the Toyota.

Its interior is very roomy, it really feels a bigger car than it is when
inside , the back seat space is bigger and the rear doors open far wider than
the Yaris.

Its rear seats can fold vertically , which I though i'd never use, but are
genuinely handy if you're ever moving stuff around.

The Catalytic converter is not easy to access on the Jazz, but apparently easy to get at on the Toyota if that's a worry.

The Jazz has a nice ride, but gets a bit crashy on rubbish roads.
Its road departure safety system is enabled by default every startup which annoys lots
of owners, doesn't really bother me though.
The heated steering wheel on mine goes from cold to nicely toasty then immediately cools down and repeats the cycle.

Can't really think of anything else that's a pain with it.



The Yaris is apparently even more fuel efficient then the Jazz, and I'm
getting low 60's on average on mainly shortish journeys.

Both cars in Higher trim have all the kit you'd want.
Thank you for your input.
Sounds like both need a test drive.

My mind is swaying to the Yaris though (looks cool) and that’s what my mother’s preference too.

There is a GR SPORT trim level which is a GR Yaris look alike but with the hybrid hehe can’t decide if its cool or pathetic!