Sorry, a what old mother car question

[Some Gump]

Hi forum,

The mother in law has decided she's getting a new car tomorrow. As the car person in the family, she wants me to tell her which one to buy.

Criteria:
Auto (bad hip)
Economical (will do 25k pa).
Little enough so she scrapes things less.
Capable of getting horse things in the boot (saddle etc).
Oh, and she's tiny - seat must go high and far forwards.
budget max 7k

Current car is a ford fusion 1.6, so 0-60 is 12.4 ish. I've seen hypermiling 1l toyota vvti's, but at 15s 0-60, that must be self hurtingly slow. Suzuki's 1.5 autos seem like a good bet, and being jap i'd hope for reliability. Yaris an obvious choice, can anyone suggest others to get her into?

[matthias73]

honda jazz

[Carfiend]

My mother picked uk a TDI Fiat 500 last year and has all the same ailments you describe and she loves it.

[Shaw Tarse]

matthias73 said:

honda jazz

[PaulHogan]

Some Gump said:

Yaris an obvious choice, can anyone suggest others to get her into?

No point. Get the Yaris

[Beeby]

I have a Jazz and I think it fits all of the criteria. It will do over 50mpg on a run. It certainly is no speed machine but it's reliable, very well built and extremely practical. With the rear seats down the storage space is incredible.

[Some Gump]

Thanks everyone. I have despatched her to the local car supermarket to see various biddy chariots, meanwhile the missus' cousin has her old Fusion running again, so we have a whole week to get her into something shiny (that she will quickly trash with horse gear!)

[DanB7290]

Honda Jazz seems to be the definitive older person's car. Which is a shame as it ticks all the boxes for what I need right now in a car (except for a screaming V8, but there'll be some nutter out there who can remedy that).

[AlexKing]

Carfiend said:

My mother picked uk a TDI Fiat 500 last year and has all the same ailments you describe and she loves it.

This if she's a trendy mum, otherwise the rest are right about the Jazz.

ETA: Anything will be better than the Fusion, so she can't really lose...

[wolf1]

Not sure about the boot size but how about the Peugeot 1007? Big sliding doors so easy to get into etc.

[MeerGruen]

1.4 Diesel Fiesta?

Small enough, reliable and cheap to run

[matthias73]

Top gear did a test on this, which car won? I remember the 1007 being freatured but simply cannot rememeber.

[Mr. Potato Head]

Some Gump said:

I've seen hypermiling 1l toyota vvti's, but at 15s 0-60, that must be self hurtingly slow.

My mums got an Aygo. It pulls off a remarkably good modern day impression of a classic Mini. The three pot is quite revvy really.

Edited by Mr. Potato Head on Sunday 8th January 10:33

[Allblackdup]

matthias73 said:

Top gear did a test on this, which car won? I remember the 1007 being freatured but simply cannot rememeber.

Pretty sure that was the Honda Jazz IIRC

[Save Ferris]

Mr. Potato Head said:

Some Gump said:

I've seen hypermiling 1l toyota vvti's, but at 15s 0-60, that must be self hurtingly slow.

My mums got an Aygo. It pulls off a remarkably good modern day impression of a classic Mini. The three pot is quite revvy really.

Edited by Mr. Potato Head on Sunday 8th January 10:33

Toyota only offer the Yaris Auto in a 1.3 (or 1.33 from 2009-) This is the Multi-mode transmission, which can take a bit of getting used to.

[CatScan]

Fabia Estate. Or Nissan Juke, although the boot's not huge and it looks... unique.

[Aero7]

The new Kia Picanto is a tantalising alternative... reviews are almost entirely positive, and it's nothing like the older Korean cars. Unfortunately, it depreciates really fast, so it's a one way investment.

[SSC!]

Christ you are so lucky, my mum turned 75 yesterday and she wants a bloody lexus as her next car........

The daft bint does not even drive anymore as we will not let her. IF she does got for another car myself and my dad (as we will be doing th driving) are trying to point her in a Ford S-Max direction, she sometimes uses a wheelchair and has difficulty getting into her the Pug 307 so the higher seating would be better as is the boot for lifting a chair in.

[Dalto123]

Smart car? You can the latest look model in a good spec with low mileage at that price. Surprisingly roomy too.

[Ydnaroo]

If you do go for a Jazz, make sure you don't get one of the later I-Shift autos (later shape up to Jan 11), go for the older CVT. I know it's unlikely you'd get one of the newer ones for £7k but she might just see something she likes and decide to stretch it a bit.

Edited by Ydnaroo on Sunday 8th January 11:55