What £4k 5 door hatch? Advice please.
Discussion
My wife is now weeks away from giving birth and I need to find her a sensible 5 door hatch with decent boot space to replace her Fiat 500 1.2 which she loves and has owned from new. We don't own the Fiat outright and I accept that on a limited budget of £4k we're going to be looking at something at least 5 years old. Space, safety, reliability and cheap running costs are our main priorities but it would be nice to have something that is good to drive as well. She would like a bit more power than she has at the moment and air conditioning and although I don't dislike diesel, having read horror stories about expensive repair bills on older diesels, I would be more inclined to go for a 1.6 petrol or similar. Most 5 door superminis don't really appeal but this is what I have considered so far. If I can get something that does the job for less than £4k without compromising on safety and space then all the better. We have also applied to emigrate to Canada and not sure how quickly it will come through so want something that will be asy to sell on and not lose too much money! Any thoughts or better options that I haven't considered?
Fiat Panda 100HP - relatively new for the money, well-equipped, fun to drive (similar to the 500 but with more power I would imagine which she would like) but only 3 star NCAP compared to 5 star for 500, bouncy ride apparently and not sure if the boot is much bigger than the 500 (maybe a more practical shape though).
Skoda Fabia vRS (diesel) - always liked these but the plastics are noticeably low rent compared to VW and potentially expensive problems at this age.
VW Golf 1.6 Match (mk4) - I like Golfs but not as reliable as their reputation would suggest by all accounts (a 1.8 turbo GTi may also fall into budget).
Renault Megane 1.6 - I like the look of the old Megane but Renault have a poor reputation for reliability and I haven't really read a good review on them!
Kia Ce'ed 1.6 - Good value new but not so much around for £4k and I wouldn't want to pay more for a Kia.
Peugeot 306 HDi - I really like these but getting too old and decrepid now.
Alfa Romeo 147 - Lovely looking cars but I would be too tempted to go for a 2.0 Lusso which wouldn't be very economical!
I know a mk1 Ford Focus should be on my list. I still like the looks and they drive really well but I don't like the plasticky interior or the ubiquity!
Any experiences/thoughts on my options or alternatives would be welcome. My wife doesn't like driving large cars so we wouldn't want anything bigger than a Golf.
Fiat Panda 100HP - relatively new for the money, well-equipped, fun to drive (similar to the 500 but with more power I would imagine which she would like) but only 3 star NCAP compared to 5 star for 500, bouncy ride apparently and not sure if the boot is much bigger than the 500 (maybe a more practical shape though).
Skoda Fabia vRS (diesel) - always liked these but the plastics are noticeably low rent compared to VW and potentially expensive problems at this age.
VW Golf 1.6 Match (mk4) - I like Golfs but not as reliable as their reputation would suggest by all accounts (a 1.8 turbo GTi may also fall into budget).
Renault Megane 1.6 - I like the look of the old Megane but Renault have a poor reputation for reliability and I haven't really read a good review on them!
Kia Ce'ed 1.6 - Good value new but not so much around for £4k and I wouldn't want to pay more for a Kia.
Peugeot 306 HDi - I really like these but getting too old and decrepid now.
Alfa Romeo 147 - Lovely looking cars but I would be too tempted to go for a 2.0 Lusso which wouldn't be very economical!
I know a mk1 Ford Focus should be on my list. I still like the looks and they drive really well but I don't like the plasticky interior or the ubiquity!
Any experiences/thoughts on my options or alternatives would be welcome. My wife doesn't like driving large cars so we wouldn't want anything bigger than a Golf.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I really like the ST170 and they are really cheap but 30mpg is a bit too rich for me and high road tax as well. A Toyota is a good shout but an Avensis would be too big. This would only be a 2nd car for us (I've decided to keep my WRX Estate despite the high running costs as it's still running well, I still like driving it and it's just about big enough as a main family car for extended trips). The 2nd car would need to be smaller, cheaper to run (as we will be down to one income) and suitable for day trips and the associated paraphernalia!
lawrence567 said:
OP i've recently been looking at hatches in this price range with 5 doors...
Look at a Civic Type S - 05 low miles or a Mazda 3, again low miles 05 vintage, both should be readily available from dealers at those prices!
Thanks, hadn't considered either of those but yes, they should fit the criteria and be fairly reliable as well.Look at a Civic Type S - 05 low miles or a Mazda 3, again low miles 05 vintage, both should be readily available from dealers at those prices!
NadiR said:
That's a lot of car for the money. Very tempting! Are Seats reliable? What's the ride like on the sporty models?white_goodman said:
NadiR said:
That's a lot of car for the money. Very tempting! Are Seats reliable? What's the ride like on the sporty models?I hate buying cars.
EDLT said:
The engines use a little oil, not a massive amount but people just don't check it. I wasted so much time going to look at cars that rattled on start-up because they'd been driven around with no oil that I just gave up.
I hate buying cars.
Yep, there's a lot of overpriced rubbish out there to sift through. Thanks government for scrapping all those well maintained part ex's.I hate buying cars.
white_goodman said:
Skoda Fabia vRS (diesel) - always liked these but the plastics are noticeably low rent compared to VW and potentially expensive problems at this age.
Is the feel of the plastic really a big issue? Come on. You're spending £4k, not £40k.Potential expensive problems, well maybe, the 1.9tdi is known for being pretty bombproof though. If it's just around town then I'd go for a petrol. If you're doing more miles then the diesel makes sense - did to me anyway.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff