What "cool" sub-£10k 5dr supermini?

[white_goodman]

My wife has a Fiat 500, which we would like to replace with something equally stylish and supermini-sized but with 5 doors, as we now have a 4 month old daughter. We have up to £10k to spend (so probably wouldn't be looking at new) and would like something equally as safe and ideally of similar age or newer (the Fiat is a 59-plate). The trouble is, all the "cool" small cars I can think of such as the MINI, Citroen DS3, Alfa MiTo, VW Beetle are 3 door only. Look at the 5 door alternatives from the same manufacturers: MINI Clubman/Countryman, Citroen C3, Fiat Panda/Punto, VW Polo - all worthy I'm sure but dull.

The only "cool" supermini-sized cars that I can think of are the Audi A1 Sportback and VW Polo GTi (too expensive) and the Fiat Panda 100HP, which I would be happy with for myself but it has quite a low NCAP rating for my wife and daughter. Any ideas on something small and stylish but with 5 doors for the wife?

[thinfourth2]

Audi A2

[okie592]

dare i say the kia soul or Citroen c3 i think there pretty funky

[white_goodman]

I forgot about the A2 but they are quite old now. Not convinced by the Kia Soul and Citroen C3 I'm afraid. The new Rio is quite an attractive looking little car but not really that cool.

[Gingerbread Man]

thinfourth2 said:

Audi A2

Cool and stylish? Get out!

It's a toaster on wheels. Ugly ugly car.

[anonymous-user]

Does it have to be a GTI Polo? Would a cheaper one not do as looks and badge seem to be the main drivers of this decision.

[MX7]

The thread title is an oxymoron.

[Matt UK]

New Clio will be 5-door only

[Glosphil]

Matt UK said:

New Clio will be 5-door only

And more than the £10K budget of the OP. Plenty used late models of the current model 5-door Clio available for under £10K - but not 'cool' enough?

[Kaizer]

I would much prefer the Seat Ibiza over the Audi A1 and VW Polo. same car underneath.

Also I think the Suzuki Swift is an excellent alternative.

[Matt UK]

Glosphil said:

Matt UK said:

New Clio will be 5-door only

And more than the £10K budget of the OP. Plenty used late models of the current model 5-door Clio available for under £10K - but not 'cool' enough?

Really? You can't buy a new Clio for under £10k now? Sheez

[tbc]

Gingerbread Man said:

thinfourth2 said:

Audi A2

Cool and stylish? Get out!

It's a toaster on wheels. Ugly ugly car.

I have an A2 and they are anything but ugly.

Well designed by the guy who went on to design the Lambo Gallardo

Aluminium body so they never rust

50mpg

I love the stepping straight off the pavement position

top build quality

gets admiring looks everywhere

a rare sight on the road, and when you do pass one the other drivers either wave or flash to awknowledge your superior taste

a future classic and in 2.5 yrs I have not had one problem

[93Jay]

The Alfa Gullietta is certainly cool looking

[anonymous-user]

tbc said:

a future classic

Steady on now! I like them too but it's not a classic just because it's rare!

It seems odd that they didn't sell, maybe Audi wasn't so popular as a brand 10 years ago. They could sell a boat load of those nowadays I think.

[Glosphil]

Matt UK said:

Glosphil said:

Matt UK said:

New Clio will be 5-door only

And more than the £10K budget of the OP. Plenty used late models of the current model 5-door Clio available for under £10K - but not 'cool' enough?

Really? You can't buy a new Clio for under £10k now? Sheez

Of course you can buy a new Clio for less than £10K after discount, but it will be a low spec version.

[tbc]

RenOHH said:

tbc said:

a future classic

Steady on now! I like them too but it's not a classic just because it's rare!

It seems odd that they didn't sell, maybe Audi wasn't so popular as a brand 10 years ago. They could sell a boat load of those nowadays I think.

I know a guy used to work for Audi went they were starting to sell them in around 2002, he claimed the A-Class Merc took away a lot of sale with people wanting 5 seats

the A2 only has 4 seats. But 10 years on which has held it;s value and age relatively well

The A2 was Aluminium chassis and body which cost Audi £10k to have made in Austria

The list price for my car when new 1.4 SE was just shy of £15k, and mine has a bucket load of options such as BOSE system ( £450), Cruise Control (£300) etc which took it up to nearly £18k

If you look at what else was around then, you could get a VW Golf for £12k and an A3 was £15k

Audi made bugger all on the car and only made small profit if people took options

Edited by tbc on Monday 12th November 00:46

[davepoth]

Skoda Fabia.



Very handsome IMO, and the contrast roof colours look good.

[Antj]

Stretch a grand or so and get a new shape Fabian Vrs or a used clubman cooper s also around 10 k now

[james280779]

I really like the little Suzuki Swift, great fun to drive- not the most stylish granted but its a cool little thing - the only modern supermini I have driven that reminds me of the 'original mini'. they are cheap too, they come in 5 door and like the fiat 500 have lots of 'personal' options.
I bought a new Fiesta LX and while the Fiesta is better equipped- this is considerably more fun to drive.

Edited by james280779 on Monday 12th November 02:49

Edited by james280779 on Monday 12th November 02:55

[FFSport]

5DR R32 Golf