Winter Hack - Shed-esque budget, front + rear parking sensor

[Tobeman]

Any suggestions for any vehicle with an ounce of winter-driving ability that ideally has manufacturer parking sensors (preferably rear, front too if possible - girlfriend won't drive anything bigger than a supermini without them!) for shed or near-to-shed money? I guess £1-£2k, should come with MOT and a bit of tax.

Needs some space to do the odd supermarket trip and carry more than two people - MX-5 is out of the question.

Suggestions of bargain basement hatchbacks / RWD saloon with a budget for some steel wheels and winter tyres that might cope are welcome too!

[SystemParanoia]

http://www.theaa.com/driving-school/driving-lesson...

[Tobeman]

SystemParanoia said:

http://www.theaa.com/driving-school/driving-lesson...

I know, parking sensors aren't really a necessity as I'll be primary user by a country mile, but a nice to have if it means I get a thumbs up from her.

[Efbe]

You would be far better just getting the best car you can for this money, and fitting sensors yourself:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m57...

they are cheap, and very easy to fit.

[Tobeman]

Fair point. I've seen some dodgy aftermarket kits around but that was a long time ago. I'm guessing quality has improved leaps and bounds over the years.

Shed + steel wheels, winter tyres + aftermarket parking sensors would mean best of all worlds.

[SystemParanoia]

Treat her to a C+E entitlement



she'll never worry about size again after that lol

[Tobeman]

SystemParanoia said:

Treat her to a C+E entitlement



she'll never worry about size again after that lol

She is sort of between jobs right now, might not be a bad idea after-all... "time for a new career path dear!"

[Efbe]

so back to the question, for this amount of money, don't look for anything specific, just ebay or autotrader search for that price-range and see what there is.

I could tell you jeep cherokee, impreza legacy skods o anything else, but all that matters in this price range is condition

[soda]

Forester, mine only has a rear parking sensor (towbar) though.

[excel monkey]

For a similar set of requirements, I bought a high mileage 2004 Honda CRV for £2400. Only had it a week and I'm very pleased with it so far. The CRV doesn't have much cred as an offroader, and power only goes to the rear wheels if the fronts slip, but I took it out in today's snow (about 2 inches) and it coped well, much better than my 3 series (although that's not hard).

No parking sensors on mine, but you can get them on the higher spec models, and go a couple of years older to suit your budget.