Car for Mother...

[Challo]

Unfortunately my mum wrote of her Honda Jazz last week. Had a low speed bump on a roundabout, but the other car went down the driver side and dented 2 doors and the front wing. Waiting for the accessor but they recommended it will be written off.

As such she has around 3k to play with and I said I would help with a replacement. Previously car was a Honda Jazz she owned from new, loved it, and reliability was 1st class. Now I know the default option is another Jazz, but she asked me what other cars to look at. She has now retired so ideally it’s a car to keep her mobile, see friends and run errands.

Criteria:
Small
Petrol
Preferable 5drs
Mainly town driving, with the occasional motorway trip to see family.
Good visibility
Manual
Reliable

So far thoughts are:
Honda Jazz
Mazda2
Skoda Fabia (mk2)
Hyundai i20
Kia Rio
Suzuki Swift

Ruled out a Toyota Yaris mainly as I think the central speedo would put her off.

Anyone got one of the above and provide some guidance. Hopefully I’m going to take her out on the weekend and get her to suit in some and see if she feels comfortable.

Thanks

[steve-5snwi]

Another Jazz, an i10 or Fiesta would be on my list

[fut1a]

Another Jazz.

My wife is on her second new Jazz. I always say her ideal car would be a greenhouse on wheels. She wants a car that is reliable, practical, good visibility, easy to park and slightly taller (easier to get in and out of), and for a small car they are big inside and the magic seats are really useful. She had her first Jazz mk2 for 5 years from new and it never let her down. I tried to get her into a more sporty premium car but, she wanted none of it, every time she test drove something she would compare it to the Jazz and I had to agree that they were wanting in something or another. She has had her mk3 auto Jazz for two years and it's proving to be as reliable as her last one.

Edited by fut1a on Friday 18th May 09:56

[kieranblenk]

We have a Swift and in 70k it's never put a foot wrong, but consider the Suzuki Splash also. My mother in law has one and does similar driving - she adores it. They do a 1.0 petrol (MILs is) and to be honest it's underpowered, the 1.2 petrol is much perkier. Nice high seating position and knee height gearstick, good visibility, reliable and cheap to run.

[Mammasaid]

2 other options would be the Suzuki SX4/Fiat Sedici or the Vauxhall Meriva, both have slightly higher seating positions and decent visibility.

[HTP99]

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say a Fiesta or Jazz.

[zokovic]

Nissan Qashqai the car that started the craze of mixing a family hatchback with a 4x4, so you sit up high and the car handles just like a normal car – no large lumbering off-roader here. It’s reliable, has lots of safety systems and comes with frugal running costs.

[Challo]

Thanks for the sugestions so far. I really like the Swift and there is one local to us so will take her along and see what she thinks. Although not the biggest fan of the Fiesta there is tons of choice, and no doubt be cheap to run and fix.

The Quasqai although a great car is just to big for what she needs.