Economical car that has a bit of zip and is reliable? 5kish

[dmnc]

Hello,
I'm struggling to find a car that fits the following criteria and would love a bit of help:

Needs:
Manual
35ish+ MPG
Has a bit of zip
4+ seats
Reliable
£5k or below
Prerably petrol, but I could swing for a dirty diesel

I'd prefer something Japanese but I'm open to anything other than a Fiat Panda or a Clio (I've had a bad experience with them!)

Thanks in advance!

Edited by dmnc on Thursday 18th July 10:58

[DrFeelAverage]

R56 Mini Cooper?

Or a second-gen Swift Sport

Edited by DrFeelAverage on Thursday 18th July 10:40

[dmnc]

DrFeelAverage said:

R56 Mini Cooper?

Are they fun to drive?

[DrFeelAverage]

From my limited experience my sisters knackered '07 One is pretty fun to chuck about. Quite basic inside though, look for good spec. SSS I don't know, I've only test driven one and it was fine, felt similar but with a plasticky interior. People on here rave about them though, and I believe they're pretty reliable, Minis can be hit and miss.

[Jcwjosh]

dmnc said:

Are they fun to drive?

The S and JCW are fun but then they fall short on the MPG requirements, i used to get around high twenties low thirties on a mixed run in a JCW.
I have been thinking of the same situation recently, what is the nippiest car around that falls into the £20 per annum road tax bracket.

Edited by Jcwjosh on Thursday 18th July 10:56

[InitialDave]

Depends how spacious you need the rear seats to be. I think the Suzuki Swift is a good suggestion.

If you want petrol and some performance and 4 "full size" seats and 40+mpg, that might become a struggle.

[dmnc]

DrFeelAverage said:

From my limited experience my sisters knackered '07 One is pretty fun to chuck about. Quite basic inside though, look for good spec. SSS I don't know, I've only test driven one and it was fine, felt similar but with a plasticky interior. People on here rave about them though, and I believe they're pretty reliable, Minis can be hit and miss.

Used to a plasticky interior, had a Clio for the past 3 years! Going to have a proper look at both cars you mentioned, thank you

[dmnc]

Jcwjosh said:

The S and JCW are fun but then they fall short on the MPG requirements, i used to get around high twenties low thirties on a mixed run in a JCW.
I have been thinking of the same wuation recently, what is the nippiest car around that falls into the £20 per annum road tax bracket.

It's difficult, isn't it? Feel like I'm asking for a very specific car that doesn't exist!

[DrFeelAverage]

Don't know if this would help: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/suzuki-swift-spor...

Been in a similar situation myself needing to get shot of a diesel, hence why I've been looking at these old reviews and such

[dmnc]

InitialDave said:

Depends how spacious you need the rear seats to be. I think the Suzuki Swift is a good suggestion.

If you want petrol and some performance and 4 "full size" seats and 40+mpg, that might become a struggle.

I think petrol is more of a want than a need, I'll modify the original post Don't need a lot of space for the rear seats, just enough to shut the other half up! Definitely wouldn't be able to justify getitng a 2 seater when we're at the age where we're going to start a family soon, but I'd be able to get away with a small rear

[Jcwjosh]

dmnc said:

It's difficult, isn't it? Feel like I'm asking for a very specific car that doesn't exist!

Yes i know what you mean.

My partner has an older Suzuki swift and apart from being poor on fuel ( it is 15 years old) they are great cars that dont seem to go wrong. Shes due a new one next year and i have started up looking at a few swifts again, i do think they are good value for money in sport flavour but not sure how economic these are.

[dmnc]

DrFeelAverage said:

Don't know if this would help: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/suzuki-swift-spor...

Been in a similar situation myself needing to get shot of a diesel, hence why I've been looking at these old reviews and such

This is perfect, thank you! Bit of light lunch time reading to be done

[horsemeatscandal]

I’ve got a 2017 Swift Sport.

It’s petrol, has decent, useable performance, has taken four + luggage many times and the current readout is 44.5mpg, so let’s say 40. Plenty on AutoTrader for £5k or less.

I really rate it as it suits my needs perfectly. You should test drive one, though you may be underwhelmed by the lack of torque without giving it a proper thrashing.

[ZX10R NIN]

All the cars below tick your boxes & are decent drives (it's hard to find a terrible car these days) & have a decent amount of zip.

Alfa Giullietta Veloce 170

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.6T Focus Titanum 150 a good steer with a decent engine:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

If you stretch you can get a 180 model in Zetec S trim:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

2.0 Mazda3 Sport 150 good cars but you have to work them a bit due to them being N/A

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

2.0T Megane GT 180 five door you can also get these in coupe form

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

If you don't mind three doors then the 1.6T Astra GTC in SRI 180 form is hard to beat:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Leon FR 210

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[dmnc]

horsemeatscandal said:

I’ve got a 2017 Swift Sport.

It’s petrol, has decent, useable performance, has taken four + luggage many times and the current readout is 44.5mpg, so let’s say 40. Plenty on AutoTrader for £5k or less.

I really rate it as it suits my needs perfectly. You should test drive one, though you may be underwhelmed by the lack of torque without giving it a proper thrashing.

I'm currently driving a 1.2 Clio mate, I can't see it being underwhelming definitely got me considering an SSS, seems to tick all the boxes!

[dmnc]

ZX10R NIN said:

All the cars below tick your boxes & are decent drives (it's hard to find a terrible car these days) & have a decent amount of zip.

Really appreciate this post mate, you've got me comparing cars right down to the granular details! Thank you for such an in-depth reply

[ZX10R NIN]

dmnc said:

Really appreciate this post mate, you've got me comparing cars right down to the granular details! Thank you for such an in-depth reply

My pick would be the Alfa 1st Astra second (unless you need five doors then the Focus is second) & the Leon third mainly for the engine as for me the interior isn't as nice as the other two.

[Pablo16v]

It doesn't tick the manual 'box option but my sister-in-law had a Fabia VRS which was great fun, like this one....

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Jag_NE]

320d or an Infiniti Q50

[Mr Tidy]

dmnc said:

DrFeelAverage said:

R56 Mini Cooper?

Are they fun to drive?

Definitely! Mrs Tidy bought hers new in December 2006 and I always loved driving it - especially if she wasn't with me.

She still has it 56,000 miles later, and the OBC is showing an average the right side of 40mpg (just).