Small, nimble, cheap daily driver for big city
Discussion
A recent change in my life has found me moving to a large city for work. So I can really use a city car. But my idea of a city car is something different from a Smart car, super mini or even a hot hatch.
I would like something small, so it's easy to park and find parking. This means 2 seats is not a problem. Good fuel economy. Ultra reliable. As close to trouble free motoring as possible. Cheap to run. Something I don't care to park anywhere and get a dent on. As cheap to buy as possible. But I would also like something fun. So nimble is a plus. The catch is I don't want FWD or a hot hatch. AWD is fine, but will probably go against the cheap to run and good fuel economy. So most likely will need to be RWD. And 3 pedals only please.
In the beginning it will probably have to double as a mile muncher, as I will be doing my 200km round trip journey on weekends. So 400km a weekend.
The first car which came to mind was a MR2 spyder with a hardtop. It seems like it would make a great and fun city runabout.
It would tick most boxes if not all.
Seems like it might not be too bad for the weekend journey either. Not sure?
But then I started thinking of driving it on the wet and in winter and it somehow lost a bit of the shine. Being mid engine, normally means wet and icy or snow conditions is not a good idea. Also being a convertible is not ideal. But maybe the hardtop would be sufficient to mitigate that. The little cargo space doesn't bother me.
The MX5 in the price range would be the ones which rust.
Smart roadster has that horrible gearbox, is not a 3 pedal and I doubt it's trouble free and cheap to run.
What are other models that could do the trick here?
I would like something small, so it's easy to park and find parking. This means 2 seats is not a problem. Good fuel economy. Ultra reliable. As close to trouble free motoring as possible. Cheap to run. Something I don't care to park anywhere and get a dent on. As cheap to buy as possible. But I would also like something fun. So nimble is a plus. The catch is I don't want FWD or a hot hatch. AWD is fine, but will probably go against the cheap to run and good fuel economy. So most likely will need to be RWD. And 3 pedals only please.
In the beginning it will probably have to double as a mile muncher, as I will be doing my 200km round trip journey on weekends. So 400km a weekend.
The first car which came to mind was a MR2 spyder with a hardtop. It seems like it would make a great and fun city runabout.
It would tick most boxes if not all.
Seems like it might not be too bad for the weekend journey either. Not sure?
But then I started thinking of driving it on the wet and in winter and it somehow lost a bit of the shine. Being mid engine, normally means wet and icy or snow conditions is not a good idea. Also being a convertible is not ideal. But maybe the hardtop would be sufficient to mitigate that. The little cargo space doesn't bother me.
The MX5 in the price range would be the ones which rust.
Smart roadster has that horrible gearbox, is not a 3 pedal and I doubt it's trouble free and cheap to run.
What are other models that could do the trick here?
Edited by GTdrive on Thursday 21st May 21:59
MR2 would be fine to run year round.
I used mine through winter and it was parked on the drive so not garaged. Didn’t even bother with a hardtop. Mind you, it was a second car so didn’t get used daily.
In terms of driving I never had problems in bad weather. You just need to be careful. Good tyres help a lot, maybe consider all season or even keeping 2 sets of wheels for summer and winter if you have space to store them.
I used mine through winter and it was parked on the drive so not garaged. Didn’t even bother with a hardtop. Mind you, it was a second car so didn’t get used daily.
In terms of driving I never had problems in bad weather. You just need to be careful. Good tyres help a lot, maybe consider all season or even keeping 2 sets of wheels for summer and winter if you have space to store them.
ChrisH72 said:
MR2 would be fine to run year round.
I used mine through winter and it was parked on the drive so not garaged. Didn’t even bother with a hardtop. Mind you, it was a second car so didn’t get used daily.
In terms of driving I never had problems in bad weather. You just need to be careful. Good tyres help a lot, maybe consider all season or even keeping 2 sets of wheels for summer and winter if you have space to store them.
I would actually run 2 sets of tires on any car I buy. Snow! So summer and winter tires. I used mine through winter and it was parked on the drive so not garaged. Didn’t even bother with a hardtop. Mind you, it was a second car so didn’t get used daily.
In terms of driving I never had problems in bad weather. You just need to be careful. Good tyres help a lot, maybe consider all season or even keeping 2 sets of wheels for summer and winter if you have space to store them.
But it's a daily driver. I just don't want to have to be careful all of the time. This is fine for a second car, weekend car but for a daily. It's routine, stress and so on. I feel like I will end up being bitten soon or later. Don't know.
But was the isolation and heating ok for winter? No fogging in rain either?
P.S. Cappuccino is the wrong car.
Heating was fine and any fogging cleared quickly enough.
Depends where you live I guess?
I’m in the midlands (UK) and the weather is never extreme. I do remember once when it was really cold there was a bit of icing up on the inside but it wasn’t a big problem. If you regularly get bad weather and rely on the car daily then maybe not. But you’re going to get that with any RWD two seater.
Depends where you live I guess?
I’m in the midlands (UK) and the weather is never extreme. I do remember once when it was really cold there was a bit of icing up on the inside but it wasn’t a big problem. If you regularly get bad weather and rely on the car daily then maybe not. But you’re going to get that with any RWD two seater.
InitialDave said:
You were considering a Smart...
I mentioned a Smart Roadster. It is not the Kei car the Cappuccino is. Quite different actually. And way more mainstream and common than the Cappuccino too, which is important for a daily. Besides I never really consider it. It doesn't fit. It's automatic only. I only mentioned it to get it out of the way already.
ChrisH72 said:
Heating was fine and any fogging cleared quickly enough.
Depends where you live I guess?
I’m in the midlands (UK) and the weather is never extreme. I do remember once when it was really cold there was a bit of icing up on the inside but it wasn’t a big problem. If you regularly get bad weather and rely on the car daily then maybe not. But you’re going to get that with any RWD two seater.
Snow in winter is guaranteed. It's cold and dry. Temperatures are about between 1 and -2 average. But can get as low as -15 easily.Depends where you live I guess?
I’m in the midlands (UK) and the weather is never extreme. I do remember once when it was really cold there was a bit of icing up on the inside but it wasn’t a big problem. If you regularly get bad weather and rely on the car daily then maybe not. But you’re going to get that with any RWD two seater.
It doesn't have to be a 2 seater. It is just that 2 seaters are going to probably be the smallest. Parking is difficult enough.
The basic idea is something like a 4 wheels motorcycle with a roof and weather proof with a little more practicality. So I guess a small 2 seater like the MR2 spyder is exactly that. But it doesn't have to be 2 seats.
The no engagement in the thread probably means there are not other models apart from the ones already discussed, I guess?
I at least can't think of others.
A MX5 with hardtop, if found without rust, could do the same. But all things indicate it would not be as trouble free as the MR2. It seems even without rust they are more prone and will happen soon or later. They use salt here. Although it would probably be easier to drive in winter conditions.
I at least can't think of others.
A MX5 with hardtop, if found without rust, could do the same. But all things indicate it would not be as trouble free as the MR2. It seems even without rust they are more prone and will happen soon or later. They use salt here. Although it would probably be easier to drive in winter conditions.
Hmmm yes, I think the ideal car that fits your requirements is a small, cheap, quick hatch. But that's not what you want.
Rwd pushes towards 2 seat roadsters which are less than ideal for daily use in winter months and long drives. Or bigger coupes which are probably too big and costly to buy and run.
How about BMW 1 series coupe? Would that be too large?
They start from a couple of grand here so fairly cheap to buy. It would seem to meet most of your criteria with the only sticking point being trouble free and cheap maintenance.
I can say the MR2 was very reliable, I never had any issues but I only ran it for a year. One with a hard top should work and winter tires would make it okay.
Rwd pushes towards 2 seat roadsters which are less than ideal for daily use in winter months and long drives. Or bigger coupes which are probably too big and costly to buy and run.
How about BMW 1 series coupe? Would that be too large?
They start from a couple of grand here so fairly cheap to buy. It would seem to meet most of your criteria with the only sticking point being trouble free and cheap maintenance.
I can say the MR2 was very reliable, I never had any issues but I only ran it for a year. One with a hard top should work and winter tires would make it okay.
Budget is around the 2K-3K mark. But the cheaper the better.
So MX5s in range is probably only the NB or with some good luck a NA. Both love to rust and are much older than what I could get in a MR2 spyder for similar money.
The 400km trip would be only in the beginning. I want to eventually buy a Lexus IS for that and keep both cars.
I think most hatches might be bigger than ideal. The BMW 1 is definitely bigger than what I want. And yes, it won‘t be as reliable or as cheap to run, which is very important.
Even something as boring as a Citroen C2, which could be small enough costs basically as much as a MR2. Is not even close to as fun and probably also not as reliable or cheap to run.
My winter worries have nothing to do with RWD. I have had RWD cars in winter before. It‘s about the MR2 being midship. It already loves to switch ends in the dry. In winter it will be just one more thing to be careful about. In a daily I fear it will catch me soon or later.
So MX5s in range is probably only the NB or with some good luck a NA. Both love to rust and are much older than what I could get in a MR2 spyder for similar money.
The 400km trip would be only in the beginning. I want to eventually buy a Lexus IS for that and keep both cars.
I think most hatches might be bigger than ideal. The BMW 1 is definitely bigger than what I want. And yes, it won‘t be as reliable or as cheap to run, which is very important.
Even something as boring as a Citroen C2, which could be small enough costs basically as much as a MR2. Is not even close to as fun and probably also not as reliable or cheap to run.
My winter worries have nothing to do with RWD. I have had RWD cars in winter before. It‘s about the MR2 being midship. It already loves to switch ends in the dry. In winter it will be just one more thing to be careful about. In a daily I fear it will catch me soon or later.
My previous car was a mk3 mr2.
I live in Southampton but regularly used the motorway to visit family 70 mile away.
The car was economical, reliable and fun.
The roof was as close to water tight as you can expect for a cloth roof.
My car cost me £1500. I put 30,000 miles on it in 2.5 years taking it to 150,000 miles.
Only once did it oversteer when i wasnt expecting it, coming off a wet roundabout at 40mph in second. I caught it fine (and really should have been expecting it)
I live in Southampton but regularly used the motorway to visit family 70 mile away.
The car was economical, reliable and fun.
The roof was as close to water tight as you can expect for a cloth roof.
My car cost me £1500. I put 30,000 miles on it in 2.5 years taking it to 150,000 miles.
GTdrive said:
It‘s about the MR2 being midship. It already loves to switch ends in the dry. In winter it will be just one more thing to be careful about. In a daily I fear it will catch me soon or later.
I disagree. I kept my tyres up together and had the wheel alignment done by a local specialist. Only once did it oversteer when i wasnt expecting it, coming off a wet roundabout at 40mph in second. I caught it fine (and really should have been expecting it)
Benbay001 said:
GTdrive said:
It‘s about the MR2 being midship. It already loves to switch ends in the dry. In winter it will be just one more thing to be careful about. In a daily I fear it will catch me soon or later.
I disagree. I kept my tyres up together and had the wheel alignment done by a local specialist. Only once did it oversteer when i wasnt expecting it, coming off a wet roundabout at 40mph in second. I caught it fine (and really should have been expecting it)
It really is the MR2 or MX5 but Z4's are also in at this price point the straight 6 is pretty reliable they're also less likely to be rusting.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
If you could live with FWD then the CR-Z is an interesting alternative:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
If you could live with FWD then the CR-Z is an interesting alternative:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
And of course it's not that powerful really. The engine needs revs and there's not exactly much grunt. Don't get me wrong, I always found it plenty swift enough and very entertaining but you do have to provoke it to get the back end out so it's unlikely to catch you unawares.
I did some nice trips to the Welsh coast which is over 100 miles and it was absolutely fine. It was the summer though which helped. Even had the roof down on the motorway.
I did some nice trips to the Welsh coast which is over 100 miles and it was absolutely fine. It was the summer though which helped. Even had the roof down on the motorway.
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