£5k specious Hatch?

[TB404]

Hello,
I'm looking for a car at £5k, requirements:

Automaitic, smallish so can find parkign in London (Golf/polo size), but ideally able to do longer out of town trips, specious because I occaisonally carry lots of gear. Low running costs, ULEZ complient and ideally reliable. Parking sensors are a huge bonus.

I'm largely looking at Mini/Golf but not sure about reliability and Mini in particualr (BMW really) sounds expensive.

Ideas are welcome,
Thank you.

[Normodog]

If you're after spacious I would avoid both mini and bmw

[WonkeyDonkey]

Special or spacious?

[mac96]

Or just a fake?

[TB404]

With relatively lots of space to carry stuff (say with back seats folded etc), I'm unlikly to be driving with more than 2 people ususally.

Thank you

[PrinceRupert]

A misleading hatch?

[TB404]

Thank you for your valuable contributions

[ZX10R NIN]

Are you after the best hatch for your budget or the badge? The Mini won't be spacious & you can get some very good reliable (no better or worse than any of the German brands) for your money.

All have parking sensors

Astra GTC SRI 140

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101147...

Astra Elite 115 these come fully loaded

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011306...

Giulietta Veloce 170

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012307...

C30 T5 220

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101208...

DS3 DStyle nice interior & a nippy little car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101027...

Ibiza FR

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009234...

[TB404]

ZX10R NIN said:

Are you after the best hatch for your budget or the badge? The Mini won't be spacious & you can get some very good reliable (no better or worse than any of the German brands) for your money.

All have parking sensors

Astra GTC SRI 140

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101147...

Astra Elite 115 these come fully loaded

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011306...

Giulietta Veloce 170

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012307...

C30 T5 220

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101208...

DS3 DStyle nice interior & a nippy little car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101027...

Ibiza FR

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009234...

Cheers mate that's super helpful (some suprising cars I didn't consider) - thank you!

[Jamescrs]

For space you can't go wrong with a Mk2 Ford Focus. Very generous boot size.

I think you will find a nice face-lift auto in your budget with a decent spec

[ChrisH72]

Could be worth thinking of any other qualities you're after as there's plenty of choice realty.

I always think small auto superminis are very overpriced so I'd avoid those and go up to golf/focus/Astra size. Depending on how much gear you carry you could even look at coupes with folding rear seats. I had an E92 and with seats down there was loads of space. Something like a Merc CLC might work as it has a hatch for better access.

Of all ZX's options I think the Astra gtc offers a good blend of looks/space/performance/value. Vauxhall should be reliable enough and cheap to fix if it goes wrong.

The mk8 Honda Civic 1.8 can be had with auto and would tick your boxes. Magic rear seats can fold up for useful space and when you fold them down they creat a flat load bay which is huge. Reliable too.

Or if you're not a badge snob the Kia venga/Hyundai ix20 1.6 auto might work. These have a small footprint but because they are tall and boxy they are cavernous inside especially when you fold the seats. We have the Hyundai as our family car and call it the TARDIS. It was cheap to buy and run and has been utterly reliable for the last 4 years and 50k miles. Has parking sensors too.

Edited by ChrisH72 on Sunday 24th January 08:50

[ZX10R NIN]

I agree with everything Chris has said small hatch autos are pricey, the Astra GTC is the pick age/spec/power etc.

The CLC is another (you get Front & Rear sensors with these) great choice but it'll be older so I'd suggest you change the headunit so you then have a more modern infotainment so you get Android Auto Apple Car Play DAB etc:

C180 Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009163...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008283...

[TB404]

Thanks you everyone for the great insightful suggestions, I would like something that looks a little cool, so ideally not the minivans

One maybe obvious questions, buying an old luxuary brand (Mini, Merc) that's about 11 years old would be much more expensive to fix/service than a more down to earth brand like citroen or Alfa etc right? Even with a good indi garage?

[ZX10R NIN]

Something like a CLC will cost the same as a Golf to run so a bit more expensive than an Astra GTC would be at an Indy, the Mini isn't spacious though.