'All-rounder' for 10-12k - Page 1 - Car Buying

tylerjackoliver

Original Poster

9 posts

71 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 15th October 2022

Good evening PH,

I'm looking to tap into some of PH's wisdom on which car to swap into.

I will start my first job that requires commuting in December: up to 100 miles round trip at least once a week on the M3/M25, potentially increasing to more often (TBD!). I will also use the car a lot around the city, dashing about the place to run errands/meet friends, etc, so looking for a bit of an all-rounder. At the moment, my annual mileage with no commuting is approx. 8000 mi/year.

I currently drive a 2016 Citroen C1. I got the C1 as my first car 5 years ago -- now 25 -- and have put 46k mixed motorway/city miles on the clock for a total of 52k. I love it for being cheap to run (fuel for 8k/yr, maintenance, insurance for £150/mo!) and incredibly reliable which was perfect for my student budget, but if I'm going to be doing more regular motorway runs it is not the most comfortable car for the job, nor the quietest. I also like my driving/B-roads, and I do take the little 1-litre engine out and give it a bit of a run - it's a surprisingly great fun car to work hard!

I've got the following requirements:

Reliable! Preferably no big unexpected bills.
Relatively OK mpg/low running costs - I currently get 50 on average, ballpark 40+ is OK.
At least a tolerable place to be for longer distances - not expecting a Rolls-Royce, but better than 'do I need earplugs?' with the C1.
Price: 10-12k. A few months delay could see me stretch to 15k for the right car, though.

Some nice-to-haves:

Enough poke to zip past the Jazz/Corsas on the B-roads if I need to - at the moment I need 5 miles, a downhill section and a stiff tailwind. The 40-60mph pull is more important than the 0-60mph pull on that front.
Enough boot space for e.g. two suitcases plus some bags.
Low-ish insurance (<£600), low-ish tax. Currently £250 and £0.
CarPlay/modern-ish.
Preferably, not a barge (I would say the V60 is too big but a Passat is OK, for example.)

I've had a look at many of the other posts so far and have got the following cars on a shortlist:

Volvo V40. Petrol due to the number of city trips (?).
Mazda 3, with the dealer upgrade for CarPlay/Android Auto.
Octavia saloon, preferably VRS trim for the poke.

Are there any other cars I should be considering, or anything I should be taking into account?

Thanks in advance.

heisthegaffer

4,212 posts

226 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 15th October 2022

We have a V40 T3 so a 1.6 turbo petrol. Brilliant on motorways, really quiet, economical, great stereo and air con.

Ours is a 2014 model bought at 20k and 4 years old. Been faultless, now.om 60k miles.

Bendo

149 posts

70 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

The V60 isn't a big car. It's actually smaller than the Passat.

ChattingWham

157 posts

112 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

I think the V40 and Mazda 3 are both really good shouts.

I’d maybe throw in a Peugeot 308 or a wildcard DS 4 Crossback as well but to be honest in your shoes I’d probably go Volvo.

nickfrog

25,160 posts

245 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

2018/19 Suzuki Swift Sport.

You're welcome laugh

tylerjackoliver

Original Poster

9 posts

71 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

heisthegaffer said:

We have a V40 T3 so a 1.6 turbo petrol. Brilliant on motorways, really quiet, economical, great stereo and air con.

Ours is a 2014 model bought at 20k and 4 years old. Been faultless, now.om 60k miles.

Thanks! Anything to consider/know about in your experience?

tylerjackoliver

Original Poster

9 posts

71 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

ChattingWham said:

I think the V40 and Mazda 3 are both really good shouts.

I’d maybe throw in a Peugeot 308 or a wildcard DS 4 Crossback as well but to be honest in your shoes I’d probably go Volvo.

Thanks! Can I ask why the V40 over the Mazda 3 in your opinion?

loskie

7,029 posts

148 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

Are you paying £150 month insurance on your C1?

If so the insurance costs are maybe your starting point.

Clios and Polos are decent sized cars now. I'm sure the Mk1 Golf I had as my first car is much smaller than both of them are now by a considerable margin. You'd get a decent Clio for that money or Yaris which is a step up in size to your C1

Jamescrs

6,273 posts

93 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

Would suggest a Golf of some variation or as you suggest yourself an Octavia, Seat Leon could also be considered as part of the same group.

Whataguy

1,130 posts

108 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

I was considering an Octavia vrs myself, but ended up with a Golf - most parts are the same but the Octavia was a bit bigger than I needed so I went with the Golf.

I've also owned a V40 D4 auto previously, I much prefer the Golf. The 1.4/150hp engines in the golf have much more torque than the V40 T3 loan car I had when mine was being serviced.

Also the tech on the V40's is pretty ancient, no touchscreen and you are using a wheel to go up and down menus. Also no carplay/android auto. On an Octavia/Golf you may have these already, if not they can often be activated through software or a replacement infotainment unit is a very easy swap if not.

I also ended up not being able to get into my V40, as the door locks often fail. £400-£500 for a new one from a dealer and all 4 can fail at any time. On mine it was the drivers door lock that failed.

Silvanus

6,910 posts

51 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

How about the Alfa Romeo Guilietta 1.4TB Speciale, bit more interesting than some other similar priced family hatchbacks. Its a nice blend of style/looks, nice interior, fairly nippy and rides/handles pretty well, certainly as good as the competition. The V40, Mazda3 and Leon are good shouts too, or the the smaller MiTo. A left field choice worth looking at would be Mini Paceman Cooper.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022092601...

heisthegaffer

4,212 posts

226 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

tylerjackoliver said:

Thanks! Anything to consider/know about in your experience?

The only thing I'd say is I had a courtesy car which was a later V40 T3 with the more modern 2.0 turbo which was loads quicker than mine, to the point I briefly toyed with part exchanging for a newer one. So I'd got for a later one if you can!

tylerjackoliver

Original Poster

9 posts

71 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

loskie said:

Are you paying £150 month insurance on your C1?

If so the insurance costs are maybe your starting point.

Clios and Polos are decent sized cars now. I'm sure the Mk1 Golf I had as my first car is much smaller than both of them are now by a considerable margin. You'd get a decent Clio for that money or Yaris which is a step up in size to your C1

It’s £150/mo all-in including maintenance, fuel, tyres and insurance. The insurance is £250/year. I did the IAM a few years ago so insurance is generally more reasonable.

I’ll take a look at the Yaris/Clio, thanks! Toyed with the idea of staying small so will take a look.

ZX10R NIN

30,422 posts

153 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

tylerjackoliver said:

Good evening PH,

I'm looking to tap into some of PH's wisdom on which car to swap into.

I will start my first job that requires commuting in December: up to 100 miles round trip at least once a week on the M3/M25, potentially increasing to more often (TBD!). I will also use the car a lot around the city, dashing about the place to run errands/meet friends, etc, so looking for a bit of an all-rounder. At the moment, my annual mileage with no commuting is approx. 8000 mi/year.

I currently drive a 2016 Citroen C1. I got the C1 as my first car 5 years ago -- now 25 -- and have put 46k mixed motorway/city miles on the clock for a total of 52k. I love it for being cheap to run (fuel for 8k/yr, maintenance, insurance for £150/mo!) and incredibly reliable which was perfect for my student budget, but if I'm going to be doing more regular motorway runs it is not the most comfortable car for the job, nor the quietest. I also like my driving/B-roads, and I do take the little 1-litre engine out and give it a bit of a run - it's a surprisingly great fun car to work hard!

I've got the following requirements:

Reliable! Preferably no big unexpected bills.
Relatively OK mpg/low running costs - I currently get 50 on average, ballpark 40+ is OK.
At least a tolerable place to be for longer distances - not expecting a Rolls-Royce, but better than 'do I need earplugs?' with the C1.
Price: 10-12k. A few months delay could see me stretch to 15k for the right car, though.

Some nice-to-haves:

Enough poke to zip past the Jazz/Corsas on the B-roads if I need to - at the moment I need 5 miles, a downhill section and a stiff tailwind. The 40-60mph pull is more important than the 0-60mph pull on that front.
Enough boot space for e.g. two suitcases plus some bags.
Low-ish insurance (<£600), low-ish tax. Currently £250 and £0.
CarPlay/modern-ish.
Preferably, not a barge (I would say the V60 is too big but a Passat is OK, for example.)

I've had a look at many of the other posts so far and have got the following cars on a shortlist:

Volvo V40. Petrol due to the number of city trips (?).
Mazda 3, with the dealer upgrade for CarPlay/Android Auto.
Octavia saloon, preferably VRS trim for the poke.

Are there any other cars I should be considering, or anything I should be taking into account?

Thanks in advance.

tylerjackoliver

Original Poster

9 posts

71 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

Thank you as always, ZX! Very exhaustive list including many that hadn't crossed my mind, especially the Kias. I wouldn't rule out something Insignia/Infiniti-sized but not a requirement. The Infinitis seem like a lot of value for the money, and the Alfa is tempting as well. Thanks for the heads-up about CarPlay. Clearly, I've got some thinking to do!

ZX10R NIN

30,422 posts

153 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

tylerjackoliver said:

Thank you as always, ZX! Very exhaustive list including many that hadn't crossed my mind, especially the Kias. I wouldn't rule out something Insignia/Infiniti-sized but not a requirement. The Infinitis seem like a lot of value for the money, and the Alfa is tempting as well. Thanks for the heads-up about CarPlay. Clearly, I've got some thinking to do!

The Hyundai/Kia's are good options but the Alfa is just as good a car (& imo look better) but you do have to make sure you use the correct engine oil.

The Q30 is an A Class in everything but the sheet metal.

The 308 is another good one but the dash layout is marmite but try one as you may like it.

Forgot to say you can get the Astra in Elite Nav 200 spec that also has Android Auto/Car Play:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209219...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209300...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209029...

C G

839 posts

218 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

Silvanus said:

How about the Alfa Romeo Guilietta 1.4TB Speciale, bit more interesting than some other similar priced family hatchbacks. Its a nice blend of style/looks, nice interior, fairly nippy and rides/handles pretty well, certainly as good as the competition. The V40, Mazda3 and Leon are good shouts too, or the the smaller MiTo. A left field choice worth looking at would be Mini Paceman Cooper.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022092601...

The downside of the Giulietta in manual form is that there's nowhere to put your left foot when you're not changing gear. Might be a pain on the longer commutes.

georgeyboy12345

4,564 posts

63 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 16th October 2022

Here are my top 3 picks for you

Peugeot 208 GTi
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208249...

Seat Leon 1.8 TSI FR
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207067...

Vauxhall Astra 1.6 T 200 Elite Nav
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209300...