Recommend me a small (ish) car!

[Paul the 6th]

www.carsurvey.org

micras are crap!! driven 2, both were useless, just no power.

[yorkie_chris]

Cheap though

1.7 Turbo Diesel Corsa. 50+ MPG. Good torquey engine.

[Paul the 6th]

aye, micras are shiiite. Missus has a 1 litre 3 cylinder thing. It really is ridiculous and they are SO cheap inside. Horrible to drive. The brakes are mental though.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by madness

1.7 Turbo Diesel Corsa. 50+ MPG. Good torquey engine.

Liz's mum has the latest shape corsa with that motor in it, its a fricken rocket ship.

merc a class diesel - my 2002 plate is still getting 60mpg pottering around town and was under £4k - and minted!
insurance cheaper than my 10year old polo and so is tax

GO FOR A TOYOTA MAN!!!!!!

Vauxhalls are unreliable and depreciate like a timeshare in Baghdad

Fords can be hit and miss in terms of build quality (especially engines and suspension on fiestas)

French cars leak water, bits fall off them and they will be worth 50p when you go to sell it

Nissans are just Ren-faults in disguise!









Seriously though you could get a cheap toyota Yaris or corolla, run it for a couple of years and sell it to an old lady for what you paid for it ( i do for a living). It shouldnt break no matter how much you thrash its nuts off and if it does they are simple and quite cheap to repair with some basic mechanical knowledge.

Try to go as new as possible, the insurance will be cheaper and you should be looking for abs as standard (not all cars had it until quite recently)

If not Hondas are nice but the insurance is a bit steep if your only 18.

Ps. Not everyone thinks they are an old fogies car but its nice to park it somewhere dodgey safe in the knowledge it will still be there when you get back.

[embee]

If you're bothered about reliability (as in things going wrong, not necessarily breaking down) then go here and click on JD Power League Table 2007: Models

It will give some relative idea of how models fare, and it's clear which manufacturers make the most satisfying cars to own. remember this is a survey from a statistically significant number of owners, not the usual carp reviews you get from the comics.

If you're not bothered about reliability, get whatever you fancy. Ultimately it all depends what your priorities are. Personally I want reliability and low costs to run. I have a 1.0L Yaris.

Focus 1.6 petrol or a 1.8 diesel. the 1.8 TDDI is group 5 insurance and whilst it's not lightning it still embarrasses many boy racers.