Views appreciated.... is there anything else out there that ticks all these boxes?

- Low road tax - £30pa

- Stupidly high MPG

- Fun to drive

- Good dealer network (i.e. on the doorstep) and service deal (i.e. TLC)

- Cheap to insure

- A bit of space for the odd occasion you need to carry a some kit around e.g the dog, fire wood or Fell walking gear

- Holds its value

Looking at 12 month old one with 9k mikes on the clock, £14kish with a Salt/Pepper/Chilli/Curry whatever is the best pack (they confuse me ).

We had one in at work other week, think they look funny with one door on passenger side and two on drivers side,

14k should easily get you a sporty Seat/Skoda diesel. How about a Lexus IS220d? A 320d (i'd say a 120d as well, but its pretty small for carrying dogs)? A sporty focus diesel? Mitsu Lancer diesel?

At that price theres loads of choice. I'd see whats local on autotrader that hits the spot, then go have a look round.

Views appreciated.... is there anything else out there that ticks all these boxes?

- Low road tax - £30pa

- Stupidly high MPG

- Fun to drive

- Good dealer network (i.e. on the doorstep) and service deal (i.e. TLC)

- Cheap to insure

- A bit of space for the odd occasion you need to carry a some kit around e.g the dog, fire wood or Fell walking gear

- Holds its value

Looking at 12 month old one with 9k mikes on the clock, £14kish with a Salt/Pepper/Chilli/Curry whatever is the best pack (they confuse me ).

A fantastic car, imho and the only slight downside is that since late 2010, the Cooper D now gets the BMW diesel engine which is light-years ahead of the PSA unit in terms of power delivery and refinement, as well as having CO2 emissions of a mere 99g/km (ie free RFL)!

I'd not look at one without the Chili pack

Chris

Fabia vRS Estate for similar money. More power, more room, similar economy if driven gently. Oh, and did I mention its a Skoda

Views appreciated.... is there anything else out there that ticks all these boxes?

- Low road tax - £30pa

- Stupidly high MPG

- Fun to drive

- Good dealer network (i.e. on the doorstep) and service deal (i.e. TLC)

- Cheap to insure

- A bit of space for the odd occasion you need to carry a some kit around e.g the dog, fire wood or Fell walking gear

- Holds its value

Looking at 12 month old one with 9k mikes on the clock, £14kish with a Salt/Pepper/Chilli/Curry whatever is the best pack (they confuse me ).

You are kidding! I wouldn't let any of my rear passengers get out into the middle of the road..

If you have people in the back do they all climb across then? Bet that gets a bit tedious :wonder:

Matt

Views appreciated.... is there anything else out there that ticks all these boxes?

- Low road tax - £30pa

- Stupidly high MPG

- Fun to drive

- Good dealer network (i.e. on the doorstep) and service deal (i.e. TLC)

- Cheap to insure

- A bit of space for the odd occasion you need to carry a some kit around e.g the dog, fire wood or Fell walking gear

- Holds its value

Looking at 12 month old one with 9k mikes on the clock, £14kish with a Salt/Pepper/Chilli/Curry whatever is the best pack (they confuse me ).

Hi there. I had a MINI Cooper intil March this year - Fabia 1.2tsi DSG now. I wanted the low depreciation and tlc servicing plus fun to drive too. After 2 years I did enjoy it but the ride is hard to the point of waring after a while and the gearshift is 'snickety' at first and again waring after a while - as is the heavy clutch. The Clubman looks trendy but there is no more space in it than a standard Fabia - let alone an estate or Roomster. There are a lot of issues with quality on MINI owners' sites so I think Skoda quality and reliability are better and Skoda is the no. 1 manufacturer - JD Power. MINI depreciation looks good but they never give you what they put on the cars at MINI dealers. And don't forget that most MINIs have lots of extras - you get very little for those at trade in. Pepper is essential on MINIs (to get rid it the plastic wheel and for the silver bits) but they don't feel special without a CHILI pack (auto aircon and sports seats). Be careful though - cruise/multifunction wheel etc are still optinal on the Pepper. MINIs don't look good without at least 16' wheels but 17's ruin the ride and mine was hard on standard 15' alloys!

I think the VW TDIs are excellent. The Fabia offers a lot for the money and you will save the depreciation by buying 1yr old and it is always a percentage of the amount you spend so if you spend less you will save anyway! The Roomster Scout offers loads (and actually looks good as a Scout) but there are a few Yetis at near your budget - gets awesome reviews and lots if kit even in basic spec. There are lots of great deals even on the Skoda wedsite from 6 months to 9 months old cars. If you want space and a great drive, an Octavia VRS is in a different league. You will need to go 2yo for that though. A non-VRS 2.0 Estate could be attractive but if it looks too plain for you why not look at the Ibiza ST (very stylish) or a Polo or Golf TDI? Here are a few Skodas off the website:

Fabia Estate scout

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=601412058#

Fabia 105ps Estate Elegance

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=601423981

yeti 2.0 TDI

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=601394847

roomster scout 1.6 TDI

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=601407968

1.6 TDI Octavia Elegance Estate

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=601227226

Octavia Estate Greenline

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=601394241

Octavia 2.0 TDI Elegance Estate

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=601320331#

or

2yo Octavia VRS dsg Estate

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=601331221#

Good luck!

Andy,

Views appreciated.... is there anything else out there that ticks all these boxes?

- Low road tax - £30pa

- Stupidly high MPG

- Fun to drive

- Good dealer network (i.e. on the doorstep) and service deal (i.e. TLC)

- Cheap to insure

- A bit of space for the odd occasion you need to carry a some kit around e.g the dog, fire wood or Fell walking gear

- Holds its value

Looking at 12 month old one with 9k mikes on the clock, £14kish with a Salt/Pepper/Chilli/Curry whatever is the best pack (they confuse me ).

Fiat Panda? (with money left over in bank account), but you haven't mentioned anything about performance.??

Views appreciated.... is there anything else out there that ticks all these boxes?

- Low road tax - £30pa

- Stupidly high MPG

- Fun to drive

- Good dealer network (i.e. on the doorstep) and service deal (i.e. TLC)

- Cheap to insure

- A bit of space for the odd occasion you need to carry a some kit around e.g the dog, fire wood or Fell walking gear

- Holds its value

Looking at 12 month old one with 9k mikes on the clock, £14kish with a Salt/Pepper/Chilli/Curry whatever is the best pack (they confuse me ).

A Mini Cooper S appeals to me for similar reasons. Problem is price but if you can get round that and you're happy with the price you've found.

Clubman does seem really odd in design though :wonder:

Fiat Panda? (with money left over in bank account), but you haven't mentioned anything about performance.??

Panda 100hp is a nice wee car but parts are a nightmare apparently, even simple things like brake pads.

Panda 100hp is a nice wee car but parts are a nightmare apparently, even simple things like brake pads.

I didn't have any trouble sourcing brake pads - in fact they were cheap as chips

Imho a MINI is in a different league to the Panda as you'd expect considering the higher price...

Chris