My fiancee may need to get her first car soon.  She's had a licence for many years but doesn't have much driving practice so refuses to share my octy. ( a good thing for me perhaps!?). She wants:

A small car

Easy to park so I think sensors will help

Good looks. She is very much a design/fashion person and looks are very important to her

 

I want her to have:

5 doors for practically (future family)

 

I want but will compromise:

As a vrs owner myself I want her car to have a bit of go, but it doesn't need to be a hot hatch

Longer journeys will be done together in the grown up car, so performance out of town is not a big issue

 

Styling has ruled out the fabia unfortunately.  She wants a mini.  I think they are small and costly... But it's her car.  Before diving in though I want her to see in the flesh, a range of cars to see options.  Not many, 3 or 4, plus the mini.  I think polo, Mazda 2, Hyundai i20, fiesta maybe a1, but open to ideas.  What cars have the rest of you considered?

Maybe look at a Seat Dealership. 

There will be a face lift coming but there are some good value Ibiza now & a choice of Engines.

 

An Audi A1 could be the most Comfortable & there is a Facelifted one out now, 

so maybe good bargains to be had in the Pre Facelift / Cars in Stock.

Cigito? Surprisingly roomy and doesn't feel like a city car to drive.

Good lord! I'd not thought of the ickle roller skate!  I guess I assumed no 5 door...but there is!

 

Clearly I see a Skoda as a plus (then the rest of vag) as I think similarity of controls and lay out to my octy will help if she does need to drive that.... Citigo...Monte Carlo....corrida red....damn! Must remember, this is her car, not mine!  Still a good suggestion, thank you.

I had one before my Fabia and am a bit of a fan. If I hadn't needed an estate, I'd definitely still have it. Sadly, I can't afford to have both.

Cigito? Surprisingly roomy and doesn't feel like a city car to drive.

Oh but it does, had two as courtesy cars and they're definitely City cars to drive

Sh1ty cars to drive really in some peoples opinions.

Which is why so few are selling.

Try to get a bargain on one if you do go down that route, maybe something again at a Seat dealership in the way of a Mii

Ibiza certainly is a younger person's car, daughter has one but I stopped wife getting one as she is not really in the Ibiza age bracket (that went down not very well) - I thought that Monte Carlo's might just be fashionable enough for your GF but maybe not! Ibiza's do tend to come with lots of "nice" toys for the younger person, and quite a few classy metallic colours.

Is 35 in the target bracket? 

 

Tbh she isn't iinterested in toys.... Although I'd like her to have some like Bluetooth linkage to her phone.   It's the shape she sees, and I know I have a battle to get her away from the mini.   Other cars she would like the design of are all 2 or 3 door.... Nissan Figaro, vw beetle, fiat 500 ( not the xl.... That's ugly).   Tbh I reckon the only cars with a chance of getting her to sit in them and think further than its looks are still going to be pretty, the Mazda maybe, or the a1.  I was miffed she ruled out the fab instantly 

The A1, like any Audi will cost a bit to get a competent/useful car as you can't assume that anything will can as standard. My wife fancied one but it just became far too expensive for a car that would end up being the family work horse while my B8 S4 sleeps in the garage, so she went with a Polo 1.2 110PS.

I was meaning useful options when I said "toys" - some things become "addictive", like proper headlights and winter pack, maybe not for your GF in London though!

Edit:- Sorry I'd missed that "35?" - yes, well my daughter will be about 35/36 when she returns to UK and reclaims her Ibiza.

Edited 1 May, 201511 yr by rum4mo

If going looking at Used or Ex Demonstrator Audi A1, remember the Asking Price is often nothing like the 'Offering' or Buying for price.

 

Audi like VW, Skoda or Seat but more so want customers to believe they sell a Premium Product with a bit higher price because 

Residuals are good.

Actually it is there High Asking prices, they want to sell used cars and not everyone wants a Used one when looking for a Premium Small car.

 

If they will not budge on price, someone else will.

A Mini or maybe a ex demo Polo GT/GTI are our contenders if the wife decides to change the Monte next year.

 

RRP cost of a Fabia III now makes the Mini look quite affordable, as long as you don't mind a little less kit and refrain from going overboard with the option list. Plus the new BMW petrol 1.2 and 1.5 Turbos look interesting motors.

 

 

TP

How about a Fiesta Titanium X 1.0 with the 125bhp engine. I had this engine in my previous car, a Focus Zetec 1.0. It's a cracking engine and the Fiesta is a decent car.

Oh but it does, had two as courtesy cars and they're definitely City cars to drive

You won't like the new Fabia than. They feel surprisingly similar.

My fiancee may need to get her first car soon.  She's had a licence for many years but doesn't have much driving practice so refuses to share my octy. ( a good thing for me perhaps!?). She wants:

A small car

Easy to park so I think sensors will help

Good looks. She is very much a design/fashion person and looks are very important to her

 

 

Styling has ruled out the fabia unfortunately.  She wants a mini.  I think they are small and costly... But it's her car.  Before diving in though I want her to see in the flesh, a range of cars to see options.  Not many, 3 or 4, plus the mini.  I think polo, Mazda 2, Hyundai i20, fiesta maybe a1, but open to ideas.  What cars have the rest of you considered?

similar short list to what I looked at

 

I had, polo, fabia3, i20

 

the polo has long lead times better std equipment than the fabia so less need to revert to options list, people say does feel slightly smaller inside, never actually got to sit in one due to the attitude of the dealers I chose, I walked away

 

fabia 3 did not feel as spacious as the  fabia 2 to me and personally something about it I took an instant dislike to, but as you can see on here many like it

 

as you can see from my signature I chose the i20, the issue is the std equipment I think is better, but the engines are not as good as the VAG TSi units and the i20 was cheaper, so the engine was a compromise I was willing to accept

 

the Hyundai kappa2 1.2 engines are non turbo so the power and torque builds as you get up the rev range, the VAG TSi engines have a practically flat torque and power curve due to the ECU and turbo, this makes the drivability of the TSi engine better as it has good power from about 2000rpm, the kappa2 you need to get up to 3000rpm to get good power, but if you let it rev up to 5000rpm it is quite lively and fun to drive, at motorway speed on slopes you may need to drop from 5th to 4th to get out into the next lane quickly to slot in to a gap

 

the other thing is the controls like lights, fog lights and rear wipers etc are in different locations, rear wipers are a twist switch on the end of the right hand stalk, the lights are a twist switch on the end of the left hand stalk, in the Hyundai

 

the Hyundai is cheaper to insure, but running costs are slightly higher, I am getting about 50mpg from my i20, slightly less than a 1.2TSi 90PS fabia 3 from what I am seeing reported

 

the Hyundai has a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty compared to the VAG 3 year 60,000 mile warranty, so unlikely to be an issue if you are only likely to keep it less than 3 years

 

i20 feels more spacious in the front, but the rear seats I am told have slightly less space than my old fabia GLII

 

if the car is going to be used primarily in town the extras like cruise and limiter etc are of less importance to you

 

make a list of the options / feature you want (must have's and nice to have's) , Bluetooth, 5 door, etc, then start looking at models etc

 

if you are looking at the citigo, also look at the i10 my wife swapped her citigo 75ps elegance greentech for an i10 premium her comments are the i10 quieter better equiped and it has more go

 

the A1, new polo and fabia 3 are all built on basically the same chassis with some minor differences, the difference between the 3 brands is the std equipment starting point and base engines

 

if you find yourself looking at more than 1 or 2 options either look at the next model up (SE instead of the S) or the next brand up in the VAG Stable, (polo instead of the fabia)

 

once you narrow your choice most important of all test drive all before you make your mind up as no one car is perfect for everyone

 

most dealer will give a better deal for cars they have in stock over factory orders

 

the above is my personal take, yours may be different but hopefully it has given you a bit of an insight into the i20 good and bad points and some of what I looked at when I made my choice

Edited 1 May, 201511 yr by bluecar1

How about a Fiesta Titanium X 1.0 with the 125bhp engine. I had this engine in my previous car, a Focus Zetec 1.0. It's a cracking engine and the Fiesta is a decent car.

 

They aren't cheap though! My misses is very partial to the Fiesta but the cost for a decent amount of toys and engine I find a bit eye-watering personally. Particularly as discounts aren't common as they are selling so well!

 

I'd definitely drive the Citigo just to exclude it. My mum is quite happy with the engine and ride for driving anywhere. It performs perfectly admirably on the motorway if you just bumble along at 70. It might not suit everyone, but they are fantastic at what they do.

 

 

The Ibiza personally feels very cheap inside, but is a solid choice. The Leon can be had with big discounts at the minute and is a much better car in my opinion.

 

The class leader in my opinion is probably the Polo at the minute, but make sure you hunt around to get a good deal. 

True the Ibiza trim looks cheap but is a lot better than it was maybe 10 years ago. Polo/Ibiza prices, best plan, if there is no trade in, is to get some broker prices and walk into a VW dealer with that type of price in mind and don't budge, they are smart enough nowadays to sell a car at a price that still gives them some money instead of the attitude they used to have, that is what I did, it only took about 10 minutes to shake on a factory order.

They aren't cheap though! My misses is very partial to the Fiesta but the cost for a decent amount of toys and engine I find a bit eye-watering personally. Particularly as discounts aren't common as they are selling so well!

 

I'd definitely drive the Citigo just to exclude it. My mum is quite happy with the engine and ride for driving anywhere. It performs perfectly admirably on the motorway if you just bumble along at 70. It might not suit everyone, but they are fantastic at what they do.

 

 

The Ibiza personally feels very cheap inside, but is a solid choice. The Leon can be had with big discounts at the minute and is a much better car in my opinion.

 

The class leader in my opinion is probably the Polo at the minute, but make sure you hunt around to get a good deal.

I have to disagree with the comment regarding discounts. Carfile are quoting a £2900 discount. I have bought our last 3 cars through them and have saved thousands over my local dealers.

I have to disagree with the comment regarding discounts. Carfile are quoting a £2900 discount. I have bought our last 3 cars through them and have saved thousands over my local dealers.

 

I think I last looked around the facelift so it probably has come down a bit. I don't remember there being any decent finance deals though?

I think I last looked around the facelift so it probably has come down a bit. I don't remember there being any decent finance deals though?

Good point. I was able to buy my cars with cash plus part exchange so did not go down the Finance route.

I thought that Volkswagen and Seat were still running the "dealer £1000 deposit contribution" - though that might not make the complete finance package "decent". That £1000 dealer contribution seems genuine as no finance does mean no £1000 off ticket price.

If I did not have any "commitment" to VAG products, I'd go back to Ford for a small hatchback any day - I have had quite a few Fords both new and used, but that was before moving across to VAG.

I think the dealer contribution is conditional on you taking the finance

 

yep,

 

from the VW website small print

 

"Deposit contribution is available when purchased on Solutions PCP"

showed her a few cars on the web, and pointed a few out in car parks if  I saw them over the weekend.

 

she commented the A1 in the car park 'looks quite nice' and in the flesh she was happy with its dinky size, on the web views she thought it large )yes really).  I had a quick look at specing one and yes...cost climbs as soon as you start adding things that other cars include (being able to turn the front passenger airbag off is an optional extra, come on Audi...surely lots of yummie mummies with little ones have A1s!).  oddly though in the quick play I had (not very thorough admittedly), the VW polo seemed to climb in price even faster...perhaps I got more carried away with the options.

 

she liked the look of a VW up! on the web (but not a seat mii or a skoda citigo...no I don't understand that either).

 

she likes the mazda colours...alot  

 

Think her nervousness about driving is making small, city cars the most attractive.  I wonder though, do these have a boot big enough for a pram?  Or will the A1/Polo/ibiza/i20/mazda 2 be the minimum size if pram fitment is taken as a must have?  will this also rule out the mini?

 

cheers for the comments all.

Maybe go look at Ford Fiesta, new 5 doors from just over £10,000,

Nissan Note start under £11,000 if you haggle, and for space and metal for your Money & choice of good engines, Renault Captur or Peugeot 2008

Even the Citroen Cactus.  £12,000 - £12.500 is about where you can get a new Petrol one from.

Edited 5 May, 201511 yr by goneoffSKi

for me, that requirement list kind of brings up one car,

 

Suzuki Swift Sport  and yes you can get a 5dr. £13k ish for a brand new one plenty of deals to be had, options wise, they have everything standard, including climate, xenons, bluetooth, foldy mirrors keyless entry etc etc.  Also bullet proof and rather frugal but have a nice chassis and the little 1.6 has some real oomph if you grab it by the scruff of the neck.

 

My brother rents them out on a certain racetrack for a living and my mum bought one last year new ( 3dr as it is better). go have a look at one