Which would you buy?

[andy ellis]

Me old 51 plate furby is getting past its best and now needs body work repairs due to someone being crap at parking and not leaving their details. So was thinking of getting a newish or new motor But what would buy? The criteria is that it has to be a good motorway cruiser, but also able to use for driving scholl, and ideally has bluetooth and leather with programable seats, been thinking of in order of preference:-

1) Citroen C4 5door excusive spec

2) Furby level 3

3) Octy, but really its a bit of a barge for learners

So which would you go for?

[ScoobyChris]

C4 is nice, but not sure about long term ownership prospects! Also don't think the Octy would make a very good driving school car as rear visibility is limited...

Have you considered the Fiat Grande Punto? No idea on spec, but a very capable car and nice and cheap to insure

Chris

[andy ellis]

Use the Punto as an assessment car in one of my many jobs. Gearbox awful and the seats are the worse I know. Otherwise a great car with great features.

[Emily-Elizabeth]

I have heard that the C4 is the most rapidly depreciating car on the road. Loses about 80% of value in 3 years!! :eek:

[devonutopia]

1.4 TDI furby3 should be a good learner car, but not sure how competant it is on motorways - I imagine it wouldn't be bad once at speed. Plus it will be economical too.

[KenONeill]

Octy - other than the "driving school car" point, was making much the same choice when I was buying last.

EE - You meant the C6 I think. Even if you're right, it does rather prove my thought about Citroen's reversion to their 1920s/30s model "names" confusing people.

[andy ellis]

The c4 at the moment has almost 3k off the list price plus more from the dealers its down to 14-16K fully loaded! Hence I dont mind the depreciation because I will not pay the full price.

[TeflonTom]

i quite like the citroen c4... and they are lovely to drive too

[KenONeill]

i quite like the citroen c4... and they are lovely to drive too

The general feel and digital speedo put me off, and I've driven more miles in Citroens than any other make.

[robmawer]

Perhaps somehwat predictably, I'd suggest the Micra 1.5dCI 82 Active Luxury.

Rumour has it that a couple of ADIs use them ( ), surprisingly composed on the motorway, has leather though not sure on programmable seats and Bluetooth.

The 1.5 dCI is a suprisingly good engine too, although even if you went for the petrol engines the economy's pretty decent...

Rob.

[Aspman]

Perhaps somehwat predictably, I'd suggest the Micra 1.5dCI 82 Active Luxury.

Rumour has it that a couple of ADIs use them ( ), surprisingly composed on the motorway, has leather though not sure on programmable seats and Bluetooth.

The 1.5 dCI is a suprisingly good engine too, although even if you went for the petrol engines the economy's pretty decent...

Rob.

A few driving schools have Micras round here. I had a Clio with the 100bhp version of that engine. It was great, loads of power for a little car, economical and very reliable for me. I have heard that the Renault derv engine doesn;t take too well to town trying and the turbo has a habit of going bang if it's not given a good run once in a while. The rest of the car had disintegrated over 3yr.

I'm not convinced of Citroen's built quality. Just look at the JD Power surveys etc. French build quality + lots of gadgets does not equal happiness.

I'd agree the Octy is too big for learners.

What about the Suzuki SX4 or Swift? Some driving school round here are using minis to get pupils in but a funky SX4 might be good?

Nissan Note?

New Fiat 500 (if you can get one)?

[robmawer]

Nissan Note?

Had the, er, "pleasure" of one of those as a hire car once...wouldn't recommend it as a motorway car as it's quite slab-sided and very susceptible to side-winds...

Rob.

[tdirob]

I'd be tempted by the C4, but would probably say the Furby as I think the size of the C4 might put a few learners off. (I remember a 106 seeming quite big when I first started to drive!)

What about an Ibiza??

[Dr Zoidberg]

The c4 at the moment has almost 3k off the list price plus more from the dealers its down to 14-16K fully loaded! Hence I dont mind the depreciation because I will not pay the full price.

Yes , the depreciation calculations always look at the trade in value after three years compared to full list price.

If you have a huge discount when you buy it then the actual loss is far less.

[andy ellis]

Micra too small for my ar5e! Again use one as an assessment car and the seats just dont support you, also I go camping and have the wheelchair, hence Im trying to have a large car that seems small....

[Royston]

Ford Focus TDCi? We use them at work and they're commendable vehicles. I'm sure you could get a good discount at a car supermarket.

[robmawer]

Micra too small for my ar5e! Again use one as an assessment car and the seats just dont support you, also I go camping and have the wheelchair, hence Im trying to have a large car that seems small....

I believe the higher spec models have better seats - and the rear bench slides to give you more boot space when you need it, though even doing that it's still not especially cavernous...

Kia Cee'd?

Rob.

[sharkrider]

Use the Punto as an assessment car in one of my many jobs. Gearbox awful and the seats are the worse I know. Otherwise a great car with great features.

with all due respect (and note my previous car was a fabia vRS) I have the 1.9 punto sporting, and in my opinion the seats are way better than the fabia's, very supportive, and a better colour (leather is only a

[ScoobyChris]

I also hear the 1.9 JTD also responds well to a bit of tuning

Chris

[sharkrider]

I also hear the 1.9 JTD also responds well to a bit of tuning

Chris

alledgedly I hear 190bhp is available if you put a performance clutch in it

[Dmac1969]

Of the cars you listed , id take the Fabia , as I think all the others are a bit big to learn in (I personally wouldnt like to have learnt in something the size of an Octavia) Other possibilites , Polo TDi , or Ibiza?

[sharkrider]

Of the cars you listed , id take the Fabia , as I think all the others are a bit big to learn in (I personally wouldnt like to have learnt in something the size of an Octavia) Other possibilites , Polo TDi , or Ibiza?

I looked at the ibiza this time round... just couldn't get any decent deal on it..... in one of my local garages they were doing a special edition (may have been garage specific) but had a cool rally look to it (was the PD130 I believe) If they gave me a discount, i may have gone for it,but was too expensive, seeing as the fabia SE was gonna cost me an arm and a leg, i went for the Fiat... haven't regretted it yet

[anonymouse]

Not in your list - but son has one

Suzuki 1.5 GLX

approx

[tdirob]

are you going to be putting your Fabia back to standard before selling it Andy?

[KenONeill]

I have issues with the "too big for learners" argument. Probably based on my dad's car when I was learning (early 1980s) being an Ascona (UK RWD) 1900, and him changing it for a mk 5 Cortina 2.0 estate about 6 months after I passed my test.