Supermini / citycar

[stubrewworx]

Looking to change motors. Thinking of cheap economical supermini / citycar. 5-6k budget, less mileage as possible and zero or v.cheap tax

Contenders are 500, Up, 108, picanto, i10 and any other that fall into the category.

Anyone with first hand experience and recommendations?

Stu.

 

[Justin Dean]

Bicycle and public transport? LOL

 

[stubrewworx]

Bicycle and public transport? LOL

My pref, but apparently we need a car

 

[Leon103]

I would never put a loved one in a fiat 500. I have had the unfortunate experience of seeing enough people perish after what would normally be classed as a minor accident. They just seem to offer no protection.

 

[Graz]

I don't have any experience of any of them but out of that list it would be the Up because anything from a German car manufacturer is going to be way better than any French, Italian, or South Korean clutter.

 

[Scottyburto]

As far as I'm aware the i10 and 108 are the same car in different clothes or equipment. Car wow say the Up has the slight edge on those two. With that in mind the VW Up is same car different in clothes/equipment as the Skoda citigo or Seat Mii which you will probably find cheaper. In that sense it'll be down to which has your preferred model trim/equipment and if the badge bothers you. I've seen some people on HUKDs state they wouldn't drive a free Skoda even though it's the same car.

On the subject of HUKD it might be worth a look on there as they can have some very good deals on buying or leasing new cars. In terms of the smaller cars the best discounts seem to be to take a finance "deal" and pay off the finance in the 14/30 day cooling off period, therefore you get the discount but don't pay the exorbant interest rates.

Hope some of this helps!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

My father in law has had an i10 for several years he hasn't had a problem with it, the 7 year warranty is also a big plus.

 

[Scottyburto]

As an aside; I until recently worked with a woman who was about 20st who had a 30st husband who had the Skoda citigo. They had it from new for a few years and the wheels didn't fall off. It was a sight to see them in it and especially get in it but the car survived and still runs.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

German car manufacturer is going to be way better than any French, Italian, or South Korean clutter

I always laugh when I read this do you know where many of these so called German cars are made?

Have you ever wondered or noticed BMW use their own breakdown service or their own car transporters not the AA or RAC as others do

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Kia and Hyundai near top.
Scroll down for list of manufacturers and score
Lexus reclaims reliability crown, J.D. Power survey shows

 

[Graz]

I always laugh when I read this do you know where many of these so called German cars are made?

Have you ever wondered or noticed BMW use their own breakdown service or their own car transporters not the AA or RAC as others do

I am aware where they're made, not in China yet, but the Up! rolls off a VW production line Bratislava (Slovakia) along with the Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo. It's a VW owned line though so you'd sort of expect their (IMO) reasonably high quality standards to apply even if not actually made in Germany.

Whilst I personally don't work in the motor trade I do have a couple of friends who are experienced mechanics, one of whom has his own garage business, and they both tell me to generally stay away from cars from French or Italian manufacturers, they're not all cr*p but a fair few seem to have more than their fair share of issues.

Of all the cars I've owned the BMWs I've had have been consistently the most reliable and feel the best put together, less rattles, or other niggles than anything else, just a little more premium. The few cars from Japanese manufacturers have also been pretty good / reliable, just not quite on the same level as BMW.

That said my current main car is a Kia (Hyundai own Kia), we wanted a 7 seat car with four wheel drive for the caravan which didn't leave us with many choices, budget wouldn't stretch to anything Landrover badged. It's a nice car but as observed just not quite on the same level as say a BMW or VW. I really wished VW made a 7 seat option on the Touareg, Audi do with the Q7 but again it's at a premium price.

BMW don't have their own breakdown service, they sub it out to Allianz / Mondial, guess that was deemed the most cost effective to them but if the AA or RAC had made a better offer then maybe they'd use them. But I don't really get what that has to do with their reliability or otherwise?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Graz said -
I don't have any experience of any of them but out of that list it would be the Up because anything from a German car manufacturer is going to be way better than any French, Italian, or South Korean clutter.

You said anything from the German manufacturers is going to be way better than the South Korean clutter yet KIA came third and Hyundai 7th in the JD Power survey, BMW were 11th and VW a piss poor 28th.

Both Kia and Hyundai offer excellent transferable warranties the former 7 years with 100,000 miles the latter 5 years with unlimited mileage what do the German brands offer?

Back in the day BMW was a luxury brand and German engineering was the catch phrase today they are just another car manufacturer turning out cars as fast as they can they are no longer an exclusive brand, remember the ultimate driving machine with rear wheel drive and 50/50 weight split for ultimate handling in their adverts then in 2014 they introduced the 2 series a front wheel drive and i believe they now have six front wheel drive models i bet they still use the ultimate driving experience in the adverts, its a load of bollocks.


Here is the full list for those who don't want to use the link - Lexus reclaims reliability crown, J.D. Power survey shows

 

[Brew_DD2]

Had an Up! for a few years, and it was excellent. Go for the more powerful of the 1.0l engines, as the other one is dog ****. As others have pointed out, the Seat Mii and the Skoda Citigo are essentially the same car, and you'll likely get them cheaper.

 

[Leon103]

I don't have any experience of any of them but out of that list it would be the Up because anything from a German car manufacturer is going to be way better than any French, Italian, or South Korean clutter.

Not heard of the emissions scandal with vw and audi cars?

 

[Graz]

Not heard of the emissions scandal with vw and audi cars?

I did, doesn't make them rubbish though just they tried to cheat the system (and got caught).

I had a Subaru Impreza once, that needed a modification every time it went for an MoT which was me removing a section of straight stainless steel exhaust and refitting one of the catalytic converters, then going for a spirited drive to ensure the cat was "lit" before turning up the MoT station. Sailed through the emissions every time. Should probably sue myself

 

[moto748]

I have a Fiat 500C (ragtop) and am delighted with it. It is the top trim spec, but I am impressed by the build quality. Everything appears very solid and well made.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have a Fiat 500C (ragtop) and am delighted with it. It is the top trim spec, but I am impressed by the build quality. Everything appears very solid and well made.

We had one for a few days when out car was being repaired (body damage) i remember the Bakelite looking dash being smart a good little car to drive round town and for short journeys
(we never went far to test it on longer trips)

Being realistic do any manufacturers make really awful cars these days most of them are made by the same companies so they are all similar, it want that long ago you would have been laughed at for driving a Skoda no one laughs at them now.

 

[moto748]

That's my take, too, Chippy. This is not the 70s. There are no 'awful' cars (or motorbikes) these days.

This is my dash:

 

[Nicks90]

The old adage of buy German for reliability died in the 1990's
Long gone are the days that mercs were hewn from granite and bmws were engineered like a sports tourerto last 200k miles.

Now they are all the same dross that everyone else sells. It's a white goods with wheels. Look at all the reviews, first thing they talk about is bloody touchscreens and tech, not suspension or ride quality or build quslity. All of them are pretty crsppy in the ride department due to stupid sized wheels. In Europe they call it 'UK spec' . 18" rims with rubber band tyres cos it's schporrrrty. Europe generally go for 16" for comfort. Which is bizaar as our roads are awful compared to most of Europe!!!

The only German cars worth getting are the top of the range S class and 7 series - as they are special - subsidised by the white goods on wheels lower ranges for the wannabe masses.

Personally if I was after a small city car, I would go with a second hand 2 or 3 year old ex lease. Let someone else lose all the initial depreciation.
And buy a fiesta. Lovely car if you don't go for the schporrrrty versions and stick with little wheels

 

[Chippy_Tea]

That's my take, too, Chippy. This is not the 70s. There are no 'awful' cars (or motorbikes) these days.

This is my dash:

View attachment 43340

The one we had was white and the dash was kind of cream very retro.