Recommend an automatic car

kozak

Hello

Looking for a car to travel around 30min to work and from work each day, 5 days a week, around 40 km per day.
what would be a good economical reliable car with good value on insurance?

the budget is about €8000, must be automatic, engine size up to 1.4.

Here is shortlist so far, mainly from carzone.ie. I know there are other sites but search on them is awkward.

Hyundai Accent 2008 = € 5500
Mazda 2 2007 = € 5500
KIA Rio 2008 = € 6800
Nissan Note 2007 = 7700
Mitsubishi Colt 2008 1.4 DIESEL €8,750
Opel Corsa 2008 CLUB 1.2 €8,450
Volkswagen Polo 2008 1.4 80bhp €9,995 (over budget, buit still…)
Ford Fusion 2008 = € 10 K

Any recommendations?

Stinicker

I'd recommend you get the VW Jetta or Golf with either the 1.9tdi or 2.0l Diesel with the DSG Autobox, you mileage is low but the car will be an absolute miser on fuel and expect 60MPG normally unheard of for autoboxes. Try get the 2008 model for to get the low Motor Tax according to Co2 emissions.

R.O.R

Stinicker wrote: »

I'd recommend you get the VW Jetta or Golf with either the 1.9tdi or 2.0l Diesel with the DSG Autobox, you mileage is low but the car will be an absolute miser on fuel and expect 60MPG normally unheard of for autoboxes. Try get the 2008 model for to get the low Motor Tax according to Co2 emissions.

An 08 DSG Golf or Jetta with an €8000 budget - where do I find these?


Small engines with autoboxes tend to be horrible to drive, so make sure you take a test drive in whatever you are considering. You don't want to be stuck in something horrific to drive for 5 hours a week.

Max Power1

R.O.R wrote: »

Small engines with autoboxes tend to be horrible to drive, so make sure you take a test drive in whatever you are considering. You don't want to be stuck in something horrific to drive for 5 hours a week.

+1

<1.4 in an auto would be terrible.

Arent they mostly 4 speed autos, meaning fuel efficiency will be poor for the size of the engine.

You would be better off going for a 1.6 minimum, the bigger the engine the better suited it is to a slush box for the most part.

Rickwellwood

Drove a Toyota Yaris Automatic there recently for a few weeks - year 2001 - savage car good mpg plenty of poke great fun to drive around town and out on the main roads too
On board computer said average 45mpg around town in a 1.0 engine bit higher on open road - low tax low insurance - great craic to drive, effortless

Max Power1

Rickwellwood wrote: »

Drove a Toyota Yaris Automatic there recently for a few weeks - year 2001 - savage car good mpg plenty of poke great fun to drive around town and out on the main roads too
On board computer said average 45mpg around town in a 1.0 engine bit higher on open road - low tax low insurance - great craic to drive, effortless

What was the actual mpg?

Rickwellwood

around the city 40mpg zipping around the place and up at 55mpg at steady 50mph on motorway

Really comes into its own in the city, a doddle to park, good visibilty, good pickup through the gears, great turn circle.

Isnt at all bad either on the open road - had several trips up the M1 to Newry and back and was a joy.

Loved it.

colm_mcm

Honda civic hybrid.(newer model) loads of kit, nice looking. Decent box

650Ginge

Prius maybe.

Short trips in diesels with DPF seem to be mentioned in nearly every post on boards as troublesome, but I have no experience of a modern diesel or DPF's.

kerten

Rickwellwood wrote: »

around the city 40mpg zipping around the place and up at 55mpg at steady 50mph on motorway

Really comes into its own in the city, a doddle to park, good visibilty, good pickup through the gears, great turn circle.

Isnt at all bad either on the open road - had several trips up the M1 to Newry and back and was a joy.

Loved it.

I am driving one(99 vitz 1.0 auto). I mostly agree except motorway driving experience. Slightest hills cause car to slow down after 115-120 km/h at 4th gear. It is possible to rev it up at 3rd gear to accelerate around these speeds but not great for comfort and autobox I guess. If you are ok to cruise around 105-110 km/h then it is fine. I think it is most economical to run small engined automatic car and it is quite capable for what it is.

I recommend 1.3 lt yaris automatic(4speed torque converter auto not MMT) to the OP

kozak

Thanks for your replies. Here are your suggestions and my comments.

Suggestion 1 - You would be better off going for a 1.6 minimum. – in my view any savings from fuel efficiency will be eaten up by higher road tax (almost 200eur difference per year). Is this right?

Suggestion 2 - Toyota Yaris – Unfortunately over-budget, haven’t seen 2007-08 cheaper than 10 K.

Suggestion 3 - Honda civic hybrid over-budget, haven’t seen 2007-08 cheaper than 10 K. Also not sure if hybrid is a good idea.

Any experience with Nissan Tiida 1.5 auto? Found 2008 model for 6.8 K, mileage 64K.

diarmuid05

colm_mcm wrote: »

Honda civic hybrid.(newer model) loads of kit, nice looking. Decent box

+1

Just bought 1 of these.... 2007, delighted with it getting 48MPG at the moment on a similar commute.

MrDerp

I've driven my mother's one of these yokes:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Peugeot/207/SX-1.6-5/201123202751223/advert?channel=CARS

and it's a fairly good drive. She hasn't had any issues with it over 3 years (she had some gearbox problems with her previous 1.4 206 automatic, fixed under goodwill)

kozak

Any views on Ford Focus Style 1.5 2007 Automatic on economy, comfort etc comparing to say Nissan Tiida 1.5 2008 Auto? The price is 8.5K.

R.O.R

I've driven a lot of different Auto's and the Focus 1.6 Auto is right up there with the A150Cdi CVT in my least favourites.

No idea what the Tiida is like to drive, but at least the Focus isn't a Tiida.

Soarer

Definitely a Prius.

Mrs. Soarer doesnt drive it properly, and she gets just over 50mpg on a daily 30 mile commute.
If she did it properly, she'd definitely get mid-50's.

kozak

Hi ROR

Please give more details what is wrong with Focus Auto?

Any comments on list below?
Hyundai Accent 2008 = € 5500
Mazda 2 2007 = € 5500
KIA Rio 2008 = € 6800
Nissan Note 2007 = 7700
Mitsubishi Colt 2008 1.4 DIESEL €8,750
Opel Corsa 2008 CLUB 1.2 €8,450

EPM

The auto Focus is a 4 speed that strangles the engine and is thirsty to boot I'd assume. Corolla auto might be worth a look?

R.O.R

kozak wrote: »

Hi ROR

Please give more details what is wrong with Focus Auto?

EPM wrote: »

The auto Focus is a 4 speed that strangles the engine and is thirsty to boot I'd assume.

That more or less sums it up. It's a CVT box couple to an underpowered engine. Putting the right foot down only seems to make the engine noisier, with no real increase in speed. Always seems to be in the wrong gear if you want to speed up.

kozak wrote: »

Any comments on list below?
Hyundai Accent 2008 = € 5500
Mazda 2 2007 = € 5500
KIA Rio 2008 = € 6800
Nissan Note 2007 = 7700
Mitsubishi Colt 2008 1.4 DIESEL €8,750
Opel Corsa 2008 CLUB 1.2 €8,450

Haven't driven any of them in Auto, but the Colt stands out from that list as the one I'd try first.

kozak

Any comments on Toyota Prius 2007 1.5, mileage 65 K for € 8K.
Please compare with Focus, Colt, Tiida, all Auto

R.O.R

kozak wrote: »

Any comments on Toyota Prius 2007 1.5, mileage 65 K for € 8K.
Please compare with Focus, Colt, Tiida, all Auto

Is your journey mainly urban at slow speed, or do you have some high speed Motorway / Dual Carriageway?

If it's urban then I'd really consider the Prius - that is it's ideal stamping ground. If your journey has a high enough average speed, the Prius wouldn't give such a great benefit.

Solair

Driving a Prius and it gives amazingly good fuel-efficiency. It's not all hype!

In urban traffic, it's giving fuel usage that is equivalent to a micro car and it actually has a lot more 'umph' than a lot of mid-sized cars as the combination of engine and electric motor give you huge torque so, when you put your foot down it really has serious power at low speeds, so it's actually surprisingly zippy to drive.

At high speeds on long distances, it's giving excellent fuel efficiency too.
It has reasonably good acceleration, nice cruise control, excellent air conditioning, a decent audio system.

1 tank of petrol got me from : Cork - Sligo via Portlaoise - to Dublin and Back to Cork and still had spare capacity to drive around the city for a few days.

My only complaint is that the interior is too plasticy.

Soarer

Would you consider heading to the UK for a Prius? There's good value to be had, as the VRT is tiny on them.

This 2008 Prius has an asking price of £5950, which equates to roughly €6900.
VRT on it, given the details in the ad, comes in at a paltry €389!
Say it costs €500 for your time, flights, and ferry back (which would be a lot!), and you're talking about less than €7800 on the road over here. And because it's 2008, it qualifies for €104 a year road tax, as opposed to the €357 normally!

No brainer for me.

Brian?

Next time the missus switches cars, she always drives autos, it'll one of these:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Peugeot/407/ST-COMFO/201127203247969/advert?channel=CARS

Your welcome

kozak

Thanks for suggestions.

Prius in UK looks like great value, although 95K mileage is a bit high. Also all the hassle of travelling to UK…too lazy for this.
Peugeot – have some bias against Peugeot, might be wrong though.

Brian?

kozak wrote: »

Thanks for suggestions.

Prius in UK looks like great value, although 95K mileage is a bit high. Also all the hassle of travelling to UK…too lazy for this.
Peugeot – have some bias against Peugeot, might be wrong though.

Big Peugeots are great, it's like driving around in your couch. Why the bias?

Soarer

kozak wrote: »

Thanks for suggestions.

Prius in UK looks like great value, although 95K mileage is a bit high. Also all the hassle of travelling to UK…too lazy for this.
Peugeot – have some bias against Peugeot, might be wrong though.

I understand your thoughts on the Peugeot. I have an aversion to all French cars thanks to my dad. It's all that's stopping me from picking up a Vel Satis!

As for the Prius, over and back to the UK is a piece of pi$s. Most will collect you from the airport on the far side. It's a round trip of well less than 24 hours.
As for the mileage, the only reason it'd be that high would be it was a fleet car, which means it'll have a full dealer service history and will be as new.
We bought our Prius in 08 when it was just 3 years old (fleet cars are returned after 3 years) and it had 85k miles on it. It was a tight as a drum, and didn't even have any stone chips! It really was as new. It now has 114k miles on it, and even though the body isn't as good as it once was (thanks Mrs. Soarer!), the thing is still tight as a drum.

You should give it some proper consideration as they're superb value.

kozak

Question to Prius owners – had a test drive on Prius 2007. Excellent fuel economy, great car, except one big issue – even very slow driving over the ramp leads to bottom of the car hitting ramp with scratching noise.
Load was not maximum - 3 passengers, total weight of passengers around 240kg.
Is this a problem with all Priuses?

Soarer

I've never once scrope the underside of our car, so can't help you I'm afraid.

You still too lazy to go to the UK?

650Ginge

Soarer wrote: »

I've never once scrope the underside of our car, so can't help you I'm afraid.

A Prius is relatively long and low. Extra care is needed at ramps but I have never scraped ours.