Advice on suitable small car

2021profile

Hi,

I am looking to change my car and I would greatly appreciate any advice, I am a bit lost at the moment on what type of car to select! Some background information:

-Daily commute is 1 hour 20mins

-Mixture of town driving with some slow moving traffic and then very bad rural roads, steep twisty hills, lots of potholes etc.

- Reliability is my number one consideration

I want to avoid frequent trips to the garage for repairs (which has been the situation with my current car over the past few years).

-I need a small car easy to manoeuvre and park. I have very little space for parking where I live currently. So this really limits my choice, I can only consider small cars.

-Good fuel economy would be nice to have too.

-Also very tempted to go new or year old to get out of the NCTs altogether!

- Open to a hybrid car, electric not currently an option for me.

TIA

Buddy Bubs

My sister in law moved rural and had to get rid of her Clio because she felt it wasnt suitable for the bad roads, very uncomfortable and underpowered. She now has a Ford Kuga. So maybe a consideration to get a crossover / small SUV which I am normally very slow to recommend but maybe in your case it might work.

What's your budget?

GPoint

Suzuki swift is a very small and good handling car ! Not sure how it will perform on bad surface though but for town it’s very good. Often Suzuki offers 0 % pcp and hp. Worth a test drive .

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058331153/advice-on-suitable-small-car

The Hyundai i20 is a lovely car to drive with a lot of tech in it like lane keep assist but the dash in it is quiet cheap.

The Renault Clio is a nicer place to be. My sister has a 221 model from new and it's been a very reliable well built car that's well able for long journeys.

Suzuki Swift nice too and new model coming so might be some great deals on it. Suzuki Ignis is cute and nice as well as nice and small too.

Mazda 2 also nice and should be good deals on it.

Peugeot 208 is a lovely car probably the classiest car in its class.

Just a few options for you to consider.

Dr Karl

I was going to recommend the Suzuki Swift or Ignis but they have been recommended.

What about a SsangYong Tivoli, it is a small SUV.

Or a Dacia Sandero or Stepway. I am weary about Dacia though as they are part of the Renault/Nissan alliance and I know people who had serious problems with the battery in their Nissan.

chicorytip

Suzuki Ignis and Swift are both much more expensive to insure than the other cars mentioned here.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121613085#Comment_121613085

Really. Why is that?

The Ssangyong Tivoli mentioned above is a great option and a great car if you plan on keeping it for a long time. Avoid the revamp model do as it has a horrible dash the pre revamp is much nicer.

2021profile

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post, I really appreciate it.

I'm considering the current options and I would greatly appreciate your advice on what would make the most financial sense, given that there is very little value in the secondhand market at the moment.

I currently drive a 14 reg.

I have spotted a 17 fiesta, rough estimate I'd have to put €8000 along with my own car as trade in. The fiesta would be perfect for the rural roads on my route to work, but hard on fuel as its petrol. But I would still be stuck with the NCT

I've seen some nice Hyundai i20s locally too.

Or I'm very tempted to come up a few more years and get a hybrid yaris, get out of the NCTs for the next few years. Newer Yaris has 1.5 engine, it might be able for the rural roads.

I'm very tempted by the fiesta, but I'd be paying €8000 to move up 3 years, would that be a wise move?

I'm really unsure what the best move would be!

I'm limited to a smaller car due to parking at my house and also I prefer a smaller car for parking in towns etc.

In recent times, it's near next to impossible to get your car booked in for work and repairs in any of the local garages in my area, waiting times of weeks, so that's why I'm keen to get out of NCTs and I'm keen to get a reliable car. That's why I'm thinking the Yaris would be a safe bet.

TIA

bazz26

All cars need maintenance and repairs regularly not just at NCT time. Seems crazy to me to go spending thousands more just to avoid the NCT. It's a bit like changing your car just because it needs a new set of tyres.

Rosahane

If you live on very rural roads hilly that don't get gritted look at some of the small SUVs that will have great body clearance in the event of snow.

2021profile

Thanks bazz26, fair point. I've just had such an unlucky run with my current car, it's been in and out of the garage so much, for some very expensive jobs too that ran into the thousands, it's never flown through the NCT either!

I think the local garages might be struggling to get mechanics. What I'm encountering on the last two occasions I left my car in is that my car will be booked in for the day for repairs, I make the various arrangements to leave it in for the day and arrange alternative transport to get to work etc. and when I pick up my car that evening, only some jobs are done and they told me x and y will have to be done another time, then it's weeks before they have any availability again, it's very frustrating, when I ring other garages in the area, no availability for weeks, whereas a few years back, getting in for repairs was no bother and the work would be completed on collection of the car that evening etc.

It's very frustrating.

freshpopcorn

What is your current car?

Murt2024

Maybe a polo would suit

Leatra

If you're concerned about whether a car will have enough oomph for climbing hills etc., filter out the lower-horsepower offerings. I do a good bit of hillwalking etc. so I drive on plenty of narrow and steep rural roads as well as on motorways and city roads. 90hp in a small hatchback (I've an Ibiza) is plenty for that; 70hp in my previous car (Polo) felt lacking; and 75hp in the current Ibizas is slower than my Polo was.

If you get a heavier car like a similarly-sized crossover or the next size bracket up (i30, Auris etc.) you'll want a bit more oomph, maybe 110hp+, to achieve the same thing.

chicorytip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121613195#Comment_121613195

It's because they perform less well in safety tests than their contemporaries.