Can anyone recommend a small car?

[DisneyRGB]

Hi

I'm looking to buy a new car; at the minute I have a Ford KA, which I enjoy driving, but I've had quite a few problems with it which has put me off having another KA (or any Ford). Probably just unlucky with my car but still, I'd prefer to try something different.

I would be looking for something of a similar size (I'm hopeless at parking!!) and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations of a small car they've had that they really liked. Or one that you really haven't liked and wouldn't recommend!

Thinking of: Renault Clio, small Peugeot, small Fiat, Vauxhall Corsa, Citroen Saxo, etc etc, or anything else anyone can suggest. Am looking to buy second hand, maybe 3 years old or so, so nothing too flashy!!

I'm rubbish with cars so please don't blind me with science!!

Thanks!

 

[disneyholic family]

I have a Honda Jazz and love it. It's small but when you're inside, it seems really big. I suggest you take it for a test drive (if that sort of thing is available in the UK). It's really the only way to know if it's a good car for you.

By the way, if you're a Top Gear fan, they gave the Honda Jazz top marks in its class.

As for reliability -- I had a honda civic right before this car. The civic lasted me for 13 years....in absolutely perfect shape until the very end. That's pretty darn good.

In any case, I highly recommend the Jazz. I love driving it.

 

[cazzie]

I have the Dawoo Matiz and although I get a lot of stick about it I love it. It's great for parking and I get good milage I don't know how much I just know I put less petrol in than I used to. It's been reliable but then I would expect it to be as it is only 12 months old and I had it from new. The only down side is that it doesn't get the speed up as quick as my old banger which used to move like a rocket but it has a smaller engine size (so I have been told).

 

[dazeddaisy]

I was given a Corsa from an insurance company after I was involved in an accident.

At first I thought it would be horrible, there was no acceleration, and its top end speed was 70. After about a week of driving there was ALOT of acceleration, and the top end speed was 110. So I presume it needed someone to test its boundries before it was let free. It has an amazing fuel consumption. Just before Christmas I was able to drive from SW London to Birmingham on about £15 of fuel. (its normally about £30 in my normal car).

The best about the car is just how suprisingly nifty it is. I liked the car so much that DF and I are considering getting one as a second car.

 

[SammieG]

I absolutely LOVE my Citroen C3..
Ive had a lot of small cars and this one is just the best.

Firstly.. its incredibly roomy inside.. the roof is high.. and the driving position is high so it feels like a people carrier. It has a high basic specification, like cd controls on the steering wheel, and other stuff that I cant think of right now! (air conditioning, powersteering central locking, electric windows, and a bunch of other stuff like beeping when you leave your lights on etc)

It also feels like a sturdy car although its small. I have a 1.2 engine and its really nippy! Its small..but it has personality! I love my C3!

 

[stevie-wonder-boy!]

my lttle run around is great!!! its a citreon c3 and its 05 reg, its a great little car for car-park space,and as we have it on diesal it does 70 to the gallon where as my mums does 35to the gallon!
good luck with your new car!

 

[Tron[ADS]]

I have a Mazda 2, 1.4 Diesel with the 5 speed "auto shift manual" gearbox, which is an absolute pleasure to drive. The gearbox basicaly is a manual gearbox with no clutch pedal, as the clutch mechanism is done for you electricaly under the bonnet. The main difference between this and the old style automatic gearbox is firstly theres the normal 5 gears, but most importantly, the automatic side of things doesnt suffer from the major hit in fuel economy and performance that the old auto's suffered from (typcialy a 20% hit on each).
A similar gearbox is available on the Ford Fusion, the Honda Jazz (7 speed on this model) and the Vauxhall Meriva, and probably some other cars by now.

I love driving automatics due to getting used to them in Florida, but had always steered clear of them due to the old style performance hit...but not any longer.

 

[disneyholic family]

i just noticed that you're looking to buy a second hand car, so reliability would be a key.

We actually have 2 Honda Jazzes. We bought one for my daughter on her 18th birthday, three years ago. Actually, almost 3.5 years ago. The car is still in fantastic shape. We've only had to give it the regular service (oil change, etc.). No special work. And she drives it all over the place. Lots of long distance driving.

I don't know how much it costs second hand, but personally, I'd be willing to pay a premium for it. In fact we did, when we bought it new (where we live, it runs about 20% more than other cars in its class - but the quality, reliability and really brilliant design were worth it to me).

If you need a lot of carrying space, the Jazz is amazing. It holds much more than my old Civic did. The design is so clever.

Before I bought my car (about a year ago), I bought the Top Gear car magazine, which reviews a zillion different cars. It's what convinced me to buy another Jazz when i was in the market a few years after we bought my daughter's. My daughter chose her jazz from the test drive - we'd gone to see a civic for her, she test drove the civic and didn't like it. She saw the jazz there and asked if she could test drive that one and it was love at first drive. Within the first 5 seconds she already knew, this was the one for her.

She has the bright red one (adorable looking). Mine is silver, which was all they had in stock when i went to buy one. Not my favorite color, but it looks sort of elegant -- as elegant as a small car can ever look.

 

[Cyrano]

Since moving to a Citroen Picasso I have been very impressed with Citroen.
Any of there small cars should good eg Saxo, C3

 

[FizzyPop]

I owned a KA for nearly a year but had so much trouble with it I sold the KA back to ford for more money than I bought it for I now own a Ford Fiesta ST150 and I love it It has all the mod cons, and is a nippy little thing for the size of it I would say its the best car I have had so far

 

[gilld]

My husband drives a Fiesta (top of the range but can't remember model) for work - easy to park in small spaces and not attractive to vandals when doing house calls in poor areas!!! He loves it, most especially the heated front windscreen - on cold, frosty mornings it takes less than a minute for the windscreen to defrost.

I drive the "best" car!

 

[SEVANS2208]

I would look at a Honda Jazz or a Toyota Yaris. Both very reliable cars, imho.

 

[Tink78]

We have 2 Fiat Punto's (one 3 door and one 5 door) and we have had them for almost 2 years now.
They have been good little cars.
They are both only just 3 years old (one has gone in for it's first MOT today actually) and so far they have been lovely cars.
Only troubles have been tyres and brake pads which are both general wear and tear troubles, nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[stevie-wonder-boy!]

Since moving to a Citroen Picasso I have been very impressed with Citroen.
Any of there small cars should good eg Saxo, C3

we switched from a diesal picasso to the c3,we thought the picasso was real good with the juice but the c3 is so much better!

 

[jen_uk]

Ive had Fiat cars several times and they were always great little cars, I had never had any complaints about them.

Plus Fiats dont hold their value very well so you can pick up a quite new car for little money.

 

[Cyrano]

we switched from a diesal picasso to the c3,we thought the picasso was real good with the juice but the c3 is so much better!

I think when the troops don't need booster and car seats that the c3 will figure highly

 

[diberry]

We have 2 Fiat Punto's

That was the first one that sprang to mind - Rhiannon's got loads of "spirito di Punto"!!!!!

Fiats dont hold their value very well so you can pick up a quite new car for little money

- plus this sounds ideal.

 

[Claire L]

How about a Skoda Fabia? Made by the VW group, cheap to run and insure! I got my Octavia in November, wanted a slightly bigger car then my old fiesta, and love it

Claire

 

[Verity Chambers]

I've had 2 puntos and loved them. No problems with them at all.

 

[DisneyRGB]

Wow thanks everyone for all your speedy replies! It's really helpful to know what people's experiences are.

Unfortunately due to budget I think the Honda Jazz and Citroen C3 (which both look good) might be just out of my budget, and are probably less commonplace than Puntos, Fiestas, Clios etc.

Am going to look round local dealerships at the weekend and see what I can find!!

Thanks again everyone