What car?

[PrincessB]

Odd set of circumstances.

#1 Daughter has been driving for a few years in a 2008 1.1 Fiat Panda - Mostly local stuff, it's not fun to drive the 120 miles home and back but it has been done.

Over the forthcoming summer, she will need to stack upto 500 miles of mostly motorway miles each week.

Trying to think of a reasonably priced replacement car that is good enough for that kind of use while not breaking the bank on insurance.

Would prefer budget for car of around £3,000 can go higher it there is a reaon too. Bear in mind, insurance is running at £800 per year for the current group one car, so this needs to be taken into account.

The criteria are:

Safe if there is a collision (The Panda is a tin can)
Capable of doing the mileage without issue.
Affordable to insure for an under 25 year old driver

On the plus side, she's a very good driver, so I'm not concerned about her causing an accident, more the worry of what happens if she gets caught in one.

TIA

B.

[Breelander]

The Vauxhall Corsa seems a very popular choice among young drivers. Well, my niece certainly loves hers

[jackdaww]

honda jazz is a super smallish car with big reliability.

[redsturgeon]

Ford Fiesta or VW Polo.

John

[Lanark]

Mini One will fit the budget (just) they have a BMW Crash Sensor that automatically unlocks the doors in a crash.

[sg31]

VW Polo.

Hyundai i10, but they are relatively pricey

[bungeejumper]

Well wide of the demographic mark, but what the heck. I was up in Manchester last week, and the laddie who came along to jetwash the paving slabs turned up in a two litre two-door Saab convertible. 75,000 miles on the clock, immaculate, 0-62 in seven seconds, and he'd paid £2,000 for it. More fun per £50 note than anything else you'd be likely to find anywhere.

It was, of course, an 08 reg, and yes, you do have to scout around for Saab parts if they're not from the usual Vauxhall Vectra parts bin. But whaddaya know, £2K is about the right price on Autotrader. I offered him my four year old Toyota Auris estate (value £8,000, mileage 65K) in a weekend swap for his tasty little Saab, but for some reason he wasn't interested.

BJ

[redsturgeon]

Well wide of the demographic mark, but what the heck. I was up in Manchester last week, and the laddie who came along to jetwash the paving slabs turned up in a two litre two-door Saab convertible. 75,000 miles on the clock, immaculate, 0-62 in seven seconds, and he'd paid £2,000 for it. More fun per £50 note than anything else you'd be likely to find anywhere.

It was, of course, an 08 reg, and yes, you do have to scout around for Saab parts if they're not from the usual Vauxhall Vectra parts bin. But whaddaya know, £2K is about the right price on Autotrader. I offered him my four year old Toyota Auris estate (value £8,000, mileage 65K) in a weekend swap for his tasty little Saab, but for some reason he wasn't interested.

BJ

I guess the insurance for anyone young would be mored than £2000pa though.

[Mike88]

Well wide of the demographic mark, but what the heck. I was up in Manchester last week, and the laddie who came along to jetwash the paving slabs turned up in a two litre two-door Saab convertible. 75,000 miles on the clock, immaculate, 0-62 in seven seconds, and he'd paid £2,000 for it. More fun per £50 note than anything else you'd be likely to find anywhere.

It was, of course, an 08 reg, and yes, you do have to scout around for Saab parts if they're not from the usual Vauxhall Vectra parts bin. But whaddaya know, £2K is about the right price on Autotrader. I offered him my four year old Toyota Auris estate (value £8,000, mileage 65K) in a weekend swap for his tasty little Saab, but for some reason he wasn't interested.

BJ

The Saab is based on the Vauxhall Vectra meaning parts are mostly interchangeable and in ready supply. However, I wouldn't recommend a Saab or a Vectra for the case in point. My vote would be for a Vauxhall Astra 1.8. My wife has had one from new in 2007. The thing is totally neglected, no servicing to speak of other than an annual safety check at MOT time and a very occasional oil change. Absolutely no problems other than new pads all round and a new coil pack after 9 years old.

[scotia]

going back to redsturgeon's point - anything sporty with a big (e.g 1.8 litre) engine will have a really hefty insurance cost. Of the small vehicles mentioned, I would go for the Honda Jazz. I kept mine for about thirteen years (and got a £250 trade in!). It was reliable, and comfortable to drive on motorways, but it did suffer a water leak into the boot in its later years.

[MonsterMork]

Fester, Poo Low, Golluf, Yorrick.

/GarageSpeak

Fiesta, Polo, Golf, Yaris. Or if vehicle size isn't too much of an issue Toyota Avensis (my 03 plate 1.8 vvti petrol one is a surpisingly competent motor*).

MM


* yes, for those of you who know me, I do actually have summat other than a Land Rover occasionally!

[bungeejumper]

Fiesta, Polo, Golf, Yaris. Or if vehicle size isn't too much of an issue Toyota Avensis (my 03 plate 1.8 vvti petrol one is a surpisingly competent motor*)

Funny how often Toyota seems to come up in these sorts of discussions, isn't it? They might not be tops for driving excitement**, but they do build them so nicely.

BJ

**Actually, the handling and 'driver feel' is getting better too these days. Multilink suspension and all that, and a new set of Michelin Primacies has brought my Auris pretty close up to the steering quality from the wife's Golf. MM's 1.8 petrol engine is still the predominant lump in the current generation of hybrids. (I gather that Toyota's 1.6 diesel engines are a dud, though. And they're made by BMW! )

[MonsterMork]

I gather that Toyota's 1.6 diesel engines are a dud, though.

Can't remember sitting in one recently, let alone testing one. I do, however, get my daily dose of those little city cars that people are becoming fond of for sitting in congestion in, with widdly little engines that wouldn't look out of place in a motorbike. Things like Toyota Aygo, Suzuki Ignis, Fiat 500, Smart, VW Up, Hyundai I10 etc etc etc, you know the ones. I have to say that at the admittedly walking pace I get to drive them at they do not fill me with a sense of great enjoyment. In fact I would go as far to say that for many of them no rice puddings were harmed in the making of the engines!