Reply to: Small car recommendations

[ZARDOZ]

My wife has had 5 Vauxhall company cars over the past ten years. If I were buying a small car I would buy an Astra diesel tomorrow. Reliable and cheap to run and astonishing value second hand

The key is 5 over 10 years. Presume she's had them no longer than 2-3 yrs? They tend to fail at 3- 5 yrs. Big repairs in many cases.

[d000hg]

I was talking about the reader reviews rather than the magazine reviews.....

You also have to remember you will only get its brilliant or its a total disaster reviews. people don't comment on meh....

Magazine reviews are also on a sample of one, normally new. Tells you nothing about how likely they are to break down... we generalise that Japanese cars are reliable, French have crappy electronics, etc but the data should be out there.

[Scruff]

My wife has had 5 Vauxhall company cars over the past ten years. If I were buying a small car I would buy an Astra diesel tomorrow. Reliable and cheap to run and astonishing value second hand

[eek]

Trust all of those publications except What Car which is clearly predjudiced for/against certain manufacturers.
I would expect they get large advertising revenue from those companies or other such kick backs.
They are often inconsistent with other magazine reviews, and are sometimes inconsistent between editions with carsmoving from 4star to 2 star in a matter of months! The customer reviews provide some insight into where the bias may be.

Auto express and Car magazine are pretty good for decent reviews.


Worth check out JD power also:

2013 JD Power survey results - Telegraph

I was talking about the reader reviews rather than the magazine reviews.....

You also have to remember you will only get its brilliant or its a total disaster reviews. people don't comment on meh....

[ZARDOZ]

whatcar, autotrader and parkers all have feedback..

honestjohn will provide honest realworld mpg figures.

Trust all of those publications except What Car which is clearly predjudiced for/against certain manufacturers.
I would expect they get large advertising revenue from those companies or other such kick backs.
They are often inconsistent with other magazine reviews, and are sometimes inconsistent between editions with carsmoving from 4star to 2 star in a matter of months! The customer reviews provide some insight into where the bias may be.

Auto express and AutoCar magazine are pretty good for decent reviews.


Worth check out JD power also:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/ne...-model-results

[eek]

What are the best sites to see user happiness and feedback on various models? I'm sure there are some with enough comments on popular models to make them statistically useful but I cannot remember the names.

whatcar, autotrader and parkers all have feedback..

honestjohn will provide honest realworld mpg figures.

[d000hg]

What are the best sites to see user happiness and feedback on various models? I'm sure there are some with enough comments on popular models to make them statistically useful but I cannot remember the names.

[ZARDOZ]

I would go for an Astra without doubt. Mme Rose has one. Our mechanic recommends them (best to listen to experts in the field ). Never lets us down (touch wood). The 2nd car is more reliable than our 1st car and less maintenance fees .

Hope this helps greatly.

Steer clear of Vauxhall. They tend not to recall serious faults and try to get the customer to contribute to repair/replacement. Customer service is shocking.
They spit out timing chains resulting in hefty repair bills. Just google any model for a multitude of complaints resulting in expensive repairs or Google Vauxhall Watchdog.


2 simple rules to getting a reliable car Buy Japanese or German

[eek]

Indeed....

and the fiesta is the winner assuming money no object

otherwise go for the Dacia

As its second hand go for the 1.25 or 1.4 litre fiesta. The turbo 1l mpg figures are a figment of someones imagination......

[MicrosoftBob]

Order one of these ?

[original PM]

They were doing small cars on last night's show.

Indeed....

and the fiesta is the winner assuming money no object

otherwise go for the Dacia

[Mich the Tester]

How about a pink Fiat 500?

Must be the ultimate girlie car.

<ducks & runs away quickly>

Lady Tester has one and she's very happy with it. I'm glad she's happy with it because her minimal fuel consumption allows me to drive a huge 4 litre Daimler with no more total fuel consumption than when we had two more normal cars.

Can I recommend a smallish XJ from the Jaguar range? Just get the short wheel base version; that's only 5 metres long and it's very nippy indeed.

[Halo Jones]

BGG has just got a Toyota IQ3, might be a bit small but is a great little motor,

I have had a VW polo & a ford KA in the past, I would recommend the polo, nice sturdy little car (feels heavier than it is, which she may prefer if she like heavier handling)

[mudskipper]

I've had a Corsa sxi for 12 years from new, it's been fantastic, reliable, surprising acceleration for engine size. If your oh is not worried about image or what Jeremy Clarkson thinks: then a Corsa is defo worth considering. Good luggage space too.

They were doing small cars on last night's show.

[Scrag Meister]

I had a Fiat Punto 1.9 Diesel for a few years, it was reasonably economical, and quite zippy too.

Saw a Fiat 500 Arbarth yesterday and that was rapido, not sure on economy though.