[Archived] Cars

[benhben]

Can anyone recommend a model of hatchback car which have proved reliable in your experience? My Peugeot 206 is nackered and not worth repairing given its age. I wouldn't get another Peugeot given the problems we've had with this one.

Ideally I would like

Price maxium £5000. Reliable. Engine size between 1.4-1.6L (Petrol) or 1.4 - 1.8L (Diesel). Good fuel economy. Stylish looks if possible. Decent interior features (CD player air con).

I quite like the Fiat Grande Punto's. Stylish looks but im unsure as to how reliable Fiats are. Ford Fiesta's also get decent reviews.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

[Hughesy]

Audi A3 wins hands down for me.

Perfect for doing plenty of miles, VERY reliable, stylish, lots of in car extras etc.

[Al]

The Toyota Avensis is the most reliable car on the road and will go on for ever. Just look how many taxi drivers use them. Never let you down.

[ackroyd75]

The Toyota Avensis is the most reliable car on the road and will go on for ever. Just look how many taxi drivers use them. Never let you down.

I have had two. Highly recommended! Only problem with them is that they don't win arguments with Ambulances!

[koi]

If you're looking at the Punto size I'd have the Suzuki Swift high on my list as would the Mitsubishi Colt. Out of those two the Swift would be my personal choice but they are both well made, great to drive and are well specced. If you're looking at something bigger then you wont go far wrong with the Mazda 3. Look at something like the 1.6 TS for a good blend of performance, spec and VFM.

[Sandiway Blue]

Can anyone recommend a model of hatchback car which have proved reliable in your experience? My Peugeot 206 is nackered and not worth repairing given its age. I wouldn't get another Peugeot given the problems we've had with this one.

Ideally I would like

Price maxium £5000. Reliable. Engine size between 1.4-1.6L (Petrol) or 1.4 - 1.8L (Diesel). Good fuel economy. Stylish looks if possible. Decent interior features (CD player air con).

I quite like the Fiat Grande Punto's. Stylish looks but im unsure as to how reliable Fiats are. Ford Fiesta's also get decent reviews.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

I have just sold a Fiat punto (04 plate) a few months ago and bought a brand new Suzuki Swift.The punto was very reliable but the engines are very under powered.I used `what car` website to compare the cars that i was looking to buy.It`s a very handy website for comparing different cars with regards to running costs,engine performance and specifications etc.If you are looking to buy second hand i recommend `parkers` price guide,should let you know roughly what you can expect to pay if you have a particular model in mind.

Good luck with your search!

[beerwins]

VW Golf, they are known for reliability, body work lasts a helluva lot longer than its rivals they are very stylish inside and practical too, if you dont want something that big look at a Polo which will have smaller engine sizes.

If you want the best model check out the TDI, very good on juice and has plenty of power for overtaking and what not, look for the 130 bhp model if you like a bit of speed and if you want to make it a bit faster you can chip it too, my friend had a Passat that had the same engine and had been chipped, it was amazingly fast for a diesel.

Like Hughesy says the Audi is a very similar car built with the same quality as the Golf but with a bit more panache, dont be put off by high miles on diesel but make sure it has had a very good service history with a cambelt change if over 80,000 miles. Dont be put off buy the 1.9 engine size they really are worth the extra insurance that you will pay, if I had 5 grand to play with I would'nt entertain another car as nothing really comes close, only in my opinon of course

Also just to add, dont buy a Punto the depreciation is massive with them, you are guaranteed to lose money with that car, my sister had one and it was shocking, I would always look at a Volkswagon if I had the funds to do so, german engineering is way more advanced than others.

[sparkspakespoke]

If you're looking at the Punto size I'd have the Suzuki Swift high on my list as would the Mitsubishi Colt. Out of those two the Swift would be my personal choice but they are both well made, great to drive and are well specced. If you're looking at something bigger then you wont go far wrong with the Mazda 3. Look at something like the 1.6 TS for a good blend of performance, spec and VFM.

First car I ever bought. Excellent little car!

[adopted scouser]

always bought french, usually citroens. When my C5 died I needed another saloon, paying for two houses my budget was around £200 a month. Mondeo's, Passats were too expensive but ended up at Vauxhall Stretford (across from Old Trafford). Couldn't believe it, ended up with a black Vectra (new shape), 2 years servicing, 2 years extended warranty, all for £8.4K. Big black bugger, leccy everything, air con the lot. Look at the Vauxhalls, cars are bullet proof and you could a real bargain.

[brian_gallagher85]

Four year old, French and it's buggered, there's a suprise. I will never look twice at one, the worst cars on the road!

We've always had Toyotas and Hondas in our family and have never had a problem. Any of the Asian makes will be pretty reliable.

I never thought I'd say this but the Fiesta is a cracking little model. I'll have my Fiestavan two years in March and it's been brilliant. It's a 1.4 TDCI and the mileage is brilliant - 500 miles from a full tank, my girlfriends 1.3 petrol barely gets half that. I have heard that the 1.4 cars are a little underpowered due to the extra weight so the 1.6 might be a better bet.

Whatever you buy I'd recommend buying diesel for the greater mileage and cheaper running cost, i.e. road tax.

[Sandiway Blue]

always bought french, usually citroens. When my C5 died I needed another saloon, paying for two houses my budget was around £200 a month. Mondeo's, Passats were too expensive but ended up at Vauxhall Stretford (across from Old Trafford). Couldn't believe it, ended up with a black Vectra (new shape), 2 years servicing, 2 years extended warranty, all for £8.4K. Big black bugger, leccy everything, air con the lot. Look at the Vauxhalls, cars are bullet proof and you could a real bargain.

I had 2 astra`s and one cavalier,all second hand and over a period of around 10 years or so.I can honestly say they were fantastic motors with no trouble at all.The only repairs i had were exhausts,brakes and tyres.Extremely reliable IMO and i would have bought a new corsa this time but i just fancied the Suzuki Swift for a change as the running costs were cheaper than the Corsa.

Incidentally the spec on the new Swift that persuaded me to buy it was:They have a new 1.2 engine that does 94 B.H.P,averages 56 MPG and because of the low emissions car tax is £35 per year and it`s a group 2 insurance.....happy days indeed!

[Mc Love]

Audi A3 wins hands down for me.Perfect for doing plenty of miles, VERY reliable, stylish, lots of in car extras etc.

Dont - its a glorified Golf

VW Golf, they are known for reliability, body work lasts a helluva lot longer than its rivals

Any evidence to back up statement? You probably wont but its the same here in Ireland, people are fascinated with VW/Audi's as they seem to think they are better than every other car in terms of reliability and in most cases they arent. Plus when you get them serviced, they cost a lot more!

I have a 58 Focus mk2.5 and its a very good car. to be perfectly honest any car is going to be reliable if you look after it

[benhben]

Looking at the reviews on Whatcar website, within my price range Ford Fiestas, Vauxhall Corsa and a Clio (but only the 1.25 tubo) get the highest reviews. The Grande Punto I was looking at doesnt fare so well.

[adopted scouser]

I have a 58 Focus mk2.5

They built Focus's in 1958 ? Has yours got white walled tyres ?

[Ste B]

Audi a3 for 5 k.. its not happening. Or it will be screwed.

Overpriced golf.. or even an overpriced skoda.

[thenodrog]

Any VAG but for 5k best to do as SteB says and work from the bottom up and consider Skoda's first. Probably v reasonable servicing and repair costs too but thats only my opinion you need to check.

Also Honda and Toyota are as reliable as they come. My wife's old car is now my sons, it's an 04 Yaris, done 50k miles and never had a spanner on it. If it's a basic runabout towncar they don't come much better imo. Also Toyota are in the process of an majot world wide image repair so they will prob be good to talk too and their range will be better and more reliable than ever from new.

I'm just in the process of ordering a Subaru but 5k wont get much past the fan belt I'm afraid.

[Ossydave]

I got my VW Polo TDI twist for about 5k a few years ago, can't fault it. Most expensive repair to date was a fuse for the horn, oh and new tyres but thats just inevitable. Drive various company cars through work including vectra's, focus's and mondeo's but would pick mine over any of them. Fantastic on disel too, it would drive round the world off a tenner.

Steer well clear of the punto, had one of them before and it was nothing but trouble.

[benhben]

Leaning more and more towards the Ranault Clio 1.2 TCE dynamique. This model of clio gets the highest ratings on nearly all the reviews I have seen.

Fuel efficiency average of almost 50mpg for a petrol. The 1.2 turbo gives out 100bhp with a top speed of 114mph.

The 1.2 turbo is replacing the 1.4 model I think.

[sussexrover]

Renaults can be fun to drive - but be careful as if something goes wrong (and it frequently does) parts are pretty expensive.

We paid £7,500 for a 3 year old Megane 1.9 Diesel. Had it 18 months, spent about £3k in various repairs in that time - before the guy who fixed the turbo (over a grand) pleaded with us to trade it in. When we traded it in we got less than £4k back - so an expensive 18 months.

Might just have been a one-off - but once bitten....

We now have a 2005 Mazda 3 and in 3 years the only thing we've needed is a new battery (and possibly tyres).

[ptholt]

never buy french or italian, nice enough cars but your mechanic will drive them about as much as you will, shame they dont do part ownership schemes with the garage...

German more reliable and handle the miles without squeaking and vibrating to bits, but will cost more if they do ever break down (seat and skoda also qualify as german being part of the same vw family).

ford and vaux give a good balance between the above two, but are cheaper to buy and get spares for, but are not built as well as the germans.

japanese cars give great realiability, but poor build quality compared to the german cars - apart from hondas which have better quality but are expensive to fix if they do ever break.

[Paul]

<br />Leaning more and more towards the Ranault Clio 1.2 TCE dynamique./>

Clio is a nice car but before you buy one with a sunroof be sure to google "Clio sunroof problems" - don't wait till the footwell is full of water!

[92er]

Go on the Honest John website and read the review of any car you're thinking about before you buy it.

[colin]

I suppose it all depends on how much of a Jeremy Clarkson you are really.

I have a bog-standard Corsa which gets me around and about from here to Ewood and back and from here to wherever I want to go. It does 70mpg and the insurance is cheap.

No doubt Jeremy would laugh at it, but he's no doubt never seen us lose to Grimsby Town in December.

It gets me to Ewood with Grinderman on the CD just fine so why would I want to get anything better? It does the job of getting me from here to there.

But if you want something to reflect your perceived status in the world, and you need some kind of special wheels and little blue lights & some engine "grunt" then go ahead. It's just a car. It's just a pair of shoes.

Have you ever seen anyone in a Bentley and not thought "What a pompous self-centred ....ahem cough?

The bigger the car the smaller the p3n15

Cheers eveyone

[pg]

For the land of Top Gear and Car Magazine you lot aren't very well informed!

Year after year, the brands that top the Top Gear customer satisfaction survey are

a) Lexus

Skoda

c) Honda

d) Toyota

The order often changes but nothing can match them for guaranteed reliability. Mazda are also good.

If I wanted something with a bit more driver appeal, I'd also consider an old BMW but make sure its a manual transmission with little-to-no electronic frills. German cars over the past decade became so obsessed with electronic wizardry and chicanery that their reliability suffered as a result..and intermittent automotive electronic faults are horrible to diagnose and are often beyond the capabilities of your local mechanic.

I've always regarded Audis as expensive Volkwagens. If you want a reliable front-wheel drive German car, buy a Skoda.

[thenodrog]

.......I've always regarded Audis as expensive Volkwagens. If you want a reliable front-wheel drive German car, buy a Skoda.

Albeit made in the Czech Republic.

The bigger the car the smaller the p3n15

Hmm that stacks up Colin. I've often associated you and a large bell end!