Cheap (sub £5k) Supermini for the GF
Discussion
Hi looking for some advice on what car to get the GF.
She's interviewing for jobs at the moment which are based outside of city centres, so she'll need a car to get there instead of using the train as she does currently.
We have 1 car in our household at the moment - my trusty Alfa Romeo Guilietta 2L Diesel (2010, 170bhp and non-ULEZ) - 165k miles. Whilst this car would be fine for her to drive to work and back, sharing it will be problematic as our office days are likely to clash. So it makes sense to get her something a bit smaller which she can drive around in for work, shopping, socialising etc and keep my car for long distances and tip runs/DIY material gathering.
With that in mind i've been tasked with finding something suitable for her for £5k or less - her requirements are that its ULEZ compliant (family in London), 5 doors and has a modern interior with bluetooth for her music/nav. Parking sensors/camera's are a plus and I would prefer something turbocharged so at least she can merge safely onto motorway/overtake in country lanes reasonably quickly (0-60 in under 10s). I'll do the servicing myself so wanted something fairly mainstream so parts aren't too expensive (cough Alfa!).
My first instinct was a Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost 2013/2014 as in theory it ticked all the boxes, but then I started reading into the issues with the engine and from coolant hoses failing leading to headgasket failures/cylinder head cracks and then to wet belts failing leading to oil starvation i figured it was best to give Fords a miss (especially anything Ecoboost with wet belt).
Then I figured the next cheapest option might be something PSA (Corsa or Pug 208) with the 1.2 puretech engine -- a bit of research and the same issue with wet belts so canned that idea as well. I think its the same story for a clio 1.2 tce?
I think i've settled on a Seat Ibiza 1.2 TSI around 2013 as it seems to use a traditional timing belt system and I can't really find any horror stories about reliability. I would consider the 1.4 TSI too but I don't know if its the twin charged and therefore problematic engine in that generation of Ibiza.
Any thoughts/corrections on the above? Any other obvious candidates i've missed off?
Thanks in advance!
She's interviewing for jobs at the moment which are based outside of city centres, so she'll need a car to get there instead of using the train as she does currently.
We have 1 car in our household at the moment - my trusty Alfa Romeo Guilietta 2L Diesel (2010, 170bhp and non-ULEZ) - 165k miles. Whilst this car would be fine for her to drive to work and back, sharing it will be problematic as our office days are likely to clash. So it makes sense to get her something a bit smaller which she can drive around in for work, shopping, socialising etc and keep my car for long distances and tip runs/DIY material gathering.
With that in mind i've been tasked with finding something suitable for her for £5k or less - her requirements are that its ULEZ compliant (family in London), 5 doors and has a modern interior with bluetooth for her music/nav. Parking sensors/camera's are a plus and I would prefer something turbocharged so at least she can merge safely onto motorway/overtake in country lanes reasonably quickly (0-60 in under 10s). I'll do the servicing myself so wanted something fairly mainstream so parts aren't too expensive (cough Alfa!).
My first instinct was a Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost 2013/2014 as in theory it ticked all the boxes, but then I started reading into the issues with the engine and from coolant hoses failing leading to headgasket failures/cylinder head cracks and then to wet belts failing leading to oil starvation i figured it was best to give Fords a miss (especially anything Ecoboost with wet belt).
Then I figured the next cheapest option might be something PSA (Corsa or Pug 208) with the 1.2 puretech engine -- a bit of research and the same issue with wet belts so canned that idea as well. I think its the same story for a clio 1.2 tce?
I think i've settled on a Seat Ibiza 1.2 TSI around 2013 as it seems to use a traditional timing belt system and I can't really find any horror stories about reliability. I would consider the 1.4 TSI too but I don't know if its the twin charged and therefore problematic engine in that generation of Ibiza.
Any thoughts/corrections on the above? Any other obvious candidates i've missed off?
Thanks in advance!
Edited by h3dshot on Friday 26th January 11:43
For cheap and reliable i'd be looking at a non turbo petrol engine from a japanese or korean manufacturer.
something like this may fit the bill
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401165...
something like this may fit the bill
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401165...
blue_haddock said:
For cheap and reliable i'd be looking at a non turbo petrol engine from a japanese or korean manufacturer.
something like this may fit the bill
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401165...
Kia or Hyundai also tick the boxessomething like this may fit the bill
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401165...
I think you are very wise to avoid the Ecoboost and Puretech engines, especially at this age and price.
All the VW group TSI engines (so Seat, Skoda, Audi, VW) from 1.0 litre up to 1.5 produced after 2013 are the EA211 engine, which is a good engine and generally reliable as long as you don't do anything silly like remapping it, etc.
VW get their bad rep from the older, pre-2013 EA111 engine, of which was the 1.4 TSI twincharged engine. These were indeed pretty bad and best avoided.
Other small turbocharged engines to avoid are the Vauxhall 1.0 and 1.4 turbos, as they suffer from low speed detonation issues.
Decent small turbo engines, as well as the EA111s, are the Hyundai/Kia Kappa engines, ranging in size from 1.0 to 1.6 L and the Fiat/Alfa Romeo 1.4 turbo is good one. I'm not too certain on the Renault/Nissan small turbo engines, but I think they are pretty good too.
If I were you I'd go for something like this Seat Ibiza 1.2 TSI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311234...
All the VW group TSI engines (so Seat, Skoda, Audi, VW) from 1.0 litre up to 1.5 produced after 2013 are the EA211 engine, which is a good engine and generally reliable as long as you don't do anything silly like remapping it, etc.
VW get their bad rep from the older, pre-2013 EA111 engine, of which was the 1.4 TSI twincharged engine. These were indeed pretty bad and best avoided.
Other small turbocharged engines to avoid are the Vauxhall 1.0 and 1.4 turbos, as they suffer from low speed detonation issues.
Decent small turbo engines, as well as the EA111s, are the Hyundai/Kia Kappa engines, ranging in size from 1.0 to 1.6 L and the Fiat/Alfa Romeo 1.4 turbo is good one. I'm not too certain on the Renault/Nissan small turbo engines, but I think they are pretty good too.
If I were you I'd go for something like this Seat Ibiza 1.2 TSI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311234...
If she'd be fine driving the Giulietta then I'd suggest looking at this segment as they represent better VFM & imo better cars.
1.4T Astra SRI:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401225...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306238...
Giulietta Collezione:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401175...
1.6T Focus Titanium X:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401215...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401215...
Mazda3 Tamura:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312184...
1.4T Astra SRI:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401225...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306238...
Giulietta Collezione:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401175...
1.6T Focus Titanium X:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401215...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401215...
Mazda3 Tamura:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312184...
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