sporty 'looking' hatchback £4k with seat height adjustment

[smallzoo]

Hi

Looking now for a sporty looking ( so minimum 1.4/1.6 ) petrol hatchback that is under £4k

Must haves are

Drivers seat height adjustment ( daughter is just about 5' 2 )
Not low to the ground like MX5 etc
not too old ( my daughter will have a laugh otherwise lol )

I guess obvious ones are

VW Golf
Audi A3
Ford Focus/Fiesta

but willing to expand my search

[DoubleD]

Type S GT

[anonymous-user]

Suzuki Swift Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008062...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010074...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008212...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009304...

[ZX10R NIN]

Astra GTC SRI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008212...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009113...

Giulietta Vekoce

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010094...

DS3 DSport+

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009173...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009163...

DStyle+

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009163...

Mazda3 Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009103...

[smallzoo]

Thanks

I like the look of the astra

Never had a Citroen at all

Alfa has very poor reviews

Suzuki is odd but interesting...

cheers

[Sofa]

MINIs come with height-adjustable driver's seats as standard IIRC- one of the reasons I went for one as my first car, although for the opposite reason to your daughter- I'm 6'4"! They should fulfill the 'sporty' requirement too, and (I'm assuming your daughter is relatively new to driving) mine was certainly popular with the girls at my 6th form... They do hold their values pretty well though, so it depends on your definition of 'old'- your budget would probably get you a 2010-2013 model at the newest.

[smallzoo]

Thanks..ill send her some minis

[smallzoo]

I think we both like the

Astra 1.4tsi GTC Petrol
Mazda 3 2.0 Petrol
Ford Focus ..dont know which version
VW Golf ..dont know which version

so far

[anonymous-user]

I've recently bought a Mk3 Ford Focus 1.6 NA petrol for 4k @ 88k miles. Whiles it's slow and only has 5 gears, it's a really sweet handling car with nice compliant suspension and good fun to make progress with. Mines a titanium spec which isn't sporty but coming from a stiff car I believe the more compliant suspension really suits the UK roads. I think you would need the Ztec spec but while the sporty looks are nice the stiffer suspension would ruin the ride on the road and maybe create more problems when making smooth progress.

[ZX10R NIN]

Focus Titanium is the one to look for.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009123...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010114...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010094...

[5harp3y]

smallzoo said:

I think we both like the

Astra 1.4tsi GTC Petrol
Mazda 3 2.0 Petrol
Ford Focus ..dont know which version
VW Golf ..dont know which version

so far

None of these are remotely sporty looking but the Astra is closest

[smallzoo]

5harp3y said:

None of these are remotely sporty looking but the Astra is closest

Probably true

But happy to take other suggestions

[Zetec-S]

With that budget you might be able to stretch to an early Mk7 Fiesta Zetec-S with the 1.0 ecoboost

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009294...

If not then there's load of pre-facelift Mk7 ZS's with the old 1.6 N/A engine.

If not then you could get a 10 year old 1-series (stick a cheap private plate on it and your daughter probably won't be able to tell how old it it )

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010024...

Or how about a 208 GTI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007211...

[smallzoo]

Thanks to all we have narrowed the search down now to

Astra GTC 1.4TSi
2011 BMW Series 1 2.0
Ford Focus ST ( around 2007 )

Yes I know they are different but all around £4k

What I don't know is what the reliability, maintenance etc is like on this.. and what's NOT to like about any of them

Anyone got one or knows about any of them

[smallzoo]

Hi Again.. anyone got one of those three cars ?

Good and Bad Opinions welcome

[smallzoo]

Theyve just had an article in car dealer from Mike brewer who listed 5 cars not to buy ever

One was the astra and other the series 1

Well that leaves one!

[Zetec-S]

The issue with the Mk2 Focus ST is finding a decent example of one that age... a lot will have been modified to some extent, some in a good way, some in a bad way.

[RazerSauber]

smallzoo said:

Theyve just had an article in car dealer from Mike brewer who listed 5 cars not to buy ever

One was the astra and other the series 1

Well that leaves one!

I've just had a read through that article and both the Astra and BMW's comments appear to be made on hearsay and a poll that's never sourced. I'd wager the petrol versions of both of those vehicles would be perfectly suitable for your needs and reasonably reliable if cared for. I work in a warranty style role and see VAG cars all day every day that always have EGR, clutch, injector and turbo faults galore but none of those are on that list. I don't see too many Astras when I think of it, and only a few 1 series BMWs.

I nearly bought an Astra GTC before deciding I wanted a bit more space and ended up with a Mazda 6. They're a reasonably sporty looking thing and should be reliable enough.

The more I look back at that article, the less it seems to be based on any actual experience. Google results, a poll with no source and hearsay are enough to out off a bloke who decided animal print was the correct choice on an RX7.

[smallzoo]

Very funny.. thanks

I do like both the Astra GTC and BMW Series 1 as I don't need to worry about space and they are just a bit smaller for my daughter to handle.

So would you say in your experience they are just about even in terms of their reliability and problems

cheers

[ZX10R NIN]

smallzoo said:

Theyve just had an article in car dealer from Mike brewer who listed 5 cars not to buy ever

One was the astra and other the series 1

Well that leaves one!

Rubbish I have sourced lots of both the 1.4/1.6 GTC are reliable they do like a coil pack every now & then but what modern car doesn't the diesels are good too but you need to be doing the miles.

The 1 Series has a few more issues but nothing that would stop me supplying one.