F56 Mini or Fiesta 125/140 (£30 tax) for learner

[wong]

I want a recommendation for a fun, cheap to run, car to teach my son to drive. Ideally less than £30 tax, low insurance group, manual, petrol. This puts it before April 2017.
I have narrowed the choice to the above but are open to suggestions. Probably reliable (newish, after 2014?), able to take some (learner) abuse, around £4-6 K should do it, but may allow some creep. Has to be fun as I will still drive it more. Already have a family wagon as well, so doesn't need to be especially practical.

Mini F56 - How reliable are these? Probably prefer 3 door hatch.
Fiesta with the 1L triple in 125 or 140bhp versions.

Edited by wong on Thursday 11th March 21:02

[Wagonwheel555]

Can you even get an f56 Mini for £4-6k?

If going for a mini I would stick with the 2013 onwards F series as they have the Bxx series engines which are far more reliable than the other engines.

Can’t comment on a fiesta as I’ve never owned on, hopefully someone can comment.

[duckson]

My eldest is shortly 17 and the cheapest cars insuranse wise I'm finding (i tweaked his DoB so he is 17 now to test prices) are Citroen C1's and Ford KA's currently (all with blackbox fitted, 30% more without). Best prices i've found currently are via Direct Line.
Even 1.0L (non-turbo) Corsa's and Fiesta's are 30% more than the C1/KA with a blackbox fitted.

I would of thought the 120/140bhp Fiesta will be quite pricey on insurance but it depends on budget i guess.

[Dicky Knee]

No experience of the Mini although I did have a brief fantasy of getting and R53 Cooper S as a toy for me and learner car for the kids. It was virtually impossible to insure.

I ended up with the Fiesta Zetec 1.25. I think you will find that the 3 cylinder turbo engine is going to be very expensive to insure. Great car and a decent drive all round. Has Bluetooth and USB for the kids to connect their phones up, ABS, lots of airbags and if the do have an accident not ruinously expensive to fix.

You should get a decent one for your budget. Dealers seem to be much more expensive than private sales so keep an eye on the usual websites.

[ZX10R NIN]

Mazda2 Sport Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102229...

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QV Line

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

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

DS3 DStyle Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103120...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103049...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103109...

208 GT Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008273...

[wong]

Just looked at insurance comparison sites and yes, I'll have to take some time over it.

Off topic, but the additional driver with a provisional licence is not so bad. It seems to jump a lot as soon as they pass and get a full licence.
I also read that the provisional licence insurance is invalid as soon as they pass their test, so they can't legally drive home from the test if they pass, but can if they fail.