£5000 max reliable car for mother in law

[Chris-1e43g]

I'm trying to find a reliable and easy to drive car for my mother in law. Shes just had an R56 Mini blow up on her and is looking for something small to medium size wise. Boot doesnt have to be massive but it needs to be petrol and a manual, 3 or 5 doors but economical. So far im thinking:

Suzuki Swift
Honda Jazz
Honda civic
Toyota Yaris/Auris (aygo is a bit too small i think)

What would be the preference on the above? I think she's veering towards the swift and jazz, the jazz being bigger and potentially more practical.

Also any other recommendations are welcome. I'm avoiding vauxhall/peugeot/ford and sticking with jap cars for now, unless there are any overlooked bulletproof motors im missing.

[Pistonheader101]

honda

[Trevor555]

Honda Jazz

[vindaloo79]

Sounds a fair swap

[Deerfoot]

Another vote for the Jazz, they’re great little cars.

[juice]

Deerfoot said:

Another vote for the Jazz, they’re great little cars.

+1 - bloody love mine. It's a sheddy 07 'Sport' but I really like driving it. It doesn't deserve its pensioner image.

[Tyre Smoke]

Toyota is bullet proof. My 2018 Auris (not yet 4yo) is on 188500 miles. Never missed a beat and 60mpg.

[ZX10R NIN]

Chris-1e43g said:

I'm trying to find a reliable and easy to drive car for my mother in law. Shes just had an R56 Mini blow up on her and is looking for something small to medium size wise. Boot doesnt have to be massive but it needs to be petrol and a manual, 3 or 5 doors but economical. So far im thinking:

Suzuki Swift
Honda Jazz
Honda civic
Toyota Yaris/Auris (aygo is a bit too small i think)

What would be the preference on the above? I think she's veering towards the swift and jazz, the jazz being bigger and potentially more practical.

Also any other recommendations are welcome. I'm avoiding vauxhall/peugeot/ford and sticking with jap cars for now, unless there are any overlooked bulletproof motors im missing.

Out of that list it would be the Civic but 5k will buy you a very nice Giulietta with their well proven drivetrains it's not a car I'd overlook.

I'd say you get better value out of Civic sized cars at this price point.

Giulietta:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206136...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206216...

Other worthy options.

Astra GTC SRI 140 the 1.4T's are good on fuel while having a bit of go as well:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206307...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205266...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206217...

Kia ProCeed:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206237...

Leftfield

MG6 GT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206267...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206066...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206166...

[Chris-1e43g]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think we're going to narrow it down to the jazz and swift as we can get some low mileage relatively recent examples.

Guilietta is a good shout and one I might have gone for myself but I've had one before and had a few electronics issues.

[Cambs_Stuart]

If she's coming from a mini, I'd go for a swift sport as the closest in terms of how it drives.

[nismo48]

Dacia Sandero..

[ninjag]

Swift is a great fun car to drive, we've had a little 1.2 petrol for over 5 years and I've changed the battery. That's pretty much it.

[Deerfoot]

Have owned a MK2 Jazz and now have a 2016 Swift Sport.

The Jazz is far more practical, the magic seats are just fantastic.

Obviously the Swift is a better drive but I'm guessing that's not high in the priority list for the OP's MiL..

[Mammasaid]

5k could just about get you into a Suzuki SX4 S-Cross, like a Swift but slightly bigger and easier to get in and out of.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204275...

Failing that the original SX4, but it's no looker!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

[CrippsCorner]

I made a very similar thread for my mother in law too on here. She ended up with a Twingo, and is very happy with it. Paid £6k but I've seen them a lot cheaper. I quite like the newer Jazz but my wife had the older one and had a few issues... didn't really like the thing to be honest, though I appreciate it had a good boot for the size.

[georgeyboy12345]

Another Japanese car worth considering is the Mazda 2 - here's a nice 1.3 Tamura
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205266...


Korean cars are also very reliable

Kia Rio 1.25
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202142...

Hyundai i20 1.2 Classic
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207017...


There are some European cars that are surprisingly reliable that you might not expect

Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 8V Sprint
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205175...


Renault Clio 1.2 Dynamique
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206277...


VW Up
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205195...

If that Up is a bit on the small side, there is always the Polo - here's a 1.2 S
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111269...

[OzzyR1]

Tyre Smoke said:

Toyota is bullet proof. My 2018 Auris (not yet 4yo) is on 188500 miles. Never missed a beat and 60mpg.

That is some going, almost 1000 miles a week, every week for 4 years!!

Did you put all of those on? Is it used as a taxi?

[Canon_Fodder]

R56 to a Jazz...

Only Bernard Manning would do that to his MIL

[Shaw Tarse]

OzzyR1 said:

That is some going, almost 1000 miles a week, every week for 4 years!!

Did you put all of those on? Is it used as a taxi?

Taxi

[Trevor555]

Shaw Tarse said:

OzzyR1 said:

That is some going, almost 1000 miles a week, every week for 4 years!!

Did you put all of those on? Is it used as a taxi?

Taxi

Great to hear you've covered all those miles and happy with it.