Car for the mrs

[Doomsnite]

Just had a baby so we need an extra car now shes off on maternity (we normally share as work at the same place)

requirements - econcomical for town driving (diesel), 5 door, sporty looking - under 3k

Pug 207 on the list at the mo but are french crap really that crap?
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Triumph Street Triple-R
Sold: Honda Hornet CB600F-Y / Yamaha YBR125

[arry]

[Doomsnite]

Sporty not essential i suppose, just smart.

I thought diesels best for economy, would prefer 40+ mpg. We're used to our 2L TDI that hits 50 but i suppose we do go up and down the motorway on the commute. Could petrol be better then?
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Triumph Street Triple-R
Sold: Honda Hornet CB600F-Y / Yamaha YBR125

[arry]

Diesel's don't really like short journeys - they take longer to warm up, and suffer all sorts of injector / DPF / DMF issues when used extensively around town without a good run.

I'd take a petrol for round town, personally.

[P.]

3k for a sporty-ish car to use around town.

Defo petrol.
Defo under 1.8.

Ones that stand out right now on Autotrader are Convertible Astra around 2007, Celica from 2003 however little seating, Golf 1.6 not as sporty but lets face it, sporty isn't the be all and end all.

Its a car, carrying a child, sport suspension won't do too well

There are a few Cooper S models, so fairly nippy, but depends how ghey you feel when you want to drive it.

[Doomsnite]

Sporty looking i guess. I wont be driving it but the mrs didnt want some shit box looking thing Will check out some minis actually
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Triumph Street Triple-R
Sold: Honda Hornet CB600F-Y / Yamaha YBR125

[LustyLew]

Mate of mines wife traded in her motorbike after riding until 7 month preggo. Got a Smart car. Ideal for town and running around locally.

Piss cheap to run, tax, insure. Room for her, sprog and a few bags of shopping.
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Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls

[Doomsnite]

thinking about it.. she can have the car, I'll use the money to trade up the hornet and commute on that. Everyones a winner
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Triumph Street Triple-R
Sold: Honda Hornet CB600F-Y / Yamaha YBR125

[mudcow007]

my petrol 1.8 civic would do 40mpg an that was without tickling it

how about a honda jizz?

[Vincent]

Now diesel's the same price as petrol, it's no longer the obvious choice for economy.

How about an MG ZS?
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Space Is Deep

[Doomsnite]

Smart cars look a good shout but not sure the buggy will get in the boot
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Triumph Street Triple-R
Sold: Honda Hornet CB600F-Y / Yamaha YBR125

[Alpineandy]

[Conzar]

VW Polo sport 1.9 TDI 9N3

It will either be 100 or 130bhp.

Bulletproof engines.

Round town it will be absolutely fine for making progress, the interior is quite decent and 60mpg.

I have the 100bhp one and its brilliant for town driving, 3 door is better looking.
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[t121anf]

[Rogerborg]

[BTTD]

Getting a baby seat, and then larger child in and out the back of a mini is a (back and shoulder) pain, not to mention the faff of fitting the buggy pram combo in the boot / front passenger seat. The wife did it for 6 months before admitting defeat (she loved her little mini, bless her) and got a Honda Civic.
The newer versions are out of your budget, but they have the largest boot space in their class, and clever fold up / fold down seats. She loves the space and comfy ride.

tl:dr Don't buy a mini. Get something that can lug tons of baby crap with ease.

[stinkwheel]

If you're looking for a small diesel. I'd have trouble seeing past a Yaris.

But you might struggle to get a decent one for under £3k.

As jnw010 says. Do not underestimate the amount of crap kids need. I have none but I see the trouble my brother has.

You've got to be able to hold the back door open (without it obstructing traffic or hitting the next car in the carpark), extract and errect a buggy with one hand while holding the kid in its seat, then get the kid out and into the buggy.

So what you actually want is a kangoo MPV. Which has a sliding back door! and could have the back seats removed to transport a motorcycle.

If you wanted a sporty car, you should have kept it in your trousers.
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[robs321]

[dodsi]

Spend as little as possible on something Japanese or German in as good nick as possible. Don't get too tied up on which model. Fuel consumption on minimal milage really doesn't make much difference. Especially If you spend 1k on a car not 3k.

[BrownTrousers]

My wife was in same position recently. She has Now inherited my 2009 1.4l diesel fiesta.

5 doors, a steady 50+MPG, £20 annual tax.

Is a "titanium" so has Bluetooth, Cruise control, auto wipers, auto lights etc. I've had it since 10k miles and it's now on 75k with no issues to speak of.
09 was also the last year before they started putting DPFs in them, I believe.

Not quick tho.
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Ducati Multistrada 950 | Triumph Tiger 800 XR | Honda CBR500R | Yamaha YBR 125 Custom

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

To be fair "sporty looking" to a woman means something very different to us. Get her a mini, she'll love that.

Avoid the 207, my girlfriend has one (although it is the convertible ) and it's crap. Under powered, heavy, thirsty and the interior is from Matalan. It's also partial to a bit of oil and has dropped into limp mode a couple of times (although I can't remember what that was).
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[Nobby the Bastard]

A car for the missus? I'll swap my C1 for her but only if she takes it up the gary.
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[Rogerborg]

[mudcow007]

also worth checking is does the new car has isofit for the baby seat?

if it does, the car seat locks into the car an you dont need to piss about with seat belts

worth looking at - oh an car seats are pricey yo!

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