1 litre car for learner.

StephenInsane

I'm a learner driver and was thinking of getting myself a nice little 1 litre. What would be the best car for me? My main two concerns are that it's realiable, fuel efficient, cheap to insure and run and very easy to drive. I'm not too concerned about style. I'll be doing a lot of town driving, but will be driving around the country side a bit too. I'm looking to spend under 2,000...3,000 tops. Would one of the big 3 be the most suitable? (Fiesta, Starlet, Mirca)

colm_mcm

yup those choices are bang-on. If you're in the market for a Fiesta, try a Mazda 121. identical car but lower price. only problem is most are 1.25 or 1.3. as are all post 96 Starlets

mondeoman

colm_mcm wrote:

yup those choices are bang-on. If you're in the market for a Fiesta, try a Mazda 121. identical car but lower price.

smallest fiesta engine from 1996 was 1.25 same as mazda 121.
nissan micra would be your best bet 1lt 16v from 1993 onwards,very reliable & good on fuel.;)

colm_mcm

agreed. a sensible if extremely uncool car!

StephenInsane

i was thinking Micra. I know it's a pretty lame car, but I guess I could get away with it by smoking fags out the window, blaring dance/rap, baseball cap peaked upwards etc.

ninty9er

Corsa was 1.0 from late 97 revision. I find it easy to drive if a little sluggish. Fun car to drive. Micra's have a habit of getting learners into trouble. Polo is 1.0 but for 3000 u haven't much hope

colm_mcm

A Seat Ibiza is a good Polo alternative. better equipped and in my opinion more desirable.

models like ths one were available since 94

StephenInsane

I never realised they did a 1 litre Ibiza. How does it compare to the Micra in fuel efficiency? Looks a bit heavy for a 1 litre engine.

What do you mean by "Micra's have a habit of getting learners into trouble"

And was does POA mean, under price in carzone.ie

Supercell

Ibizas tend to have very stiff clutches, not great for a learner driver imho.

Zaph

I use to have a 1.0l Peugeot 106. Grand car to learn in, it's now with its third learner/owner in the family.

cargrouch

StephenInsane wrote:

I never realised they did a 1 litre Ibiza. How does it compare to the Micra in fuel efficiency? Looks a bit heavy for a 1 litre engine.

What do you mean by "Micra's have a habit of getting learners into trouble"

And was does POA mean, under price in carzone.ie

POA means Price on Application. The dealer is giving such a [heavy sarcasm alert!] fantastic deal that he can't reveal it, fearing a stampede of people waving cash for a quick sale.

Obviously they would actually want to let people know if it was a good deal, so I wouldn't get your hopes up if you ring about one. They're probably sitting there waiting to see who'll pay most. Put a minimum of 100 in the carzone box and rule the timewasters out of your search.

I agree that it Polos/Ibizas etc look heavy for a 1L. Are you really sure that you have to go for a 1L? I presume you're at an age where you're being slaughtered for insurance, but have you checked out how much more a 1.2 is compared to a 1L? You might be surprised and it might give you more options.

I have driven cars in the 1.8 down to 1.2 range. I personally wouldn't want to go any lower, but I realise these days you may have no choice.

Supercell

POA = Dealer wants to see how much he can rip you off, just exclude these offers..shark springs to mind. Never have and never will even bother to call these types.

cargrouch

Thinking about this again, the micra is the sensible choice I think. If you are a young first provisional driver hoping to get some laydeez in your car then maybe a saxo/106 might rate higher than the micra?

Had to be said didn't it!!

Dilbert75

If you're going for the 121 instead of the Fiesta, make sure its got power steering - as a lot of the 121's didn't have it as standard. It'll break your arms otherwise.

Rudolph Claus

Micras are class starter cars, belletproof japenese quality for nice reliable/economical motoring. Last thing you want when learning is a car breaking down every other day. Rule out peugeots/petrol models only,overrated expensive if break german ibiza`s, fuel guzzling fiestas(fords always drank fuel), etc etc.

Of course i suppose im biased being a jap owner.
My sister has a nice genuine suitable car for sale that might interest you.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054923813

Our man in Havana

You can't fault the micra. 993 cc of economy motoring. I have a 91 micra and its a great little car.

ninty9er

What i meant about the Micra is the accelerator can be a bit over responsive (i.e verry nippy car) and may not be the best if you drive a lot in heavy traffic although it depend on how well the "learner" can already control a clutch

unkel

StephenInsane wrote:

it's realiable, fuel efficient, cheap to insure and run and very easy to drive. I'm not too concerned about style

As many others have said, go for the Micra. Plenty of them for sale, easy to sell on again. Very reliable. Much cheaper to buy than a Starlet

StephenInsane wrote:

i was thinking Micra. I know it's a pretty lame car

Actually it isn't that lame at all. It's faster off the mark than much bigger cars like a basic Golf or Focus

The Fiesta is a better drivers' car and contrary to my own expectations, I found the 1.25l Zetec (pretty nippy) can be insured for no more money than other 1.0l cars. If your main concern is budget / reliability, the Micra is the better choice. If you are willing to pay a wee premium to enjoy a better driver's car, go for the Fiesta

Let us know how you are getting on!

mondeoman

unkel wrote:

As many others have said, go for the Micra. Plenty of them for sale, easy to sell on again. Very reliable. Much cheaper to buy than a Starlet

If your main concern is budget / reliability, the Micra is the better choice. If you are willing to pay a wee premium to enjoy a better driver's car, go for the Fiesta

Let us know how you are getting on!

only bother with the fiesta if its a 1.25 16v zetec not the 1.3 8v;)
but if i was you id get a micra:)

Stephen

Nuttzy wrote:

fuel guzzling fiestas(fords always drank fuel)

That's a load of absolute ****.
I had a Fiesta Zetec 1.25 16v and it was very economical and quick to boot.

Lex Luthor

zaph wrote:

I use to have a 1.0l Peugeot 106. Grand car to learn in, it's now with its third learner/owner in the family.

If you're anyway tall....(6ft) rule out the 106

ianobrien

I'd go for the micra. At home we have a 96 one, and three people learned to drive in it and it's still going at 150K miles. With a Micra, the only thing is that some came without power steering (our one, for example) and it was hard at first for the sister to drive slowly (car parks, etc) but once you learn the trick of keeping the car creeping along, turning the wheel was easy.
45Miles per gallon is easy from them cars. Easy driving can see up to 50MPG

The only problems could be:
The clutch in the micra is quite small and will not take much abuse.
The waterpump will have to be changed at 100k miles as it will leak water, and the back brake cylinders need an eye kept on them.

The timing chain rattles on startup, but after a second or two, the rattle stops, and there is no need to worry about it.

By the way, after learning to drive in a micra, I went out and bought one for myself as they are so cheap to run and reliable

colm_mcm

Stephen wrote:

That's a load of absolute ****.
I had a Fiesta Zetec 1.25 16v and it was very economical and quick to boot.

that's rubbish about Fords being heavy on fuel.

Chezawolf

StephenInsane wrote: »

I'm a learner driver and was thinking of getting myself a nice little 1 litre. What would be the best car for me? My main two concerns are that it's realiable, fuel efficient, cheap to insure and run and very easy to drive. I'm not too concerned about style. I'll be doing a lot of town driving, but will be driving around the country side a bit too. I'm looking to spend under 2,000...3,000 tops. Would one of the big 3 be the most suitable? (Fiesta, Starlet, Mirca)

Hi,
I would recommend the micra, €40 approx to fill it and will last a month even with a fair amount of driving, you can get one between 950 and 1670,
insured for approx 600 and 3 month tax for 52! I've had one for 3 years and its a bloody star. When your buying one if its between 1998 and 2002 check if the heating works on all the settings its a common problem that they work on min and max but not between them, but over all an UBER cheap car to buy run and service!!
Hope it helps

colm_mcm

The OP has 6 years no claims bonus at this stage :rolleyes: