Any opinions on which automatic I should buy?

Zaph

I've badly buggered my left knee, and as I was thinking of changing my car anyway, I'm giving some serious thought to buying an automatic. Now I know some people here have views on small automatics, but I'm really more concerned about preserving my knee than performance, especially as I don't rack up particularly huge annual mileage and most of my driving is in the city. So basically all I'm looking for is a 1.4l hatchback no older than 2004, and I've narrowed the field down to the following (I know there are other possibilities but I've excluded them for mainly aesthetic reasons):

Honda Civic
Mazda 3
Peugeot 307
Renault Megane
Seat Ibiza or Leon
VW Golf

Has anyone any particular opinions on any of these cars, good or bad, or know for instance that 1.4l automatic versions don't exist so I can exclude them?

Thanks

Zaph

bazz26

zaph wrote:

I've badly buggered my left knee, and as I was thinking of changing my car anyway, I'm giving some serious thought to buying an automatic. Now I know some people here have views on small automatics, but I'm really more concerned about preserving my knee than performance, especially as I don't rack up particularly huge annual mileage and most of my driving is in the city. So basically all I'm looking for is a 1.4l hatchback no older than 2004, and I've narrowed the field down to the following (I know there are other possibilities but I've excluded them for mainly aesthetic reasons):

Honda Civic
Mazda 3
Peugeot 307
Renault Megane
Seat Ibiza or Leon
VW Golf

Has anyone any particular opinions on any of these cars, good or bad, or know for instance that 1.4l automatic versions don't exist so I can exclude them?

Thanks

Zaph

I don't think any of the above mentioned cars come with an automatic box in 1.4 litre except maybe the old model Honda Civic and even that is rare. Most of them will be at least 1.6 litre or above with an auto. Toyota do the old model Corolla with a clutchless manual gearbox in 1.4 litre, it was called the MM-C or something, very rare again like most automatics of this size in Ireland.

Just a few examples:
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=565067

http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=581449

http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=553106

http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=565047

http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=571924

Did you look at getting a converion kit fitted to a normal manual car so that the clutch and/or gears can be changed via a paddle shift fitted to the steering wheel? Will allow you to expand the choice of car you buy.

Zaph

bazz26 wrote:

I don't think any of the above mentioned cars come with an automatic box in 1.4 litre except maybe the old model Honda Civic and even that is rare. Most of them will be at least 1.6 litre or above with an auto. Toyota do the old model Corolla with a clutchless manual gearbox in 1.4 litre, it was called the MM-C or something, very rare again like most automatics of this size in Ireland.

Did you look at getting a converion kit fitted to a normal manual car so that the clutch and/or gears can be changed via a paddle shift fitted to the steering wheel? Will allow you to expand the choice of car you buy.

Thanks for that bazz, much appreciated. Yeah, I've seen ads for Civics and also several for 1.4l Ibizas, so maybe my choice might just come down to those two. I don't really want to go any bigger.

I've never heard of the conversion kit, I must have a look around for that, although do you know if it's easily reversible as I'd be concerned that fitting one might impact the resale value.

bazz26

zaph wrote:

I've never heard of the conversion kit, I must have a look around for that, although do you know if it's easily reversible as I'd be concerned that fitting one might impact the resale value.

Don't know exactly where you could get this done or how much it would cost but I have seen them retro fitted to cars to assist people with disabilities, people with arthritis in the legs, people with hip trouble or general leg injuries etc.

Don't know if they can be removed easily or at all.

JHMEG

The new Civic Hybrid (1339cc) comes fully loaded (leather/climate etc) and has a CVT stepless auto box - which can simulate a 7 speed auto if you prefer. And you could save on your fuel bills at the same time.

Mahatma coat

Automatic gearboxes need bigger engines with more torque, a 1.4L or even a 1.6L is not going to have sufficent power to effectivley work the auto box properly. bare minimum engine size should be 1.8L although 2.0L would be better.

I would recomend getting something in the older model 'prestige' range, something like a Saab 93 or a C Class merc, also easier to get in and out of if ya have a dodgy knee

galwaytt

Mahatma coat wrote:

Automatic gearboxes need bigger engines with more torque, a 1.4L or even a 1.6L is not going to have sufficent power to effectivley work the auto box properly. bare minimum engine size should be 1.8L although 2.0L would be better.

I would recomend getting something in the older model 'prestige' range, something like a Saab 93 or a C Class merc, also easier to get in and out of if ya have a dodgy knee

well I had an op on my knee about 3 months ago, and now I'm sticking to automatics too. Why 1.4? A Skoda Octavia 1.9 Diesel auto still does about 48mpg..........and it's easy to get in/out of.

....which brings us to the C class comment - atrociously small cabin. Saab a good bet - my brother bought a 99 9-5 turbo SE with full leather and auto for ....8k? - it does about 27mpg..

Anan1

OP - If you do an advanced search on www.carzone.ie, it allows you to tick a box giving you only automatic cars in the results.

JHMEG

Mahatma coat wrote:

Automatic gearboxes need bigger engines with more torque, a 1.4L or even a 1.6L is not going to have sufficent power to effectivley work the auto box properly. bare minimum engine size should be 1.8L although 2.0L would be better.

This does not apply in the context of a CVT box, which a lot of the smaller engined cars, like Civics, have.

Zaph

JHMEG wrote:

The new Civic Hybrid (1339cc) comes fully loaded (leather/climate etc) and has a CVT stepless auto box - which can simulate a 7 speed auto if you prefer. And you could save on your fuel bills at the same time.

Looks very nice, but unfortunately 32 grand is way over my budget. I reckon about 20k is as far as I can go.

Anan, thanks for that, I didn't notice that tick box before.

galwaytt

are you still stuck to 1400cc?

Fr'instance, there are an awful lot of E200 Merc's for sale for way under 20k. (I know, mine ain't movin' LOL.........)

Max_Damage

Alot of small Jap import cars have autos (i.e. Micra (known as the Nissan March in Japan), Civics, etc.). I'm sure if you went around to a few Jap import dealers, you'd find something that you're looking for.

Zaph

galwaytt wrote:

are you still stuck to 1400cc?

Fr'instance, there are an awful lot of E200 Merc's for sale for way under 20k. (I know, mine ain't movin' LOL.........)

I might consider going up to 1.6l, purely out of necessity if it proves too difficult to find a 1.4, but as I mentioned earlier the car won't be used for much else than city driving and relatively low mileage so I can't really justify the extra tax, insurance and fuel costs that would come with a 2 litre. Of course if I change my mind I'll be sure to call you first

colm_mcm

bazz26 wrote:

Toyota do the old model Corolla with a clutchless manual gearbox in 1.4 litre, it was called the MM-C or something, very rare again like most automatics of this size in Ireland.

THat was the MMT, and was only available with the 1.4 D-4D diesel engine.

It never really sold as it was a factory order.

greglo23

long url i know but here you go http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&sortby=PriceDesc&maxrows=100&Engine_Max=1400&Price_Max=20000&CountyID=10&County=Dublin&GroupID=738&AutomaticOnly=yes