upgrading from a 1L Corsa

voxpop

With my SSIA maturing soon Ive been thinking about upgrading the car to something with a bit more grunt. I'd like something relativly good to drive but I also need 5 doors (kids). Im thinking something around the 10 grand mark - maybe a 1.6 Focus, but a focus seems a little plain or boring. Any suggestions appreciated.

Tabnabs

I did the very same thing a few years ago, same car, similar budget and same reasons. I ended up getting a Seat Leon 1.4. Grand car, basically a poor mans VW. You'll get a much newer / lower milage car than a focus or golf.

ninty9er

I'll be doing the exact same as soon as I have a bit of cash behind me....same car...it's woefully slow and junctions can be a hariy experience.

What year is yours and does the replacement have to have a newer plate??

voxpop

The corsa is a 2000 and the new car doesnt necessarily have to be younger - once its fairly reliable.

The main problems I have with the corsa other than it only having 3 doors is overtaking, especially if the car is full. It just takes forever and has no chance if going up even the slightest of hills. Motorway driving also tends to be just hard work

ninty9er

voxpop wrote:

The corsa is a 2000 and the new car doesnt necessarily have to be younger - once its fairly reliable.

The main problems I have with the corsa other than it only having 3 doors is overtaking, especially if the car is full. It just takes forever and has no chance if going up even the slightest of hills. Motorway driving also tends to be just hard work

bingo...we have a winner for the "describe your corsa competition":D

If you do a lot of picking and dropping and motorway and have 5 yrs NCB, get yourself one of http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=542781 yokes. And as I'm telling evertone who's mentioned cars to me since I drove an auto last week...get an auto or at least drive one and see what you think.

The new one's just out so you might get that on your budget.

voxpop

I'll have 1 year NCB at christmas, so a 2L petrol might be a little too expensive insurance wise. I've been thinking that a 1.6L petrol or maybe 2.0L diesel would probably give a nice mix of performance, reasonable insurance costs and economy - what ye think?

patrickc

i love my volvo s40, a good safe tank for carrying kids about. mines 1.9td, so power is good and insurance isn't too bad. mines a 01 and i paid just under 9 for it last year.

voxpop

Thinking now of a 1.9 TDI Seat Leon - any opinions ?

ninty9er

voxpop wrote:

Thinking now of a 1.9 TDI Seat Leon - any opinions ?

It's a VW underneath and slightly better than the Actual VW brand itself of all is to be believed....I saw a Toledo with leather and all a while back...maybe worth a look!!

smash

I'd go for a Golf...

voxpop

The toledo doesnt seem to be as good a car as the Leon - just looking at the whatcar.co.uk reviews. It seems the toledo is a bigger car but with the same bhp as the Leon, Im wondering if its a bit slow and "wallowy" perhaps?

Steve - any reasons to go for the golf, they are quite expensive for what you get (im looking second hand btw)

ninty9er

I'd definitely have any matcher car out of the VW stable rather than an actual VW, with the possible exception of the Polo.

Go for the Leon if you want something like that, but I wouldn't think the 1.9 is anyway slow at all in the Toledo compared to the Corsa

voxpop

compared to a corsa, a bicycle is quite nippy

What do you mean by "something like that" when refering to the Leon ?

ninty9er

Something from the Skoda or Seat rather than VW wing of the castle...plus you'll get fog lights, electric windows, a CD player and c/locking...none of which you're likely to get in a well kept Golf in your price range

E92

voxpop wrote:

The toledo doesnt seem to be as good a car as the Leon - just looking at the whatcar.co.uk reviews.

Two things I'd suggest here.
Number 1, you're looking at the new versions of these cars, and the Leon is preferable to the Toledo, because its(presumably) a better car.
Number 2, and this is much more likely, is that you looked at the old Leon and old Toledo. The reason why the old Toledo didnt do as well is because its a saloon(the new one is a hatchback), and the Brits dont like saloons at all, unless its got a VW badge or posher.
Of course here in Ireland we love our saloons, and as the Leon and Toledo are practically the same cars, but the Toledo is in the preferred bodystyle for the Irish market, so its a better car, plus it has a massive boot, and I think is a bit longer so a bit more spacious, so I'd chose the old Toledo over the old Leon. The old Leon, old Toledo, old Audi TT and A3, and old Skoda Octavia are all based on the MkIV Golf(and Bora/Jetta for the US) so all have the same basic engines and chassis.
The MKIV Golf(98-03) is not a very reliable car, in the sense that its engines are fine, but it always has niggly problems like electric windows not working and it goes through rear lights like theres no tomorrow.

voxpop

I've been looking at their used car section (00-05) on the SEAT Leon and Toledo. The Leon gets an extra star (4/5) over the Toledo although the review doesnt say much bad about the car, so maybe you've got something about preferred body type.

When you say that the Golf wasnt very reliable and that the SEATs are based on the Golf, are you saying that the SEATs would be unreliable as well ?