Best 1.4 petrol saloon?

NinjaK

What is the best 1.4 petrol saloon?
Ive narrowed it down to a toyota coralla or opel astra in terms of looks only. Which is the best regards mpg, best to drive, reliability and acceleration etc.
Looking to spend 1-4000, around 70-90k miles or less, 2002 onwards.
Most of my driving is short 5-15mins drives, I dont drive far these days.

zinzan

We have an 04 corolla saloon that has been pretty bulletproof when it comes to reliability - done over 100k miles and other than std service parts have only had to replace front wheel bearings. Gives just under 40 mpg.

bazz26

Both cars have their problems, the Corolla of that vintage can suffer from buring excessive oil which resulted in Toyota replacing alot of their engine blocks. Other than that nothing much else goes wrong. The 1.4 Astra of that era also had a serious problem where it can be suddenly starved of oil and kill the engine.

Others to look at would be the Ford Focus, 1.4 is nowhere near as nippy as the Corolla or Astra but it is a reliable enough unit where the only main issues are usually with coil packs and the alternator, cheap enough fixes in most cases.

Another outsider is the Mazda 3 hatchback, used the Focus platform but has a Mazda engine, very little goes wrong with them and they are cheaper to buy than a Corolla of similar age. Parts can be expensive as they are not too common but given their reliability record, this would balance itself out over the duration of ownership.

Something like this:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4427399

or this:

pa990

Toyota's are generally bullet proof.
The most basic of maintenance will keep it going for a long long time.
And if you are religious with servicing and general maintenance, it will still be going long after you stop.

* some slight exaggeration may have been used

Damien360

bazz26 wrote: »

Both cars have their problems, the Corolla of that vintage can suffer from buring excessive oil which resulted in Toyota replacing alot of their engine blocks. Other than that nothing much else goes wrong. The 1.4 Astra of that era also had a serious problem where it can be suddenly starved of oil and kill the engine.

Others to look at would be the Ford Focus, 1.4 is nowhere near as nippy as the Corolla or Astra but it is a reliable enough unit where the only main issues are usually with coil packs and the alternator, cheap enough fixes in most cases.

Another outsider is the Mazda 3 hatchback, used the Focus platform but has a Mazda engine, very little goes wrong with them and they are cheaper to buy than a Corolla of similar age. Parts can be expensive as they are not too common but given their reliability record, this would balance itself out over the duration of ownership.


or this:

We had a 1.4 focus years ago (02) and found it nippy. The mazda feels sturdier to drive but it is very heavy and father-in-law got rid of his after having a 1.6 avensis. He found the mazda 3 very sluggish compared to the avensis which should tell you how heavy it is. Mechanic we know told us to avoid the mazda's due to cost of parts and he worked in a mazda dealership.

JohnBoy26

bazz26 wrote: »

Both cars have their problems, the Corolla of that vintage can suffer from buring excessive oil which resulted in Toyota replacing alot of their engine blocks. Other than that nothing much else goes wrong. The 1.4 Astra of that era also had a serious problem where it can be suddenly starved of oil and kill the engine.

Others to look at would be the Ford Focus, 1.4 is nowhere near as nippy as the Corolla or Astra but it is a reliable enough unit where the only main issues are usually with coil packs and the alternator, cheap enough fixes in most cases.

Another outsider is the Mazda 3 hatchback, used the Focus platform but has a Mazda engine, very little goes wrong with them and they are cheaper to buy than a Corolla of similar age. Parts can be expensive as they are not too common but given their reliability record, this would balance itself out over the duration of ownership.

Something like this:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4427399

or this:

A corolla of that vintage did not have any problem with burning exessive oil or block trouble. It was the previous model that had these problems and mostly in the 1.6vvti. Imo it was a greatly over exxagerated problem on the early 1.4vvti

JohnBoy26

A honda civic would be my choice. A brilliant car

Chuck Stone

NinjaK wrote: »

What is the best 1.4 petrol saloon?

Civic.
2004
1.4
40+ MPG combined.
120k miles
nct 5/14
tax for 6 months
€3,600 ono

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4430557

colm_mcm

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

A corolla of that vintage did not have any problem with burning exessive oil or block trouble. It was the previous model that had these problems and mostly in the 1.6vvti. Imo it was a greatly over exxagerated problem on the early 1.4vvti

I would agree, when I was selling toyotas, it was all older gen corollas getting this work done,

It would be between the corolla and civic for me. I wouldn't buy a base model corolla saloon, which to be fair is all thats out there. so I guess in real life, I'd end up with the civic. The corolla is a good bit nippier though, and its less prone to denting easily.

bazz26

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

A corolla of that vintage did not have any problem with burning exessive oil or block trouble. It was the previous model that had these problems and mostly in the 1.6vvti. Imo it was a greatly over exxagerated problem on the early 1.4vvti

Well an ex-neighbour of mine had a 2002 NG Corolla and it had the same issue so the problem wasn't totally solved in that model. It might not be a big issue these days but something the OP should be aware of anyhow.

Civics of that age were not impervious to problems either. My father had a 2003 3dr 1.4 Civic and the gearbox started getting notchy which was a known bearing issue in them according to Honda. Saloon apparently didn't have the same issue.

joujoujou

Oil burning problem appeared in vvti(*) engines up to 2003 year of manufacture.

And appeared when engine's been run on high revs frequently.

(*) Engine codes 1ZZ-FE, 3ZZ-FE, 4ZZ-FE.

If you give a reg number to toyota dealer you'll get the answer if engine block's been replaced under warranty.

Pottler

There's a 1.4 astra estate, 1996, parked in the yard outside wanting an in tank fuel pump. It has 285,600 miles on the clock and is tight as a drum to drive, good on fuel and fast for a 1.4. If you hid the odometer and took it for a spin(pump aside:D) you'd guess the mileage at below 50k. I like em.:) That ones had nothing much except servicing either. Same clutch, box and motor.

blindside88

The Mazda 3 is quite a nice car to drive and looks very well. The Astra wouldn't be the most reliable of the cars mentioned. Is there any reason it has to be 1.4 op? Some of these heavier saloons can be more economical with the 1.6 engine

Ardennes1944

nothing wrong with the 1.4 astra once its the newer 02< z14 engine code. its the nippiest out of all of them i would say if that matters. interior is very dated looking now though, but so is the interior of the focus, corolla and civic

JohnBoy26

bazz26 wrote: »

Well an ex-neighbour of mine had a 2002 NG Corolla and it had the same issue so the problem wasn't totally solved in that model. It might not be a big issue these days but something the OP should be aware of anyhow.

Civics of that age were not impervious to problems either. My father had a 2003 3dr 1.4 Civic and the gearbox started getting notchy which was a known bearing issue in them according to Honda. Saloon apparently didn't have the same issue.

That Corolla your neighbour had must of been one of the very first new models for that to happen. I know owners of a 2002 03 04 and 05 and none have had any block or burning oil trouble. Now im not saying it can't happen to the newer ones, anything is possible but so far they seem fairly trouble free in my view.

As for the Civic yes the Saloon didn't give the problems the hatch gave. Along with a better gearbox it had hydraulic power steering instead of the troublesome electric power steering in the hatch.

The Pontiac

What's with all the 1.4 threads? Only in Eire.

A Volvo S40 1.6

colm_mcm

The Pontiac wrote: »

What's with all the 1.4 threads? Only in Eire.

A Volvo S40 1.6

Sorry to hijack the thread, but what was your old username?

The Pontiac

colm_mcm wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread, but what was your old username?

Why do you want to know? It's allowed on boards.ie to change a username. What has that got to do with anything?

colm_mcm

Just curious, as you have a good few posts on motors and I couldn't place you for a while.

The Pontiac

colm_mcm wrote: »

Just curious, as you have a good few posts on motors and I couldn't place you for a while.

Probably better off anyway.

MuppetCheck

The Pontiac wrote: »

What's with all the 1.4 threads? Only in Eire.

A Volvo S40 1.6

A 1.6 is hardly pushing the boat out on engine size either:)

colm_mcm

It is when its only got the power of a 1.4

cudsy1

lads, trying to decide between: toyota corolla or opel astra both 2005 1.4 hatchback petrol? similar price, and mileage...

selectamatic

Corolla. Mainly because it'll depreciate less. Also nippier and most likely more reliable depending on how both cars have been maintained. Things to look out for are rattlely timing chains and notchy gearboxes. Also drop links tend to go at the front but new ones won't break the bank.

bazz26

In other 2013 news.

biko

Old thread lock.

cudsy1, I have moved your last post to Buying.