Small Automatic Hatchback

tempnam

Looking for a 'first car' for the O/H....

Long story short, she's well able to drive but doesnt have a lot of confidence. Has driven both manual and automatic and she's much more comfortable and confident driving an automatic.

I've noticed there's definitely a much poorer selection of automatics available. Anyone recommend a good 'first car' - small engine, auto, hatchback, max price of €3K...

Thanks in advance!

blastman

You can get Jap import Nissan Micras with auto boxes, not sure how much your insurance company will love them, though.

Henry Ford III

Get a manual. If she can drive she'll get used to it.

_Kaiser_

tempnam wrote: »

Looking for a 'first car' for the O/H....

Long story short, she's well able to drive but doesnt have a lot of confidence. Has driven both manual and automatic and she's much more comfortable and confident driving an automatic.

I've noticed there's definitely a much poorer selection of automatics available. Anyone recommend a good 'first car' - small engine, auto, hatchback, max price of €3K...

Thanks in advance!

I had a Mitsubishi Mirage (import version of the Colt) early on.. 1.3 auto.

Won't break any land speed records but comfortable enough from what I remember and never gave me any trouble.

wesf

Get a vitz (jap yaris). Perfect for what you want.

colm_mcm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Get a manual. If she can drive she'll get used to it.

Id tend to agree. Otherwise a yaris automatic, not multimode though.
These ones have the traditional big stick and not the tiptronic style shifter.
Plenty of vitz Japanese imports of these around. Budget for an immobiliser as theyre not factory fitted on the vitz

keithclancy

tempnam wrote: »

Looking for a 'first car' for the O/H....

Long story short, she's well able to drive but doesnt have a lot of confidence. Has driven both manual and automatic and she's much more comfortable and confident driving an automatic.

I've noticed there's definitely a much poorer selection of automatics available. Anyone recommend a good 'first car' - small engine, auto, hatchback, max price of €3K...

Thanks in advance!

She'll get a better manual for 3k than and Automatic for 3k.

She'll build up confidence anyway, getting her an automatic is only giving her a crutch and is quite crippling imo when you want to rent a car on holidays.

Also its much more difficult going from Auto to Manual than Manual to Auto.

wesf

He wants an auto, why do people feel the need to force their choices on others. I can drive both but love auto and I know some people who drive nothing but auto with no problems.

Henry Ford III

wesf wrote: »

He wants an auto, why do people feel the need to force their choices on others. I can drive both but love auto and I know some people who drive nothing but auto with no problems.

Nobody is forcing anything, only suggesting things.

Small automatics are pretty poor by and large, and rare enough too. The OP's budget isn't huge either.

wesf

If he had asked which was better i'm sure suggestions would be welcome.
I'm sure they are capable of choosing which they want.
She feels more comfortable in an auto, some people just do not like manual.
3k is loads to get a nice little auto for tipping about.
Anyway op, my choice would be a vitz, good resale too, a garage owner friend of mine seeks out small autos just because they are great sellers for him, nothing stopping your oh from practicing with a manual in her spare time and maybe getting one in the future if she wanted.

biko

An auto for a few years might get her in the mood for a manual at some point when she feel up to it. Removing the risk of stalling or the extra shifting could make it much easier to drive.

Micra autos are (kinda) plentiful but there's quite a selection out there. Do you have a budget in mind? Or another brand?
http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_micra+automatic/

galwaytt

keithclancy wrote: »

She'll get a better manual for 3k than and Automatic for 3k.

She'll build up confidence anyway, getting her an automatic is only giving her a crutch and is quite crippling imo when you want to rent a car on holidays.

Also its much more difficult going from Auto to Manual than Manual to Auto.

Complete nonsense.

I drive an auto because I want to. I have a TT with manual because it comes no other way. One of my bikes is auto, and the rest 'manual'.

I had NO problem renting a small auto for holidays in Germany in April


And I think learning in auto is a good idea, not a bad one. They learn judgement of speed, distance, braking, manoeuvring. You can then 'add on' manual controls as a separate learning task - good for people who are nervous, or are intimidated by the thought of 'so much' to learn at once.

If the person wants an auto, why on earth would you foist your preference on her ?

Charlie Babbitt

Was in the similar situation of trying to replace an Auto Micra recently for the OH (don't get an auto Micra, pain in the proverbial in our experience) and so can tell you now: the good ones are as rare as hen's teeth, Yariss in particular.

We settled on a well looked after, low mileage, Irish 3 Door Civic, but again: hard to find, as most 3 Door Civics out there, have been abused beyond all recognition by the boy racers types over the years.

Had a quick look there and if we were still in the market for a small engine auto hatchback, the following four would be catching our eye for sure:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/peugeot-206/5424625



http://www.carzone.ie/search/Opel/Corsa/AUTO/713258393943690/advert?channel=CARS



http://www.carzone.ie/search/Opel/Corsa/5DR-52/201332217602299/advert?channel=



http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Yaris/1.0(AUTO/37113734787244100/advert?channel=CARS

TBi

wesf wrote: »

He wants an auto, why do people feel the need to force their choices on others. I can drive both but love auto and I know some people who drive nothing but auto with no problems.

Auto is very limiting, my partner wanted an Auto but i talked her into a manual and she's very happy with it.

Now if she wants to rent a car she can get a cheaper manual, if she wants to buy a new car she has much more choice and it is more fuel efficient and cheaper to repair.

I have nothing against people driving Auto's, i just think it's silly not to learn to drive stick first!

Charlie Babbitt

TBi wrote: »

Auto is very limiting, my partner wanted an Auto but i talked her into a manual and she's very happy with it.

Nonsense. Maybe 10 to 15 years ago autos were limiting, but auto boxes today are in general, excellent and anything but "limiting".

Now if she wants to rent a car she can get a cheaper manual, if she wants to buy a new car she has much more choice and it is more fuel efficient and cheaper to repair.

Auto boxes today are very fuel efficient and in fact, if someone is not confident and / or comfortable driving a manual, they are likely to be more fuel efficient than their manual equivalents. Have you ever heard or seen some people driving manuals that don't feel so comfortable in them? Revving away from lights, staying in 3rd for an age longer than necessary: all of which is gonna burn way more juice than any decent similarly spec'd auto.

I have nothing against people driving Auto's, i just think it's silly not to learn to drive stick first!

Tbh, and not that I would agree, but the opposite argument that driving manuals is "silly" when we have technology that can change gear for us, is a somewhat stronger one. I know I'd rather be in the OH's car when I hit a traffic jam I'll not leave for an hour, that's for damn sure.

Anyway, the OP's OH knows how to drive a manual, but just doesn't feel confident / comfortable doing so.

tempnam

Thanks for the replies, and for the people sticking up for me - i kind of knew it wouldn't be the most popular decision in here :pac:

All she needs is a small run-around for going to the shops / work etc. all of which are fairly local, so won't be doing high mileage.

I agree with Charlie Babbitt about using manuals when we have the technology to have the car control the gear changes. Don't most of the bigger countries (with longer roads) use automatics as standard, with manuals being in the minority?

Driving an automatic is so much easier, why do we insist on making things more complicated??....

wesf

For some cars i'd insist on a manual, sports cars etc. But for something like a big cruiser or the likes of an x5/q7 it would be auto.
Similarly for a small runaround auto is perfect.
The arguement that auto is less fuel efficient is not only untrue but often used by people who don't have a clue what they're talking about.

keithclancy

galwaytt wrote: »

Complete nonsense.

I drive an auto because I want to. I have a TT with manual because it comes no other way. One of my bikes is auto, and the rest 'manual'.

I had NO problem renting a small auto for holidays in Germany in April


And I think learning in auto is a good idea, not a bad one. They learn judgement of speed, distance, braking, manoeuvring. You can then 'add on' manual controls as a separate learning task - good for people who are nervous, or are intimidated by the thought of 'so much' to learn at once.

If the person wants an auto, why on earth would you foist your preference on her ?

I'll drive anything whatever is cheapest/best bang for buck.

Auto is always more expensive. (In Germany/The Netherlands anyway)

Also if you use one of the smaller companies via www.billiger-mietwagen.de a good few do not supply Auto box cars in Economy class.

Merely commenting that if you learn to drive an Auto its harder to drive an manual rather than learning in an manual and then driving an auto.

If you do your test in an Auto you can only ever drive an auto anyway.

My preference is more choice than less choice.

_Kaiser_

galwaytt wrote: »

Complete nonsense.

I drive an auto because I want to. I have a TT with manual because it comes no other way. One of my bikes is auto, and the rest 'manual'.

I had NO problem renting a small auto for holidays in Germany in April


And I think learning in auto is a good idea, not a bad one. They learn judgement of speed, distance, braking, manoeuvring. You can then 'add on' manual controls as a separate learning task - good for people who are nervous, or are intimidated by the thought of 'so much' to learn at once.

If the person wants an auto, why on earth would you foist your preference on her ?

Have to completely agree with this..

If the idea of learning to drive is that you learn to "read" the road ahead, speed, distance (all the things mentioned above) then an auto is perfect for this as it allows you to focus entirely on this rather than the mechanics of clutch control, worrying about stalling the car etc

I'm on my 5th auto at the moment and the first 2 were Mitsubishi Mirage's as I mentioned above. Not going to out-drag anyone off the line and you'll notice the performance drop-off with a few people in it, but as a starter car or for just pottering around town a small reliable auto is perfect

kerten

I was in the same boat with wife struggling to drive large manual cars.

Bought a 99 toyota vitz 1.0 automatic(proper torque converter) 2 years ago and she is driving it without a problem now. She even built up confidence to say she can drive bigger cars if necessary which was scaring her a lot at the beginning.

If car is going to be used for city driving only vitz is the way to go but I recommend yaris 1.3 automatic(same transmission as vitz) for better compromise in case of longer trips. 1.0 engine is ok for manual transmission but automatic transmission kills performance after 80 km/h. I doubt you will have big difference in fuel economy with 1.3 lt engine

bazz26

Honda Jazz:


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Honda/Jazz/5DR-**/37013732913630760/

colm_mcm

wesf wrote: »

The arguement that auto is less fuel efficient is not only untrue but often used by people who don't have a clue what they're talking about.

But it is true to be fair, auto boxes sap power and are less efficient.


There are of course exceptions like DSG, but that's more an automated manual box.

wesf

not in my experience, i've owned auto cars and jeeps and their manual counterparts and in some cases the auto was easier on fuel. its about knowing how to drive them.

kerten

wesf wrote: »

not in my experience, i've owned auto cars and jeeps and their manual counterparts and in some cases the auto was easier on fuel. its about knowing how to drive them.

Which cars and jeeps were they ?

I can understand better gear ratios(long overdrive ratio) on auto vs manual may cause this on long motorway routes but in stop start driving it is hard to have same fuel consumption unless average speed is different.

wesf

2.2td jap camry, 3.0td hilux surf, 2.0d corolla. surf was about the same but the camry and corolla auto versions were easier on fuel.

colm_mcm

wesf wrote: »

not in my experience, i've owned auto cars and jeeps and their manual counterparts and in some cases the auto was easier on fuel. its about knowing how to drive them.

I'm sorry, but you're just wrong
Like for like, engine for engine, the auto will almost always be slower and more thirsty.

Some cars like the yaris multimode (automated manual box) show better mpg than their manual counterparts on euro emissions cycle, this is because they're programmed to change gear at optimum times to specifically do well in those tests.
I wouldn't count that as being more economical.

wesf

colm_mcm wrote: »

I'm sorry, but you're just wrong.
Like for like, engine for engine, the auto will almost always be slower and more thirsty.

Well i'm sorry but i'm not. Have you owned both versions of the same vehicle for a prolonged period? I have and I am religious about checking fuel consumption and getting the most I can from a tank.
Think what you like, I know from first hand experience, end of story.

colm_mcm

wesf wrote: »

Well i'm sorry but i'm not. Have you owned both versions of the same vehicle for a prolonged period? I have and I am religious about checking fuel consumption and getting the most I can from a tank.
Think what you like, I know from first hand experience, end of story.

I know someone who had a surf too and the auto was better on fuel. It was also nippier.
That's the exception though.

I had FTO mivecs in both tiptronic and manual.

jackofalltrades

colm_mcm wrote: »

But it is true to be fair, auto boxes sap power and are less efficient.


There are of course exceptions like DSG, but that's more an automated manual box.

I'd consider the DCT boxes, like the DSG box to be an automatic. You can drive one an automatic licence.

So if someone said auto boxes sap power and are less efficient I'd disagree with them. But if they were talking about older torque converter style automatic's then I'd agree with them.

ninty9er

Whatever you do, don't get a Corsa! It's a miserable excuse for an auto box (in fact it's not an auto box), it works very good in tiptronic though.

hop2it

we had a suzuki alto 1.0l auto a few years a go in home it was a great little car and I would drive one again

colm_mcm

jackofalltrades wrote: »

I'd consider the DCT boxes, like the DSG box to be an automatic. You can drive one an automatic licence.

So if someone said auto boxes sap power and are less efficient I'd disagree with them. But if they were talking about older torque converter style automatic's then I'd agree with them.

I have already said that automated manual boxes can give the same mpg, or in test conditions - better mpg (I also have real life experience of these hateful gearboxes)
I said in the post that you quoted that I didn't consider dsg to be less powerful or efficient

Now in the context of this thread, the OP is looking for a car for 3 grand. You won't get much Dsg for 3 grand, and for someone learning to drive, an automated manual like a citroen sensodrive or a toyota multimode isn't gonna be nearly as easy to drive as a conventional TC gearbox.

visual

A lot of jeeps only come in auto and as more gears are added in newer models they are much better than autos of yesterday who often only had 3 or 4 auto gears

Bigus

Jazz auto is best suggestion yet, they can judder though which is an expensive fix , but if you can live with the judder they'll go forever.

visual

The 1.0 micra auto is smooth little driver but it is slow much slower than its manual version

tempnam

Bigus wrote: »

Jazz auto is best suggestion yet, they can judder though which is an expensive fix , but if you can live with the judder they'll go forever.

Sorry..... 'judder'? - what does that mean exactly?

Bigus

Judder , shudder, on take off there's a resonance/shaking through the drive train which goes once the car gets going.

Stella Virgo

tempnam wrote: »

Looking for a 'first car' for the O/H....

Long story short, she's well able to drive but doesnt have a lot of confidence. Has driven both manual and automatic and she's much more comfortable and confident driving an automatic.

I've noticed there's definitely a much poorer selection of automatics available. Anyone recommend a good 'first car' - small engine, auto, hatchback, max price of €3K...

Thanks in advance!

lots of "automatics" for sale here,loads with with new nct as well

http://cars.donedeal.ie/find/cars/for-sale/Ireland/new%20nct?filter%28max_engine%29=1.6&filter%28max_mileage%29=Max+KM&filter%28max_price%29=3500&filter%28max_year%29=Max+Year&filter%28min_engine%29=1.0&filter%28min_mileage%29=Min+KM&filter%28min_price%29=1500&filter%28min_year%29=Min+Year&multiFilter%28fuelType%29=Petrol&multiFilter%28transmission%29=Automatic&source=all