Replacement for Nissan Micra 1.0

AdrianSandu

I got last year a Nissan Micra 1.0 automatic. Most of the time it does its job very well, especially in town. However my last job requires a daily commute of 30+ km on M50 and the little bug is not very agile around 100km/h speed.

I am looking for a possible replacement in the limits of 3000 euro. My first set of choices include Toyota Yaris 1.3 or 1.5 (very rare) or Honda Jazz. The second set is to go higher in class and choose either a Corolla hatchback or a Honda Civic. I'm trying to keep engine size below 1.6 to avoid high tax and I'm not including saloons because of the larger size.

Are there any reasons why I should avoid any of the options?

road_high

The Jazz is a great option, the Yaris won't be much of an improvement on the motorway vs the Micra, if at all.
Your budget is quite low, so I'd imagine you're looking well back in the years for any of these.

AdrianSandu

I found several attractive options in this range, below 3000 euro, years 2000-2004, miles less than 130.000. The age and budget made me restrict my choices to these two Japanese brands, that are well known for reliability.

Is the automatic box good on Jazz? I love the NCVT on my Micra in the city traffic although it could be one of the reasons it's sluggish at higher speeds.

Would the next generation of Micra be any improvement? My wife likes the look although, if I were to let her choose, it would be a VW Beetle or a Mini

P.S. I can't post URLs yet due to the board restrictions.

colm_mcm

Might be an option
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-corolla-runx/10100906?offset=24

AMKC

What about a Mazda 2. Also Japanese and very reliable or a Mitsubishi Colt.

AdrianSandu

@Colm: Thanks for the suggestion. I actually have a decent size list of cars, but my status as a newbie on the boards prevents me from adding URLs yet. At the moment the list is made of Jazz, Civic and Corolla, although I restricted my choice around Dublin only. It might be more expensive, but it gives me better flexibility in checking the offers.

However the only source of info for me has been Parkers website (parkers dot co dot uk) and I was looking for real life info. At the moment I'm looking more to restrict the pool of options to as few models as possible. Like ruling out the Yaris from the options. Parkers is not too clear whether the larger motors (1.3 or 1.5) are a big improvement over the basic 1.0.

@AMKC: The only Mazda 2 that fits in my budget is the one between '03 and '07. And that one, according to Parkers, is based on Fiesta/Focus and built in Ford's factory in Spain. A Japanese car in badge only. I sneaked some glances to the early Mazda 3, but I think it's a bit too big. Before coming to Ireland I had an Alfa Romeo 166 and parking in tight places was a bitch. I so much prefer the versatility of the Micra, being able to fit in most places available.

Also, 90% of the time it will be just me in the car, while driving only with my wife fills up the other 10%. We don't need a large family car. Just a small one that can give me enough acceleration for maneuvers at motorway speeds.

NickDunne

Would a 1.4 TDCI Fiesta be out of the question? I know of a 2004 one within your budget. 96k miles. Not too big, diesel and still chape tax

colm_mcm

Automatic?

JohnBoy26

road_high wrote: »

The Jazz is a great option, the Yaris won't be much of an improvement on the motorway vs the Micra, if at all.
Your budget is quite low, so I'd imagine you're looking well back in the years for any of these.

Neither will a jazz.

AdrianSandu

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Neither will a jazz.

Should I understand that you suggest going higher in class with a Civic or Corolla?

JohnBoy26

AdrianSandu wrote: »

Should I understand that you suggest going higher in class with a Civic or Corolla?

If you do a lot of motorway driving I think it would be a better option.

Leonard Hofstadter

Japanese cars are usually pretty noisy on the motorway. My uncle has a 1.6 automatic Civic (the one that has the dash mounted gearlever) and it's proper noisy at higher speeds. A shame because it's a very good car otherwise and he's very pleased with its fuel consumption as well.

JohnBoy26

captainspeed wrote: »

Japanese cars are usually pretty noisy on the motorway. My uncle has a 1.6 automatic Civic (the one that has the dash mounted gearlever) and it's proper noisy at higher speeds. A shame because it's a very good car otherwise and he's very pleased with its fuel consumption as well.

Old civics leave in a lot of road noise in general. Toyotas are more insulated but are a little more bland as a result.