Mid sized cars to consider?

gooner99

Hi. We considered upgrading last year, but in the end we repaired and tested our Golf 1.4 75hp for another year. Now it's got more issues and is a year older, so it's time to move on as the test is up in June. Surprisingly the 1.4 petrol engine with 210k miles on it has been trouble free bar replacing all 4 coils packs. Goes to show servicing to the manufacturers recommended intervals with the correct oil is worth it. Anyway time for something more modern.

The car currently (and for the last few years) does 20k miles a year over A/B roads (poor enough surfaces), mostly 15 minute (15k) runs four times a day Monday to Friday. Probably similar at the weekend with the odd longer journey. Very little town or motorway driving.

So looking at a mid sized car (similar to the golf). Budget around the €10k mark (can import easily enough from the UK).

Undecided between petrol, hybrid or diesel. OH who mostly drives it is not keen on hybrids, electrics or automatics. I'm not overly keen on diesels to drive (bar the economy), as the rattle and vibrations are not nice. I've always had petrols and while I know they cost more in fuel, but they are generally quieter, more refined and more trouble free than their diesel cousins. Although maybe this is no longer the case with some of the modern turbo charged petrol engines, they might not be so robust as the miles go on. So a reliable refined diesel might be worth considering.

I've made a list of what I am looking at in no particular order. Can probably go a bit higher than the €10k all in for the right car. Reliability is very high on the list along with decent economy.

2013+ VW Golf, 1.6tdi or 1.2tsi.
2013+ Toyota Auris, 1.33dual vvt-i , 1.6 valvematic, 1.4 d4d.
2013+ Seat Leon, 1.6tdi or 1.2tsi.
2013+ Skoda Octavia, 1.6tdi or 1.2tsi.
2011+ Skoda Yeti, 1.6tdi or 1.2tsi.
2013+ Skoda Fabia estate, 1.2tsi.
2013+ Kia Ceed, 1.6cdti.
2013+ Hyundai i30, 1.6cdti.
2012+ Honda Civic, 1.6 i-dtec or 1.4/1.8 petrol.
2013+ Ford Focus, 1.6d or 1.0 ecoboost.

Should I discount any of the above models/engines or indeed consider others that I've not shortlisted.

All advice and comments welcome.

colm_mcm

I Think you might struggle to get good examples of a lot of those for €10k

gooner99

colm_mcm wrote: »

I Think you might struggle to get good examples of a lot of those for €10k

Yes that's true, definitely won't get any in this Country. Hopefully in the UK.

colm_mcm

Are you any good at spreadsheets?

AMKC

That's a good list of cars. Hopefully you get something in your budget that you both like. Maybe a Volvo S40 or V40 might be another you could consider.

Ssangyong Korando is also another car worth looking at but they only come in diesel.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?advertising-location=at_cars&search-target=usedcars&is-quick-search=true&radius=&onesearchad=used&onesearchad=nearlynew&onesearchad=new&make=SSANGYONG&model=KORANDO&price-search-type=total-price&price-from=&price-to=14000&postcode=m52ty

Still they are a good car and reliable.

A Citroen C4 is a good car as well not the most stylish but a good car.

gooner99

So far I've only had a chance to test drive....

Focus 2011+ 1.6 diesel. Nice car, but thought the driving position was a little odd, sorta enclosed or something. Probably just feels like that coming from the golf. Thought the engine was a bit load and quite a bit of vibration in the cabin. Seems to need a bit work through the gears to keep it on the boil. Overall I really like the exterior style and the handling is great. Maybe I should give the 1.0 ecoboost a chance. I've heard of issues with the focus and the diesel and ecoboost engines.

Auris 2013+ 1.33 dual-vvti and 1.4 d4d. It looks ok and while the interior it a bit slab like, it seem easy enough to live with. Driving position fine, but seats a little tight. 1.33 is smooth, but again needed a bit of gear shifting to get the best from it. I have to say I was surprised at the 1.4 d4d. Didnt think I'd like it, but it was quite quiet and refined for a diesel and it seemed to suit the car better. I've heard that they are pretty reliable no matter which engine you choose.

Need to try something from the VAG stable and probably the Civic next.

Ash.J.Williams

I've never said this before and I feel strange saying it... But the new astra is a fine car

gooner99

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

I've never said this before and I feel strange saying it... But the new astra is a fine car

Yeah, new astra looks nice. But they aren't out long, so not in my range.

Ash.J.Williams

gooner99 wrote: »

Yeah, new astra looks nice. But they aren't out long, so not in my range.

Me neither... I was referring to the previous model. They're a classy car.

colm_mcm

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Me neither... I was referring to the previous model. They're a classy car.

They’re a bit of a pig of a yoke to drive though. Well the 1.3/1.7 diesel models I drive were anyway. Like how do you make a car that size weigh 1400kg?

grogi

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Me neither... I was referring to the previous model. They're a classy car.

AstraJ is horrible, but I hated previous Insignia as well.

AstraK is excellent though. I loved the EcoFlex 1.6T... CarWow event puts it ahead of Golf, which IMHO is a bit of a stretch....

gooner99

drove the last astra. yeah heavy old lump. didnt help that it was the bottom of the range 1.4 petrol. put me right off them. they seem to be cheap on the second hand market though.

gooner99

Was just checking the criteria insurance companies use for young named drivers and it seems it's still engine size and power/bhp. We'll be adding our 17 year old as a named driver later this year, so that will likely narrow the options to lower powered manual petrols. I guess only the Auris d4d fits the bill from the diesel brigade.