New car for my lady

Tommyboy40

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a new (well used) car for ma lady. She currently drives a Yaris but is ready for something more interesting. She likes Minis but from my research, they're not the best and from my own experience, I'd never own another. It needs to meet the following criteria:
No bigger than 1.6
Nice place to be - not a sea of grey plastic
Preferably auto
Bluetooth connectivity for music
Budget is 10k ish

Pac1Man

Suzuki Swift.

D3V!L

Pac1Man wrote: »

Suzuki Swift.

As nice as the Swift is , they are a sea of grey plastic inside. My wife had one and they're an awesome little car with great road holding but very Japanese inside.

Belfast

2012 Mazda Mazda2 1.3 SKY ACTIV AUTOMATIC
€9,500
https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=2126195&r=s.php%3Fm%5B%5D%3D51%26o%5B%5D%3D409%26f%3D1%26t%3D2%26g%3D0

H3llR4iser

Interesting, max 1.6 (petrol, I assume?), not a "sea of grey plastic"...I know nobody is going to suggest one, so:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/alfa-romeo-giulietta-1-4-turbo-170-bhp/19541188

Quick enough to be quite interesting, distinctive as not to be possible to confuse it with anything else in the segment, one of the "girliest" Alfa Romeo ever made...the one above is a bit high mileage for the age, but it's just an example to see the car. There's a TCT version as well, although I'm not sure how easy it'll be to find in Ireland.

Belfast

2011 Fiat 500 1.2I LOUNGE AUTOMATIC
€7,900

https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=2090685&r=s.php%3Fm%5B%5D%3D25%26o%5B%5D%3D218%26f%3D1%26t%3D2%26yx%3D2019%26g%3D0

Tommyboy40

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a new (well used) car for ma lady. She currently drives a Yaris but is ready for something more interesting. She likes Minis but from my research, they're not the best and from my own experience, I'd never own another. It needs to meet the following criteria:
No bigger than 1.6
Nice place to be - not a sea of grey plastic
Preferably auto
Bluetooth connectivity for music
Budget is 10k ish

Does she get any say? Years ago I went to a main dealer to test drive a car. The salesman said to send “himself” in to see what he thought. I asked him to repeat that in front of his boss to save me explaining why I wouldn’t be following through with the purchase.

It’s she’ll be driving it. Let her decide.

My favorite is a Renault megane.

H3llR4iser

Deleted User wrote: »

Does she get any say? Years ago I went to a main dealer to test drive a car. The salesman said to send “himself” in to see what he thought. I asked him to repeat that in front of his boss to save me explaining why I wouldn’t be following through with the purchase.

It’s she’ll be driving it. Let her decide.

My favorite is a Renault megane.

Will never understand that attitude - the vast majority of guys don't understand a single feck about cars anyway, couldn't tell a sparkplug from a fuel injector, only buy the cheapest Chinese tyres and go by pub talk of the VW=great, French/Italian=sh1t variety :P

I got the OP's as "what are some cars WE can look at that might not immediately come to mind?" - and I think she might like the Giulietta, it fits the technical bill and has that "flair" (I know, Italian car trope!) which she might enjoy

Brian Scan

Deleted User wrote: »

Years ago I went to a main dealer to test drive a car. The salesman said to send “himself” in to see what he thought. I asked him to repeat that in front of his boss to save me explaining why I wouldn’t be following through with the purchase.

:pac::pac:

Wildly Boaring

My missus reckons she knows nothing about cars. Really she knows exactly what car she wants just doesn't care enough on the differing models and specs.

What we've done the last three times

She decides type ie small hatch, large hatch, large crossover.

She decides her budget.

I pull a list together of all models.

She goes through and whittled down.

Then we get out done deal or UK autotrader.
Go through photos inside and out

Bang. Down to about 3 cars of a min spec.

One time this process got us down to 09 or 10 leon with a particular dashboard change and a min alloy spec in about 3 or 4 acceptable colours.

At this stage car buying is down to the plan regardless who's buying.

Last time we were deffo to import so she went and drove 3 cars belonging to friends and family that were similar.

UK autotrader. I went and brought home her car

She had no interest in driving for 7 hours

Audioslaven

a bit over the size of the engine but a 1.8 lexus 200h

Dial Hard

Octavia? Nice spec, nice drive, not a sea of grey plastic. Not sure how common DSG models are, though.

Mervyn Skidmore

I know you said she's looking for something different from a Yaris but my wife recently got a hybrid yaris and she loves it.

colm_mcm

Citroen DS3?

Shefwedfan

Seriously the awful options. A Mazda, Fiat etc etc....she has probably had to endure the Yaris for years....get her a decent car.

Audi A3 - Beautiful car, but she needs to like Audi
Lexus CT200h - hybrid but could be difficult in budget
Golf - Cheaper version of A3, so if she like Audi could look at this to get newer version. The Audi is more refined.
BMW 1 series: If you dont like Audi she will probably be BMW person
https://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/bmw/1-series/used-2010-bmw-1-series-1-6-diesel-cork-fpa-201809030108246
Merc: https://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/mercedes-benz/b-class/used-2011-mercedes-benz-b-class-1-westmeath-fpa-201808149454800
Volvo V40: https://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/volvo/v40/used-2013-131-volvo-v40-1-6-d2-115-fu-dublin-fpa-201808199638761

I would suggest trying to pick her fuel first, is she doing loads of short journeys then petrol better to diesel.

Tommyboy40

Thanks for the replies. To clarify, this isn't me looking for a car for the 'little woman' This is a question of sharing our passions. I have a bit of a thing for nice cars and she, up to now, has viewed the car as something to get from A to B. I want to share the excitement cars can bring. We will be creating a shortlist and then trying out each car until she finds what she likes.

Shefwedfan

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. To clarify, this isn't me looking for a car for the 'little woman' This is a question of sharing our passions. I have a bit of a thing for nice cars and she, up to now, has viewed the car as something to get from A to B. I want to share the excitement cars can bring. We will be creating a shortlist and then trying out each car until she finds what she likes.

Seriously then look at the Audi, BMW, premium brands.....



My wife had both at different types, still talks about the A3....she loved it.....


Dont go buying a cheap brand.....you will regret

Wildly Boaring

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. To clarify, this isn't me looking for a car for the 'little woman' This is a question of sharing our passions. I have a bit of a thing for nice cars and she, up to now, has viewed the car as something to get from A to B. I want to share the excitement cars can bring. We will be creating a shortlist and then trying out each car until she finds what she likes.

Mini cooper. Had one and an s when my car was in BMW garage in oxford few years ago.

Great fun drive. Loved them.

liam7831

Dacia Duster or a Logan if ye want a sporty wagon

Tommyboy40

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Mini cooper. Had one and an s when my car was in BMW garage in oxford few years ago.

Great fun drive. Loved them.

Read too many horror stories of Mini reliability and would never buy another BMW. Great cars bit BMW customer service is appalling

Tommyboy40

liam7831 wrote: »

Dacia Duster or a Logan if ye want a sporty wagon

Are you on drugs? We'll be buying a real car

Tommyboy40

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Seriously then look at the Audi, BMW, premium brands.....



My wife had both at different types, still talks about the A3....she loved it.....


Dont go buying a cheap brand.....you will regret

I have 4 Mercs, 2 of them V8's so it will be something special. I suggested an SLK but she's quite a practical woman. The Alfa and the DS3 would both be contenders

ImANoob08

Volvo v40.

Was looking into them myself for ages and the value for money was unreal.

Only reason I didn't buy one was when I went to view it the dealer had an r-design s60 so I bought that instead!

Unreal on the inside and the v40 is the same. Get the r design spec it's worth the extra.

glomar

pretty rare .. what about an opel adam .. Opels answer to the fiat 500 .
There is a high spec variant out there .. i think this one looks cool

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201809010049218?sort=sponsored&postcode=bt11aa&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&model=ADAM&make=VAUXHALL&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1501&page=1

glomar

pretty rare .. what about an opel adam .. Opels answer to the fiat 500 .
There is a high spec variant out there .. i think this one looks cool

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201809010049218?sort=sponsored&postcode=bt11aa&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&model=ADAM&make=VAUXHALL&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1501&page=1

Shefwedfan

glomar wrote: »

pretty rare .. what about an opel adam .. Opels answer to the fiat 500 .
There is a high spec variant out there .. i think this one looks cool

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201809010049218?sort=sponsored&postcode=bt11aa&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&model=ADAM&make=VAUXHALL&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1501&page=1

That thing is hideous

Plus it’s an Opel so will be worth 500 euro by the time you get it home

glomar

doesnt matter what its worth its what they can ...never buy a car for its resale value .. you will always second guess yourself .. drive it for enjoyment

colm_mcm

glomar wrote: »

pretty rare .. what about an opel adam .. Opels answer to the fiat 500 .
There is a high spec variant out there .. i think this one looks cool

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201809010049218?sort=sponsored&postcode=bt11aa&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&model=ADAM&make=VAUXHALL&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1501&page=1

They’re shoite. No fun at all. They must be made of lead because the 100bhp 1.4 feels like a 1.0 and it’s just not cool.

pwurple

How much long distance driving does she do? This may not suit, and there aren’t many out there...

The automatic part caught my eye. The budget is a little low for the fully specced model, so I don’t think this one has the cold pack with heated seats, but it has the parking camera, gps, Bluetooth, is automatic etc. has the chrome trim on the interior.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2013-132-nissan-leaf-acenta-full-history-2-k/19357193

Pkiernan

Convertible?

https://4.imimg.com/data4/SP/KC/MY-10977436/bumper-car-500x500.png

Bigus

Lexus ct 200 h , sea of nice leather , lower tax and insurance than most 1.6 litres , ultra reliable, not too big,not too small , and if you get one with a full colour reversing camera the ladies love this.

Tommyboy40

pwurple wrote: »

How much long distance driving does she do? This may not suit, and there aren’t many out there...

The automatic part caught my eye. The budget is a little low for the fully specced model, so I don’t think this one has the cold pack with heated seats, but it has the parking camera, gps, Bluetooth, is automatic etc. has the chrome trim on the interior.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2013-132-nissan-leaf-acenta-full-history-2-k/19357193

She does tiny mileage which is why petrol is the better option. An EV would suit as she has charging points at work but the Leaf is a strange looking thing. It's got a big flabby ass! I looked at a couple of Zoe's but all the ones in Ireland are terrible paddy spec and you've got to give Renault 6k to buy the battery on UK ones

Tommyboy40

Pkiernan wrote: »

Convertible?

https://4.imimg.com/data4/SP/KC/MY-10977436/bumper-car-500x500.png

Have one!

IMG_8012.jpg

Tommyboy40

Bigus wrote: »

Lexus ct 200 h , sea of nice leather , lower tax and insurance than most 1.6 litres , ultra reliable, not too big,not too small , and if you get one with a full colour reversing camera the ladies love this.

I'll have to try one. For some reason I've got a bit of an anti Lexus thing.

Bigus

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

I'll have to try one. For some reason I've got a bit of an anti Lexus thing.

Could tick a lot of boxes for many years, try one overnight , they're not a car to give an overall impression on a short drive .

glomar

try the 160bhp version

mvl

haven't figured out what the wife's style is
- would you go for a honda (civic or jazz)

{I am a in my early forties, I bought recently a 3 years old 1.4 petrol astra saloon; while I don't drive fast, I don't like small cars neither. on my search as I didn't have too much time to decide, I found challenging looking for a petrol that is the right colour/size/budget and on my accepted manufacturers list... }

Fiat 500 abarth?

Shefwedfan

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

I'll have to try one. For some reason I've got a bit of an anti Lexus thing.

For some reason I posted IS200 when I meant the CT200h


Lovely car and would be great if going petrol


The bit I did get right was you will strugge to get a good one for 10k, of course they will drop in Jan so will be in budget then

Tommyboy40

Thanks again for the replies. At the moment the shortlist id looking a bit like this:
DS3
Alfa
Lexus CT
SLK (I know that she'd love it)
Big issue is the awful paddy spec cars available. Are we really that bad at speccing new cars?
I saw an Auris at work the other day, Black leather, stitched leather dash, sat nav etc. UK plates obviously.

Shefwedfan

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

Thanks again for the replies. At the moment the shortlist id looking a bit like this:
DS3
Alfa
Lexus CT
SLK (I know that she'd love it)
Big issue is the awful paddy spec cars available. Are we really that bad at speccing new cars?
I saw an Auris at work the other day, Black leather, stitched leather dash, sat nav etc. UK plates obviously.

Yes we are bad at spec cars but also the dealers dont bring in the better spec so we don't get the option....Toyota leather is not leather....:p


Real leather is in Audi/BMW/Merc....

ba_barabus

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Real leather is in Audi/BMW/Merc....

I'm not sure about Audi but standard BMW leather on SE models is woeful and plasticy and Merc use MB Tec which is plastic unless you really spec up the options.

Nicest leather seats I've set in recently were in a DS5, they weren't the standard leather. Someone had gone to the options list and spent €2500 on upgraded leather. Can't remember the name of it though but it was softer than butter.

bazz26

Most leather trim is fake leather known as pleather or plastic leather whether it be a Toyota, Audi or BMW. Real animal hide leather is super expensive so you will pay a hefty premium for it even on a high end premium branded car.

As for Irish cars being low spec, don't blame the Irish consumer for that, blame consecutive Irish Governments for charging an obscene amount of VRT on options.

terrydel

D3V!L wrote: »

As nice as the Swift is , they are a sea of grey plastic inside. My wife had one and they're an awesome little car with great road holding but very Japanese inside.

Yep, they look very cool.
But my old man has an sx4 and the interior is so platicky. I'd never buy a suzuki again after getting that for him, just because of the interior quality.

terrydel

Brian Scan wrote: »

Whenever I hear someone refer to his wife/partner as his lady, which, thankfully, doesn't happen too often, I am reminded of the awful Pina Colada Song.

Given how awful it is, was it really necessary to inflict it on everyone?!

terrydel

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

I have 4 Mercs, 2 of them V8's so it will be something special. I suggested an SLK but she's quite a practical woman. The Alfa and the DS3 would both be contenders

If youve 4 mercs give her one of those and dont waste anymore money on another car.

Brian Scan

terrydel wrote: »

Given how awful it is, was it really necessary to inflict it on everyone?!

I wanted to share my suffering.

pah

ba_barabus wrote: »

I'm not sure about Audi but standard BMW leather on SE models is woeful and plasticy and Merc use MB Tec which is plastic unless you really spec up the options.

Nicest leather seats I've set in recently were in a DS5, they weren't the standard leather. Someone had gone to the options list and spent €2500 on upgraded leather. Can't remember the name of it though but it was softer than butter.

Watchstrap

http://www.adverts.ie/15410429

Didn't get caught for VRT either





https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201804306038574


Something you could get in a DS3 OP if you consider importing

ba_barabus

pah wrote: »

Watchstrap

http://www.adverts.ie/15410429

Didn't get caught for VRT either





https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201804306038574


Something you could get in a DS3 OP if you consider importing

Watch strap is the pattern design but DS actually offer different grades of leather. I didn't know until I was test driving one. I'll try find out what it was called when I'm home.

pah

ba_barabus wrote: »

Watch strap is the pattern design but DS actually offer different grades of leather. I didn't know until I was test driving one. I'll try find out what it was called when I'm home.

It's called "soft as a velvety butter cushion floaty cloud"

ba_barabus

pah wrote: »

It's called "soft as a velvety butter cushion floaty cloud"

Could be, it didn't leave me with a greasy backside though.