New or nearly new small car..

BobbyBingo

I'm looking to buy something small, manual and petrol for one of my family - something that I can hold on to for 5+ years, that will hopefully cost little to maintain. There seems to be quite a range to choose from. Probably either new or very nearly new as I want to have a decent length remaining in the manufacturers warranty. Help me out here - and put these in the right order! Am I missing anything ?

1. Kia Rio
2. Seat Ibiza
3. Hyundai i20
4. VW Polo
5. Toyota Yaris
6. Renault Clio
7. Nissan Micra
8. Ford Fiesta

I looked at the i20, Micra & Polo today - being honest features aren't the number one priority - I'm interested in longevity and overall running costs..

Cheers in advance for any help you can offer ...

jellybear

I'd add Mazda2 to your list. Have an 11 year old one and *touch wood* never had an issue

Shefwedfan

If not going too far and just a run around electric might be worth a look, cheap to run/tax/maintain etc. Currently holding value better than anything else on road and expect that to continue with shortage of cars

chicorytip

BobbyBingo wrote:

I looked at the i20, Micra & Polo today - being honest features aren't the number one priority - I'm interested in longevity and overall running costs..

Shefwedfan wrote:

If not going too far and just a run around electric might be worth a look, cheap to run/tax/maintain etc. Currently holding value better than anything else on road and expect that to continue with shortage of cars

The Yaris and Polo will hold their value best. The Fiesta is the best to drive. The Seat Ibiza is identical mechanically to the Polo as is the Skoda Fabia. The Rio and Clio are both pretty dated. The Micra is supposedly a good drive as well but I don't like the new design. Hyundai offer the longest warranty. The Opel Corsa is another worth considering if only for the layout and design of the interior which is the most spacious in the class. The Fiat Panda and 500 are both reliable, good to drive and good looking but don't hold their value well. So, enough food for thought there!
By all means consider electric but, of course, the purchase price will be far higher than that of a small petrol engine car.

BobbyBingo

Shefwedfan wrote: »

If not going too far and just a run around electric might be worth a look, cheap to run/tax/maintain etc. Currently holding value better than anything else on road and expect that to continue with shortage of cars

Cheers but it has to be manual though and i dont think there are any manual EVs ?

colm_mcm

Shefwedfan wrote: »

If not going too far and just a run around electric might be worth a look, cheap to run/tax/maintain etc. Currently holding value better than anything else on road and expect that to continue with shortage of cars

What is there in that bracket? Are they still doing the Zoe?

BobbyBingo

chicorytip wrote: »

The Yaris and Polo will hold their value best. The Fiesta is the best to drive. The Seat Ibiza is identical mechanically to the Polo as is the Skoda Fabia. The Rio and Clio are both pretty dated. The Micra is supposedly a good drive as well but I don't like the new design. Hyundai offer the longest warranty. The Opel Corsa is another worth considering if only for the layout and design of the interior which is the most spacious in the class. The Fiat Panda and 500 are both reliable, googd to drive and good looking but don't hold their value well. So, enough food for thought there!
By all means consider electric but, of course, the purchase price will be far higher than that of a small petrol engine car.

cheers too for that. Hadnt considered the Corsa and to be honest, wouldnt consider the Fiats. The Rio though - I was in what I understood to be a brand new model today. . . Is it just tarting up of the previous model ?

Atlantic Dawn

BobbyBingo wrote: »

Cheers but it has to be manual though and i dont think there are any manual EVs ?

There's none, why do you need a manual?

BobbyBingo

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

There's none, why do you need a manual?

A learner driver will be driving it a bit and while you could restrict them to an auto, I dont wish to. .

Atlantic Dawn

BobbyBingo wrote: »

A learner driver will be driving it a bit and while you could restrict them to an auto, I dont wish to. .

Yes handy to have the option to drive manuals but the future is automatic, I'd think about it based on the amount of time it will take to get someone driving a manual v's an automatic, could be wasted effort.

BobbyBingo

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Yes handy to have the option to drive manuals but the future is automatic, I'd think about it based on the amount of time it will take to get someone driving a manual v's an automatic, could be wasted effort.

Yes I do hear you on that one - I think in a few years time people will be pretty incredulous when they hear that cars "in the olden days" had three pedals. . !

Larbre34

The engine specs available in the Fiesta in Ireland are crap. Get into a Fabia or Ibiza.

roguey

If it were my money, I'd go for the Yaris.

Have a read of this:

https://www.whatcar.com/news/2018-what-car-reliability-survey/n17798

bazz26

The current Opel Corsa was hardly groundbreaking when it was launched back in 2006 and is well past its sell by date these days. The only ones that buy them these days are rental companies who get big discounts from Opel. Best avoided imo.

BobbyBingo

BobbyBingo wrote: »

The Rio though - I was in what I understood to be a brand new model today. . . Is it just tarting up of the previous model ?

I'm talking nonsense - it was the Hyundai i20 I was in yesterday !

ItAintMeBabe

Just to throw in here,

I always drove bigger cars, bigger engines etc. but changed to a smaller car a few years back.

Started first with a 2010 1.25 petrol ford fiesta. Had it just under two years and did 40,000km and never had a days bother with it. Serviced regularly and never did another thing with it, bar the timing belt which I had done when I bought it for my own piece of mind.

Decided to upgrade recently as I was finding the 3-door fiesta a nuisance. Bought a 1.0 ecoboost Fiesta and I have to say I love it. Have it two months and just over 4K done with no issues. Fuel economy has been excellent, lovely to drive, imo nicest looking small car, nice extras with Bluetooth etc. Which I initially wasn't bothered about but love now. I also do a long commute from Donegal to the south of the country and back once every 6 weeks or so and find it very comfortable.

Couldn't recommend the fiesta enough.

Shefwedfan

colm_mcm wrote: »

What is there in that bracket? Are they still doing the Zoe?

Zoe still for sale....brand new they have reduced to 25k



They are all auto. In reality the days of a manual are numbered. Even look at heavy good/tractors now and they come auto. Buying an auto will probably protect your resale value more than manual


I just mention electric because of the resale value. I bought a 2012 Leaf about 2 years ago now, its been driven daily but I could walk out and sell it now for what I paid 2 years ago.



Your budget is the big question, the up front cost of a new electric is high. A second hand might meet requirements. The TCO over the life of course is what makes it better. You also need a house so you can install a home charge point.



Apart from that, going with a Yaris Hybrid should also hold value better to a straight petrol

Philb76

BobbyBingo wrote: »

I'm talking nonsense - it was the Hyundai i20 I was in yesterday !

The rio is a newer model than the i20 although they are very similar lot of good cars on ur list I'm a fan of the fabia but as someone else said look at mazda2 more spacious than they look

Henry Ford III

Larbre34 wrote: »

The engine specs available in the Fiesta in Ireland are crap. Get into a Fabia or Ibiza.

I agree to a point but the 1.0T Ecoboost can be had with 100bhp which is adequate for most. You can actually get a 125bhp version in Vignale spec. but it's very pricey. It's a pity the 125/140bhp engines aren't available in say ST Line trim.

Skoda Fabia has 60 or 75bhp engine choices.

Seat Ibiza goes up to 115hp in the most expensive models.

So the Skoda engine options are actually the worst.

bazz26

It's near impossible to find a current shape Fiesta with the 1.0 litre engine here. The odd automatic ex rental turns up alright but they are still rare as hen's teeth. If the OP is open to importing from the UK then the 1.0 litre engine is in plenty of supply there. UK models have more standard toys too with even the Zetec model there getting the Sync3 infotainment system as standard. I looked at importing a 1.0 litre Titanium for the father recently with a 2018 coming in at just under 14k landed. VRT is around 2.5k on it.

Shefwedfan

Keep a look at https://www.hertzcarsales.ie/

They normally have those small petrol cars as rental, could pick up bargain

peasant

You forgot one make on your list of cars ...SUZUKI

You have three (four) small cars to choose from there alone

Swift, Baleno, Ignis...or if you want to go totally basic, the Celerio

IMO the Swift and Ignis at least are worthy of a closer look

chicorytip

BobbyBingo wrote:

cheers too for that. Hadnt considered the Corsa and to be honest, wouldnt consider the Fiats. The Rio though - I was in what I understood to be a brand new model today. . . Is it just tarting up of the previous model ?

The Rio would belong in the medium sized car segment similar to it's close relative the Hyundai i30. Kia also have the Picanto. Neither of these models seem popular in Ireland unlike the Sportage suv.

Gael23

Would either be VW Polo or Nissan Micra for me.
Wouldn't rule out the Yaris but I think they are all hybrid autos now.

AMKC

chicorytip wrote: »

The Rio would belong in the medium sized car segment similar to it's close relative the Hyundai i30. Kia also have the Picanto. Neither of these models seem popular in Ireland unlike the Sportage suv.

Your wrong. The Rio is a fiesta, Polo competitor and its in that segment.

The Ceed is Kia's i30 competitor and close relative.

OP The Citroen C3 and Peugeot 208 are two more you could consider. If it were the 208 you would want to get a good deal as there is a new one coming out soon.

bazz26

chicorytip wrote: »

The Rio would belong in the medium sized car segment similar to it's close relative the Hyundai i30. Kia also have the Picanto. Neither of these models seem popular in Ireland unlike the Sportage suv.

Rio is based on the Hyundai i20 though maybe a little bigger on the inside. The Ceed would be based on the i30.

de Ville

Honda Jazz for me

vectra

Focus st line 1.0 - 125bhp?
7 year warranty.

ddarcy

The vw polo is a nice car. If it is only around town driving it could work out. The basic petrol engine though is heavily underpowered for that size car and you’ll be spending a lot more on it. But it’s definitely the nicest interior.

The fiestas are fun to drive and if you get a powerful engine, the Davis’s are as well (they may have eliminated this though).

If you want warranty then Kia is 7 years and Hyundai 5 years. Peugeot is offering a 5 year warranty as well. If you are buying now I’d probably go for a 308 as has been stated above the 208 gets a new makeover from next year (but you can use that to your advantage too).

Resale I’d assume the polo and fiesta would hold their values more than the others.

Not sure if it’s on the list or not but the Renault Clio seems to be doing well in sales too and seem to have good finance offers as well.the polo seems to have 0% finance as well too. So should save you some money.

colm_mcm

vectra wrote: »

Focus st line 1.0 - 125bhp?
7 year warranty.

125ps only on the €25k Vignale spec here AFAIK

vectra

colm_mcm wrote: »

125ps only on the €25k Vignale spec here AFAIK

No
My son has a focus st line 1.0/125