Petrol Hatchback

The_Honeybadger

hello. I am trying to help a family member out, she has a budget of roughly €20k for a mid sized petrol hatchback, focus or golf type. She has a short commute and aside from that it’ll be a runaround car with the odd longer spin.

I see a lot of these cars now come with small turbocharged engines. Is there any make or model in particular that stands out as being better or more reliable than others? She is coming off a bit of a nightmare with her current car and reliability is important to her above all else.

Any advice would be appreciated

colm_mcm

Corolla hybrid would be head and shoulders over anything turbocharged for painless ownership.

Nigzcurran

Just get a focus, they are pretty much bomb proof

goochy

If it'd the 3 cylinder petrol . Bomb is the right word

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121507272#Comment_121507272

Their turbocharged eco boost engines aren’t known for reliability.

OP, pretty much anything Japanese and petrol will be reliable. Corrolla is a good suggestion, or a Prius if you want more space.

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121507272#Comment_121507272

Lol

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121507272#Comment_121507272

They are much a bomb waiting to go off

The_Honeybadger

I just looked at the Corolla Hybrids, slightly dearer than some of the other options but that’s ok if it is generally more reliable.

Thanks.

Nigzcurran

We have 3 of them engines in the family, 2017, 2018 and 2021. Zero issues

coolbeans

Mazda 3 petrol. 2.0 litres are within budget and don't use a turbo just a detuned bigger engine. Nicer place to be than a Toyota imo and reliable.

_H80_GHT

That's irrelevant. Not every owner experiences engine issues. Their poor reputation is earned from the high ratio of engine faults reported on the millions of engines sold.

Nigzcurran

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121507608#Comment_121507608

I can only speak from my own experience, like I hear people complain about Fastway couriers but I've never had a single problem with them so in my opinion they are great couriers! The truth lies somewhere in the middle as usual

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121507597#Comment_121507597

Would never have thought of a Mazda. I just had a look and a 2019/20 with lowish mileage would be around the budget

The saloons are nicer than the hatchback for me.

Do you have one? What is the fuel economy like

coolbeans

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121507989#Comment_121507989

I don't have one no but a friend does and she's delighted after it replaced a catastrophic Golf 1.5 petrol i think it was. Fuel economy is good i believe i.e. there's no moaning from her after coming the VW . If you're not doing big KMs I wouldn't let fuel economy be an overriding factor anyway as differences will be relatively marginal. Things like cabin and paint quality are exceptional IMO. Prefer the hatch myself for the practicality but tis a personal thing.

Psychedelic Hedgehog

We have two Mazda 3's here - a 2023 saloon and the other half has a 2020 hatch. Both great cars and I can attest to the quality of the interiors - miles ahead of anything else in their class.

They both have Skyactiv-X engines, the earlier one is 180bhp and the updated one is 186bhp. I can easily get 5l/100km out of them on long spins, more like 6.5l/100km on mixed driving.

Skyactiv-G is 120bhp-ish, still well drivable (had one on loan during warranty work).

The hatch is easier to get things in and out of the boot but the saloon has more space.

Idleater

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121508560#Comment_121508560

I have the X too and get 6l/100 at the moment doing limited runs at short distances. As soon as you get out of stop start traffic it gets more efficient.

Comfortable on long distances too