I've got a Fiat Brvo Sport just now…really like it but it has a small issue with the gearbox that means every 9 months it needs a warrantly replacement for some parts. My warranty runs out in April and I've been told that any issues with the said parts after this will be charged rather than FOC as the warranty won't cover them.

I was under the impression anything that was done had a 12 month cover and as this part is the part that keeps failing as long as it was done within the 12 months it would be warrantied – but apparently not.

So rather than keep the car and watch it depreciate but have me spending more money on it every 9 months, I'm going to trade it in and get a new car.

But what to get?

I like sports cars, I like a lot of power and I like driving BUT as much as I like all that, I'm too practical at heart so it needs to be economical, I'd like to get a cheaper road tax so my yearly on-going costs aren't too high, so something smaller than the Bravo – at present I'm thinking along the lines of Fiesta-sized – I'm not wanting the most powerful version of whatever but I'm not wanting to lowest model (as much as I'm practical, I like having some gadgets).

The car has to have good fuel economy, be able to fit a bike in the boot (but not totally necessary as I'll put a roof rack on anyway), be able to fit 2 adults and 2 young kids (we only have 1 just now but you never know!). Not have weird sized tyres that cost and arm and a leg to replace – alloys aren't fussed over but I suspect when it came down to a choice, I'd go for alloys.

I've only done 9000 miles a year in the Bravo so it's almost a secondary car – it is used primarily to get me from home to work and back (working funny times and picking up daughter afterwards means I can't ride the 7.5 miles into work) but it also gets used for getting myself and my mates out for biking when we need to drive; or to get me somewhere on my own…with this in mind I'm thinking petrol is better than diesel as I'm not doing the mileage to justify the diesel.

I'd like the car to be fun to drive and I wouldn't mind the interior to not be cheap plastics.

So what do you recommend? I'm thinking something Japanese but that is where it stops (it doesn't need to be Japanese but reliability is required)…so any suggestions please?

Thanks (and sorry for the lame post/request -I've been looking over Whatcar.com and can't decide on what to start looking at – I even did some more looking into a Panda 4×4 as I thought that would be a hoot but have decided against a Fiat as according to the garage the gear selection cables is a common trait with the brand (although I can't find much online about the issue – so it might be the garage trying to 'reassure' me that I don't have a bizarre fault!).

What is your budget? The new Ford Fiesta?

Ah yes I forgot about that – I'm not looking to buy new…but nearly new/ex-demo or up to 1 year old (so I can still have a warranty).

Budget is probably up to £12k at the very most but looking at more like £10k or less.

Honda Civic. Seat bases flip up so bike fits across rear footwells, leaving boot spare for cake and riding gear 🙂

I expect we'll get one in a year or so.

Good suggestion!

If the civic is too big, the Jazz has a similar seat setup.

tis good.

I like the Fiat Qubo, bazillion miles to the gallon, flexible seating, cheap, also an ideal bike car, £35 road tax, and you get more for your current car as its staying with Fiat….

But not sure it fits into

I'd like the car to be fun to drive and I wouldn't mind the interior to not be cheap plastics.

I used to drive a Berlingo so the Qubo isn't a millions miles away from my practicality head…but it's a Fiat and I'd be worried the gearbox issue remains…but I'll check it out. I'd really like a new Berlingo but it's not really going to save me any money and still present me with the issue of having a large secondary vehicle that doesn't really get used to it's best i.e. primarily for going to work so the benfits of the space aren't really gained. the bike being stashed inside would be a twice a month thing so although it is (in my mind) my ideal vehicle, the costs associated with it and the amount of times I could use it means it's now not being considered.

Civic I think is just a touch too big, it's about same size as the Bravo so would still be a bit large for primarily single person use.

Thanks.

What about the Kia Ceed, gets great reviews and comes with a 7yr 100k warranty.

Devils advocate – Toyota Aygo? Not fast at all but it feels really peppy

Had a shot in the Aygo as my mum had one, but I didn't get on with it…just didn't seem to be able to get comfy in it and it just didn't feel right – saying that, my mum loved it.

My mum's got a Fabia estate diesel, gives ugly a bad name but is quick and roomy, not sure it would be a lower tax bracket though.

aye I like the Aygo, but its well overpriced I reckon, and for a funky small car that isnt dropping loads of dosh he is still at the right dealership with the Fiat 500, if you do want to go small car route the new Ford KA is built alongside the Fiat 500 still funky and would be a great little car but will probably drop cash a lot quicker than the 500.

Dickbarton, you have mentioned the Fiesta in passing, is it on your list? I rekon its a great car myself and is poles appart from Fiesta'a of old.

ps at 10k your looking at a new Qubo, but you might wangle one of their demo cars…

New style – Seat Ibiza FR.

Not entirely clued up on the new range, but I know the Cupra has the 1.4TSi from VW with ~170bhp or something like that & a DSG 'box.
I imagine the FR will have a lighter tune of the same engine & perhaps not the DSG auto. Not sure though.

My current Ibiza has been great & the new one is meant to ride better & the interior looks much better quality.
I've done 88000 miles in mine over 3yrs 3months and apart from service things like air, oil filter it's just needed a new front nearside bearing and a new pipe between the turbo & intercooler as the original apparently had an incorrect clip fitted & it blew off – cost £45 to replace.

Fiesta is being considered but my practical head is now fighting with my 'sports' head…I'm needing suggestions on cars – Fiesta-sized so I can start doing some research, the opinions offered so far have been very useful.

The 500 is a nice wee car but is likely to be too small for the biking duties, but it ticks all the other boxes (apart from being a Fiat and possibly suffering the gearbox issue – my fear with that is that I keep the car longer than the warranty but the gear selsectors need done and I'm left with a bill for something I'm not totally responsible for i.e. it's a known issue but hasn't been fixed). I'm seriously happy with the Bravo but my fear of mounting running costs after the warranty is making me want to get rid…and getting rid means I need to reevaluate what the car needs to do and adjust my requirements.

Ultimately I want a hot hatch performance and power but have frugal fuel economy – that isn't possible so I need something that ticks all the boxes to a certain degree.

It's times like this I suddenly realise I'm a right fussy b@@ger…

What was the gearbox trouble you had? Would most likely be specific to the model you have.

I had a Fiat Seicento from new thrashed it sensless for nearly 5 years with only a broken clutch cable go wrong. I like Fiats. (but I work for Ford) work that out!!! Mind you I like our Merc the best 🙂

Reckon on lots of seat folding onanything smaller than you have to get a bike in it.

I wouldnt touch an Aygo if you plan on doing any motorway driving – my mates one felt very nervous at speed and constantly had to be 'corrected' – I was scared sh1tless in it.

What about an older Civic Type R? Room for a bike, it'll run forever and 10k will bag a minter.

The gear selection cables have corroded – spoke to the garage yesterday and the place they are meant to be shipped from have none – this is from Italy so no-one apparently knows when they will be back in – if the temp drops below 0C then the gearbox freezes and I can't change gear…need to run the car and let it thaw – but last week the car was needing to idle for almost 1 hour until the gearbox would start moving. According to the garage guy, it a common fault and is prevalent in Punto's mainly but is across the range…thing is I can't find much about it online so I'm not convinced it is that common. Thing is, this is the second set of cables in 9 months so when the warranty does go, I'll be having to splash the cash in another 9 months.

We used to have an Ibiza Cupra and it was a beauty of a car – suspect the new one is going to be a bit pricey – tyres, insurance, road tax, but if the price is right and the part prices are right then it would be a definite contender – it's about Fiesta-sized.

No real expert, but sounds more like you have another more in depth fault, and the new cables are only a remedy and not a cure. While your in warranty I would make a little more noise on it with the dealer, absolutely no way the cables are corroding in 9 months, it has to be something else.

Does it select any gears or is it just first and reverse that wont work?

Sorry to digress from your original post.

We have to defrost the fiat scudo van in the work for the same reasons. is it the cables or could the grease in the selector have broken down. If it is the cables could you not replace them and wrap something more waterproof round them.

i feel your pain on the selection process, the wife wants a new car.

we are currently looking at a 1 year old Focus Zetec S (with the nice bodykit) tonnes of kit with it aswell BUT too big for you.

I was set on the new Fiesta but it is too small.

What about a Fabia VRS 1.9TDI goes like stink, heres on on autotrader… im actually tempted!

Mmmmmm

Honda Civic. Seat bases flip up so bike fits across rear footwells, leaving boot spare for cake and riding gear

Although while the brochure shows a MTB in there, with just the front wheel off, in practice I haven't managed it. The rear wheel sticks out about an inch too far to get the door shut. Maybe it works better with shorter forked/steeper head-angle bikes than my PA.

It's a great feature though for non-bike duties, be it carrying huge pot plants or just three people plus a stack of kit. For bikes, I just fold the seats down (one movement as there's space under the bases for them to move down into) and there's a big flat load area to put them in.

The Civic's not that big, if I had a child with another on the way I wouldn't want anything a lot smaller than that really. It's a few inches shorter than the Bravo!

Bloke I used to work with had one of those Civics and his Mount Vision 5.8 went in OK across the seats as described. He must be about 6' so probably a large frame?

Monkey Boy – if you are considering the Fabia VRS I'd also look at the Ibiza FR TDi as an alternative. Same car effectively, but seems to depreciate quicker so you can get them for less. Plenty of kit as standard and they don't come with those cream seats that won't stay cream in a mountain bikey environment for very long.
I got my Ibiza after considering the VRS as well, but the VRS was looking to be £1k more for the same age/mileage/condition. The only thing that would perhaps sway me towards the Fabia is that the ride in the Ibiza is a bit 'crashy'.
Or you could go one better and get the Ibiza Cupra TDI – 160bhp & a heap of torque. Insurance Group 15 & slightly lower mpg put me off though.

Civic has a very blind nose – old style and new – so I'd be awful at parking it – it would be between the lines but likely to be a good few feet from the end!

I'm happy for the bike(s) to go on the roof, so although it would be handy for the bike to fit in the back, it isn't essential…I'll probably put the roof rack on and leave it on so it is there for use whenever.

Can recommend the Fiesta Zetec 1.4 TDCi. I got my wife one from motorpoint last year, 5000 miles on clock for £7k. Not in the same league as a vRS for speed but it does 50+mpg around town, can cruise at 80 no problems and having the quick clear heated windscreens in this weather is great! They are not much smaller than the Focus. Also road tax is £35 a year ( I never tried asking for 6 months I wonder if its half?) :lol:.

I guess a more important question is, how much does it actually cost to get the work done vs depreciation losses?

Plus next time rather than just replace as is, I'd take it to someone who could actually fix the problem, it can't be that hard to 'proof' them in someway. A bit like the old 309GTI's that use to corrode their brake hoses (and the rear was under the petrol tank…), obviously didn't replace with OE, but used stainless ones.

As for a car, why not spend less than 1/2 your budget, and you'll easily get a decent family sized car – have a look at the later (56 plate onwards) styled Vectra 2.2 SRI hatches – I had one as a company car, 30mpg driven hard (auto), loads of space, fast (enough), actually handled well and at 20k service intervals, cheap to run.

The new Fiesta is lovely looking – no idea on the current range but I am sure there is a 170/200bhp version to be had (like the last version ST).

Can recommend the Fiesta Zetec 1.4 TDCi. I got my wife one from motorpoint last year, 5000 miles on clock for £7k. Not in the same league as a vRS for speed but it does 50+mpg around town, can cruise at 80 no problems and having the quick clear heated windscreens in this weather is great! They are not much smaller than the Focus. Also road tax is £35 a year ( I never tried asking for 6 months I wonder if its half?) :lol:.

aldomac be careful with the 1.4tdci (i think they changed the head on newer models) my wifes 52 reg had major problems with the injectors, if you ever get a whiff of fuel in the cabin get it checked out.

it cost us over £500 to have 2 injectros replaced along with a few other bits. also keep an ey on the power steering fluid, ours leaked and we had to have the steering rack sorted.

again i think all this was sorted in newer models, didnt want to scare you, our could have been a simple friday afternoon build 😉

Vectra is too large for just me and essentially being a second car that just gets used for the work run (7.5 miles each way unless I'm collecting daughter then it adds another 7 miles to the trip home) – so it's never going to get driven effectively i.e. size of engine and size of car, to get the best out it it needs long runs – it isn't going to happen.

Even my biking tends to only see me driving about 30 miles away from home if I need to drive. I think only 3 times last year did I travel more than 30 miles away from my house to go biking (once to Glentress and twice to Laggan)…so the big car idea isn't really working as the driving just won't benefit the engine…the Bravo is stuck at around 32mpg with what the economy system tells me is very sensible driving, but on longer runs it sits at around 38mpg so it clearly isn't getting proper use.

Mastille, thanks for the suggestion but that is likely to still be high road tax, expensive tyres and I'm also likely to have the same issue with it as I have just now – lack of long runs will not really benefit from the power.

Fiesta is looking good, will go check it out. For such low mileage a petrol car would be better BUT looking at the small diesel engines as the road tax for them is £35 a year! so taking that into account small diesel is better in terms of running costs on a yearly basis (but diesel is more costly to buy) but with the economy of diesel I think I'd save money on fuel as I'd probably only need to fill up once every 3 to 4 weeks instead of every 2 weeks…

Also, not had a proper quote for the repair work but they reckon it would be a couple of hundred quid – not a real showstopper but still an extra £200 to account for.

According to Fiat, when the warranty expires in April then nothing is covered (so although the replacement part will only be 4 months old, if it fails within 12 months it won't be covered – it would need to fail before April).

As for a car, why not spend less than 1/2 your budget, and you'll easily get a decent family sized car – have a look at the later (56 plate onwards) styled Vectra 2.2 SRI hatches – I had one as a company car, 30mpg driven hard (auto), loads of space, fast (enough), actually handled well and at 20k service intervals, cheap to run.

Intrigued. Tell us more about your car? I'm looking to change soon.