Following the arrival of a VW T5-based campervan (now our main family vehicle), we recently parted ways with a plush family car. We’re now using my parents’ old 2004 Clio for running around town.

It has a decent spec, but it’s basically shagged and is – in economic terms – at the end of its life. It’s the only car my wife has asked to change.

I’ve got a spare £8.5k; enough to get a new or almost new city car like a VW Up, Skoda Citigo, Twingo etc. They’re pretty bum basic cars, but would only be used for 2-3,000 miles of driving p/a. The main alternative would be a used (2011-12) Mini.

Any advice or experience of this sort of car?

Edited to say: sorry for putting this in the Bike forum!

We looked into them a few years ago. At the time the variants of the Up were head and shoulders above everything else and most of the reviews still suggest that to be the case. We got a Citigo, because it was the cheapest, and compared to the alternatives it felt like a proper car, not a gimmick or fashion statement. Everything was well thought out, the boot much bigger and it was nicer to drive. Better quality (as quality as that sort of car can be, they are all built to a price) than the others too. It was great, we almost bought another despite really needing something bigger.

Citigo, mii, up are very good to a city car and not bad for the occasional longer journey

Fuel economy is excellent, very low insurance and they have good seats, Satnav maps and more unit is excellent but the radios lack DAB

Over budget but there’s now a gt turbocharged version of the UP

Get her another beat up clio and buy a new bike.
Perhaps.

I bought a Renaulsport Twingo 133 with only 13k miles on it. It is a great car that takes a road bike upright with just the front wheel removed. I drive about 3k miles a year.

You may spend some time finding one. And you’ll have 4K left over to spend on bikes!

Twingo/Up are real city cars designed to squeeze into tiny spaces (we see many Twingos in Paris as well as Smart’s – friends and family have both). Do you really need such a small car ? Reason I say is they are also pretty flimsy and basic. If size wise you can go to say Polo/Yaris/Micra/Jazz etc you’ll get a lot more car. We had (daughter still has it) a now 10yr old Yaris which has been super reliable is small on outside but witl take a bike or 4 people, 1300cc model so goes ok on motorway and pretty economical. TBH at 3000 mikes a year variences in economy you won’t notice.

Also £8.5k for a car to do 3000m pa, save some money and spend £3-4k on a Toyota

If you want to splash the cash and want a little class then look at Audi A1

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201606255257668/sort/pricedesc/make/audi/model/a1/price-to/9000/radius/1501/postcode/ll545uf/searchcontext/default/onesearchad/new%2Cnearlynew%2Cused/advert-type/featured-listing/dealer-id/430/usedcars

Get an A1. Perfect for your needs and can be used on longer trips. The bootspace is not the biggest but great cars.

Get a Micra or a KA that’s a few years old. They’re small nippy things that are perfect in the city and don’t cost much. No way I’d be buying anything new for city driving, you want something cheap that you don’t mind scratching.

Small size is important; spending £8k isn’t a must.

Our current ’04 Clio is a doddle to park, at 3.7m length. It would be no problem to move up to a supermini (4m length), but obviously they cost more.

For 2-3k per year is seems hard to justify the cost of a second car other than as a convenience.

Personally I’d buy an old Honda Civic or something similar that will be reliable and you could buy for under £8k.

My current only car cost me £3k 5 years ago and has done 60k miles with once yearly services and some tyres.

Honda Jazz, previous model, if you can cope with the image. Excellent ride quality around town, nippy enough at town speeds, reliable, lovely gear box and (not damning with faint praise) the most versatile back seat in its class.moh and the back is easily big enough for adults.

A bonus is that with an aging population there will be a ready market when it is time to sell it on.

Afte 30 years of being a rep, my fave car for town use is the Micra – nippy, fast enough to 30, reliable and comfy, easy to park. Out of town, daughter & boyfriend managed to get 2 bikes & a week’s camping gear into one.

I tried out all the current models and ended up with a Smart ForFour (3 months old for 10K from main dealer)

– Much more fun to drive than the alternatives. Great steering, tiny turning circle, rear wheel drive . The Up was the dullest car of the lot
– 900cc turbo engine making it noticeably faster than alternatives
– Nicely equipped (for £10K) – Air con, foldback roof, leather seats, cruise control, sat nav etc,.

Currently have a Citigo sat on the drive and have previously had an Up(!). They’re great cars – particularly if you ever get as far as making a long distance journey in one at which point the refinement is pretty impressive for such a small car. Personally I’d avoid the lower powered derivatives.

If you’re looking to spend less for something that’s used relatively little then the previous gen Aygo is a good little car also (and, presumably the C1/107 versions) – my daughter has one of these that’s also sat on the drive at the moment. Panda is also good, if a bit more quirky.

Haven’t driven any of the others sufficiently far to offer an informed opinion/comparison.

OP as an aside the wife (Paris local) has a Micra CC, a lot of fun with it’s electric roof. If you don’t need 4 seats you couod buy an MX5, double up practicality with smiles

Aygo and IQ’s in family too, both good.

Car club/ taxis? you could do a lot of journeys before you spend 8 grand.

I just bought Mrs Nobeer a wee Fiat 500, 25k miles, 63 plate for £6k.

I have to admit, it’s a lovely wee car to fire about in town!.

Nobeerinthefridge – Member
I just bought Mrs Nobeer a wee Fiat 500, 25k miles, 63 plate for £6k.

I have to admit, it’s a lovely wee car to fire about in town!.

coulda got a nice red Jazz more befitting of your age for half the money … 🙂

Panda 4×4/cross

Next!

Surprised no-ones mentioned an eletric car. Cheap to run, little to service, no road tax etc. You should get a Nissan Leaf for that money just make sure the battery isn’t still on lease (FLEX).

VW T4 here and we also have a Smart forFour as the second vehicle. Massive saving from main dealer, automatic on ours with the smaller engine and it is great around town and fine on a run. Turning circle is unbelievable, boot & seat folding options are great.

Have had Aygo and Yaris before which were both good, but the Smart is a step up quality wise and we had the common Aygo issues, some of which were never resolved, and also a dealer that has gone downhill and isn’t really interested in helping.

the least polluting one.

Out of the left field, used Audi A2

All aluminium, proven mechanicals, well put together and proper fit and finish. Surprisingly big inside especially so with the rear seats out.

We have a 500 Twin air which costs ball all to insure, no VED and does 55mpg around town and 65+ on longer journeys. Its nice to drive and when the ‘eco’ button is off its really quite fast.

Thanks everyone – some sound advice and food for thought.

At the moment, I’m thinking of this as a long term purchase – so I want something that’s hassle-free and likely to give a much longer life than a Bangernomics replacement for the current Clio.

I’d love an electric car, but we live on a terraced street that gets very busy for parking . I can’t see how we’d reliably charge it from a mains plug on an extension lead!

It would be used for occasional longer trips out of town (business mileage and school holiday family visits for wife & kids), so I’ll think about either slightly higher power city cars or look into the suggestions of a supermini.