With Me and Mrs Pinetree expecting our first littl’un in September, we’re thinking about getting a second car to enable her to get out and about with the sapling while on maternity leave, as I tend to use our current car for getting to and from work.

Key requirements are:
It has to be small (she’s not great at parking, and our street is pretty tightly packed as it is!)
Has to have 5 doors, for ease of taking the car seat in and out
Has to have Isofix brackets
Automatic gearbox would be preferable, but not essential
Has to meet pretty decent safety standards
Wanting to spend £4K tops really

Been looking at the Toyota Aygo as it seems like a pretty well made little thing, and quite cleverly thought out. They make quite good use of the space, and are nippy enough for getting around town and little jaunts to the countryside.
Anyone got one? Are they really any good? What are the alternatives worth considering?

Cheers!

VW Up at the posh end, Fiat Panda at the cheap and cheerful end.

If looking at the Aygo, look at the Citroen or Peugot equivalents (basically the same car and the interiors almost identical) and can be had for less money.

Hyundai i10.
We have a 5 year old and it runs on fumes, quite zippy and easy to drive.
We bought under exactly the same criteria, except it’s manual.

In no particular order:

Toyota Yaris
Suzuki Swift
Mazda 2
Hyndai i10 or i20.
Honda Jazz

Hyundai i10. Good little cars, ideal as a cheap second vehicle.

An ex Aygo owner here and hated it. Tinny little car that rattled etc.

I’d go for Panda much better use of space etc

Citroen C1. Great little car, quite nippy and a lot of fun to drive. Tiny boot but loads of legroom in the back. The missus averages 65mpg.
We also have a panda 4×4. Much slower, also a tiny boot but not so much legroom front or rear.

Previous Aygo owner here and loved it. Put 110k on it and replaced nothing other than consumables. However, they are tinny, low rent little things and an exercise in cost cutting. I think you’d be better off with a Yaris (although with the same engine in them as the Aygo they redefine gutless) or another small Japanese marque. The previous model Mazda 2 is a little cutie and plenty around for between three and a half to four grand.

We just had an i10 for a week on holiday; we loved it. Our cases went in the boot no problem, easy to drive, would fit in spaces far smaller than we’re used to, cost pittance to fill it up. It did need more gear changes in very hilly places, but for most places it was fine.

Yaris

I wanted something similar last year, went with a Diahatsu Sirion and spent considerably less than £4k. Cracking little car, but no toys just the basics.

If you can get past the looks how about a Citroën memo multispace, can be bought within budget and has sliding doors and a higher roofline. Should have enough space for all stuff you end up carrying around. Cheers 1 shed.

Hyundai i10. Or a Fabia.

This, these can be had for £4k because we’ve just got one for a run around.

Or this.. Which is an excellent little car..

Yaris seems like a nicer option. Will do a bit more digging! I’d love a 500, but the lack of rear doors rules it out sadly 🙁

Thanks for the tips so far! The i10 seems like a decent wee unit, but not sure I can get on board with the looks of it…

Cheers!

When you go car shopping take your pram, car seat and a rucksack and see how it all fits in then try getting it all out in a car park. This is where a car with sliding doors and a higher roofline is a good idea. The amount of bending and twisting to get a child out of a small car with conventional doors is horrendous.

I was in a similar shopping position last year, and ended up with a Vauxhall agila.

Fairly nippy (1.2 version), mechanically simple and a bit taller than most little cars so good for getting kids in and out.

Jap stuff – Toyota Yaris or Honda Jazz. Failing that, Ford Fiesta?

Jazz if you want auto as many are bought that way. Very practical (inc mtb)
Yaris great little cars – mtb will go in the back. We have had a 1300 for 10 years, faultless
Micra not bad
Polo solid
.. Lots to chose from

i10 or i20 if you don’t care about the name. Have an i20 and it’s been fault free. Second hand from a supermarket thing. 10k miles but felt brand new. (ex car rental but you wouldn’t know.)

Ford Festa. Always. Loads around so plenty of choice. Cheap parts, cheap servicing, cheap insurance. And a boot big enough for even a massive pushchair.

Drive great too.

If she’s gonna be taking a buggy, perhaps a few bags, picking up a bag of shopping or two on the way home and occasionally having a friend or you in the passenger seat I would forget the teeny tiny cars.

The baby seats mean you need quite a lot of space to the front seat and it’ll inevitably go on the passenger side.
The buggies etc. take up a lot of space in the boot.

We had a little girl last October and had 2 Seat Ibizas; current generation and previous generation.
The boot takes the buggy and a couple of well positioned bags but not much else.
The baby seat position means you have to put the passenger seat quite a way forward. If I drive, my Wife doesn’t have much leg room in the passenger seat.

We decided after 4 weeks to get rid of my older Ibiza and get a C3 Picasso for my Wife’s daily car. I use her newer Ibiza to get about in.

I reckon the smallest you could practically get away with without getting annoyed/frustrated would be Ibiza/Fiesta/Polo/Jazz/Yaris size…

Hyundai i10 is one of the best small auto’s on the market. The vw ups etc have a awful mechatronix box stay well clear of them. Can’t comment on the Aygo’s C1 etc but I think they are just a bit to small.

billytinkle – Member
I wanted something similar last year, went with a Diahatsu Sirion and spent considerably less than £4k. Cracking little car, but no toys just the basics.

Oh … I don’t know you have Daihatsu Sirion in BritLand … good call!

In the far east most of me mates have a Perodua Myvi (actually it is Daihatsu Sirion re-brand) as second car. Very reliable, practical and surprisingly spacious. Actually almost every household has one …

I use to drive one of its 659cc predecessor Daihatsu(Perodua) Nippa (Known as Nippa in BritLand). Never missed a beat until I sold it before I return to BritLand.

When you go car shopping take your pram, car seat and a rucksack and see how it all fits in then try getting it all out in a car park. This is where a car with sliding doors and a higher roofline is a good idea. The amount of bending and twisting to get a child out of a small car with conventional doors is horrendous.

This x1000

Unless you have the smallest pram/ travel system in the world there’s a good chance the aygo/up/c1 types won’t be big enough to make life easy for loading and unloading.

They are perfect at stroller/pushchair stage. I reckon the 107 was designed to be exactly 2″wider than a flattened McLaren stroller in the boot.

I echo what stumpy01 says. Small cars have very limited rear space for baby seats. Most boots won’t fit a pram. Get a tiny car for your commute to work. Let her have the big 1 during the week the amount of baby paraphernalia will overwhelm all of the cars being proposed above. When we became a family we wanted ‘metal’ and space around our most precious cargo.

Yes get yourself an Abarth 500 and let the Mrs have the big car.

If baby pram/seat is involved I would get: (in order)

1. Toyota Yaris Verso.
2. Honda Jazz
3. Hyundai i20
4. Suzuki Swift

Skoda Rooster? Loads of space, or a Fabia

My parents had a Citroen c1, and while it drove nicely it was badly built. They ditched it feeling hatred for it and wouldn’t touch the pug or toy version. Replaced with a i10 they love. They also like the i30 they have…. I’ve had it on a month long loan and while it was great around town I hated it for long journeys….. fiancée doesn’t care about cars but she also found the i30 noisy and uncomfortable. So……in the same car hunt as you….up! It is for the fiancée.

Abarth is the 595…… if only it came with 5 doors.

What about a Kia Picanto 2012 onwards? Much nicer inside and appear better quality than the Citroen/Peugeot/Toyota clones. Boot is a more useful size too but car remains small.

When you go car shopping take your pram, car seat and a rucksack and see how it all fits in then try getting it all out in a car park. This is where a car with sliding doors and a higher roofline is a good idea. The amount of bending and twisting to get a child out of a small car with conventional doors is horrendous.

Indeed. In a similar position to the OP we are having a hard time seeing past the Honda Jazz. Not many downsides besides other road users mistaking you for an OAP perhaps 🙂

Honda Jazz is a very good choice in my view due to the folding seats.