Motors New Car Time

I'm off to uni in September and i'll be taking a car with me. Question is; What Car?

Its going to be used for motorway driving every weekend so it'll have to be able to maintain an easy 70mph without drinking too much petrol. It also needs to be cheap to insure (comparable to my 998 mini would be nice) and reliable.

Any ideas?

Chris

 

fiat puntos go easy on the fuel i believe!

 

An mpi mini

Mine is comfortable enough and is pretty decent for motorway cruising.

 

Interesting, hadn't thought of that at all...

I might be looking for a Suzuki Swift any thoughts on that particular automobile?

 

wat about pug 106

 

I wouldnt buy Peugeot, Fiat or Suzuki. Id have the Mini, or a Micra, cos there pretty much bulletproof.

 

pug 306 td/tdi/hdi

i had a 306 d (non turbo) and i abused it and it kept coming back, my mum has had a 306 d for aaages and never had many proelbmes with it

they are group 4/5 insurance iirc

 

I was going to mention Suzuki Swifts or early pug 106s with the factory body kit, Both slammed on steels ofcourse

 

Late 90's Nissan Micra is always a good choice, cheap to run and built well.

 

Fiesta 1.25 Zetec (if the budget can stretch to ~£2k)
My sister has one and its a great little car. 40+ mpg and cheap to insure. Surprisingly powerful for a small engine, very revvy nature (down to the design collaboration with Yamaha). Close to the 1.6 zetec performance wise but a whole lot cheaper.
Very refined for a small car, and will cruise easily at 70 (or 90 ).

I would generally advise against most french/italian cars because of reliability issues, especially Fiats. The Pug 106 is very nippy for a 1.1 due to its lightness and handles well but it won't be as comfortable on a motorway as the Fiesta. Also has annoyingly offset pedals and would crush like tin foil in a crash.

 

a budget might be useful

 

My MK.1 pug 106 1L only takes sniffs of petrol and does 90mph on the m/way when pushed, its getting a reconditioned box on weds. Its great to drive and pretty much the cheapest insurance you can get.

I pay £1250 for insurance where a 306 td 1.9 is £2200 :/

'doc

 

I got a mk 3 Astra 1.4i which is fairly cheap to insure. Especially when you give them loads of hassle on the phone.

 

As far as Fiat Punto's go the mk1's are pretty decent. Mine gets ~45 to a gallon on the m/way (at 80-90mph), it gets up to about 50 if you slow down a bit.

One thing i will say though, make sure you find one with uprated trim, the trim in mine is excellent, and far FAR more comfortable for doing motorway miles than the normal one.

 

get a micra, don't listen to anyone who says they're slow and boring. they're cheap to insure, handle very well and they're nippy.

 

mk2/3 golf

 

i've got a 306 that i quite like, its very comfortable. Suzuki swifts are nice and also very comfortable. However the two that i have known off both had expensive issues after a few years.

The punto first model that my friend had was a total piece of crap as was the fiat that my dad had many years ago. Althought he same can't be said for every one. I personally wouldn't go near one.

I'd just see if you could take the mini.

 

arn't micra a little ugly and the engines need some serious revvin to get them moving a few mph

 

Micra definatly, ive had mine and taken it to Notts, Liverpool, Leeds, Devon, London and Newquay motorways, and cruise at about 90 with no rattles, its fine for motorway driving and does about 12 miles to the pound on the motorway which aint bad for a little car, make sure you get a 1.3 micra though as the 1 litres will have problems on the motorway...


and webbyman, the new micras are ugly, the 90-01 version are nice looking though, like 1/2 mini 1/2 206ish, and damn well fast, can top 120 with the 1.3 models

- M@