One of those "What car" threads...

[trigger]

My sister in law has asked me to help her find a new car to replace her 2003 Toyota Yaris 1.0, the trouble is she has a 2 year old baby and another on the way and a 3 door Yaris is too small already as it is so it needs to go.

 

She can't park to save her life so it needs to be small and have 5 doors, her boyfriend has a BMW 320d (and is clueless with cars hence me getting the job of finding a replacement) so it wouldn't be their only vehicle, the trouble is i don't know what to recommend, The Yaris is worth about £1500-£2000 and she has £1500 savings so they have around £3000-£3500 to spend.

 

She's not keen on a Focus (even though it's my 1st choice) and the new shape Astra is pretty cack by all accounts, This car will also need to have a boot big enough for a pram and all the other shit women have to take with them.

 

I've spotted a Fiat Panda locally which looks spot on but I'm not sure if the boot will be big enough and those Citroen C3's look alright but my experience of new French cars are that they are all hassle due to bits breaking and falling off them, same issue with the big arsed Meganes too.

 

She does like the Skoda Fabia's though but they seem a bit pricey.

 

So, What's out there?

[cort16]

Honda Jazz. They're pricey but my sister just went through this exercise for the same budget you can't do any better. Have a look on google, other than shit CVT gearboxes and the odd leaking boot nothing seems to go wrong with them.

They've got decent boots, do good mpg and have a flexible and family friendly interiors.

 

 

P.S. My sister bought a golf in the end but only because she got a mega bargain on one

[vulgalour]

Toyota Aygo and derivatives come in a five door. Not a huge amount of boot space, but easy to drive and park and not too expensive if you shop wisely. Quite tough little things too if the bumps and scrapes the two door Peugeot version my housemate has is anything to by. Better yet, they're very easy to keep clean inside, they're very nearly wipe down like a greasy spoon cafe, which is ideal with small children on board.

 

[sporty-shite]

5 door Fiesta*? Fairly decent boot, and quite cheap now. Has she bought the pram yet? If so, take it round to local garages, hassle the salesmen, then bugger off!!

 

Although the diesels are a time bomb, apparently.

[trigger]

You haven't looked at a child's pram recently have you Angyl!, Sadly a Aygo is far too small, The Jazz on the other hand is a good call, my mates misses has had one for years and loves it, they aren't very cheap though and there's only 1 for sale in a 50 mile radius under £3500...

[Richard]

I can't see a modern pram/buggy fitting into the boot of anything much smaller than a Luton van. Unless she can be persuaded to buy bloat-free gear for the baby she will have to learn to drive a bigger car.

[trigger]

I think she's happy to go up to a Focus sized car, She just can't park very well, She already has one pram for the 2 year old but with another one due in March she's going to have to either buy a double or carry two prams, The current Yaris struggles with the one and all the other baby gear you have to carry about.

[vulgalour]

You haven't looked at a child's pram recently have you Angyl!

 

I had missed the bit about needing pram space. I wonder why nobody has designed a pram rack for the back of cars that works like a bicycle rack?

[M'coli]

Yaris Verso? Seeing as she seems to like the Yaris. ABS pumps are known to be weak on the Honda Jazz, it's a bag of sand for a new one.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

You haven't looked at a child's pram recently have you Angyl!

 

I had missed the bit about needing pram space. I wonder why nobody has designed a pram rack for the back of cars that works like a bicycle rack?

 

Or a smaller pram.

[PhilA]

Where are the days of a canvas-and-tubes pushchair in fetching* shades of cream and brown that folds up like a deckchair, and then folds up again

 

It is possible. I was ferried around in the back of a '69 Sprite for 2 years, ffs

 

(h&s win)

 

At that point, Much Bigger Car (mk1 Fez) was purchased.

 

Buy a smaller pram..

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Check out the Sirion. It has a ridiculous amount of cabin space, and the back is very tall, so you can put things in vertically/diagonally as long as you remove the parcel shelf. Doors open very wide, it's dead easy to park at just 3.6 metres (plus visibility is GR9), and it's got Toyota oily bits for durability.

 

If it's got to be something bigger, a Jazz/Fabia/Ibiza/Colt would definitely be big enough while remaining easyish to park.

[beko1987]

I can fit our Cossato MeMo pushchair frame and pram top into the ZX, with only the parcel shelf removed. If I took the wheels off the frame it could probably stay put.

 

Hope this helps! Failing that, a Meriva is cheap and easy to park, the rear glass is the edge of the car, so judge based on that.

[sporty-shite]

Trig, tell her to buy a Phil & Ted double pushchair. I used to get ours in the back of the XR2, and they are ACE around the shops. Also, they sell well on ebay when you've done with them, so "whole life" cost isn't as bad. If she gets one of those, she'll cope miles better with a smaller car. Win-win!

 

like this

[ashmicro]

Prams are fucking monstrous these days. The one for my younger niece won't go in the boot of my Rover 25, and when the elder niece was wee and needing a conveyance, her on wouldn't fit in the boot of my Tucson. When I was a wayne I cut about in a Tansad, which folded up into the size of about a 23 inch flatscreen TV.

[Alexg]

Many of the cars listed here have a tiny boot! Have a look at the Nissan Note, it is a great underated small car. Dimentions are that of a super-mini (think Jazz) but the interior space is like that of a larger car. The boot is extremely versatile with false floor dividing 2 levels that can be made into one and a rear bench seat that can slide forwards increasing boot volume. Other neat little ideas include a large hidden storage space under the passanger front seat swob. I've been selling them from a maindealer and driving the demo model for 2 years and they've been reliable, comfortable and suprisingly nice to drive. Try to stear clear of the povo spec 'S' later called 'Visia', unless she wants billy basic, and look out for a 1.4 Petrol 'SE' spec or higher, or even a 1.5 Diesel if budget allows.

[Hertz]

Seat Leon? Lot's about and look good value.

[alf892]

i am a slow learner. but one thing i learned quick.............never recommend a car to family.

 

teach her to park and get the focus.

 

or a nice silver Cheapyquento sport...........l

[Akron]

A modern supermini pram and two kids, no chance. How about an Octavia, Bora, Focus as suggested, or Fabia estate.

[Pete-M]

Focus, Leon, Fabia in that order.

 

Focus is a great car and the boot isn't bad on 'em, it's a slightly weird shape but it is quite deep. I don't know what it'd be like for prams. Definitely the best family hatch to drive, and one of the cheapest to maintain.

[SambaS]

I'd be thinking something along the lines of the Otosan Anadol

[Spiny Norman]

For the amount of detritus two sprogs need these days forget anything smaller than a Focus estate, & if necessary spend a couple of hundred quid on parking sensors or a few hours' refresher driving lessons so she can learn to park properly.

My mate went through this when his first sprog appeared and ended up with a Saab 9-3 wagon, into which they can just fit everything now that mini-me #2 has arrived.

Actually, Saab 9-3 wagons are within the £3k budget these days, and I can vouch for them being a nice ride.

[Lankytim]

How about a lovely Citroen C3 04 reg for 2k?

[panhard65]

Recommending cars for family is never a good idea. A few years ago my sister wanted a car to replace her old volvo. She wanted something people carrier like and ended up with a picasso I recommended. That has been fine for the last couple of years but it's just been written off. So without even asking what does she go and buy !!!! An f'ing chrysler PT cruiser. The worst car known to man but it was a '04 and only had 24000 on the clock was her excuse. The best bit was the seller knocked 200 quid off for the cam belt being due. Am I glad I moved 200 miles away the poor sod who got the job of changing it spent over 6 hours on it. I have told her if she comes down here in it she will have to park round the corner. So all the best advice in the world means nothing when women are involved it's all down to colour and chrome stick on bits. My advice would be the Honda really as they are just so reliable

[ProgRocker]

A Nissan Almera like mine might fit the bill. The interior seating space is a bit cosy for a family hatch but the boot with the seats up is plenty big enough. I wouldn't recommend the 2.2 dCi diesel though as it isn't all that economical - the 1.5 pez should be alright as long as the cam chain is fit. My sister has an 03 reg Almera 'Flare' and she loves it - really high equipment levels in it. A £3k budget should hopefully buy one of the last ones on a 55 or 06 plate.

 

My parents looked at Nissan Notes a couple of years ago when they wanted to replace their Reno Scenic and they criticized it for having little boot space, so getting 2 buggies into one and keeping the rear seats up will be a struggle. Might be the same with the Honda Jazz too perhaps?

 

A few months ago I was a rear seat passenger in a mark 1 Focus and I was very impressed with it.

[catsinthewelder]

How about a Corolla? My dad has been running a 55 plate 1.6 petrol one for ages and has had no bother with it at all. If it needs to be smaller then my father in law has been running Ford Fusions for a while now, again no bother with them and they feel pretty spacious considering thier size.

 

Alternatively buy her a baby sling then she won't even need to open the boot to carry the little one about

[Albert Ross]

One of these things. Yeah, bland, but you know what? They're quite well screwed together, ideal for people who need to drive but don't get all giddy about it. It's gonna be solid gold shite soon, too, so you could inherit it once it's past it's serviceable life.

http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified ... ?logcode=p

 

[Lacquer Peel]

Bugatti Royale.

[trigger]

There's some great advice here chaps, thanks, Some i hadn't even thought off, she said tonight she likes Japanese cars having owned the Yaris for about 4 years now and not having any problems with it.

 

She said she like the Corolla, I did say that it's a bit granny for a 27 year old but she said she didn't mind, I did looked at that Panda earlier but the boot was tiny, which was shame it it looks a lovely car for the money, The Kai Cee'd is a good call too, If i was here though I'd be looking at Focuses, there's a reason there's so many about.

[Cavcraft]

Alf892 is a very quick learner, and you should listen to him.