Mrs DB is selling her 1970 Beetle and is after something a little more baby friendly, whilst still being a 'fun drive'.
What would you chose for £7500-£8000?
1. An 08 plate Mazda 2 1.3TS2 5 door
2. An 06/56 plate Hond Civic (probably a 2.2CDTi mainly as I think the 1.4 would be gutless and the 1.8 too thirsty).
Cheers,
DB
PS - you wouldn't believe how hard this has been to type with a 10 week old kitten lying on one arm....
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Whichever comes with all round parking sensors ;-0
Actually, joking aside, you would need rear sensors on the Civic. And our 2.2CDTi at work has not been as reliable as Honda's reputation.
I would go for the (newer) Mazda.
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"What would you chose for £7500-£8000?"
XJS ragtop
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Thank you BBD, I'll suggest that when she gets home. I can imagine her reply now though...
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...still a fun drive...
The Civic has a rock hard ride and is dull as ditchwater to drive.
The best handling baby friendly car for that sort of money has to be a Focus.
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A couple of yeas ago we test drove a Mazda 2 before we bought the A-class. Different cars I know but if you want a smart handling smaller car which is fun to drive, the Mazda is hard to beat.
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Bear in mind pretty much anything would ride well after her Beetle!
She doesn't like the interior of the Focus. She likes the new Fiesta, but they're a bit pricey hence looking at the Mazda.
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how will she get used to those new fangled pedals that come down from the dashboard?
and things like heaters,brakes,handling?
;-)
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I certainly won't miss my winter morning ritual of putting filled hot water bottles in her Beetle to aid interior defrosting!
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Seem to recall Beetle heaters worked quite well provided all the ducting was in place and there were no splits.
Which usually it wasn't and there were, if you get my meaning.
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"I certainly won't miss my winter morning ritual of putting filled hot water bottles in her Beetle to aid interior defrosting!"
I'd never heard of that one before, but thanks for the (hot) tip!
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>>> She likes the new Fiesta, but they're a bit pricey hence looking at the Mazda. <<<
The Mazda 2 is a Fiesta (more or less)
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The mitsi is like a barn inside. Get the automated manual and drive it tiptronic style. It's luvvvverly.
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>> The Mazda 2 is a Fiesta (more or less)
Aye, exactly why it's being considered.
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 4 Mar 10 at 21:17
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None of the cars mentioned could in the wildist imagination be called fun, after the beetle they'll be super efficient clones and clinically boring if reliable and swift.
BMW 3 series (estate for practicality), petrol or 330 Diesel, though the 320D is surprisingly powerful too with cheap tax for it's go rate, keep away from anything with above 17" wheels and Sport or M models for reasonably smooth ride. SE spec gets some nice goodies incl rear park.
Would she consider a soft roader or off roader, if so there's various vehicles to choose from far more interesting than eurobox's.
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A small /medium hatchybacky thing will still be painfully small for DB jnr and mum and granny and jnr's kit and Gran's friend and.......
An estate car or MPV would be much more useful. My wife tried to manage with a Corsa when our son was born. She fairly quickly changed it for a Mondeo estate. She was quite capaple of filling that eventually. Lots of kit with babies nowadays.
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Just for the hell of it go and sit in the Colt. 4 adults that is. You will be surprised. Small boot I grant you, but apart from that it is like the tardis inside.
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But is it 'fun' to drive??
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>>But is it 'fun' to drive??
I have had a quick car or two. I have paid the bills and 'suffered' some mediocre stuff to boot. We, i.e she, does 3k Sainsbury's mpa and it now suits both the pocket and the general requirement. Nothing else can be justified. To put it in perspective. I loved my old Granada 2.9i Ghia. Lazy Cologne V6. 22 mpg maximum. Supposed top end of 127 mph and 0-60 in about 10 secs. Colt when thrashed (yet to cover 1k) returns 33 ish I guess around the lanes etc. I have a leaden foot and she is Fittipaldi. Will do a ton so says the book and it will do 0-60 in the same time as the Granny. Power to weight ratio etc. I would love a 'Q' car or a 'luxury' barge, but those days are gone if sense is to prevail given our mileage. If I need kicks now I will go out on the off road bike or drive the Jimny up a cliff or something!
I find it quite spiriting using 'tip', but being just 1.3 and I don't know the BHP it of course runs out of steam eventually, but for once we have a car that is fit for our purpose. Of course I miss the old E320 merc rustbucket for it's ability to leave the shovel rather quickly. Horses for cours.....................
MD>>
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>> BMW 3 series (estate for practicality) petrol or 330 Diesel though the 320D is surprisingly
>> powerful too with cheap tax for it's go rate keep away from anything with above
>> 17" wheels and Sport or M models for reasonably smooth ride. SE spec gets some
>> nice goodies incl rear park.
You forgot to mention that the 320d is also surprisingly frugal - the fuel economy is excellent for a car of its size. It isn't very practical as estates go, though. And the ride - even on the SE with 16 inch wheels - is too firm for my taste.
Excellent car for the keen driver, though.
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She thinks the Colt is an old man's car (sorry!) and a BMW is out of the question as 8k would mean a much older car than the Mazda.
She also loves the metallic green of the Mazda, so it looks like that'll be what we go for.
Thanks
DB
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She'll get fed up putting baby/baby carrier in the back seat of a small car like a Mazda 2. The door opening will be small and the roof line low.
If you want a Mazda, that money will get a very nice Mazda 3 hatchback.
We learnt this lesson when we had our first child. Our SEAT Ibiza got changed for a Toledo within a few months.
EDIT: Meant to say, please don't let her buy the 2 because of its colour. I let my missus buy a car once becasue she liked the silver gear knob, and it turned out to be a vile car. (1998 1.4 Escort, most gutless and uncomfortable car we've ever owned, outperformed in every respect by my old 1983 FIAT Regata.)
Find a Mazda 3 in a similar colour, I'd say.
Last edited by: Alanović on Fri 5 Mar 10 at 10:14
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>>> She thinks the Colt is an old man's car (sorry!) <<<
How about the new Kia Venga ~ www.kia.co.uk/microsites/venga/ looks like a blinder to me!
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You could always hang on until October, acquire a bit more wonga and ...
www.nissan-juke.org/ :)
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Yep just one letter wrong in the name.
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Would that be Joke or Puke?
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I MUST be weird then ... I quite like it - Qashqai too :-D
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Well, after paying a refundable deposit over the phone, we took the 400 mile round trip to Letchworth to view an 08 plate Mazda 2 1.3TS2 5 door.
We're picking it up next Saturday - deal done.
Thanks for everyone's advice. Some if which we have obviously ignored!!
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Wifey's replacement car - Boxsterboy
