Small economical STYLISH car ... (for Girlfriend)

[Dino D]

One if the best cars we've owned was original shape Honda Jazz CVT. Just perfect for town and actually massive inside. CVT is really great once you get your head around how it works. Just glides along without any gear changed.

'Stylish' is probably a deal breaker here...We got the sport one which I thought was super stylish but many may disagree (I think Honda preludes are gorgeous!).

 

[t-tony]

The MPG isn't the problem though, it's the "cheat" that VW hid in the software to make them pass emission testing when they are putting out 40 times more than they should.. I'm not sure if it's simply down to the fact that when stationary these cars will only Rev to 2,000 rpm, if that's the case some Merc models have done that for much longer!

Tony.

 

[gookah]

I have a fiat 500 sport, cracking little car

 

[Rha]

We had a 500 lounge 1.3 diesel turbo for 4 yrs and got 60+mpg when the wife drove it, not one problem except I had to run it out a couple of times and keep the revs up to clear the particulate filter, not a problem cos they're punchy little motors. Went from that to a DS3 sport 1600 diesel turbo, the wife got even more mpg from it and no road tax with no filter probs, still miss this cracking little two door car. Now gone to another Fiat 500X 1300 petrol turbo with four doors so we can get the grandson in and out without any problems, trouble is can only get 33mpg out of it, not really good enough but it does have loads of extras, it's quiet and smooth drive nearly make up for its god awful Mpg. Don't rule out a 500, DS3 sport, or another Z. Rha, Roy.

 

[Connor]

500 is definitely top of the list not sure if DS3s are available under 5k though, I'd definitely have one though.

Has anyone got any experience with the twinair?

Connor.

 

[Poprin]

I used to own an R56 Mini Cooper S as an everyday car for 2 years. I would strongly advise buying from Mini with their TLC package well and truly in tact. I loved my Mini but it had 2k's worth of warranty work done on it within 2 years. If I had bought it anywhere other than Mini it would have been in the bin. Customer service from Mini was top notch though. They are great little cars but they are not as reliable as the BMW badge would suggest and the ride quality is poor. But they look cool and they are good fun.

Also, unless your girlfriend spends all day every day going up and down motorways and does 15k+ a year I would personally not buy a diesel. The maintenance costs quickly outweigh the MPG savings and the MPG difference is significantly reduced with town driving. My Mini Cooper S (petrol turbo) for example used to return 44mpg.

 

[Connor]

Id get a cooper s if I could get 45mpg out of it. But I I'd like to get 45mpg in a morning when I take the car instead of the bike to work, I'm sure it won't do 45 then.

How was it around town?

Connor.

 

[Poprin]

Hi Connor, sorry about the delay in reply. It is all dependant on driving style as well of course and at the time when commuting to work I was being particularly economical. 40+mpg was totally achievable even in mixed driving conditions. If you are talking only town driving I think you could sensibly expect 35mpg out of it... however if you use the loud pedal with reckless abandon then you could easily see 10mpg less than that!

 

[Althulas]

My wife had a cooper S great fun to drive but rather thirsty it was an 03 plate but I believe the later models were a bit better on economy but as mentioned above. My wife liked the car apart from the mpg and the high road tax it was dearer than my ///M! She would like another Mini but not an S due to the aftermentioned reasons.

 

[Connor]

The Deal is done.
Bought a 59 Plate Fiat 500 1.3 multijet in black. Fully loaded (as far as a fiat 500 can be) Climate control and full leather.
However with good news also comes bad.
I've had to get rid of the Z3, after looking at insurance prices, tax and of course fuel economy the Z3 was not the right for me at this moment in time. I have however sold the 2.8 to my Dad! So I'll still be able to admire from afar.

I'm sure everyone will understand a £240 saving in tax and a £400 saving in insurance is enough to make anyone consider their options.

Connor.

 

[zedonist]

Contrary to what's been said a DPF works by burning the by products of combustion at a higher temperature by adding diesel to them, in like a mini furnace, it does this at around 2500 - 3000 rpm, the ash that is produced by this process is captured by the DPF filter, and the gases are passed out the exhaust. The filter fills up over time until you need to change the DPF. If you drive at very low revs, such as short journeys and stop start traffic, the DPF is just storing soot and not doing the furnace process, hence it blocks up quicker, at this point you need to force a regeneration to burn that stored soot and reduce it to ash. When buying a DPF car it is worth getting the garage to plug in to the reader so they can tell you how full the DPF filter is, if it is close to 100% then the only course of action is a new DPF, or some companies will cut it open and desolve the ash and rebuild it.

 

[M666BMG]

I've just misread this thread.

I thought you were after a small economical girlfriend.

They don't exist mate!

 

[zedonist]

You've not looked hard enough Mark...are you an impulse buyer...R75 ahem...

 

[hard top]

That is why BMG bought two small dogs......

 

[t-tony]

Contrary to what's been said a DPF works by burning the by products of combustion at a higher temperature by adding diesel to them, in like a mini furnace, it does this at around 2500 - 3000 rpm, the ash that is produced by this process is captured by the DPF filter, and the gases are passed out the exhaust. The filter fills up over time until you need to change the DPF. If you drive at very low revs, such as short journeys and stop start traffic, the DPF is just storing soot and not doing the furnace process, hence it blocks up quicker, at this point you need to force a regeneration to burn that stored soot and reduce it to ash. When buying a DPF car it is worth getting the garage to plug in to the reader so they can tell you how full the DPF filter is, if it is close to 100% then the only course of action is a new DPF, or some companies will cut it open and desolve the ash and rebuild it.

This is also why when servicing cars (diesel) with a DPF you have to use a low ash oil to help prevent blocking the DPF prematurely. A forced re-generation can be a scary thing!

Tony.

 

[hard top]

A forced re-generation can be a scary thing!

That just went right over my head Tony....

 

[zedonist]

It's a Star Trek thing Mike...

 

[gookah]

it involves cleaning the dilithium crystals.