Small economical STYLISH car ... (for Girlfriend)

[Connor]

As per title.

My GF had a go in my sisters fiat 500 1.2 and really liked it, however i'm unsure its the best car for the job. Im thinking diesel as this will solve my issues with MPG, but how much of a problem is all this DPF stuff? anyone have any 1st hand experience?

Connor.

Also budget is around 5k or less.

 

[GazHyde]

I had a 57 plate MINI Cooper D which had the 1.6 Peugeot engine in it. Was built incredibly well and gave me on average over 55MPG over the 30k miles I had it for - and that was mixed driving conditions too. Never had any problems with the DPF or other diesel related stuff.

Was the most reliable and cheapest to run car I've ever owned/driven. It had one part replaced on it in the 3 years I had it, which was a rubber seal on the turbo inlet hose - less than £20 and took me 5 minutes to fit it myself.

 

[Connor]

I had a 57 plate MINI Cooper D which had the 1.6 Peugeot engine in it. Was built incredibly well and gave me on average over 55MPG over the 30k miles I had it for - and that was mixed driving conditions too. Never had any problems with the DPF or other diesel related stuff.

Was the most reliable and cheapest to run car I've ever owned/driven. It had one part replaced on it in the 3 years I had it, which was a rubber seal on the turbo inlet hose - less than £20 and took me 5 minutes to fit it myself.

Thats another option actually, but for 5k im looking at mostly 100,000+ milers. not sure about that when compared to 20/30/40000 mile fiat 500's. how many miles did yours have? But they are made by BMW and not fiat.

Connor.

 

[GazHyde]

Mine was on about 65k when I bought it back in 2011. It has the build quality of a BMW and a nice label under the bonnet stating it's made by them too!

It was down to a choice between this MINI and a 118d or 120d, but the MINI came in first as it was front wheel drive. At the time the only FWD BMW made

 

[Connor]

FWD over RWD!

SINNER!

but seriously, going to have to have a good look. Need something small or id get a higher mileage diesel 3 series. I've fancied a cooper S for quite a while. But got the Z instead!

It does still hurt when I drive behind/infront of my dads 120d sport and its faster than the 2.8.

 

[GazHyde]

I had a 120D SE Auto as my final company car, and it was outrageously good (despite the run flats) which is why it was on my list. The FWD reasoning was so I had one car which I could actually use when it snowed. I lived on a hill and usually had to abandon my cars at the bottom in Tescos car park. My Z3 would make it almost all the way up the hill, but my 525D just wasn't worth bothering attempting it.

 

[Connor]

I tried the Z3 in the snow up a hill once.

...

on another note i'll have a good look at the cooper D's.

Connor.

 

[roadvoyager1]

Regarding DPF; if GF does a lot of low speed heavy traffic driving the DPF will start to block up with soot. At higher speed the filter gets up to operating temperature and burns of the deposits and in mixed driving there is normally not too much of a problem. On the cars that I have had with DPF there is a warning light for the DPF, if it comes on you need to take it a 20 mile run at 70mph to clear the filter.
Hope that is of some help.

 

[Grumps]

The Fiat 500 and the ford ka are the same car. They are both Fiat not Ford. The ka petrol is the 1.2 Fiat plant and 1.3 diesel plant again fiat. You may find the ka a cheaper car than the Fiat 500.

 

[Brian4]

Depending on your miles per year and amount of town driving petrols are just as good. As @roadvoyager1 says the DPF needs to be hot for it to burn off the soot it collects, so if you aren't doing many miles the modern diesels can be expensive to maintain.

 

[roadvoyager1]

Hi @Connor. Just had a look on Autotrader and can see the BMW 120d is pretty much in line with Z3 2.8, on paper at least, which surprised me. Noticed there is a 26K miles 120d at Evans Halshaw for just under £6K which with a bit of haggling may get close to your budget. Could a Fiat 500 compare???? I think not. Happy hunting.

 

[t-tony]

For a small city car go for petrol not diesel. I have a hunch that diesel cars are very soon going to go down in value and the emission tests are going to get much, much tougher.

Tony..

ps. I saw the first ad on US tv this morning, " Have you bought a diesel VW since 2009?, You may be entitled to compensation" You read it here first, how long before it hits the UK ?

 

[Jack Ratt]

For a small city car go for petrol not diesel. I have a hunch that diesel cars are very soon going to go down in value and the emission tests are going to get much, much tougher.

Tony..

ps. I saw the first ad on US tv this morning, " Have you bought a diesel VW since 2009?, You may be entitled to compensation" You read it here first, how long before it hits the UK ?

It's already being advertised on the radio.

 

[Grumps]

For a small city car go for petrol not diesel. I have a hunch that diesel cars are very soon going to go down in value and the emission tests are going to get much, much tougher.

Tony..

ps. I saw the first ad on US tv this morning, " Have you bought a diesel VW since 2009?, You may be entitled to compensation" You read it here first, how long before it hits the UK ?

They don't hang about do they! It's like bloody ambulance chasers!

 

[gookah]

" Have you bought a diesel VW since 2009?, You may be entitled to compensation" You read it here first, how long before it hits the UK ?

Have you been mis-sold TDi?

 

[Althulas]

My wife has a VW 1.2 Polo, not stakes in the 0 - 60 times but good on petrol and is about the same size as an original golf. My mate had one of the Mini desiels and I was surprised with its performance and the mph was very good.

 

[t-tony]

The MPG on small petrol cars is well improved nowadays, usually cheaper to insure than diesels and you're not paying a fair sized premium on your fuel either. Oh and the s*** really hasn't hit the fan yet.

Tony.

 

[Jack Ratt]

Jill has a 2003 1.4 Diesel Polo which returns 60mpg. Not sure if this engine is one of the badduns though.

 

[Gail]

Jill has a 2003 1.4 Diesel Polo which returns 60mpg. Not sure if this engine is one of the badduns though.

No Jack, a car of that age will be a Euro 3. I believe it is Euro 5 engines which all the fuss is about.

 

[DavidM]

I had a 2011 Mini Cooper Sport D for three years which averaged 58 mpg - town and urban driving - a great car and very reliable.