What could we get?

[thermidorthelobster]

I'm vaguely thinking about what to replace Mrs Thelobster's Rover 220 with when it eventually dies.

She wants:
* small
* economical
* easy to drive
* cheap to buy (ie under 4 grand or so)

I want:
* turbo diesel
* fun to drive
* durable
* cheap to repair
* quiet & refined

I notice a lot of small practical diesels (Focus for example) seem to be holding their value well at the moment, for obvious reasons.

Any particular recommendations which I might not have thought of?

[diggerdog36]

Well, weve just sold our Ford Fusion, it was 1.4tdci but they do a 1.6tdci which is more exciting, it was £200 a year insurance, not bad for a young couple.  It did 72mpg and only £35 a year tax.

[AJWB]

A Focus seems to match your requirements; that's where my money would be going.

[Range Rover Blues]

Focus is a brilliant car to drive, just like a dodgem.  It's no coincidence they're holding their money either, everybody likes them.

If the TDCi is cheap to tax too then you need look no further.

[Gordo]

For longevity, look to the Volkswagen side. Both the SEAT Leon and Skoda Octavia are based on the Golf and are very well put together. Before turning to the green side I always had VW group cars.

There's also the smaller Polo / Ibiza / Fabia or, for luggage space, the SEAT Cordoba saloon has an enormous boot:



That's bigger than the Freelander's boot, and one of the things I miss about my last car.

Even smaller is the SEAT Arosa and VW Lupo. The Lupo is a fantastic little car to drive and the diesel is very economical. Not much boot space though.

The VWs do cost a bit more, but they hold their prices too.

HTH :)

[Chris Putt]

Peugeot 306 D-turbo 2litre HDI, Still thought to be one of the best handling front wheel drive cars ever made! The engines are bombproof, they look smart and if you chip them they go really quite quickly!

£4000 will just about get you a Skoda Fabia VRs...........Definitely the only fabia worth having!

I would also second the VW lupo corner, although the diesels that were available for the Lupo were a bit crap- so maybe a petrol if you want some fun!?

[Drift]

I like my Picasso 20HDI ticks all our boxes 3k on 05 plate full service history wifey and kids love it

[TDi90]

Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDi
Cheap to run (55mpg +)
fun to drive
nippy when needed
essentially the same as a VW just with a skoda badge and cheaper!

HTH - any questions on it - ask! i got one!
Rob

[MudRat]

Pug 307 2.0l HDI, when peugeot make cars, they make em well, and so nippy and hold the road, also had 306s and 307s, never had anything major apart from a service!

[merlin617]

I'm vaguely thinking about what to replace Mrs Thelobster's Rover 220 with when it eventually dies.

She wants:
* small
* economical
* easy to drive
* cheap to buy (ie under 4 grand or so)

I want:
* turbo diesel
* fun to drive
* durable
* cheap to repair
* quiet & refined

Right. What your good lady needs is a 90! :shock: (work with me on this)

Small; Compared to a 101 a 90 is very compact

Economical; Next to some racing cars the 90s fuel consumption figures are positively frugal.

Easy to drive; Make sure its got power steering.

Cheap to buy; No probs you should get a nice one for under your budget.

That covers all your wife's requirements I think.

Turbo diesel; TDi

Fun to drive; Of course they are.

Durable; We are talking about a Land Rover.

Cheap to repair; Hammer, Big screwdriver, WD40, Duck tape, Sorted!

Quiet and refined; I find that after spending a day driving a Cat D6, getting in the old 90 to come home is an absolute haven of peace and quiet.

So there you go. All you have to do is show your good lady this post and she will no doubt be delighted. 

[scotana]

we just bought an
02 plate
astra 16valve 1.7 turbo deisel eco4 
its gonna cost £35 to tax per year and will do
 47.9 mpg urban  and 80.7 extra urban
Luggage Capacity (seats up) 370 litres 
Luggage Capacity (seats down) 710 litres 
Max Towing Weight (braked) 1150 kg 
for £2000
that should offset our carbon emitions for the new landy :dance: