Sub Compact car

[Jeff]

With the D2 having its second catastrophic engine failure, I have decided to not bother fixing it a second time, claim the Defender back from wifey and no longer be a two Land Rover family. In order to remove it from her grasp, I will need to give her a car. As she does a lot of travelling to work and hockey an economical car is on top of the list. Also with the D2 problems it has put me off buying second hand (similar experience with bikes, new-no problems, used-problems).

The short list so far:

Suzuki Alto: Cheapest, made in India, very tiny, needs Premium petrol.

Suzuki Swift: Slightly bigger, made in Japan.

Hyundai i20: Cheap, also made in India, 5 year warranty.

Any thoughts, experiences or things to look out for?

Any others to look at in this price bracket?

Jeff

[sheerluck]

Jeff,

Really depends what you are looking for, auto/manual, 3dr/5dr, price more than economy.....
If you're looking at the $15k-$20k range, then why not the Honda Jazz too?

If economy is your thing, then a diesel VW Polo or Ford Fiesta just creeps over the $20k mark, but worth considering.

But out of the list you have selected, I would go the Hyundai.

[justinc]

Hyundai has certainly improved their overall quality, up to a much higher standard. An i30 Diesel is a great buy, new they are only $24K, a good used low km one is very affordable, AMCAP 5 on most models, and cheap to run.

Any Honda product, or Corolla , Yaris etc are also very good and more importantly meet good safety standards.

Hyundai i30 Review | 2012 Active Diesel Manual | Reviews | Prices | Australian specifications


JC

[33chinacars]

We've had a Hyundai I30 diesel auto for 4 years. Highly recommended.
Would I buy another one. YES

Gary

[gimposarillios]

A corolla will last for ever. Even u do buy second hand. There virtually bullet proof car.

[Blknight.aus]

I'out of your short list Id suggest the suzuki swift.

[Jeff]

Well, I took wifey test driving today, some we liked, some we didn't. Each seemed to have some good and bad bits. The Alto was quickly discounted as it shakes, and inside laid out worse than a pre-Puma Defender. Strangely most of them had a faint smell of curry, with one exception, the Swift, AFAIK all the others, (Alto, i20, Mazda2, Fiesta, Barina and Micra) are either made in India or Thailand.

One oddity is the Micra, with it's 3 cylinder 1.2 engine, it gives similar performance to the Defender, my leg rubs on the door the same and sitting in the back, it felt like the same plank as the Defender.

So the short list is now:

Nissan Micra: the dealer has one only at $11990, normally $16990

Suzuki Swift: $15990, drives nicer than all the others and has headroom front and back, my head rubs in the front of the Fiesta and the rear of the Mazda2. Wifey liked this one the most too.

Went to the Toyota dealer and their smallest car is over $20000, the Corolla is only $22000, they probably wonder why they don't sell many Yarises, so we didn't even ask for a test drive.

Some of the dealers have rang me back offering better prices or more features for the same price and am expecting the others to do so as well. So different to buying a Land Rover where they know you can't go elsewhere and don't want to do a deal, well not for a Defender anyway, maybe for an RR Sport or D4.

Jeff

[Jeff]

Funny the ad on the top of the AULRO forum is for Suzuki Swifts, maybe the thought has been put into my mind from this.

Jeff

[justinc]

Jeff if the swift has the 1.6 engine, used to have heaps of trouble years back with the 16 valve version (Baleno) cracking heads, a bit like the XR600 RFVC engines from Honda there just wasn't enough material to have a spark plug and 4 valves per chamber in that little cylinder head

Otherwise a great engine.

More than likely a different engine family by now, the Japanese seem to change designs etc quite often.


JC

[Chucaro]

Before the Corolla I will get a Golf
If I have to get a car under $20000 I will get a Lexus IS200 with less than 100000 km and Lexus dealer warranty.