I hate my car after five months!

[amusedbush]

I'm looking for opinions on small automatic cars, please. I have an automatic licence so I don't have the option of buying a manual.

I bought my dream car in March this year - a Fiat 500. I'm not the most confident driver and seeing as it had been four years since I last drove, I wanted a tiny car that I could zip about in.

However, there is no zipping. It's like a fucking mobility scooter! It's sooo slow to do anything, gear changes are jerky and it loses power on hills at an alarming rate. I have to avoid a shortcut to my work because there is a junction on a hill and it takes 67 years for my car to turn right onto the main road.

I feel ridiculous even considering trading it in after such a short space of time but honestly, it feels like a plastic toy. I'm too scared to take it above 40mph.

If you have a small automatic car, can you please tell me why you love it? I want something with a bit of power behind it, so I can move off from traffic lights without wanting to apologise to everyone behind me.

So far the Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost Powershift is in the running, as is the VW Polo 1.2 TSI SE DSG. Both get a great write up, they aren't too big and they have the bonus of 5 doors, which is handy.

I don't have kids to ferry around so that's not a consideration. Thank you in advance!

It would be a no brainer for me, definitely the Polo. Dh has an automatic and dd has a manual. Ds is currently learning and he’s considering a Polo too.
5 door Polos are roomier in the back seat than you’d think which is always a bonus

I used to have an automatic mini which I lived.

Have you thought of looking at an electric car? They are all automatic and the ones I’ve driven are very nippy, I’m always the first away at the lights

I have a fiesta. I highly recommend it. It’s so fun to drive and the engine is fantastic

My friend has Nissan Micra and loves it. Keeps raving about how nippy it is

Whatever you do don’t buy a Peugeot 2008!!
I have one and it’s dire for pretty much the same reasons as yours op!!

Ford Fiesta here. Goes like the proverbial off a shovel.

Kia Picanto (Hyundai i10) has a decent amount of 'nip'

VW Up! / Skoda Citigo / Seat Mii

They're basically all the same car - small engine so cheap to insure but very light and very nippy

Abarth?

Polo

Polos are great little cars. I vote for that.

Or Audi A1

I have a Renault Clio and love it. Had my automatic one just over a year now and had a manual one for 9 years before that.

I have an i10 Hyundai and it is the best car I have ever had! I had a 500 and I agree it was absolutely bloody useless..

Mini Cooper S automatic (a fairly new one). Fantastic car, great fun, solidly built, great acceleration and really nippy.

Lol, I hired a fiat 500 for a few weeks, loved it to bits but the lack of oomph was shocking.

It took me more than a mile to get to 70 on the way to work and by the time I managed it, it was time to slow down.

I actually bought a Mini Cooper s and that is super nippy and great on hills. Still a small car too, especially if you go for a 3 door.

My friend has Nissan Micra and loves it. Keeps raving about how nippy it is

Yep. Little pocket rocket.

Polo, the DSG automatic is brilliant, super quick and really responsive. Definitely avoid citigo/up/mii. They've got the absolute worst automatic gearboxes ever (sounds like you probably have the same type of gearbox in the fiat tbh). They are great in the manual version but that doesn't help you!

Whatever you do don’t buy a Peugeot 2008!!

My last car was a Peugeot and it caused me nothing but heartache - never again!

Itsjustafly

The 500 isn't actually automatic, it's a dualogic so it has a manual engine that's controlled by the car. It's AWFUL, so shaky and crunchy when changing gears!

@amusedbush yeah that sounds awful. Just had a quick read up on it, it's not the exact same thing but very similar in the citigo/up/mii. The DSG in the VW group cars is great though, I've had 5 or so cars with that gearbox and it's the best out of all the automatics I've driven. (quite a lot of cars since I work in car sales, not for VW at the moment)

I've called Arnold Clark about the Polo and because I've had the car for such a short time I'm in negative equity, which will be added to the car's price. It pushes my monthly payments up by quite a lot so I'm not sure it'll be feasible.

There's a little 2014 plate Fiesta at a branch half an hour away though, it's much cheaper so I'm waiting for a call back about that.

Update: I managed to push Arnold Clark into taking (quite a considerable amount of) money off the Polo and I picked it up on Saturday morning. It was month end so they were pretty much throwing cars out the door!

Honestly, I can't believe this is what I could have been driving while I persevered with the Fiat. It's soooo smooth, well-built and QUIET! I haven't noticed a single gear change and it goes like shit off a shovel when pulling away at lights. I got to 70mph on the motorway and didn't even notice, and when I go round a roundabout it doesn't feel like the car will tip up on two wheels.

I'm so happy!

Ah that's great! Glad you're happy with it, they're a brilliant car.

Hyundai i10 is fantastic.