Please recommend a small car

[Waffle12]

Hi. We will need a 2nd car when I return to work after having 2nd dc.

We have a middle size car at the moment, but due to logistics and where me and DH work, we will need a 2nd car to deal with school and nursery runs during the week.

We are thinking of getting something a year or 2 old. It will literally be for school/nursery runs, and then any emergencies where me and DH may need to be in different places at once. Will need to be big enough for 2 car seats, not bothered about engine size, ideally 5 door so we can easily get the kids in and out, low insurance, low tax, reliable make. Kids will be 1 and 5 by the time I go back.

Please let me have your recomendations. many thanks.

I love my Citroen C1. I have 4-door, 1.2 version. It is £0 road tax. The back seats fold flat if needed and you can fit a tremendous amount into it for its size. I can also get DGD's car seat easily into the back or have my (tall) adult DD2 and her fiance in there as well.

How far away is the school/nursery? Only reason I ask is that if it's not far (and you have somewhere to charge it) an electric car might work. Renault Zoe springs to mind.

In terms of petrol ones... Neighbour of mine has just bought a nearly new Smart Forfour, very characterful little thing it is. 1.0 engine I think.

The VW Up/Skoda Citigo/SEAT Mii are all good. Toyota Aygo likewise.

Honda Jazz or Toyota Yaris if you need a little bit more room.

You will probably need isofix for your car seat in a small car, if you don’t use it already. We don’t have it and any small car we put our car seat in, it doesn’t stay fitted properly for long. I have to constantly tighten it. Not safe at all.

Having said that, in every other way, the Toyota Aygo is great. My mum has one and it’s fab to drive, feels solid, comfy.

My Hyundai i10 is fab! £30 tax a year and around £500 for insurance (I'm still classed as a young driver unfortunately so you may get it cheaper than that). Only a 1.0 litre so not particularly speedy/flashy but is very fuel efficient and gets you from a to b. I've had mine second hand for about 4 years (it's a 2010 model) and I've never had any mechanical problems/failed MOT's with it ☺️

Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto

I personally wouldn't touch anything French (Renault/Peugeot/Citroen), I can hear my car mechanic friend groaning from here.

Hyundai suggested above sounds like a better bet. Or a Ford Fiesta, but they're generally quite expensive.

We have a Hyundai i10 and I love it, easy to drive and park, cheap to run. Ours is an older style 59 plate.

We just got a nearly Suzuki celerio for our second car and love it!! Great for parking in little spots but enough room for a fair bit of
Shopping. I can get weekly shop for 4 in it.

Isofix in the back, really cheap to run and so far very reliable. I had a previous Suzuki that I ran into the ground and that was great too, £0 road tax and cheap to buy.

Not trendy though and no fancy extras on my model so depends if that's important for you

Oh and meant to say, we got ours for similar reasons.

We have 4 kids but if they’re all coming we take the big car! But I can comfortably fit 3 of them in and have taken 4 before! Only two need cats seats.

I recently had a VW Up as a courtesy car and found it so easy to drive. It's very small, but didn't feel underpowered or vulnerable on the road. It would be no good for long journeys with an older family, but as a second car runaround type thing I think it would be fine (and economical).

Thanks for the replies so far-some good options to look into

@PlausibleSuit school is less than 10 mins away to drive (but not walkable as fast country road with no pavements). Nursery will be about the same. Hadnt considered electric so that's worth thinking about. Although currently dont have any charging point. Do you know how easy/expensive it would be to get one installed?

Hyundai i10 has come up a few times so will defo look at that.

Isofix would be a big plus as I just feel its safer. Dont all newer cars have isofix in the back these days?

Toyota Aygo or Ford Fiesta. I have had both and both are cheap to run (petrol, insurance and tax). Obviously the fiesta is bigger (decent boot unlike the aygo) and feels less like a tin can. But mine was a 55 plate aygo a few years ago so not sure if they feel sturdier now. My fiesta is a 1.0l eco-boost and I love it. It’s nippy but not a sports car.
Otherwise a Vauxhall Corsa wouldn’t be a bad shout tbh.

Mini Cooper, great fun to bomb around in.

Another for a Hyundai i10, I've had mine four years with no probs.

I've got a VW Polo and I love it. It's a massive upgrade from my Fiat 500, which was like driving a mobility scooter.

£20 a year to tax and not particularly harsh on fuel.

I have a VW Up! and I love it. No tax, cheap insurance, etc. Mines 3 door but you can get 5. It’s dead nippy.

Before l had the car l have now a Citroen C3 l has a matiz and l loved it small, nippy, economic anxx dc nothing ever went wrong with it in the 6 years l had it until l drove it down the ditch. I never noticed them till l had mine and when l was looking to replace it l couldn’t find one, that’s why l ended up with my car.

Kia Picanto
1 litre engine can be very economical 52.5mpg currently for my 4 year one.
£20 tax
7 year warranty
5 door
Air con, electric windows. Bluetooth.
Was £5500 second hand last year.

Second vote for Toyota Aygo.

Toyota Aygo or Auris if you want slightly bigger .

Anything Toyota or Japanese

I have a 1lt Toyota Aygo and will be replacing it with another compact car but a 1.2.

• I don't get much power in 3rd gear especially if fully loaded or going up hill.
• Light, so gets buffeted by the wind which isn't so helpful on the faster and/or elevated roads I drive on.
• Very small if you're driving on the motorway near lorries. I'm aware that I am tiny in comparison and very easy to miss.
• My youngest is 4.5yo and he doesn't have much leg room when an adult is in the front. His legs don't bend over the edge of the seat as they're too short so they stick out into the seat in front (he's in a HBB). My eldest has more room as her knees line up with the seat.
• Very economical though and nothing fancy to go wrong with it really.

I absolutely loved our Citroen C3 Picasso. Plenty of space in the back for adults and children and a reasonable sized boot. Obviously bigger than my Aygo and more expensive to run though.

Will you want to get a pushchair in the boot and how long do you want to rear face the 1 year old for?

We have a Honda Jazz and it's got an amazing amount of cabin space for a small car - so good if you want to rear face for longer / have good legroom for a child in a high back booster. It's also got a big enough boot to get a pushchair plus some shopping in

@Waffle12

Yes all cars will be isofix compatible. But it’s whether you want to buy the base that you fit into the car, then buy a compatible car seat too. We didn’t want the expense and my easier to move between cars when you just use a seatbelt to fit the seat, otherwise you would need to move the base too

it was too small for my needs but got lots of recommendations for either Honda Jazz or Toyota Yaris. Just don't buy the latter in hybrid, it was reviewed as 'not enough power to get out its own way' and that is absolutely right. Any hill and you practically have to get out and walk!

excellent reliability records and also popular with seniors who change their cars every three years, and service them, so look out for the 'one lady owner' jobs.