First automatic car

[Trucklepops]

I've recently passed my automatic driving test.

I need to buy my first car which obviously needs to be automatic. I'll need to drive for my new job and the commute will be around an hour each way with most of the driving being on the motorway.

Everyone I speak to gives me different advice.

My driving instructor advised me to get a 1.0 or 1.2 engine and to make sure the fuel is petrol.

Work colleagues have advised that a 1.0 or 1.2 engine would wear out with the frequent motorway driving and to get a 2 litre engine and to make sure it's diesel.

From my own research online, it seems to suggest a 1.4 to 1.6 engine would be ideal and keep running costs down.

I don't know anything about cars. I've always used public transport. I'm on my own and don't seem to know anyone that I think knows wjat they're talking about!

In a nutshell, I'd like some advice on what to look for in a car and preferably some recommended cars to consider.

I'm skint, I'm a new driver, and I like small cars that are easy to park. Must be automatic. Must be reasonably cheap (ha!) to insure. Must be fine to drive on the motorway twice a day Mon-Fri.

You don't need a 2 litre engine!

•do you like a car with fast acceleration?
•do you need an economical car?
•do you need a 5 door car?
•do you need a car that's cheap to insure?
•do you need a car with a big boot?
•do you need a car that'll easily take child seats
•have you thought about an electric car? (They don't have gears)

Personally I would go for a middle of the road, 2020/21 reg, diesel car like a Renault Captur or Peugeot 308. If I could afford it I'd get an electric car.

@KnickerlessParsons thank you!
I haven't thought about an electric car, I don't know where I'd charge it (I live in a block of flats).
I definitely need a car that's economical and cheap to insure. I'm not bothered about boot size and don't need car seats or 5 doors or anything like that. I'd prefer a small car because I'm quite small myself! Something small and basic would be perfect.

I'd get petrol, 1.2ltr.

Something like a Toyota Yaris if they do auto.

I've had my Honda Civic 1.2lt petrol for eight years and it's done loads of journeys and is not "worn out". Diesel engines do last longer, but my last car was diesel and had done 220k miles, but I got rid of it for non engine issues. You probably don't need a car with an engine that lasts that long anyway.

Diesel engines don't necessarily last longer these days due to all the emission controls.

@Trucklepops if you can, get what is known as a DSG automatic. These are a little more expensive but are much more efficient. Different manufacturers have different names for them.

A small engine will be fine.

As a new driver insurance will be high anyway, and they may not insure you for more than a 1.4L engine. Insurance companies advised me to look at 1L and 1.2L for my son who passed recently.

Toyota Yaris is reliable, cheap to run. Insurance low. Ideal first car

I did my test in an auto too and had a similar commute to you my first couple of years driving. I had a 1.25l Kia Picanto and loved it, it was a great first car! Small but comfortable and cheap to insure.

You don't need a large engine. It just does naught to sixty more quickly. Can be good to have power in a difficult situation. But I'd suggest economy over power for new/young drivers. Insurance will be cheaper with a smaller engine car.

Car engines do not wear out these days unless you forget to look after them properly. Put money by to service it once a year. It will extend the life of your vehicle.

Diesel engines are more economical with fuel over long distances but soon you won't be able to take them into town centres due to emissions regulations that are being introduced. So they will be worth less as less call for them. Plus diesel is dearer than petrol so any savings in fuel useage are probably wiped out by dearer pricing at the pump.

So I'd suggest a small engine petrol car is fine.

We got a diesel because we do a lot of motorway driving and they are more economical. They are less economical than petrol though if you mostly do town driving.
We drove all the way from Bristol to Glasgow and about a third of the way back on one tank of diesel.
If you want a small car OP, have a look at a Ford Fiesta or a Peugeot 208.

We have a Toyota Yaris hybrid. Doesn't need plugging in and super economic when driven in eco mode ( we get about 75mpg) Brilliant acceleration and great fun to drive.

Another vote for Toyota Yaris hybrid, I do about 17000 miles a year in mine and a lot of that is on motorways and dual carriageways, economical, easy to park, reliable, decent sized boot. I get more like 60mpg out of mine in eco mode but that's still good.

Thanks everyone, you've all made things much clearer!

I initially considered a Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto but then a review site (called Motor something) said they're not great for driving on the motorway. But then looking further at their other reviews, they seem to only really recommend big snazzy expensive cars for driving on the motorway, the ones with all the gadgets.

I'm not fussed about having an exciting driving experience, I just want to get to and from work in one piece! I don't need extra leg room for a more comfortable drive, I'm only 5ft tall.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Toyota Yaris so I'll add it to my list.

DD has a Kia venga automatic and it’s perfect as a first car

Hey OP

You can't buy something that's "cheap" to insure, that's not how insurance works.

What's your budget?

If buying new, say around 15k, I would suggest a Dacia Sandero Stepway, the "Journey" spec. Very reliable, easy to park and has all the things you need, even heated seats and steering wheel. They come in 1l auto, but remember 1l today isn't what a 1l was in the past. So don't worry so much about engine size, they all have turbos now.

I commuted for years on the M3 in a 1.6 automatic. Never had any problems. I think anything under 1.6 would be OK for non-Motorway driving but I'd like a little bit more power myself for a motorway.

A 2.0 or bigger is a total waste for commuting IMO.

I've been driving Ford Focus 1.6 automatics since the mid 2000s, mostly on the motorway. I would have preferred a Fiesta but they were far more expensive (and rare!) in the 2000s than the Focus.

You certainly don't need a 2l engine

Your commute suggests 100 miles a day, or maybe 500 a week. That is 26k miles a year which is more than double the average mileage, without taking into account personal use for the weekends. That is a lot of petrol, so fuel efficiency is worth considering. If you have charging at work it may just be possible to get your commute done mostly on electric in a hybrid, but look carefully into how much the electricity costs - if you can charge at home it is much cheaper than charging in public, which can be almost as much cost as petrol.

A 2 litre engine is not necessary for a motorway. These days engines are actually getting smaller and are turbocharged to make up the difference in power. You need to look more at the power available than the engine size, I would probably want a minimum 100 bhp for that amount of motorway driving.

Car size for motorways is important as is car safety. In a high speed crash the bigger the car the more likely you are to survive all things being equal). If you go for a small lightweight car then you may not survive if you are in a serious accident, no matter what the safety rating is.

Gearboxs is a difficult one for me. Automatics are simple to drive, but very expensive to repair when they go wrong and a lot of the lower spec makes have gearbox reliability issues. I have a VW DSG gearbox at the moment and it is really great to drive, but I am worried about the horrendous cost should it go wrong.

Not to be rude, but why did you choose to get an automatic licence? I'm only asking because if you have a manual licence, you can drive automatics and manuals and thus it'll open up your options more when it comes to buying a car.

I have a little 1.2 auto and do a lot of motorway driving. Its 14 years old and going strong. Never any trouble with it.

Having spent weeks going around car sellers, diesel ain't being built anymore. Garages HAVE to sell 22% all electric cars or be fined. It's a bloody political mess.

It's definitely a top-down thing thing, nobody wants it.

Maybe your colleagues drive larger cars and hammer them?
As others have said, a smaller engine is fine in a smaller car, and particularly if you're driving at moderate speeds. You get much better fuel economy at about 60 ... at, or just a bit faster than the speed trucks are going.

We've each got a Toyota Corolla hybrid touring sport which is bigger than what you want but it's fine with a 1,8 engine and superb fuel economy ... I'd guess the Yaris must be phenomenal! And Toyota do a 10 year warranty.