Best car - lone woman living rurally

[DoubtjngThomas]

Recently divorced and DD and I live quite rurally. I need a new car but ex was always in charge of that.

Looking for recommendations on a super reliable car,that is economical to run. Not fussy I just don't want to have to worry about it.
Budget could probably stretched to £7/8k

I’d get something with four wheel drive, for rural winters. Hybrid. Good safety record. Toyota?

Lots of variables - do you have a dog or need to haul around loads of kit? Do you live on a steep hill or go down a lot of unpaved tracks?

You can try doing a questionnaire like this: https://www.carwow.co.uk/car-discovery

Small SUV crossover I reckon - only you'll know if you need it to be all/4 wheel or front wheel drive. Sounds like something like the Vauxhall Crossland X or Renault Captur might be good options for your budget for something secondhand but not terribly old and with low mileage.

Yes have 1 dog but doesn't need to be huge.
No tracks or off roading.
I do about 100 miles per week

Volvo XC40 sounds like it would suit

I’m astonished people think iou need some kind of SUV or 4 wheel drive to live in a rural area!

I live very rurally, and drive through exposed moorland to/ from work. I have a ford fiesta. It’s utterly reliable, super economical (65mpg) and with all-weather tyres is more capable of safe travel in ice / light snow / heavy rain than larger and heavier SUVs. Also, and most importantly, it’s small enough that I can pass people on narrow roads with passing places- something suv drivers cannot do…..

Well there's rural and there's rural isn't there. I used to live somewhere (not UK) without any tracks at all, it was all entirely off-road, a fiesta would not have had the clearance to make it over the landscape.

We had a Hyundai i30, which I loved! We live semi rural and the boot was big enough for our huge 🐶. We now have a Hyundai Tucson, which is an suv, also love. I've found Hyundai to be great in ice and snow. Also had a Nissan Qashqai for a while which was equally great in snow and ice with a boot plenty big enough for a dog 😊

Doubt there will be a reliable one available for 7-8k tbh.

Something German for the reliability. VW, Skoda.... maybe a Seat (Yes yes not German, but same bodies as VWs)

@dontbenastyhaveapasty it completely depends on what the OP's doing, rurally...if she lives on a 30% hill with a drive that gets covered in mud and ices up every winter, and is always driving down unpaved tracks filled with potholes to fields with horses in them then the clearance of an SUV and 4wd is very handy!

Whereas we get by with a 12 year old Vauxhall Astra estate that was cheap as chips and never given us much trouble.

Oh, and thanks to its age and low CO2 emissions, my fiesta has a road tax band of zero 😇 Insurance is also really cheap (around £250 per annum fully comp including work travel)

Why pay silly money on insurance, road tax and petrol when you don’t need to?

Fiat panda 4x4 or fiat panda cross

Tbh, I'd be looking at as small as you can get away with to keep the cost down and then you can afford a younger car with a better reputation. But avoid "fashionable brands". German cars often carry a premium.

Would a Suzuki Swift be big enough? They seem to run and run, have a good reputation and because of their boxy shape are actually pretty practical for boot space (and dogs). Front wheel drive for poor weather/snow

Dacia Sandero, well rated and you'd probably get a 2021/22 model for £8kish

@Arlanymor to be fair OP did say ‘quite rurally’ and ‘no offroading or tracks’. I’d wager that very few people in the UK and daily driving over landscapes with no tracks.

You’d get a 2017 Skoda Fabia for that. Dull, but reliable.

I love my 2016 Ford Fiesta. It’s reliable, cheap to run, and can be serviced or spare parts found anywhere. It’s also reasonably spacious inside (the four door version can comfortably accommodate four adults) and has a decent sized boot.

I'd go for something like a Skoda Fabia or Yeti. Sold, reliable cars, better value as not the same brand kudos as VW but often made in same factories.

5 yr old Fabia 56k miles £7,500

www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409174135913?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Skoda&minimum-mileage=50000&model=Fabia&postcode=HP5%201AY&price-from=7500&price-to=8000&radius=100&year-from=2019&fromsra

Fiestas have been discontinued and have massively increased in price. I would look elsewhere.

You may have to lower your expectations- used cars are still much higher relatively than pre pandemic. £8k in no a big budget.

Dacia are cheap for a reason. Their safety scores are poor.

I went camping earlier in the year in the middle of nowhere in Devon. The woman who owned the campsite had an ancient Fiat Panda 4x4 which she said had never let her down or got stuck no matter what the weather.

Just because OP lives rurally doesn’t mean she needs a huge SUV. The majority of them now look like 4x4 but aren’t. I live in the middle of nowhere and get by on a normal car with winter tyres like Vredestein.
As for car make… Toyota,Honda,Nissan, Suzuki

Something as new as possible, and a manufacturer that gives a 7 year warranty ?

Toyota or Nissan for reliability. We just traded in our 22 year old Yaris, it was still going fine but wanted something newer with a smaller engine for a second car and also DS 17 will be driving it so another reason. We've chose the Aygo which would be too small for a dog, but a 2015\16 yaris might suit. It really depends what size you want. As a family car we also used to have a RAV4 which we loved, now have a Nissan Qashqai which for reliability is great but it struggles up hills. I have two friends with small dogs, one has a Nissan Juke and the other a Citroen C3 both very happy.