To think that car reviews are no bloody use to me?

[entropynow]

It's all about the trim, the excitement of driving it, the look, the styling for at least the first five paras/minutes video. Even the alleged nitty gritty bit runs up inadequate.

I DON'T CARE about any of that crap. Is it quiet, comfortable, safe, reliable, affordable?

We are not all petrolheads. Where is the market for "I just want a good tin box on wheels for getting from A to B predictably and comfortably without spending a mint" reviews?

And if any of you know such a review site, please link in comments. PLEASE. I've taken on the task of pre-sorting for the new-to-us car purchase, and I'm bored already after an hour.

@EmmaStone

Problem is we all want different things. Not all mums have pushchairs. For me it was fitting two wheelchairs, easy access to rear seats and a medium sized dog - answer (no longer being made) Mazda 5.

I'm looking for a new car atm, OP and I've been reading the Parkers reviews. www.parkers.co.uk/. I've read their reviews and then owners' reviews left on the site. I'd also have a look at the reviews on Autotrader www.autotrader.co.uk/content. Again, there are both owner and expert reviews on used and new cars.

As for which car to go for? Obviously, it depends on how much money you've got but a Jazz is a good choice. I'm going for a 2013 1.4 model as I want a peppier engine.

@entropynow what’s the price you are looking to spend? And is it outright or would you do PCP?

I got a Citroen. C3 aircross and really like it. You’re sitting higher up and have more room than something like a Honda jazz. Makes it easier to see on the road.

I am not interested in cars - I have a Skoda Fabia which is great - reliable, 4 doors, economical and cheaper than similar models with other manufacturers

@MathsFiend

We have about 17K cash (savings). Don't want to use finance. Really it's more the review sites at present, we want a range to go and try, not just individual recs (though they aren't unwelcome).

There are plenty of reviews, trouble is finding an unbiased one. We love Landrovers, on our 4th. They always get slated, but our latest one, a Discovery 4 has just passed 80,000 miles, with only tyres and brake pads needed. Apart from pickups, not really any other cars are suitable. It's the adverts that annoy me, they never tell you anything about the car, only that everyone will stop to look at you and you have to be a dollybird to drive it, of course with arms out straight.

@grannycake

Had a bad experience with a Fabia in the past, sadly. Never out of the garage and stranded us in Holland with two small children once. The only car we ever bought new.

I like Nissan's - have had several different models including Micra's which are a really good small car. Currently got a Nissan Pulsar - has lots of space inside & decent boot space too. It's boring according to most reviews but it's a good car to me; easy to drive; comfortable etc.

@APurpleSquirrel

Is there a successor car to the Almera? DH used to have one and loved it. Micra possibly a bit small for us.

WHICH guides are really useful, they give a percentage recommendation and tell you the stuff you need to know about. Pity you won't have a Toyota because they are really good and reliable.

@entropynow Understandably you have been put off - we had a similar experience with a VW Golf (alhtough Wales not Netherlands)

Also look at Skoda.
Solid and well built, extremely dependable and affordable. Cheap insurance and moderate cost to service.
Excellent boot space for size ... I have an Octavia and you can fit a single divan, mattress, headboard and bedding in it.... close the boot and drive away

I was going to recommend Parker’s as well. It also tells you how much, roughly, it will cost to insure.

This page has the top 10 (and bottom 10) most reliable used car brands so maybe that can at least help you completely knock out some brands. Honda is in the top 5, as you seem to be considering it. Kia actually scores even higher than Honda (I was surprised). Sadly, Vauxhall, if you were considering another Astra, is near the bottom. The VERY worst is apparently Range Rover.
www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9055175/What-reliable-car-brands-2020.html

Re: driver position and seat belts. I’m not sure how old your Astra is… but I had a Hyundai several years ago and it had controls to move the seat up and down and back and forth. An even older Volvo had up, down, back, forth, a weird “tilt,” snd a switch for moving lumbar support, ha. So I’m not sure what you mean by driver position? I think most (maybe all?) cars now will allow you to move a seat up and down as well as back and forth, and the controls have probably gotten more complex and commonplace maybe, to allow for perfect driver positioning. There are tons of articles about what position you should drive in and they expect you to be able to adjust your seat accordingly. Also all the seatbelts I’ve seen can be moved on a track on the door of the car by at least a few inches (Honda Civic calls it “slide bar seatbelts”). So it could be why reviews aren’t mentioning these things. This is NOT meant to be patronizing. I feel like car companies take it for granted that everyone just “knows” certain features; drives me bonkers. I mean, when you Google “Honda Civic interior” images, you can’t even see the seatbelts.

I think the successor to the Almera is the Versa in the USA and the Micra here. Might be worth a look?

Apart from this current electric one I've got, we've bought our last two cars by going to a local family-owned second hand car place (that's been around 30+ years) and sitting in and driving all the cars. It helps if you trust the people that run it not to sell you a lemon, and/or have a garage look it over as soon as you buy it. If you have the cash, might that be an option?

@RightYesButNo

The Astra is 12 years old and is a pretty basic model. It's been a decent workhorse with few real problems but I'm finding the seats increasingly uncomfortable on longer journeys and various things about it in use have long annoyed me. Not looking for another Astra tbh. Now we have some money to spend I'm going upmarket a bit, comfortwise.
I know we'll have to actually look closely at/test drive some models. I just want to reduce the number initially.

I meant "might be worth a look" in the sense that the Micra might surprise you. I went in a friend's one and I thought it was called a Micra because it would be "micro" ie. really tiny, but it felt like a family sized hatchback.

[quote entropynow]@APurpleSquirrel

Is there a successor car to the Almera? DH used to have one and loved it. Micra possibly a bit small for us.[/quote]
I believe the Pulsar was the follow-up to the Almera (we had an Almera Tino) but unfortunately the Pilsar has been discontinued too, but only in the last few years.
Our neighbour has a Nissan Leaf & comparing theirs & our Pulsar they look very similar so I think they've used the chassis of the Pulsar for the new Leaf's.

If the Leaf is all electric, no use to us as nowhere to charge it.

Bought a car recently and I just looked at car websites and compared the reviews. Videos were helpful for me but found it a lot of young men trying to be Clarkson. Have u watched any reviews by Nicola Hume at Carbuyer? She is so funny and makes really good videos. Although I ended up buying a car I don't think she has ever reviewed.

I found WhatCar reviews helpful and they cover the information you want.

If I was buying now I'd probably get a nearly new Skoda Scala, which got a 5* review from WhatCar:
www.whatcar.com/skoda/scala/hatchback/used-review/n22548

You might not need something as big as the Scala, though, as it sounds as if you're beyond family car territory? So unless you have a dog or a hobby needing boot space, you could go smaller. How about a nearly new VW Polo? Another 5* review: www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/polo/hatchback/used-review/n17425

Couldn't afford it but Skoda Kamiq seems to be getting v gd reviews and I think it looks lovely. It only came out 2019 so not good if you are wanting second hand.

@EmmaStone

Agreed. It's v annoying. Maybe Mumsnet should have a car recommendations bit, with real life examples - "the buggy fits fine", or "I could get 3 car seats in". Who the fuck cares about torque?!?

FWIW, I've been beyond delighted with my Volvo, have lots of friends equally delighted, and DH was so taken with mine, when he sold his Audi, he also bought a Volvo.

I do - I care about the torque!

@emmathedilemma

www.foxyladydrivers.com/foxynews/foxy-car-reviews.php

agirlsguidetocars.com/reviews/

Set a budget.
Pick a fuel type.
Pick a size or requirements e.g. for car seats, dogs, buggies, bikes etc
Make a list of any specific requirements e.g. heated seats (be willing to compromise on this).
Browse something like autotrader or one of the big dealers for an idea of what your money can buy.
Make a long short list of makes and models. Then read reviews and I'd recommend visiting one of the big car warehouse type places. Even if you don't buy from them I found it really useful to view various makes and models. I went in quite clear that's what I was there to do that day and had no intention of buying that afternoon.
Also check insurance quotes before purchasing.

Ugh. Specify girls or ladies!? As if women need special treatment or crayons when choosing a car? Good grief.

I'd second the advice further up about going to a car supermarket type place. Recently had to help my mother find a new car to suit a health problem that makes some vehicles impossible to get into... It was great to be able to physically look at and sit in as many cars as she wanted. That way she could try the seats, the seatbelts, the reach and rake of the steering column, how easy it was to open and close the boot etc. It narrowed down the search from "anything tall" to three or four models that we then went out to test drive at a reputable dealer.

For my own car purchases, the Mat Watson Car Wow Youtube channel has always been my go to. He does some offshoot videos on practicality etc, so if you watch the main review, he'll link to the practicality video in the section where he quickly talks about boot space and whatnot. Really helpful.

No advice on which car would be best for you, but agree with the sentiment about reviews. Cars are too much of a status symbol for too many people.