Tell me about your terrific small car...

[lljkk]

Looking for something in the lowest road tax band.
Would buy 2nd hand, thinking 2-5 years old.
Petrol probably best (we don't do a huge amount of miles).
4 seater type thing (have ruled out Smart Car).
Much desired are usual nice features like reliability, cheap to run, good fuel economy.
Don't care about style or trendy.

Am already thinking Citroen C1, Micra, Ford Ka.

Any other suggestions?

I have a C1 (the 5 door one) and love it! Brilliant fuel economy, the 5 doors is great and even though the hatchback looks tiny you can get loads more then you think in, I used to be able to put the folded up Jane travel system in! Had it for about 6 years and never had any problems.

Yaris for me, avoid the Skoda Fabia, very poorly designed steering and front suspension which is a nightmare to repair and very expensive, the 1.4 8 valve engine has the same power as a honda 90 and is a horrible thing to drive. My only pleasant experience of my Fabia was driving it to the scrapyard.

I have the peugot 107 (which is exactly the same car as citroen c1 and toyota aygo) and I love it. £20p/y road tax, group 1 insurance, and v economical to run.

It is our only car and have ds - pretty much any britax car seat fits in it (haven't checked others) and I can fit bugaboo bee in the boot (have also fitted a quinny buzz, phil and teds, britax b-mobile plus carrycot - not all the prams together though! With my bee or maclaren I can also fit some shopping in the boot too!). If we have another dc I will keep this car, but might upgrade to the 5 door version! With the 2 door I can stand up-ish in the back to put ds in his car seat.

We have had Hyundai's for the last 5 years now. Previously a Getz, now an i30 and they are both great.

Cheap to buy, run and maintain and come with a 5 year transferable warranty too which is a bonus :)

I second the fiat 500. You'll love it!

I had a fiat 500 as a curtesy car when mine died. I am totally in love with it and WANT one.

I love the Fiat 500 : except for the price. EEek! Nissan Micra vs. Fiat 500 & it's like £3-4k difference for otherwise rather similar cars (seemingly).

Anyone want to pitch why the extra £3+k is worth it?

I love my Fiat but was lucky enough to be in the position to upgrade my old banger when the £2000 incentive was around. I wouldn't have got more than £200 for my old car so it was a great deal.

It's cheap to run and a lovely car to drive. Nippy, easy to park but high up so you don't feel like you are in a smaller car than everyone else on the motorway. Great on fuel (hence £30 to tax) and easy on the eye.

But if I was buying now I would probably go for a Micra and save myself £2k (only because the guilt at spending £2k extra would be too much to bear). That said, they don't seem to lose much value compared to other cars- they are the new Beetle in many ways.

Sorry, misread. £3-£4k is a lot more to spend. You could get another car for that. Have you looked into getting a loan over finance? Could pay back much less. I did, but the dealer did kind of lose interest in me once he knew I wasn't going to tie myself in to his deal for years.

I have a Fiat 500. I love it!! It's economical, reliable (I do 60 miles a day) fun to drive and so cute!! The interior is lovely too. It costs more because it is way cooler than any other car!! Hehe! Get one, you won't regret it!!

We have a Ford Ka. It's brilliant - bought a 2003 luxury model second hand for £2500 and it's run like a dream. If you go above 75 it starts feeling a little tin-can-ish, but it uses next to no petrol and you can park it anywhere.

I'm just sad DS is growing out of his newborn car seat and we have to get a 5 door!! We will probably be able to sell the Ka for not much less than what we bought it for.

I used to have a Twingo, it was ok ish when I only had 1 dd but when dd2 was born it was horrendous.
I could fit my buggy in the boot but that was all, when I went shopping I had to have bags all over the passenger seat and foot wells.
Rubbish after care from Renault too.

I used to have a Matiz, it was great. I could fit in 2 young children and a double buggy.

I know you don't really want another kia but love my picanto.

hopeforthebest we once got three Pax wardrobes into a Micra .

I was intending to go for another Micra but it reviewed quite badly compared with the i10. And yes, I toyed with the idea of a Fiat 500 but there was no way I was paying X grand extra for the 'cool' factor. Depends how style-driven you are. (Though is it only me who finds them just a teensy bit 'girly'?)

Another vote for the Toyota Yaris here.

We have it as our main family car and it happily serves my family of four no problems. The boot extends when you need it, or you can move the seat back for more leg room.

I have an 05 registered car, done 80,000 miles and no problems to date. A few minor things have needed doing, but nothing major at all. It is quite a nippy car, quite easy to overtake (I have the 1.3 colour collection too), easy to drive, very fuel efficient (I drive approx 900 miles a month on two tanks of petrol - or about £120 petrol). Car tax is cheap and when I bought the car it had very high safety ratings (5*).

When I upgrade, it'll be for another Yaris.

I got a Fiat 500 today! There's is quite a good finance deal on at the moment. I traded a Ford Focus in. So far, I am really impressed. Lovely to drive and manoeuvre.

Ooh... you lucky sausage. . I guess that means you bought new? Can't ever imagine doing that.

I am 99% sure I'll get a Fiat500, but I want one 2nd hand about 2 years old with headrests in back, which is tricky bit, because can't be fitted retrospectively. And nothing too funky (I passed on yellow and black checked roof).

What was your finance deal playschool? I need to trade my 500 in for a new one in January.

kiss it was something like 3.9% apr. If you go on the Fiat website and look at "deals" you can work out a repayment plan.