which small car for under £5K?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

No idea where to start!!! which isnt very helpful I'm afraid. It needs to be easy to drive and money efficient. It will be used for pootling around between local towns so not huge mileage. Dont really care about the boot size.

Thanks :)

We've got an 09 plate VW Polo. Ours is a diesel because DH drives a 100 mile round trip to work, but you wouldn't need that for pootling about.

I love it, I had Polos as a teen. They handle well and don't depriciate madly.

I'll have a look at them :) thanks!

I've got a Ford Ka, bought it new in 2002, still going strong. Very basic model, no central locking or electric wondows or CD player. Tiny so good for street parking. And we have managed to cram into it:

travel cot
high chair
pram

plus general luggage for a week long holiday.

don't know how much they are now though, you might be able to get one second hand as they've recently changed the shape of it.

I had a ka which was great but now have a I 10 (£30.00 tax) which is even better !!

tiny is good!! and the easier to park the better.

I have a fiat punto which after owning it for 10 yrs, (second hand when I first got it) is finally on it's last legs. I'm so sad, it's the best car I've owned for town driving (and my 6'2" dh can also drive it comfortably as it has a very high roof )

I loved my fiesta, but I swapped it for a Peugeot 307cc in a fit of mid-life crisis. Worst move I've ever made. I'm now looking at small cars again and am perusing the Hyundai I10. Last year it won the best city car award, I think. Looks good anyway.

I hear good things about the Yaris I live with all boys so Top Gear is constant but I used to love my Vauxhaul Corsa - used to run on fumes!

We have an I10. Changed from a big Saab 9000 in 2009 when there was the old car trade in for £2k. Its a nice drive. They come with a long manufacturers warranty.

Not many bells and whistles on the basic model we went just one notch up to have electric rear windows which can be isolated from the front, because DS1 has ASD and can wind the windows down but not up again - a real pain on the motorway.

Its a great town car, very good parking visibility and tight turning circle. Theres a new model out now/ very shortly so so great deals to be done on new cars that are old stock. You might not quite get new for under 5k but something like an ex demo could be a posibility.

I think I'm really drawn to the I10 - you seem to get quite a lot for your money - much more than the mini that dd is trying to persuade me to buy! Looks like a really practical little car, (oh how my life has changed!!)

I think something I'm going to have to watch out when buying is that a lot of the cars for sale in this category are ex-drivingschool cars. I was puzzled by the high mileage for a lot of them on autotrader til I twigged!

Have a look at our recommendations for the best cars for teenagers - all small cars that are pretty cheap to run and insure. Scroll down to the second half, which gives cars under £5k. Good luck!

Thats a good idea, I did look at the small cars reviews. Thanks :)