I’d there such a car?

Cliffhanger

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Gonna need to change my car in the next few months. Currently drive a Toyota Yaris which is ok but it’s starting to get uncomfortable and giving me knee pain... Being 6ft4 doesn’t help but it’s my wife’s old car as I bought a new estate last year for her and our two boys; so this is the cheap runaround... We’ve had it 5 years and it’s never been a problem and cheap to run also....

I only use it for the work commute that only 15 miles of 30/40mph zones and occasional stop start traffic... but I am in the car for an hour each morning and night so bring comfortable is a big thing..


Before you go and say how about this BMW or this Mercedes Benz.... I can’t afford anything like that as I already have a big car to pay for so don’t want something that’ll drain my money away....


Here’s my specs:

I am 6ft4 (with a 34” inside leg)

£13k max

Petrol (only cover 7-8k miles per year)

Newish car (3 years max)

Reliable

No bigger than 4.5m (space on drive)


It will only be serviced at a manufacturers service centre....


Would like a small sports car or hot hatch but that may never happen being my stature....
 

Cliffhanger

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randomshenans said:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009304391247?transmission=Automatic&sort=relevance&price-to=13000&fuel-type=Petrol&advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery-option=on&radius=1500&make=FORD&postcode=st87hf&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&year-from=2018&page=1

Plenty nippy, auto for that extra comfort in stop start. It's on budget and would be good for your height etc. and still fit the rest of the family in.
Click to expand...

You say nippy but that car is slower than mine..... not sure on fit though cos it’s a similar cockpit size to my current Yaris... there are mixed sizes of drivers legroom on the web ranging from 972-1125mm. Current Yaris is 1007mm...
 

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Cliffhanger said:
You say nippy but that car is slower than mine..... not sure on fit though cos it’s a similar cockpit size to my current Yaris... there are mixed sizes of drivers legroom on the web ranging from 972-1125mm. Current Yaris is 1007mm...
Click to expand...

Have a look at a focus or leon .
 

ttaskmaster

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I was going to suggest an older Merc - We picked up a '96 C250 for about £550 and, despite me also having a 35" inside leg, that car had enough leg room to make me feel really short.
I wouldn't suggest going quite as old as we did, but there must be some more recent models with similar space, yet still far cheaper than £13k!

Something like this, maybe: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-de... New&onesearchad=Used&fuel-type=Petrol&page=1
 

Bug One

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That's an odd request. What's the 'big car' you already have to pay for? With £13k as a budget, a huge variety of cars is available to you.

As your requirements seem mostly down to comfort and size - I think your best bet is to go to as many garages as you can and get a look and feel of what's available - as from your description we could be suggesting anything from a Fiat 500X, to a Mazda MX5.

I only use it for the work commute that only 15 miles of 30/40mph zones and occasional stop start traffic... but I am in the car for an hour each morning and night so bring comfortable is a big thing..
Click to expand...
If you've already got access to another car for other journeys - then this sounds like an ideal use case for an electric car. A Nissan Leaf, regardless of it's other failings, is very comfortable (especially in Tekna trim), requires minimal servicing and 0 tax, so it won't drain your money away.
 

Cliffhanger

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ttaskmaster said:
I was going to suggest an older Merc - We picked up a '96 C250 for about £550 and, despite me also having a 35" inside leg, that car had enough leg room to make me feel really short.
I wouldn't suggest going quite as old as we did, but there must be some more recent models with similar space, yet still far cheaper than £13k!

Something like this, maybe: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011246417892?sort=price-asc&advertising-location=at_cars&year-to=2020&include-delivery-option=on&radius=1500&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&postcode=rg71jt&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&fuel-type=Petrol&page=1
Click to expand...
No thanks don’t want something that old... especially a Mercedes...
 

Cliffhanger

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Bug One said:
That's an odd request. What's the 'big car' you already have to pay for? With £13k as a budget, a huge variety of cars is available to you.

As your requirements seem mostly down to comfort and size - I think your best bet is to go to as many garages as you can and get a look and feel of what's available - as from your description we could be suggesting anything from a Fiat 500X, to a Mazda MX5.


If you've already got access to another car for other journeys - then this sounds like an ideal use case for an electric car. A Nissan Leaf, regardless of it's other failings, is very comfortable (especially in Tekna trim), requires minimal servicing and 0 tax, so it won't drain your money away.
Click to expand...

I bought my wife a New Focus estate as it’s perfect for the weekend and holidays with the two kids....

Not sure on an electric car as my commute is very hilly... I don’t think they like hills do they....
 

Pyscho_Si

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Cliffhanger said:
Here’s my specs:

I am 6ft4 (with a 34” inside leg)

£13k max

Petrol (only cover 7-8k miles per year)

Newish car (3 years max)

Reliable

No bigger than 4.5m (space on drive)


It will only be serviced at a manufacturers service centre....


Would like a small sports car or hot hatch but that may never happen being my stature....
Click to expand...


I'm about an inch shorter with an inch shorter leg but expect I'm wider! My first car was a 1 series BMW. That is f you can live with the tiny boot and tiny glove compartment (I'm assuming they haven't improved in size) and don't need the rear seats. Another curveball option (again with size limitations) is the Fiat 500. Surprisingly roomy for a small car.
 

Cliffhanger

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Pyscho_Si said:
I'm about an inch shorter with an inch shorter leg but expect I'm wider! My first car was a 1 series BMW. That is f you can live with the tiny boot and tiny glove compartment (I'm assuming they haven't improved in size) and don't need the rear seats. Another curveball option (again with size limitations) is the Fiat 500. Surprisingly roomy for a small car.
Click to expand...
Don’t like BMW’s at all.... sat in a new abarth 595 a few months back and couldn’t get my knees under the wheel so that ruled that out... I guess the Fiat 500 is the same...
 

Howard

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ttaskmaster said:
I was going to suggest an older Merc - We picked up a '96 C250 for about £550 and, despite me also having a 35" inside leg, that car had enough leg room to make me feel really short.
I wouldn't suggest going quite as old as we did, but there must be some more recent models with similar space, yet still far cheaper than £13k!

Something like this, maybe: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011246417892?sort=price-asc&advertising-location=at_cars&year-to=2020&include-delivery-option=on&radius=1500&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&postcode=rg71jt&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&fuel-type=Petrol&page=1
Click to expand...

He has £13k to spend on a car and you suggest a rusty old £500 banger? WTF?
 

Haggisman

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Cliffhanger said:
Not sure on an electric car as my commute is very hilly... I don’t think they like hills do they....
Click to expand...

Lol.

The good thing about hills is they go both up and down. Arguably an EV is better for hills, as a percentage of the extra energy you use going up them can then be regenerated going down, unlike in an ICE where that energy is wasted in heating up and wearing down your brake discs & pads.

With a 15 mile commute, a 24kw Leaf will easily get you to work and back, probably 2 days without charging in summer, might need to charge every night in winter, and it will cost you < £1/day in electricity to do so (depending on your electricity tariff and how you drive, you could probably get it down to <50p/day)

A 30kw would be even better, and should easily be within budget

It's no hot hatch though, so isn't going to fit that criteria (although the instant acceleration can be quite addictive)
 
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Bug One

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Cliffhanger said:
Not sure on an electric car as my commute is very hilly... I don’t think they like hills do they....
Click to expand...
Hills would reduce range from the 'optimum' that's possible. But you're talking about a 15 mile commute. I wouldn't even both charging to 100% on my 7 year old 24kw Leaf to do that, even in the middle of winter - and if we're talking about a 30 mile round trip. And for £13k, you're talking 30kw leaf as well, which has better range than mine.

My wife has a 2008 as our other car that we use for longer 'dont want to have to think about charging' journeys.

Cliffhanger said:
Don’t like BMW’s at all.... sat in a new abarth 595 a few months back and couldn’t get my knees under the wheel so that ruled that out... I guess the Fiat 500 is the same...
Click to expand...
Not sure how an Abarth 595 links to not liking BMWs. But you're right Fiat 500's are tiny. I had the horror of getting one delivered as a work hire car once to do a 300 miles journey. Was an absolutely dreadful experience.

However, much like the 'Mini', the Fiat 500 is no longer just one car. The Fiat 500L and Fiat 500x are much bigger cars based on similar styling.
 
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