Looking for Small Euro Car

elf888 on 12/03/2014 - 14:49

My wife's Car Citron C3 Convertible now near 10 years and needs more on $$ for maintenance when it comes to service.
Looking for few option for a new or demo car.

Audi A1 Diesel Demo or near new ~$30K
VW Golf Diesel Demo or near new ~$30K
FIAT 500 Lounge Convertible New ~$25K
Renault Clio Expression new ~$25K

Which one is better? I prefer Diesel car as it save on Petrol and don't needs to worries too much about the fuel price variation.

Does any other Euro Small cars around those price worth a try?
I want to limit a couple then go for a test drive.
Thanks.

Automotive

Comments

  • Daabido on 12/03/2014 - 15:03

    I found the Fiat 500 fine on the driver's side but a bit squishy on the passenger's. I heard that the A1 uses a whole bunch of electronic tricks to make it feel sporty rather than natural dynamics. I could be wrong there. VW has introduced fixed price servicing, but I'm not sure if it is for all models.I don't know about the Renault.

    The new MINI is out in a couple of months and looks good from all accounts. I could be biased as I own one, a diesel. It's going to be about $10k more than what you want to spend though.

  • glenr on 12/03/2014 - 15:42
    +1

    Hard to go past VW for all-round quality. Nice to drive, good space for passengers, decent boot - it's just a great all-rounder which you'll have no problems with for years to come. I have a Golf GTI and will buy another.

    • AlexD on 12/03/2014 - 19:06

      As great as Golfs are, I would only really go the GTI route - any other spec and there's probably not too much point in choosing that over, say, a (currently) locally made Corolla.

      Out of this selection, though, I would go for the Audi A1, mostly because of the prestige value.

      • zelda707 on 12/03/2014 - 20:47
        +1

        corollas aren't made here, i think they're made in thailand

      • awangsap007 on 13/03/2014 - 20:34

        My mechanic once told me, out of 4 German cars, stay away from Audi due to very expensive spare parts.

        • zelda707 on 13/03/2014 - 21:32

          also the Audi A1 is pretty much just a fancy vw polo

        • [Deactivated] on 18/03/2014 - 14:14

          Stay away from Audi = Stay away from VW & Skoda.

  • thejew on 12/03/2014 - 16:28

    5 year unlimited Kilometer warranty.

    Thats the first thing I now look for when buying a car

  • scotty on 12/03/2014 - 18:10

    VW Golf — yes that's a small car. However all others (A1, 500, CLIO) are tiny cars which are actually more comparable to your old C3.

    • addo on 12/03/2014 - 19:17

      "Super Mini" is the term i think you were looking for :D

      • elf888 on 13/03/2014 - 10:40

        That fits my tiny little lovely wife :)

  • addo on 12/03/2014 - 18:59
    +5

    More Warranty is always good, great if you plan to sell the car within warranty which maybe attractive to 2nd hand buyers.

    I can't tell you which car is the best but from buying cars for my entire family I have spent 100s of hours researching for the best car suited based on their needs i have found the following to help

    Diesel is great if you drive 10K (km) + a year like you said the prices are more stable, fuel usage is lower, the engine has more toque and if you look after it, it may last longer.
    However Diesel also is more noisy, less power (kw) and more expensive up front.

    Here is maybe something you can consider a check list before buying.

    How many km I do a year? ( if not a lot desiel may not be the best option)

    How long do I plan to keep a car? ( if 3-5 years then re sell value is extremely important)

    If I plan to keep the car for a long time, it is expensive to get parts ? or find a specialist ? ( normally this is defined by how popular the car is )

    How safe is the car really ? ( 5star is the standard now, crash tests are done at 60km/h, what about at 80km/h? generally bigger the car abit more safer it may be) yes i know it depends on how much kinetic energy absorption etc, etc.

    is there a new model coming out ? ( now this is a good thing and a bad thing, generally new models mean, the platform is not as reliable in the first year they will solve many problems that's not in the 2nd year and beyond, but as soon as a new model is out the run-out sale will kill whatever price you brought it at 12 months ago.) so I find buying a model thats in its 2nd or 3rd year of products that tends to be really good.

    Don't just believe the dealership!, a good mechanic is not the same as dealership, its even better. there is countless stories of dealership not servicing the car perfectly and in the long run things start breaking. find a mechanic you trust and maybe ask him what you can consider buying. because he will be the one servicing it!

    Lastly, How she feels about the car, as much research you may have put in to it, if she hates the look or the way it drives all this will mean nothing. so take her to the test drives, talk her through your desition making processes and respect her input.

    Oh I forgot to add, demos are not the best if you plan to keep long term because dealership treats them like s***. once i test drove a golf diesel with 1500km on it the avg fuel usage was 17.5 ( listed combined was 6) that tells u something about how they drive it.

  • awangsap007 on 13/03/2014 - 06:17

    If you only are a frequent short distance traveller, diesel may be not for you. Cost to replace DPF isn't cheap. Google what DPF is

    • Randxyz123 on 14/03/2014 - 09:42

      This. Get a petrol if you drive less than 10km. Diesel engines aren't good for short distances.

    • Medrad on 18/03/2014 - 09:41

      Totally agree.

      Most modern diesels need to run over 40km/h consistently for at least 15-20kms in order to keep itself "clean"…
      Diesels often come with a $3-$5k premium over petrol, and that is a lot of petrol to purchase (40 fills of $75 premium fuel ~45L) if it's just $3k.

      Check out the Peugeot too, but honestly, for build quality in Oz, go a VW, and if you want to save, go a Skoda (it's a VW rebadged).

  • ilsan0 on 18/03/2014 - 14:19

    put a deposit down for delivery next year.
    Forget Petrol or Diesel.

    https://www.teslamotors.com/en_AU/own

    • SavatteDodo on 20/03/2014 - 15:37

      Not cheap at all

      • ilsan0 on 30/03/2014 - 10:36

        The only way it will get cheap is if we support it.
        This is the future!

        • SavatteDodo on 02/04/2014 - 10:20

          I read that they are going to make cheaper models as from 2015.

  • pascal03 on 26/03/2014 - 12:45

    Fiat 500 is so slow you'll get to your destination faster by walking.

    VW Up is a great city car. Looks very cool too.

    New Renault Clio if you want the best looking out of the bunch on your list.

    Standard Golf is now over done, it's become very vanilla.

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