So my clown car Fiesta is due its MOT next month and I don't think I'll bother testing it - it needs brakes and tyres at the very least and the car is only worth a couple of hundred quid, so it's time to scrap it.

I wonder if any of you know anything about cars that aren't silly boy racer cars? I need a 5-door (but not an estate) with a decent amount of boot space because I have a big dog and I also have to shift a lot of bulky music gear around regularly. I was looking at old Focuses but I wonder if there's anything else worth considering. I don't really want anything too big like a Scenic or Picasso or whatever because they're so slow and irritating to drive.

Decent fuel economy is fairly important too. OK go.

Can't go wrong with a Focus.

I was going to suggest a Mondeo, but I suspect that'd be problematic with your dog.

What is wrong with estates? The 5 series touring is a hoot to drive. If you're feeling frugal, an Audi 80 or A4 estate.

But as you're limited to hatchbacks, Astra, Focus, Golf. Take your pick. Anything else wouldn't have a decent amount of boot space.

Are Astras alright? I suppose because Vauxhalls are thought of as English cars I assume they will be terrible and fall apart.

An estate would be a pain for me because I have to park on the street and I live in the centre of York, and all the other people with permits for the same street as me park like arseholes so I'm always having to squeeze into gaps that are unnecessarily small.

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

Can't go wrong with a Focus.

Yes you can, sis had a focus estate that spent more time in the shop than on the road :|

I'm confused. Hatchbacks don't have boot space as such. I can't imagine how you can get instruments and a dog in, say, a Golf when I've nearly managed to fill the boot of my Mondeo... despite being single, I don't play anything or have a dog

Anyhoo, can't go wrong with a Golf though. Or if you like smaller, then an Ibiza.

Depends how far back you have to go. The recent ones have been quite good, I'd actually go as far as to say the last 2 cycles of Astras and Focuses have been better made than Golfs [insert VAG fanboys here]. All we do with GM cars these days is remove the Opel badge and replace it with a Vauxhall one. This is made easier as GM dropped the Vauxhall V on the grill.

It has lead to Vauxhalls being much better made.

The rear arches are still rust prone on Focuses though, you'd think they'd sort that by now.

That makes sense, I've tried parking my truck in York. Biggest mistake ever.

[edit: Quick look on AutoTrader, you'd struggle to get a good Astra in your price range. Go Focus instead.]

Quote from hyntty :

I'm confused. Hatchbacks don't have boot space as such. I can't imagine how you can get instruments and a dog in, say, a Golf when I've nearly managed to fill the boot of my Mondeo... despite being single, I don't play anything or have a dog

I don't just put stuff in my car though, I take it out again afterwards - that's where you're going wrong.

Quote from hyntty :

Anyhoo, can't go wrong with a Golf though. Or if you like smaller, then an Ibiza.

Golfs are expensive though, and Ibizas don't look like they have much space behind the rear seats. That's what made me look at Focuses.

It'd be rude not to: Linkage

Quote from hyntty :

Yes you can, sis had a focus estate that spent more time in the shop than on the road :|

Then she got a poo one or isn't taking care of it.

I think I'd probably have a 1.6 over a 2.0. Yes I'm sure the 2.0 is more fun but there's a limit to the advice I'll accept from the LFS forum.

A lass in the office has a 1.6 and other than general wear and tear items hasn't had a problem with it... if you exclude bodywork like a golf ball and a constantly flat battery because she keeps leaving the lights on.

She took it to Rosedale Abbey for a glamping holiday t'other weekend and it held more gear than I have in my house. I know this because she got it stuck on a muddy field and her other half was too camp to get mud on his shoes so I was called to tow them out. Honestly you've never seen so much stuff stuffed into a small car.

I like golf-ball bodywork. You should see my current Fiesta there's not a panel on it that doesn't have a ding in it. There's even one in the middle of the roof, no idea how that got there I think a previous owner may have done it just to complete the look.

Also the rear driver's side door handle fell off last Thursday. I'll be sad to scrap this thing it's been a lot of laughs.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Also the rear driver's side door handle fell off last Thursday. I'll be sad to scrap this thing it's been a lot of laughs.

Come on, post a pic of it finally.

I can definitely vouch for old Focuses (mine's a 1.8L estate)

13 years, 104,000 miles and still going strong. As of 2 years ago (the last time I had the situation and the balls to try) it'd still do 120mph with three people in it.

I can recommend one of these:



Sure it looks horrible, but it's a great car if you don't care about that. Got one as a daily driver right now, and it's awesome for driving around in the city.

Quote from Matrixi :

Sure it looks horrible, but it's a great car if you don't care about that.

Nah I don't care about that - my last car was a Daihatsu.

But what's it like to drive - is it like a car or an MPV? I really don't like MPVs.

Feels like an ordinary passenger car to me. It's a bit rolly if you get in to the bends hard, but the steering is actually quite lovely and precise. Overall I'm very impressed with it, coupled with an automatic it's quite a relaxing thing to drive.

Also the first car I've owned that manages under 5l/100km, though that comes at the cost of performance. But you know as they say, it's more fun to max out a slow car, than it is to drive a fast car slowly.

I think I will look for one to try out. I do generally like Toyotas.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

I can definitely vouch for old Focuses (mine's a 1.8L estate)

13 years, 104,000 miles and still going strong. As of 2 years ago (the last time I had the situation and the balls to try) it'd still do 120mph with three people in it.

Although that should be a good thing your Focus should have a lot more trouble free years left in it to be classed as reliable. At least 200k. I've got a 13 year old 180,000 miles P38, regarded as one of the most unreliable vehicles on the face of the earth. Other than wear and tear items, glow plugs and alternator needed replacing 5k ago which isn't bad for original parts, I haven't had a single problem with it. Tell a lie, the battery in the key fob died so I had to resync the key and I hit a pheasant breaking a headlight, but otherwise not a problem.

Although it could just be I have one of the few that were built properly. But I've no doubt cursed it now as I said something similar when I hit 175k, the same day my alternator died. Although I do make a point of watching any oil leaks. If they stop I know I need to refill.

Get the Multipla.

I semi-seriously considered a Multipla when I got the Fiesta but even I couldn't drive one of those without a bag over my head.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I semi-seriously considered a Multipla when I got the Fiesta but even I couldn't drive one of those without a bag over my head.

lol!

That thing looks like two humping tadpoles...

I got myself a VW Golf 1.6 2000ish for 1100 and it's been pretty good so far. The Focuses I looked at always seemed a bit dodgy. my sister got a VW Gold diesal, same age but it cost 2000, and that's been absolutely brilliant too. Fuel economy is around 50mpg for her so pretty good

Quote from thisnameistaken :

I semi-seriously considered a Multipla

Astra Cam Chain driven 2.0 DTi, do not go for the common rail cambelt driven CDTi as at that price range they are probably due a cambelt replacement.

Pick them up for under 2k with reasonable spec and they aren't to bad looking, the estate is good with plenty boot space without being a "large" car.

I always think the Multipla looks like you can slide out the passenger compartment and swap it with other modular peices to make (for example) a pickup or a van.

When I found out you couldn't I was disappoint.

I add to the Focus vote.

I have a 2003 (03 plate) 1.6l LX Focus, just hit 76,000 and only thing that's gone wrong in my 5 years of having it was an exhaust manifold and the speed sensor.

Next year my girlfriend will be getting my Focus and I shall be replacing it with a slightly newer Focus.

People give Ford a hard time, and I have no idea why - my dad had many Mondeos from early 90s to mid 00s as company cars, all of them over 100,000 miles over 3 years and none of them ever had a major problem that I can remember.