Small Car - Big Person

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sat 22 Sep 2018 12:17
Small Car - Big Person - Nick G

Clocking up over 20k pa in an A4 Allroad, I had the bright idea of saving some money and buying a second small car for the daily commute (3 x 40 minute journeys per day), and keeping the Audi for long journeys/snow and ice (I live in rural Aberdeenshire) thus saving on running costs and prolonging its life before replacement (currently approx 85k on the clock).

So looking for small/medium car (manual if possible)

In theory price is not important except that the point of this is to save a bit of money so the overall cost/mile is the most significant factor (within limits).

Would buy new/cash, but consider pre-reg/broker.

Most likely petrol (but would consider hybrid/electric if the maths worked out better, which looking at the prices probably wont).

But here is the killer - I am 6ft / 25 stone so needs to be comfortable for me, and whist it does not have to be a 'sports car' it should not be a total 'chugger' either as i don't want to add 15 minutes to the journey.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Edited by Nick G on 22/09/2018 at 12:20

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 12:24
Small Car - Big Person - badbusdriver

Toyota Yaris hybrid?

BTW, i'm from Peterhead :)

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 12:44
Small Car - Big Person - Nick G

Huummm 85.6 mpg sounds good but HJs real world performance has it not much better than a standard petrol. A test drive is in order perhaps.

Think I will do some sums on an pure electric as well.

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 12:59
Small Car - Big Person - Avant

Any suggestions we might make need to be subject to you being comfortable in the car. You'll juist have to visit dealers, sit in a variety of cars and make a shortlist of the ones that fir you.

Possibly something with a bit of extra height might do the job: the Suzuki Ignis springs to mind.

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 13:05
Small Car - Big Person - badbusdriver

I'm a big fan of the Ignis, but does have a very narrow body, so not sure the OP would be able to get comfy without feeling squeezed in.

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 18:53
Small Car - Big Person - Engineer Andy

I'm a big fan of the Ignis, but does have a very narrow body, so not sure the OP would be able to get comfy without feeling squeezed in.

Agreed and I doubt it - an ex-colleague of mine who was not anywhere as large, but still 'big' (not tall) found sitting in my old 90s Micra not comfotable at all, with his right leg practically touching the handbrake and gearstick (not easy for me to drive it with him in it).

I agree that this may be a lengthy process as the OP will need to try out many cars and seats to see what will be comfortable for them.

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 21:00
Small Car - Big Person - Ethan Edwards

I was going to suggest the ignis too. It's Tardis like interior fits me. I'm 6ft4 and similarly rotund.

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 14:32
Small Car - Big Person - SLO76
Only way you’ll save any money here is if you buy a cheap older car that has no value left to lose instead of something new or nearly new.

I've often done this with the following examples just some of them and all were utterly reliable other than the usual minor service items such as tyres and brakes.

V Toyota Avensis 1.8 SE bought for £1250, only repair was a £50 ignition switch then sold for £850 three years later.

W Peugeot 306 1.4 LX bought for £500 needing a clutch which cost me less than £200, ran for a year then flogged for £750

02 Astra 1.6 SXi bought for £1,000, ran for a year, spent £150 on repairs then sold for £1,100.

07 Ford Mondeo 1.8 LX bought for £3k, no repairs and sold for £3,500 after 6mths

53 Mitsubishi Carisma 1.9 Diesel bought for £700, spent £300 and sold for £1,000 after just over a year

Bonus of an old smoker like this is you don’t care about what happens to it, a scuff or scrape, abandon it at the station or the pub or use it to take rubbish to the dump. Bangers are great as a second car.

Edited by SLO76 on 22/09/2018 at 14:34

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 21:07
Small Car - Big Person - SteveLee

I agree with SLO, bangernomics makes sense given the reliability of cars these days, even at 20K miles per year you'd have to do a lot of miles for a newer higher mpg car to make sense financially.

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 21:25
Small Car - Big Person - diddy1234

Possibly a Mitsubishi Mirage. they drive terrible but the real world economy is brilliant.

I haven't driven one personally but I did sit in one and the drivers seat goes back far enough for my 6ft 3 frame.

Honest John's real world economy is nearly 60 mpg for a petrol engine.

Second hand they are appearing cheaper on the market now so a deal could possibly be done

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 21:55
Small Car - Big Person - Glaikit Wee Scunner {P}

I think you need to do your sums more carefully. My feeling is that buying and running a newish second car will outweigh any savings on your Audi, largely due to depreciaion. Might be cheaper to trade in the Audi before the mileage gets too high and it still has some value.

Buying a banger cuts the depreciaion but you still need to service, insure, fill with fuel and tax it.

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 22:39
Small Car - Big Person - Big John

But here is the killer - I am 6ft / 25 stone so needs to be comfortable for me, and whist it does not have to be a 'sports car' it should not be a total 'chugger' either as i don't want to add 15 minutes to the journey.

Story of my life - not called bigjohn for nothing . 6ft4 and built like a brick ......

Yaris hybrid - er no

Actually I have problems with later seats (too bolstered for my ample frame) and wider B pillars mounted too far forward. This is why I drive a Skoda Superb 1.4tsi. If I had to downsize (which I will have to when i retire) currently I'd pick a tsi Golf 3dr

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 23:10
Small Car - Big Person - Falkirk Bairn

Running 2 x cars instead of running all the mileage on 1 car will, in most cases cost more.

2 x insurance, 2 x road tax, depreciation, annual servicing on 2 rather than 1.............

My suggestion is go for a low cost, "unpopular car" costing a few thousand - Japanese, NA petrol - Avensis, IS around 1.8 / 2 litres as you are used to fairly swift travel a 1/1.2 litre NA car would be intolerable.

My DiL changed from 2 litre 4WD to a Lexus hybrid - mpg went from 28 to 53 - saved a lot on petrol on the 22 mile trip to work. Then changed jobs which is now 800 metres away - she still drives but goes out running at night - female logic?

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Sat 22 Sep 2018 23:56
Small Car - Big Person - Avant

The mileage of your commute (an unusual one if it involves three trips) sounds a bit on the high side for buying a cheap old car: presumably this triangular trip needs something reliable.

It may be worth doing the sums and comparing the cost of a new / newish (for example) Suzuki Ignis, while keeping the A4 and incurring running costs for two cars, with replacing the Audi with (again for example ) another A4 Allroad.

If the second option looks better, then you could work out your budget for a comfortable, good to drive 4x4. If you like Audis, a 4x4 Q2 like mine is a good alterantivr to another A4 Allroad, as is the Volvo XC40 (almost guaranteeed to be comfortable for all sizes of driver). Or a Hyundai 4x4 with its 5-year unlimited mileager warranty.

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Sun 23 Sep 2018 04:15
Small Car - Big Person - SLO76
“The mileage of your commute (an unusual one if it involves three trips) sounds a bit on the high side for buying a cheap old car: presumably this triangular trip needs something reliable.”

I’ve every confidence that any of the old cars I listed above could cope, especially that old Mitsubishi which could do 50mpg on a run and had just over 80k under its belt when I sold it. I’ve seen them well beyond 200k. Buy a well looked after Avensis or something similar for £1,500 and it should be fit for the job. I spotted a very tidy Corolla D4D recently for £1200 with sensible miles and in great condition that would’ve been ideal.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/09/2018 at 04:15

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Sun 23 Sep 2018 22:58
Small Car - Big Person - Big John

The Original Poster was discussing new/ nearly new on the original post so I suspect older cars not relevant. I suspect the new MOT will make this approach more difficult as well.

The OP needs to try out different cars to see what is comfy for their size. Last time I took a Mitsubishi Galant on a long run I needed a visit to the Chiro although I liked the more recent ASX.

Lots of VAG haters on this forum but I usually find them roomy and comfy for the larger person. I like Volvo seats but they are usually out of my price range when nearly new.

Bought my current Superb very cheap nearly new(£10k) and will throw away at 10years (same as I did with the last one except I paid £8.2k) and it's comfy for a large and tall 6ft4" person. I do about 15k miles a year

Edited by Big John on 23/09/2018 at 23:04

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Mon 24 Sep 2018 01:37
Small Car - Big Person - Nick G

Thanks for all your comments, lots to think about....

Oh in case you were wondering about the 3rd 40 minute trip that is 20 mins each way to pick SWIMBO up from her work at 10pm :-(

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Mon 24 Sep 2018 12:26
Small Car - Big Person - Ethan Edwards

Just thought I'd mention the Ignis SZ5 we have has the LED projector Headlights. They are superb.

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Mon 24 Sep 2018 15:07
Small Car - Big Person - Alanovich

I think the OP needs to have a look at the Nissan Leaf. They start from about £6k these days. In terms of fuel costs there's nothing much cheaper to run, especially if you can charge the car at work or home.

Mine is very comfy and there's plenty of interior space, I expect the OP would fit, but obviously he needs to check this out for himself.

No VED, minimal servicing and repairs. It's the ideal commuting car so long as your daily mileage is within its range, or you can top up the batteries whilst parked at work. I run one alongside a Mercedes E Class estate, so very much like the OP's domestic scenario. The Leaf is the go-to car for daily use, commuting, school run, shopping, evenings out etc. Absolutely marvellous.

Maybe also think about a plug-in hybrid like the Mitsubishi Outlander.

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Mon 24 Sep 2018 15:52
Small Car - Big Person - Avant

That could be a great idea, depending on how long Nick's 40-minute trips are in terms of mileage, and whether charging overnight every night would be enough (unless of course he could charge at work). If not, the Outlander would work instead of the current A4: 4x4 and cheaper to run.

And how nice to see you back on here, Alanovich. Welcome!

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Mon 24 Sep 2018 16:14
Small Car - Big Person - Alanovich

Thanks, Avant. I have avoided this forum for a loooong time, because it's so slow/difficult to use from behind the firewall which usually contains me. Seems a bit (tiny bit) better now. I'll see how it goes.

Mileage is key of course for Nick here. Less than 80 miles total in a day would be the most you'd want to look at, without daytime/workplace charging, given a 24kwh Leaf. A 30kwh model would be dearer, as would a new 40kwh of course, but these will give better range. Of course if he can charge at home too, then he could do his own 2 work trips and charge a bit at home before setting off again to pick the trouble and strife up later in the evening, and get a full charge overnight. Workplace charging would be a boon also of course, worth looking in to it as a possibility. Fortunes can be saved.

Outlander would make an excellent car for these purposes too. 30 miles range per charge, again recharge at work and at home in the evenings and you'd barely use any petrol. Big enough car for the OP's comfort needs, too.

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Mon 24 Sep 2018 21:08
Small Car - Big Person - Big John

Outlander would make an excellent car for these purposes too. 30 miles range per charge, again recharge at work and at home in the evenings and you'd barely use any petrol. Big enough car for the OP's comfort needs, too.

I was impressed with Outlander PHEV, seat was great for my ample frame.

It has interesting running gear. After charging overnight you an set off as a 4wd electric car with one motor per axle and the engine can generate or/and engage with the front axle when up to speed. Limitations - not great for towing as engine only joins in when up to speed.

Last time I looked they were not cheap - but that's a while ago

Edited by Big John on 24/09/2018 at 21:09

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Thu 27 Sep 2018 23:37
Small Car - Big Person - daveyK_UK

try an old shape Nissan Note 1.4 petrol (upto 2013)

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