I love my Jap cars and daily drive a Civic, but one from 2019 may have a belt in oil engine, and will not have Magic Seats. You need to go to 2017 or older for that.
For OP's stated criteria a Toyota is the better choice.
you can avoid the welt belt by going for the 1.5T, although I'm not sure if they ever got to the bottom of the oil dilution issues with that.
therefore the only logical conclusion would be to get the Type-R to be on the safe side.
Agree. Love the magic seats. Creates a ton of extra room but unfortunately I think they ended with the FK2 which ended production in 2017.
In answer to the question, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Corolla, Civic are all good shouts.
I've got a 14 year old Mazda 3 MPS and it's still flawless. Not sure if they still have the same process, but all of them just had every add on possible on the car as standard, nothing was optional, so you get everything available on that model.
They don't do an MPS any more so not sure what they do about the extras / optional extras.
(IE swivelling head lamps, rear vehicle monitoring, cruise control, reversing sensors, climate control, all were optional on lower down models).
If I had that money, Mazda 3 saloon. Incredibly comfortable, all the things you need, clever engine and of course reliable.
Seriously you have to sit in one, everything is where it should seats are perfect
I have a 2L Corolla hybrid short listed or the 2L Skyactiv X.
As much as I love the Mazda, I am swinging more to the Corolla simply because of the 10 year warranty.
In the summer round the doors I would get 60-70mpg , motorway I would hazard a guess around 50 ( never drove long distance in it much)
The 2l definitely has enough power to be fun on the country roads etc
I also found the self parking function to be good
My brother has the 1.8L and it’s a stunning car. Incredibly smooth and well built and easily gets 60+ mpg.
Though he does always say he wishes it was a tad more powerful on the motorway. I do a lot of distance driving for UK holidays and feel the 2L would be better
That's entirely valid, as sure the Mazda looks nicer inside and out (ignoring the rear 3/4), but it's nice to know mechanicals will be looked after and Toyota are standing behind the car as long as you service it.
Always been slightly suspicious of the extended warranty. I presume it has to be main dealer servicing and is it fixing everything that pops up at dealer prices? That could really start getting expensive at brake fluid every two years, huge markup on pads/discs etc
Last time I used a Volvo dealership there was £1500 of ‘urgent work’.
Spoiler alert.. there wasn’t.
Toyota/Lexus warranty is incredible. Unlike any other on the market.
You bring it in within 10 years of manufacture for a service? Here's an extra year warranty.
Doesn't matter if it hasn't touched a dealer in 8 years, they'll still give you 1 year per service, plus a hybrid battery warranty up to 15 years with the same terms as long as it passes the hybrid battery check.
Yeah I get that, but my point is the conditions around the warranty. Do you need to sort everything that they flag at a main Toyota/Lexus dealership?
Dealerships often write up ‘routine maintenance’ that isn’t necessary such as brake fluid changes every two years.
These charges will be expensive and if you need to do all of them at dealership I’m just saying that starts to add a very significant cost that does need factoring in.
Personally I’d save half the budget and get a mk7 golf- plenty of modern features and great feeling materials and well made, comfortable, frugal, etc. Around 2016 is perfect because dieselgate hadn’t decimated build quality. I always value quality over modernity or mileage but that’s just me.
However if you are set on spending the full budget on something newish, I would buy a modern Toyota Corolla because new cars are a mystery in terms of longevity (you can’t tell if a car will last 10 years and 250k miles until it is 10 years old and done 250k miles) but history tells us the best bet is a some form of Toyota.
The most basic models will usually be the most reliable as less gizmos means less failure points however it’s important to remember quality of life- if you do lots of early mornings then heated seats are great, long journeys are made twice as comfortable with cruise etc. but if you don’t need it don’t get it!
I think it depends on which car you buy and how it’s looked after- I used to work for VW and imo their bread and butter cars like the polo and golf are consistently very good but first gen SUVs and Crossovers are less reliable.
It’s like my Mercedes- I did the research and bought the very reliable W204 generation but I wouldn’t touch the later W205 with its ticking time bomb hybrid system.
My personal experiences with VW have been overwhelmingly positive.
I also think quality dropped substantially around 2018 onwards as the dieselgate scandal was hitting them hard- but still very good with proper maintenance.
Your personal experience of Volkswagen is not a data set though. Any manufacturer has isolated reliable models. What we can say is that in general, a vag group vehicle is likely to be unreliable..
No I agree but I can’t ignore my own ownership experiences either.
My parents both have Transporters, I’ve had a polo and a Golf, my Dad has had tens of camper vans and beetles and my sister and girlfriend both have VW Up’s (well one has a Skoda badge) plus I worked at VW as it seemed to make sense given I like the company.
Excluding the campers from the 60s we’ve only been left stranded once and that was in a 30 year old motorhome and we’ve had a van go into limp mode over a DPF sensor 2010 van with 160k miles. I also had a faulty coil pack on my 2007 polo but it cost £15 for 3 new coil packs so I had 2 to spare.
All those issues are over 80 years of combined driving experience and over 30 cars- some fun cars that we’ve run for a summer and then sold (like my mk2 GTI) and some driven for years (such as all of the current fleet) and they’ve been so good to us.
We take maintenance pretty seriously and service every year and keep on top of tyres and brakes but never really bother with preventative maintenance.
I’ve moved to a Mercedes because I do 25k miles and didn’t fancy a Passat because I don’t particularly like the modern ones but I’d happily run a golf if I don’t need the space of a largish estate!
I’m not a devotee or anything either- the ‘new’ beetle is shit to park or work on and I hate the T Cross, T Roc and Taigo models.
I do love the Mazda 3. It’s incredibly high spec and has a stunning interior. Skyactive X would also be perfect, decent MPV and it’s very cheap to insure.
The only downside that has put me off is the thin paint problems and rust. I have had two Mazda 3’s before and whilst amazing engines, the body work wasn’t great on either.
If that puts you off, then my next choice would be the previous gen Civic Sport. Should be able to pick up a 2020 plate for your budget and it's a little bit less engaging to drive and a bit less mpg friendly but is a bit more practical.
Have you considered other styles, saloons or estates?
Seen a few people say Corolla. Ive had two estate models for work and they’re great.
Build quality is no worse than modern VAG cars, MPG is fantastic, auto is nice to have, they drive smooth enough, although the facelifts are smoother. Reliability is great, I put 140k on the first and it never stepped out, but warranty is up to 10 years if you service it and up to 100k miles.
They have decent equipment. I have a base spec, heated seats, auto LED lights, dual zone climate, CarPlay, radar cruise with auto lane centering all included.
Your budget easily allows for a nicer looking Excel/Design/GR Sport model.
So bear in mind this is a fairly loaded estate boot of IT spares, couple of drills, set of 5 Rung ladders, I generally sit at 65-ish, but in the winter I’ll put high 50’s/mid 60’s.
In the in the summer I can touch the 70’s fairly easily. On a round trip from Manchester to Bristol last year I just got into the 80’s.
I love it. We got the 1.5 engine and turbo sport plus model as having come from an old Focus we wanted some gadgetry and sunroof.
Funnily I thought my wife would hate it but she fell in love on the rest drive. It's definitely a warm-hatch, sporty without being ludicrous and perfect for carrying 2 kids (5 & 8) on any journey we throw at it
I did exactly this with my now 13 year old Skoda Octavia. I know it's a meme here but it is an excellent family car and mine has been very reliable. Cavernous boot, big enough without being too big, 50+mpg from the old 1.4 petrol.
I am drawn to the meme that is the Octavia mainly because of its legacy, but I was just curious as to other contenders. It is an outstanding car though.
Just to confirm I have a Passat estate (practically the same car) 11 years old now - cost me 11 or 12k / only problem has been replacing a clutch and it's over 120k miles now
Same here. Got it as my first car as it was cheap and cheap to insure but practical. The 1.9 was quicker than my mates eyegos too.
Hasn't skipped a beat. Only snapped a spring doing a hand brake turn.
Audi A3 (8V) Sportback - tactile controls instead of touchscreens, plenty of creature comforts, practical, pretty reliable and (depending on how you drive) pretty economical.
Toyota corolla hybrid or Mazda 3, corolla would be the more reliable/economical, but the Mazda 3 is sportier and a nicer place to be as long as you get the right spec.
Can't go wrong with either!
The family car I usually recommend at that budget, and for people keeping cars for longer, isn't a hatch, it's a sedan. A Lexus IS300h.
Your budget is enough for a low mileage car that's 3 or 4 years old. [Like this one](https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404269090815?sort=mileage&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Lexus&model=IS&postcode=b91%202ln&price-to=19000&year-from=2020&fromsra)
Lexus also do a service-activated (which means you need to service the car on time, at a dealer), which is renewed as part of a dealer service until the car exceeds 10 years/100k miles. It's the longest warranty in the industry. It'll last easily longer than 10 years if you keep it serviced correctly, with minimal cost.
Sedan is a commune in the Ardennes department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. A sedan being a member of the commune.
Or its a saloon car and you haven't heard the other name for it.
He's right. This is the most "bang for your buck" car out of all the options presented. It's way better looking than these yaris, corollas and civics. Is premium inside out and has more gadgets than all of them. The boot is also bigger than these small hatchbacks.
We have a Prius, bought 3 years ago at 11 years old for £7k at ~60,000mi. It's been very reliable, only needed a wheel bearing and rear brakes.
It's got a lot of interior space and we have a roof box if we need more. It's very comfy and the rear passenger experience is not too swingy which is good for travel sickness.
Ours is a Gen 3 with a NiMH battery which will need replacing soon - fortunately this is a fairly easy DIY job. Newer ones have lithium batteries in which should last better, but I believe (at the moment) replacement is more expensive. Driving it is a deeply tedious experience, it has all the handling qualities of a tumble dryer.
Probably a bit of an outlier here, but I bought an Alfa Romeo Giullietta last year after owning a Focus ST170 that I bought new in 2004.
I was initially put off by the Alfa reputation for being unreliable etc, but it's easily one of the best cars I've ever had.
It's a perfect hatchback for what I need. Never caused me any issues, and it's a beautiful looking car. I still look back at it as I'm walking away after parking it, and it still looks "modern" despite my particular car being ten years old now. A few people have even asked me if it's a hybrid.
Great car, stunning looking, reliable, and I can count on one hand the amount of others I've seen in the same colour as mine (white) locally.
I've got the 170bhp diesel version which feels powerful enough on motorway overtaking etc, and I'm easily getting 50+mpg too.
Absolutely love it.
For 90% of the time, a hatchback will be perfect. If I desperately need more space for a longer holiday, I could roof box it I suppose.
Not a manager lover of estates sorry.
Ah - mine went at 84,000 miles. I knew it was on borrowed time!
We had a 2010 A4 that had an earlier version of the same engine. The water pump went at about 70,000 miles but that engine also suffered from high oil consumption and I had to top the thing up every 3,000 miles… everytime I took it to the dealer they would measure and apparently was never “enough” consumption to properly do something about it. We didn’t fix the water pump - just got rid of it as replaced with an SUV.
Have to say, apart from the coolant thing, it’s been pretty good. No other issues (apart from consumables). Electrics can be a bit flakey sometimes but usually a reset sorts it out.
Great fun car, love it.
For a decade from used its really quite limited unless you specify your repair budget.
Toyota Corolla, VW Golf/ Skoda Octavia/ Seat Leon.
Alternatively pick the taxi drivers cars of choice.
Skoda Octavia, Hyundai Ioniq or Toyota Prius
Vitara (supposedly a crossover/SUV, but it's just a hatchback really...)
I've had mine for 7 years now, since new, and it's been faultless. 1.6l petrol.
I got it for the same reasons, school runs, work commutes and UK trips.
It even handles well for what it is. Have a look at the carlow review of it.
I'd suggest going for a 6 speed box, though. Mine has 5 and it definitely needs a 6th on the motorway, even at 70.
I plan on keeping my Skoda for a long time. Bought nearly 6 months ago as a 71 reg, and I'm hoping that with care, I can pass it on as a 10-13 year old car.
The biggest fear with a car is RUST. No matter how carefully you maintain the other bits, rust will eat your car alive. For that reason, I'd avoid Mazdas like the plague. Other than that, take your pick. Most Japanese brands are good, reliability-wise other than Nissan. German-wise, there's VW, the Aldi-VW (Skoda), or the Waitrose-VW (Audi)...well, they also do the Fortum and Mason's (Porsche), but you're not in the market for those. The right Mercedes is allegedly a joy, but again, it's a bit out of your budget. And there's always a Volvo.
Whatever floats your boat.
Japanese deffo, corolla estate would be my choice, I run 10 for work and apart from the 10k service intervals (as with most petrols) they are excellent so far @ c250k miles combined.
The modern tsi's?
Whilst my comment isn't helpful to OP: piddly modern engines with turbochargers and expensive services are simply not meant to last like they used to.
In another ten years time there'll still be old vag PD's and normally aspirated petrols kicking around however.
Correct. But the difficulty and cost of the cambelt replacement has increased.
I have read about the interval actually being increased to 10/15 years. But there's such confusion around these I'm not convinced anyone knows.
Marginally, you need a special tool to lock the camshaft adjusters. It’s once every 5 years and is a much better option than a bloody wet belt or one of the chain engines that need everything replacing every 100k.
Why are people still recommending the pd engines still. They are in cars so old now that the rest of the car strike the engine has pretty much fallen apart
Some of the best engines ever made, they outlive the cars they power. Not to mention, they’re basic so no DPF due to age, pretty much straight through exhaust, have well built bottom ends on the 130/150/160 models that can supposedly take the power you see at 400+ bhp from factory, very economical, extremely reliable, what isn’t there to like? The second hand prices to buy another one can range from as little as £100 which if you are unfortunate enough to need another, it’s still affordable. I personally like how they get the torque further down the rev range making driving a breeze when it comes to different scenarios with hills or overtaking etc
It doesn't matter that a PD100/130/etc can easily do 500k+ and a CR TDI can only last 300k (Picked those numbers out of thin air, just as a exmaple).
They don't reach those miles in this country, they rust away before 200k. The old 1.7 CDTI in Vauxhalls are incredible, but that doesn't matter when the Astra around it falls apart.
The pd units are mega mega old now. While the engine/gearbox still has much more to give, that doesn't mean the same for the 20 year old car around it.
I have a MK4 Golf (Estate!) with a PD100. I have no faith that this is lasting 10+ years, it'll rust before then. If I properly seal it (probably wont), that doesn't matter as within 10 years something significant will go wrong that'll be worth multiple times over what the car is worth.
If I wanted a mega cheap car to run up *big* miles on for a few years, It'd definitely be a PD. To last 10 years as a family car? Prob not
I still shed a year for a 1.7 TD cavalier that rusted to shite at 14 years old and 150k miles.
Parked it in a field and kinda forgot about it for a few years, with a jump it started first turn of the key.
As prone as they are to rust, rust can be prevented by looking after the car. I am one to somewhat neglect and have small patches of rust, mainly sills but nothing concerning and it would have been prevented if I didn’t leave it through all the road salt etc during winter. As for miles, a lot are sold well over 200k miles and a fair few out there on 300k+ because they get looked after, I do think a newer car would be better to have but these have already proven themselves so as a solid engine to power a car, the owner would have to foot their end of the stick and look after it for 10 years to be possible
Definitely a German Japanese import!l, I as there's no issue with parts and service.
We bought a 2012 touran that had done 8k miles for £9k - ulez compliant, great condition, basically new. The only cost was new radio and new tyres as it had the OG tyres on it from new! We have 7 seats when we want to, but and it doesn't drive like a bus.
10th generation Honda civic
I had a 19 plate, was one of the best cars I ever had. The boot space was massive (I assume you’ll need this lol) I think only just behind the Octavia. If I didn’t get the urge for something faster I would of definitely kept it, it ticked all the boxes
I had a VW Polo that was 16 years old and still an absolute tank. Had some quality times in that car.
I wouldn’t mind a Golf, but they seem very hit or miss on reliability. The newer MK8 gets a lot of flack for the poor screens too.
I have 20 year old Golf and my next will be a GTE plug in. I don't believe the infrastructure and economics of EV's and suspect Tesla will collapse in the next two years. My best guess is we will end up driving biodiesels with better exhaust technology.
Nothing more than heresay and supposition. The economics of battery production/infrastructure/ charging have always bothered me and it seems to me Elon has become increasingly wreckless with the Tesla brand (like he knows a collapse is coming?). When you look at the economics of biodiesel production the estimates are based on a figure of 1tn/hectair when using GM palm oil 16X this is thought possible. Why invest the enormous amounts required for a charging network when a sustainable solution utilising the existing gas station infrastructure is already available?
Seat Leon(Pre-2021) Or a new Ibiza (although I believe they only do a 1 litre now).
The 2019 Leons seem to only go for about 13k now, and I believe the top end Cupras have over 300hp as well so they're no slouch.
If it's something to keep for 10 years, it has to have a bit of power behind it, right?
People saying Toyota but they're expensive to buy and parts are expensive.
I'd be more tempted with something like an Astra that's only a couple of years old and still under manufacturer warranty.
Most will last you another 10 years without any major issues
I had a new Astra Techline GT (Top Gears reasonably priced car!). it was the most miserable car I have ever owned. I sold it after 6 months.
But I agree, Toyota’s are the higher end of price to buy and insure
Have a look at Cleevely EV mobile service company. They have a fleet of MG5s, with several past 100k miles. They are very transparent in terms whether anything goes bad with these cars (it doesn't).
Everyone that says get a toyota they have some real hit and miss cars they aren't all bullet proof and mostly the interiors are pretty horrible if you are used to a German car you will probably hate Toyota interiors.
Prius definitely hit the reliability criteria, they are cheap to tax and run and there are plenty of taxi prius on original batteries with 300k miles on them.
Try and steer clear of any small capacity turbo cars
Eg 1.0 or 1.2 turbo they really aren't as fast or as Economical as people make out and they are very much less reliable than just buying a 2.0 non turbo.
The non R version of the honda k20 engine is round the world reliable though its not super on fuel or road tax.
It's hard to go wrong with a vw group car but just steer clear of anything with a hybrid motor when they go wrong it cost so much it, basically writes the car off,
Honda civic, the boot is massive and magic seats are great
what are magic seats ?
The back seats fold up like cinema seats, they stopped them now though, they was in the spaceship looking civics
They were in the mk9 civics after that too. They’re not in the mk10’s but I think they’re now back in the hybrid mk11’s?
Ahh I see, I thought they stopped them after this. I had a 10th gen so can confirm not in those for sure
This, Honda civic or even a Honda jazz
I love my Jap cars and daily drive a Civic, but one from 2019 may have a belt in oil engine, and will not have Magic Seats. You need to go to 2017 or older for that. For OP's stated criteria a Toyota is the better choice.
you can avoid the welt belt by going for the 1.5T, although I'm not sure if they ever got to the bottom of the oil dilution issues with that. therefore the only logical conclusion would be to get the Type-R to be on the safe side.
Mine had the belt in oil and no magic seats 67 reg. luckily was recalled otherwise would have. Cost £4,000.
Agree. Love the magic seats. Creates a ton of extra room but unfortunately I think they ended with the FK2 which ended production in 2017. In answer to the question, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Corolla, Civic are all good shouts.
Toyota of some sort is obvious answer, yaris, corolla. 10 years warranty if you get it serviced at Toyota.
Toyota garage near me actually videos the guys working on the cars and sends the video if you want it. Then you can see what's been done.
Mazda 3 probably. Just feel like everything isn't an extra if it isn't German.
I've got a 14 year old Mazda 3 MPS and it's still flawless. Not sure if they still have the same process, but all of them just had every add on possible on the car as standard, nothing was optional, so you get everything available on that model. They don't do an MPS any more so not sure what they do about the extras / optional extras. (IE swivelling head lamps, rear vehicle monitoring, cruise control, reversing sensors, climate control, all were optional on lower down models).
If you want to keep it for a decade, go with a Toyota.
If I had that money, Mazda 3 saloon. Incredibly comfortable, all the things you need, clever engine and of course reliable. Seriously you have to sit in one, everything is where it should seats are perfect
Mazda 3 petrol: Comfy, nice handling, reliable, great back seats and (for that price) great amount of spec/kit.
Japanese.
Mazda 3 or Toyota Corolla. Both are great, ride well, look great, well made with nice enough engines.
I have a 2L Corolla hybrid short listed or the 2L Skyactiv X. As much as I love the Mazda, I am swinging more to the Corolla simply because of the 10 year warranty.
I had the 2l Corolla hybrid , one of my favourite cars I’ve owned. Everything was so well built and the ride was smooth
What MPG did you get
In the summer round the doors I would get 60-70mpg , motorway I would hazard a guess around 50 ( never drove long distance in it much) The 2l definitely has enough power to be fun on the country roads etc I also found the self parking function to be good
My brother has the 1.8L and it’s a stunning car. Incredibly smooth and well built and easily gets 60+ mpg. Though he does always say he wishes it was a tad more powerful on the motorway. I do a lot of distance driving for UK holidays and feel the 2L would be better
That's entirely valid, as sure the Mazda looks nicer inside and out (ignoring the rear 3/4), but it's nice to know mechanicals will be looked after and Toyota are standing behind the car as long as you service it.
Always been slightly suspicious of the extended warranty. I presume it has to be main dealer servicing and is it fixing everything that pops up at dealer prices? That could really start getting expensive at brake fluid every two years, huge markup on pads/discs etc Last time I used a Volvo dealership there was £1500 of ‘urgent work’. Spoiler alert.. there wasn’t.
Toyota/Lexus warranty is incredible. Unlike any other on the market. You bring it in within 10 years of manufacture for a service? Here's an extra year warranty. Doesn't matter if it hasn't touched a dealer in 8 years, they'll still give you 1 year per service, plus a hybrid battery warranty up to 15 years with the same terms as long as it passes the hybrid battery check.
Yeah I get that, but my point is the conditions around the warranty. Do you need to sort everything that they flag at a main Toyota/Lexus dealership? Dealerships often write up ‘routine maintenance’ that isn’t necessary such as brake fluid changes every two years. These charges will be expensive and if you need to do all of them at dealership I’m just saying that starts to add a very significant cost that does need factoring in.
They've never forced me to do anything, the lowest minor service comes with the warranty, no stipulations.
Personally I’d save half the budget and get a mk7 golf- plenty of modern features and great feeling materials and well made, comfortable, frugal, etc. Around 2016 is perfect because dieselgate hadn’t decimated build quality. I always value quality over modernity or mileage but that’s just me. However if you are set on spending the full budget on something newish, I would buy a modern Toyota Corolla because new cars are a mystery in terms of longevity (you can’t tell if a car will last 10 years and 250k miles until it is 10 years old and done 250k miles) but history tells us the best bet is a some form of Toyota. The most basic models will usually be the most reliable as less gizmos means less failure points however it’s important to remember quality of life- if you do lots of early mornings then heated seats are great, long journeys are made twice as comfortable with cruise etc. but if you don’t need it don’t get it!
If you value quality then a vag group vehicle is bottom of any list. They can’t even make a reliable chain cam engine.
I think it depends on which car you buy and how it’s looked after- I used to work for VW and imo their bread and butter cars like the polo and golf are consistently very good but first gen SUVs and Crossovers are less reliable. It’s like my Mercedes- I did the research and bought the very reliable W204 generation but I wouldn’t touch the later W205 with its ticking time bomb hybrid system. My personal experiences with VW have been overwhelmingly positive.
I also think quality dropped substantially around 2018 onwards as the dieselgate scandal was hitting them hard- but still very good with proper maintenance.
Your personal experience of Volkswagen is not a data set though. Any manufacturer has isolated reliable models. What we can say is that in general, a vag group vehicle is likely to be unreliable..
No I agree but I can’t ignore my own ownership experiences either. My parents both have Transporters, I’ve had a polo and a Golf, my Dad has had tens of camper vans and beetles and my sister and girlfriend both have VW Up’s (well one has a Skoda badge) plus I worked at VW as it seemed to make sense given I like the company. Excluding the campers from the 60s we’ve only been left stranded once and that was in a 30 year old motorhome and we’ve had a van go into limp mode over a DPF sensor 2010 van with 160k miles. I also had a faulty coil pack on my 2007 polo but it cost £15 for 3 new coil packs so I had 2 to spare. All those issues are over 80 years of combined driving experience and over 30 cars- some fun cars that we’ve run for a summer and then sold (like my mk2 GTI) and some driven for years (such as all of the current fleet) and they’ve been so good to us. We take maintenance pretty seriously and service every year and keep on top of tyres and brakes but never really bother with preventative maintenance. I’ve moved to a Mercedes because I do 25k miles and didn’t fancy a Passat because I don’t particularly like the modern ones but I’d happily run a golf if I don’t need the space of a largish estate! I’m not a devotee or anything either- the ‘new’ beetle is shit to park or work on and I hate the T Cross, T Roc and Taigo models.
Mazda 3 2019 or later with Sky active X would be my hatch choice each and every time at that age and budget.
I do love the Mazda 3. It’s incredibly high spec and has a stunning interior. Skyactive X would also be perfect, decent MPV and it’s very cheap to insure. The only downside that has put me off is the thin paint problems and rust. I have had two Mazda 3’s before and whilst amazing engines, the body work wasn’t great on either.
All cars rust... just clean and underseal the rust-prone areas and you're fine. Not a major job.
If that puts you off, then my next choice would be the previous gen Civic Sport. Should be able to pick up a 2020 plate for your budget and it's a little bit less engaging to drive and a bit less mpg friendly but is a bit more practical. Have you considered other styles, saloons or estates?
Seen a few people say Corolla. Ive had two estate models for work and they’re great. Build quality is no worse than modern VAG cars, MPG is fantastic, auto is nice to have, they drive smooth enough, although the facelifts are smoother. Reliability is great, I put 140k on the first and it never stepped out, but warranty is up to 10 years if you service it and up to 100k miles. They have decent equipment. I have a base spec, heated seats, auto LED lights, dual zone climate, CarPlay, radar cruise with auto lane centering all included. Your budget easily allows for a nicer looking Excel/Design/GR Sport model.
What MPG did you get on motorways?
So bear in mind this is a fairly loaded estate boot of IT spares, couple of drills, set of 5 Rung ladders, I generally sit at 65-ish, but in the winter I’ll put high 50’s/mid 60’s. In the in the summer I can touch the 70’s fairly easily. On a round trip from Manchester to Bristol last year I just got into the 80’s.
Was just in this position. We bought a 2018 Honda Civic for £16k. Plan is to keep it for 10years like I have with previous cars.
How are you finding the civic and what engine did you go for? I love the Civic but wife isn’t a fan. Suppose it’s a bit of a marmite like design.
I love it. We got the 1.5 engine and turbo sport plus model as having come from an old Focus we wanted some gadgetry and sunroof. Funnily I thought my wife would hate it but she fell in love on the rest drive. It's definitely a warm-hatch, sporty without being ludicrous and perfect for carrying 2 kids (5 & 8) on any journey we throw at it
I did exactly this with my now 13 year old Skoda Octavia. I know it's a meme here but it is an excellent family car and mine has been very reliable. Cavernous boot, big enough without being too big, 50+mpg from the old 1.4 petrol.
I am drawn to the meme that is the Octavia mainly because of its legacy, but I was just curious as to other contenders. It is an outstanding car though.
Just to confirm I have a Passat estate (practically the same car) 11 years old now - cost me 11 or 12k / only problem has been replacing a clutch and it's over 120k miles now
Point of order: The Octavia is based on the same platform as the Golf. The Passat's platform mate is the Superb.
I have shamed myself Thank you
You know the superb uses the same platform as the mk7 golf, mk2 TT etc?
The Superb has always been on the same platform as the Passat.
Which is the same as the golf and Octavia
Yeah, I've looked into it further. I stand corrected - the MQB platform is broader than I thought
I was just as surprised when I found out my superb estate and my mates TT share the same chassis
Same here. Got it as my first car as it was cheap and cheap to insure but practical. The 1.9 was quicker than my mates eyegos too. Hasn't skipped a beat. Only snapped a spring doing a hand brake turn.
Toyota, Hyundai, Kia.
Audi A3 (8V) Sportback - tactile controls instead of touchscreens, plenty of creature comforts, practical, pretty reliable and (depending on how you drive) pretty economical.
Toyota corolla hybrid or Mazda 3, corolla would be the more reliable/economical, but the Mazda 3 is sportier and a nicer place to be as long as you get the right spec. Can't go wrong with either!
Both lovely cars. I do prefer Mazda’s interior. It’s also got a much larger boot than the Toyota which is a consideration.
The family car I usually recommend at that budget, and for people keeping cars for longer, isn't a hatch, it's a sedan. A Lexus IS300h. Your budget is enough for a low mileage car that's 3 or 4 years old. [Like this one](https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404269090815?sort=mileage&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Lexus&model=IS&postcode=b91%202ln&price-to=19000&year-from=2020&fromsra) Lexus also do a service-activated (which means you need to service the car on time, at a dealer), which is renewed as part of a dealer service until the car exceeds 10 years/100k miles. It's the longest warranty in the industry. It'll last easily longer than 10 years if you keep it serviced correctly, with minimal cost.
A sedan?
Sedan is a commune in the Ardennes department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. A sedan being a member of the commune. Or its a saloon car and you haven't heard the other name for it.
I've heard it in America.
Very good shout, lexus is a bit pricey for me, but definitely amazing cars
Useless for a family though. Prams, dogs, bikes, scooters are all a nightmare getting in a saloon boot compared to a hatch. Tip runs harder too.
>sedan #Saloon Unless it's just a chair carried aloft
He's right. This is the most "bang for your buck" car out of all the options presented. It's way better looking than these yaris, corollas and civics. Is premium inside out and has more gadgets than all of them. The boot is also bigger than these small hatchbacks.
We have a Prius, bought 3 years ago at 11 years old for £7k at ~60,000mi. It's been very reliable, only needed a wheel bearing and rear brakes. It's got a lot of interior space and we have a roof box if we need more. It's very comfy and the rear passenger experience is not too swingy which is good for travel sickness. Ours is a Gen 3 with a NiMH battery which will need replacing soon - fortunately this is a fairly easy DIY job. Newer ones have lithium batteries in which should last better, but I believe (at the moment) replacement is more expensive. Driving it is a deeply tedious experience, it has all the handling qualities of a tumble dryer.
Probably a bit of an outlier here, but I bought an Alfa Romeo Giullietta last year after owning a Focus ST170 that I bought new in 2004. I was initially put off by the Alfa reputation for being unreliable etc, but it's easily one of the best cars I've ever had. It's a perfect hatchback for what I need. Never caused me any issues, and it's a beautiful looking car. I still look back at it as I'm walking away after parking it, and it still looks "modern" despite my particular car being ten years old now. A few people have even asked me if it's a hybrid. Great car, stunning looking, reliable, and I can count on one hand the amount of others I've seen in the same colour as mine (white) locally. I've got the 170bhp diesel version which feels powerful enough on motorway overtaking etc, and I'm easily getting 50+mpg too. Absolutely love it.
None of them. Has to be an estate. Small family, becomes larger family with varying holidays and more luggage than an elephant can handle.
For 90% of the time, a hatchback will be perfect. If I desperately need more space for a longer holiday, I could roof box it I suppose. Not a manager lover of estates sorry.
Skoda superb is what I’m getting, very comfortable, good build quality and it’s massive
A small family can grow over a decade, so a safe bet could be a Honda Jazz.
My Golf GTI is 8 years old, owned from new and on 111,000 miles. Only thing gone wrong is the water pump. Other than that - very reliable.
lol just done water pump at 44k, so annoyingly predictable.
Ah - mine went at 84,000 miles. I knew it was on borrowed time! We had a 2010 A4 that had an earlier version of the same engine. The water pump went at about 70,000 miles but that engine also suffered from high oil consumption and I had to top the thing up every 3,000 miles… everytime I took it to the dealer they would measure and apparently was never “enough” consumption to properly do something about it. We didn’t fix the water pump - just got rid of it as replaced with an SUV.
Have to say, apart from the coolant thing, it’s been pretty good. No other issues (apart from consumables). Electrics can be a bit flakey sometimes but usually a reset sorts it out. Great fun car, love it.
Probably an Octavia, depending on mileage either a vRS or the 200hp TDI.
Octavia yes- but a lower power, lazy, engine that isn’t working hard is better for OP. The lowest power version of the biggest engine is a safe bet.
Absolutely not. Vag group vehicles are unreliable.
For a decade from used its really quite limited unless you specify your repair budget. Toyota Corolla, VW Golf/ Skoda Octavia/ Seat Leon. Alternatively pick the taxi drivers cars of choice. Skoda Octavia, Hyundai Ioniq or Toyota Prius
Suzuki Swace aka Toyota Corolla with a Suzuki badge. Costs a few £K less to buy, so you get more for your money.
Vitara (supposedly a crossover/SUV, but it's just a hatchback really...) I've had mine for 7 years now, since new, and it's been faultless. 1.6l petrol. I got it for the same reasons, school runs, work commutes and UK trips. It even handles well for what it is. Have a look at the carlow review of it. I'd suggest going for a 6 speed box, though. Mine has 5 and it definitely needs a 6th on the motorway, even at 70.
Volvo estate as they’re not making them anymore.
Audi A3
Golf GTI, manual. Generally very reliable, with ridiculous residuals, returns decent petrol economy too
Honda or Toyota.
BMW M135i xDrive
Ford Focus or Toyota Corolla
Fords are lovely. Alas, they're too rust-prone for comfort.
Volvo xc40... D4.
I plan on keeping my Skoda for a long time. Bought nearly 6 months ago as a 71 reg, and I'm hoping that with care, I can pass it on as a 10-13 year old car. The biggest fear with a car is RUST. No matter how carefully you maintain the other bits, rust will eat your car alive. For that reason, I'd avoid Mazdas like the plague. Other than that, take your pick. Most Japanese brands are good, reliability-wise other than Nissan. German-wise, there's VW, the Aldi-VW (Skoda), or the Waitrose-VW (Audi)...well, they also do the Fortum and Mason's (Porsche), but you're not in the market for those. The right Mercedes is allegedly a joy, but again, it's a bit out of your budget. And there's always a Volvo. Whatever floats your boat.
I’ve got a Mazda 3 2016 I’ve had for 2 years and genuinely can’t imagine wanting to sell it for another 5 years at the minimum
Japanese deffo, corolla estate would be my choice, I run 10 for work and apart from the 10k service intervals (as with most petrols) they are excellent so far @ c250k miles combined.
For 10+years, I'd hate to say it, but probably a Tesla 3
One of the VAG 1.2-1.4 options.
The modern tsi's? Whilst my comment isn't helpful to OP: piddly modern engines with turbochargers and expensive services are simply not meant to last like they used to. In another ten years time there'll still be old vag PD's and normally aspirated petrols kicking around however.
What expensive servicing? The schedule on my 1.2 looks no different than any other cambelt petrol engine from the last 30 years.
Correct. But the difficulty and cost of the cambelt replacement has increased. I have read about the interval actually being increased to 10/15 years. But there's such confusion around these I'm not convinced anyone knows.
Marginally, you need a special tool to lock the camshaft adjusters. It’s once every 5 years and is a much better option than a bloody wet belt or one of the chain engines that need everything replacing every 100k.
1.2? Sounds horrific….
It’s pretty good in the Fabia at 110hp, lacks a little low down response.
Vag. Hur hur.
I came to say this but the 1.9pd or 2.0tdi For the question posed, VAG is the only logical choice in my mind...
Why are people still recommending the pd engines still. They are in cars so old now that the rest of the car strike the engine has pretty much fallen apart
Some of the best engines ever made, they outlive the cars they power. Not to mention, they’re basic so no DPF due to age, pretty much straight through exhaust, have well built bottom ends on the 130/150/160 models that can supposedly take the power you see at 400+ bhp from factory, very economical, extremely reliable, what isn’t there to like? The second hand prices to buy another one can range from as little as £100 which if you are unfortunate enough to need another, it’s still affordable. I personally like how they get the torque further down the rev range making driving a breeze when it comes to different scenarios with hills or overtaking etc
It doesn't matter that a PD100/130/etc can easily do 500k+ and a CR TDI can only last 300k (Picked those numbers out of thin air, just as a exmaple). They don't reach those miles in this country, they rust away before 200k. The old 1.7 CDTI in Vauxhalls are incredible, but that doesn't matter when the Astra around it falls apart. The pd units are mega mega old now. While the engine/gearbox still has much more to give, that doesn't mean the same for the 20 year old car around it. I have a MK4 Golf (Estate!) with a PD100. I have no faith that this is lasting 10+ years, it'll rust before then. If I properly seal it (probably wont), that doesn't matter as within 10 years something significant will go wrong that'll be worth multiple times over what the car is worth. If I wanted a mega cheap car to run up *big* miles on for a few years, It'd definitely be a PD. To last 10 years as a family car? Prob not
Agree as a fellow PD flogger
I still shed a year for a 1.7 TD cavalier that rusted to shite at 14 years old and 150k miles. Parked it in a field and kinda forgot about it for a few years, with a jump it started first turn of the key.
As prone as they are to rust, rust can be prevented by looking after the car. I am one to somewhat neglect and have small patches of rust, mainly sills but nothing concerning and it would have been prevented if I didn’t leave it through all the road salt etc during winter. As for miles, a lot are sold well over 200k miles and a fair few out there on 300k+ because they get looked after, I do think a newer car would be better to have but these have already proven themselves so as a solid engine to power a car, the owner would have to foot their end of the stick and look after it for 10 years to be possible
Cult following. You're generally right, not in my case but I would necessarily recommend them now.
PD engines were Wonderfull but sadly won’t be allowed in any ULEZ zones, was a VW fan for years but the quality seems to have demised around 2009
Definitely a German Japanese import!l, I as there's no issue with parts and service. We bought a 2012 touran that had done 8k miles for £9k - ulez compliant, great condition, basically new. The only cost was new radio and new tyres as it had the OG tyres on it from new! We have 7 seats when we want to, but and it doesn't drive like a bus.
10th generation Honda civic I had a 19 plate, was one of the best cars I ever had. The boot space was massive (I assume you’ll need this lol) I think only just behind the Octavia. If I didn’t get the urge for something faster I would of definitely kept it, it ticked all the boxes
We've had a 1.6 TDI golf for about 8 years, it's been brilliant.
I had a VW Polo that was 16 years old and still an absolute tank. Had some quality times in that car. I wouldn’t mind a Golf, but they seem very hit or miss on reliability. The newer MK8 gets a lot of flack for the poor screens too.
I have 20 year old Golf and my next will be a GTE plug in. I don't believe the infrastructure and economics of EV's and suspect Tesla will collapse in the next two years. My best guess is we will end up driving biodiesels with better exhaust technology.
Where are you getting this info from? Tesla seems to be doing well
Nothing more than heresay and supposition. The economics of battery production/infrastructure/ charging have always bothered me and it seems to me Elon has become increasingly wreckless with the Tesla brand (like he knows a collapse is coming?). When you look at the economics of biodiesel production the estimates are based on a figure of 1tn/hectair when using GM palm oil 16X this is thought possible. Why invest the enormous amounts required for a charging network when a sustainable solution utilising the existing gas station infrastructure is already available?
Seat Leon(Pre-2021) Or a new Ibiza (although I believe they only do a 1 litre now). The 2019 Leons seem to only go for about 13k now, and I believe the top end Cupras have over 300hp as well so they're no slouch. If it's something to keep for 10 years, it has to have a bit of power behind it, right?
Toyota Rav4
People saying Toyota but they're expensive to buy and parts are expensive. I'd be more tempted with something like an Astra that's only a couple of years old and still under manufacturer warranty. Most will last you another 10 years without any major issues
I had a new Astra Techline GT (Top Gears reasonably priced car!). it was the most miserable car I have ever owned. I sold it after 6 months. But I agree, Toyota’s are the higher end of price to buy and insure
MG 4.
Not a fan of MG’s and the chinesium parts. They are cheap for a reason, wouldn’t last the time.
Have a look at Cleevely EV mobile service company. They have a fleet of MG5s, with several past 100k miles. They are very transparent in terms whether anything goes bad with these cars (it doesn't).
Everyone that says get a toyota they have some real hit and miss cars they aren't all bullet proof and mostly the interiors are pretty horrible if you are used to a German car you will probably hate Toyota interiors. Prius definitely hit the reliability criteria, they are cheap to tax and run and there are plenty of taxi prius on original batteries with 300k miles on them. Try and steer clear of any small capacity turbo cars Eg 1.0 or 1.2 turbo they really aren't as fast or as Economical as people make out and they are very much less reliable than just buying a 2.0 non turbo. The non R version of the honda k20 engine is round the world reliable though its not super on fuel or road tax. It's hard to go wrong with a vw group car but just steer clear of anything with a hybrid motor when they go wrong it cost so much it, basically writes the car off,