Hi all,

Sorry I know this is not something people usually do but I need help with suggestions for a 2nd car and my knowledge on the latest economy cars is pretty basic.

I need a 2nd car to run alongside the FFRR, to keep expenses down and it will also serve as a 1st car for younger brother who is about to get a license. He will probably use it most of the time and mainly runs around London and trips from London to Ashford Kent twice a week so needs to be able to handle motorway comfortably.

Need something strong and sturdy, with low maintenance and probably good to keep for about 4-5 years. Would also prefer automatic so SWMBO can use it.

Was thinking German, and 2-3 year old Golf 1.6 TDI but any other thoughts/advice would be welcome.

Looking to spend no more than £8k - can't be a summer toy.

I know some people on this forum keep similar second cars so would be good to hear from them on their recommendations.

Thanks and sorry for the non-FFRR related post. MY11 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 - "African Queen"

Shalz, if you are looking for a smart, safe, well built, modern, fuss free, reliable car that is practical, fun to drive, perfect for town/ city driving/ parking and that is more than comfortable on the motorway, then for the age of car and budget you refer to, you will not do much better than a MK7 onward/ latest shape Ford Fiesta 1.4TDCi zetec.

£20/ year road tax, 50 plus mpg, cheap to insure, cheap and simple to run and maintain and should sell on in a heartbeat when the time comes to move it on.

My tuppence worth

As above, I would personally go for the 1.0 Ecotec petrol though.....It has a great 3 cylinder thrum to it, no EGRs, DPFs and £0 road tax.....They are really quick for what they are. 2006 4.2 SC
2019 Renault Zoe Dynamique Nav

If you are doing more than 15 miles a day to work devels juice ( diesel) would be a way to go but need to keep car a while. Both above get a from the mrs, she works at a ford dealer .

The Mrs drives 50 miles a day commute and has a ford focus 1.6 diesel, it may be the old shape but imo the better engine and she gets 56 mpg on A roads.
A work colleague in his Ford ST Fester gets 42 mpg driven gently! If it dont work.......burn it!

If the IId tool cant fix it.......burn the FF.

If the FF cant be fixed......buy a Land Cruiser!

If the LC cant be fixed..............................................BUY a horse !!

Well, I run a Skoda Superb (Oxymoron edition) which is basically a long wheelbase VW Passat. 1.9 diesel, leather, air-con, comfy, needs a 150 quid service on 15k miles, 50 mpg and I gave 2 grand for it. (2006, 55 plate)

Anything VW with the 1.9 or later 2.0 diesels will serve you well.

We've got a 1.7 diesel '10 plate Astra as 2nd car that has only needed tyres and pads since we bought it. Gets 50+mpg and is actually quite nippy since I chipped it.

drives just about as well as a focus, but much cheaper to pick up 2nd hand.. '08 Audi S6 Avant 5.2 V10 with Milltek non-resonated. Vrrrrrrmmmmmph
'59 Ford Kuga Diesel (boring but AWD and 40mpg...)
2007 (07) Subaru Forester XTen 2.5 Turbo. (Roundabouts are fun again!)
2007 (07) 4.4 V8 Vogue (gone)

If your brother is a new driver check insurance quotes first.

My mrs has a 1.6 TDi MK6 Golf. Its a good car and very cheap to run including £30 RFL.

However for a new male driver i would look at an older car with a smaller petrol engine.


One thing that could fit this well is a last generation C1. Citroen are doing some cracking deals on these at the moment as the new model is just coming out so you can get a new stocked one for little money. They are very economical, safe and above all cheap on insurance.

just my 2p but for a new driver the C1 would be good or look at an old pug 106 Diesel or Saxo Diesel. Cheap RFL for the age and engine size, insurance isnt too bad either. FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Thank you all for the advice. Will look into the various models suggested, had not thought about the c1or fords before but will do now.

I appreciate the insurance point for a new male driver but think I would like something with a bit of power and very easy motorway journey (although expensive in insurance) as he will keep it until he can buy a better car. We tend to run cars for long rather than change frequently. Which is why I thought of the golf first. Ford focus seems pretty nice too.

Other than expense is there anything wrong with Audi a3 or BMW 1? MY11 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 - "African Queen"

The A3 isnt too bad a car, a lot are on company car fleets from what ive seen.

On the insurance front you live in a london and a Newly Qualified driver on your insurance for any vehicle is going to be interesting as i cant imagine you'll get much change from £2-3k... FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

I went through the same process and bought a VX220 in the end.

Drive it year round, it does 40mpg, it's worth pretty much what I paid for it and most importantly it's brilliant fun.

Man logic can work!

A VXR on the roads of london... That should be comfy, never mind spine re-adjusting. FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Only a citreon driver would write that.

VX220s are not spine adjusting, they adjust the whole body

A good friend of mine has one and it is BIG BIG FUN. I would love to have one as a toy but first need to finish my trike that will be way faster that it and also seats two

Which brings me to the second car idea : Caterham or Ariel Atom bit cold/wet/windy but cheap and LOADS of FUN. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

Hard sus is big fun dont get me wrong David, one of my citroens is quite stiff even with the green blood but thats the way it is but i wouldnt use it as a daily in the UK or London at all as the roads are just to .

And for a new driver.. Insurance will be mucho cheap!!!  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

ebajema wrote:

Which brings me to the second car idea : Caterham or Ariel Atom bit cold/wet/windy but cheap and LOADS of FUN.