pld118 wrote:

Ford Fiesta. Simply brilliant car

^^^^ This.

Admittedly, I have a tremendous fondness for the Ford badge. I drove a brand-new Fiesta last year and really liked it. Well built, good looks, great handling, ride and a decent amount of go for what it was. Nothing to dislike at all and much to commend.

No experience of any other new small car, though, but I would add that if the Jazz floats your good lady's boat, then go for it and look no further.

The thing is, these days, 'little' or 'small' isn't what it used to be. Is a Mercedes B Class (meeting all your criteria other than, possibly, budget) a small car these days? I really can't decide. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

Some good calls here chaps. Had a host of Fiesta's over the years and test drove a 13 plate Titanium. Sadly wasn't impressed with a host of details that our older Jazz (56 plate) does much better. I am a Ford fan and can get a huge discount on new so it was a moment of disappointment.

Finding a nice A2 is hard and I have tried lots. Either to old or lots of miles. B class merc is a touch big but a very nice car all round. A class merc too big also.

Heading to the Dub garage this evening for a peep at a polo, but the Jazz is still holding top spot and with the mkIII now out we can get a 1.3 IMA Hybrid on a 12 plate for around £8-9k  Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Jazz it up, or look at the Dacia/Kia range. Warranties are good and Dacia have some great bang per buck cars. Might not be the most economical out there but still good.

If it doesnt have to be new and is just for lots of local trips why not get a leaf? FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Chap in work just said the Leaf.....really interested in that tbh.  Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Just seen two under £10k and with battery pack owned which will help.

Imo the best way to run one is put the money aside you save in fuel for a battery pack in the future and you should easily cover the cost of one of you reckon on about 7-10 years of life in medium to heavy use.

Best thing is to also keep them topped up like a phone battery and not run them down to often. FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Will be taking a closer look at the Leaf. Had a quick look at a forum and members suggest 60-120mile range but mostly 70m miles between charge on average. To be fair it's a good car by the looks of it so worth a look.....still like the Hybrid Jazz  Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Problem is their electric only range isnt that far and not at very high speeds. My experience of the insight and Prius is when you want a bit more go off the lights and such the electric motor kicks back in.

They are about £13-4k mind but your still paying for petrol on top of that. If your lucky enough to live near a good high speed charger or free one where you travel the Leaf can pay in saved fuel quite quickly and if you know a sparky the higher speed chargers are too hard to install and allow much faster charger. Not tesla speeds of charging but still quick enough for most.

Also dont forget in some places you can park up for free and charge for free as well still  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

The Leaf is on the list. There are more for than against points. Just looking at charge points there seems to be a lot UK wide but not so many near us, however parking in the larger cities near me inc Liverpool and Manchester have free park and charge points so there is a benefit  Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

You'll probably find this if you look into it a bit more but to save you time

2013> have the 6.6kw charger unit built in which helps speed up charging when using the Type 2 charger unit at home or away from home.

There are upgrade chargers available that are DIY fit but mean if you want it to charger more quickly it is easy to cut the charge time down to 1/4-1/2 the time.

Flex is the contract hire bit with Nissan for the battery. its utpo you if you think its worth it as when it falls below a certain charge hold. Also includes roadside recovery/repair and ranges from around £115 -65 IIRC per month so less than fuel costs id imagine. FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Nick, i have a mate with a Leaf & there is a member on here with one if you need some real time feedback?

That'd be good please Craig. Really interested in the hybrid/electric cars presently. Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Colleague at work has a Leaf, he's very pleased with it for town / local runabout / commute / school run type work. Range anxiety is an issue, real world range is <90 miles. He has solar panels so it costs him nothing to run. It's not a small car though, if you rejected the Golf on size then the Leaf is out too I'd think. Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

I know of someone with a Renault Zoe, so a bit more your preferred size and available with 5 doors.

He bought it new about 6 months ago and loves it. It's his daily work vehicle used for a 25 mile round trip.

I think the new price will be out of your budget, but I gather you get some good Government financial incentives when buying one. However, they're within your budget secondhand.

https://www.renault.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/zoe.html Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

Leaf is bigger than we thought and chat with wifey at lunchtime revealed "range anxiety" too

VW Polo test drive this evening followed by new Jazz test tomorrow....we'll see

Great feedback though everyone, thanks  Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Wife has a suzuki swift sport, great little car. The non sport oil burner isn't too bad either. 2010 - Range Rover VSE 3.6 TDV8
2014 - Defender 90 XS
2014 - Suzuki Swift Sport
2017 - GBS Zero
2006 - BMW Z4M Coupe (gone)
2004 - Discovery Landmark TD5 Auto (gone)
2008 - Defender 90 SX (gone)
2011 - Touareg Altitude (gone)