IT Engineer - Car selection for the future?

[XDroidie626]

Okay so I am a travelling IT Engineer, I have to be called on site a lot for repairs, and I currently drive a 14 Year old Vauxhall (Opel) Corsa Mk2 1.2 16v, and while I love this car (It is my first car after all) I expect in a few years it will be ready to be swapped or EoL and while I am in a very good position for maintenance (Girlfriends dads a mechanic and I get parts via trade) plus Corsas are all over breakers yards, this thing wont last forever.

So I do on average 15k p/y in miles, we are talking UK also here so its a lot of gear shifting on most roads (Some people don't seem to know how to drive at the limit of the road in UK!) I was looking at another petrol engine, but specifically a 6 speed, I have seen Vauxhall with their new 1.4i Turbo 6 Speed (I expect a short shift box due to compression?) reason I look at this over Vauxhalls 1.0i Turbo is the chamber size, with driving at 70mph a lot I feel a 4 cylinder 1.4 chamber would be more comfortable at 70 compared to a 1.0 or 1.2 , plus I don't like Corsa diesel (Too loud).

 

Another car I would consider is the old classic, Mini Mk7, but I hear there consumption is rather low considering their weight and engine size (1.3 model) avg at 38mpg (I get about 45 from my Corsa) but I hear they grip the road and don't let go which is something I cant say for my Corsa even with the heavy engine.

 

What car would you recommend for me? I understand the Mini is a 5 speed but its a car I have always loved, and I plan to have at one point for either regular use or rebuild, the Corsa is a very nice car also, I personally avoid Ford due to bad experience when I learned to drive, they seemed to take a lot of power to actually pull off the line.

I would move to Audi A1 1.4TSI but I cant quite afford it even on eBay, plus repair costs on audi is stupid even through trade and private mechanics.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks!

 

[19_blackie_73]

As a corsa driver, i'd go again with corsa. It has far more place than a mini and most times costs less

[ShiftHitTheFan]

Mazda Miata

[Gofspar]

240SX

[Stadin6]

Test drive a Tesla, they are amazing  

[TechStyle]

VW Golf. Even with the whole emissions scandal regarding their TDI line up, pretty much all of the latest Golfs are fantastic.

[XDroidie626]

As much as I love the answers some are rather stupid although I did fail to mention I am only 23 lol

Seriously a Tesla though, as awesome as that would be it would either A get nicked or B Damaged by some idiot motorist.

VW Golf while I like the look of them they are expensive, plus the emission scandal is nothing to worry about, they have to fix the ECU anyways to say they made the car illegal not you, so by law I believe they have a duty to put it right.

I also doubt I would get insured on a 240SX and its older than my corsa haha

Mazda maybe but not a Miata, I do like their MX7 though.

19_Blackie what corsa do you have currently? I believe Vauxhall only released the 1.4i Turbo 6 speed this year, the standard 1.4 they offer is aspirated and only 5 speed although the gears should be further apart I believe compared to the 6 speed.

[Tilaron]

As you're 23 definitely stick to hatchbacks to keep your insurance as low as possible, have a look at Seat Leons & Ibizas (which are VW underneath), maybe even a BMW 3 series.

 

What is your budget?

[terrytek]

2016 mazda 3 hatchback. such a fun car.

[XDroidie626]

Budget can go upto 4k (2nd hand) I don't want a brand new car.

I was looking at Seat although they seem a bit sluggish (We had one on holiday, maybe due to the hot weather), I don't like BMW also lol.

[terrytek]

Budget can go upto 4k (2nd hand) I don't want a brand new car.

I was looking at Seat although they seem a bit sluggish (We had one on holiday, maybe due to the hot weather), I don't like BMW also lol.

then get an older model mazda 3. they're still fun to drive, albeit with less luxuries.

[XDroidie626]

then get an older model mazda 3. they're still fun to drive, albeit with less luxuries.

How are there engines these days? I hear bad things about there engines normally

[Miguel Batista]

Honda civic. Seat is a good choice as well but a honda civic will last you a loooong time.

[19_blackie_73]

As much as I love the answers some are rather stupid although I did fail to mention I am only 23 lol

Seriously a Tesla though, as awesome as that would be it would either A get nicked or B Damaged by some idiot motorist.

VW Golf while I like the look of them they are expensive, plus the emission scandal is nothing to worry about, they have to fix the ECU anyways to say they made the car illegal not you, so by law I believe they have a duty to put it right.

I also doubt I would get insured on a 240SX and its older than my corsa haha

Mazda maybe but not a Miata, I do like their MX7 though.

19_Blackie what corsa do you have currently? I believe Vauxhall only released the 1.4i Turbo 6 speed this year, the standard 1.4 they offer is aspirated and only 5 speed although the gears should be further apart I believe compared to the 6 speed.

I'm driving the opel counterpart as a 2012 model, 1.2 l 86 ps, is my first car  and my first year driving:) but it's quite economical (5.0-5.5 l on a daily basis, no diesel). Because I'm on the Opel side of Europe, I cannot tell you which models vauxhaull released yet, Opel does have a fair amount of the new models/engines already. I have to agree with you that this thing needs a sixth gear:D

[erty176]

mazda 3 is a good car, if you are looking for old but reliable a mark 1 golf is a good bet. Stupidly simple to work on as well. Can confirm the honda civic. Or a 199x toyota Camry. Can never go wrong with a subaru wagon either, although they take a bit more to work on. It totally depends on what size of vehicle you are looking for.

[XDroidie626]

Well today I got to go in a Mini (John Cooper Works Edition), someone I work with has one and its very well built put it that way, also the 211hp underneath in such a small light car is a going to be a nasty fight for any higher end audi/bmw/merc but its expensive and way out of my talking point but it brought me to Mini in general, specifically the 1.2 Hatch One, compared to the Audi A1 1.6TDI (I havent decided on S Tronic vs Manual 5).

I have looked at Mazda but I do hear a lot of bad things about their engines, the guy who owns the Mini had a mazda and hated it, someone else in the office had one and hated it, my girlfriends dad although he has never owned one has fixed countless Mazdas in his time, saying their reliability was a bit off, and their resale is shocking, of course he is an Audi man and it seems any Audi enthusiast you talk to will recommend only Audi, although I can see their points when you look at a review on Parkers about the A1.

Golfs in the UK are stupid to insure because of the "Boy races" while a superb car and I hear nothing but good things from Top Gear, people I work with and garages they are expensive because they are used for racing over here, specifically the GTi models, which makes insurance companies think "Boy racer", so I think Golfs will be out of my range for a while.

Subaru while very powerful are not great for fuel, sure I would have fun in them on some roads (Specifically the country roads to a place called Barnoldswick) I couldn't get insured on one for starters and again they are viewed as racing vehicles, which they are but anyways

 

I am looking to stick to hatchbacks at the moment, its a very heated race between the A1, Mini Hatch One and the Corsa 1.4i Turbo 6 Speed, with A1 leading the race but I am still undecided on what gearbox to go for, while I love a full manual there is no 6 speed on diesel models, but the problem with the S Tronic box is the weight but it is useful in slow moving traffic and at higher speed thanks to the 7 speed.