First car recommendations

[UtK]

I apologise in advance becuase this question has without a doubt been asked before but i have my driving test coming up real soon and hopefully after passing i will get my own car. So what cars would you recommend? Personaly i dont really want anything below a 1.4l and have been considering these cars:

Citroen Saxo 1.6l VTR
Honda Civic 1.4 - 1.6
Vauxhall Astra 1.4 - 1.6
VW Golf 1.4 - 1.6
Ford focus 1.4

If insurance allows then i will go for the 1.6l

[one in a million]

i would not reccomend to get a saxo, simply because the vtr are groups 8 insurance and the vts's are group 14, which means your insurance will be high, astras are ok if you look for an 'AC astra' for some reason on autotrader if advert says astra AC, it cheaper on insurance, dont ask me why because i dont know lol. ford focus's are ok, and the honda civics are again quite expensive, i think they look at all these cars, find out which causes the most accidents when young drivers own them then price each one like that. if i was you, for a reasonably priced insurance look for perhaps, corsas, fiestas or clios. Or anything between a group 1-5, as your be payin around a £1000 to start off with. hope this helped and good luck.

[one in a million]

just noticed you said you want a 1.6l, astras are probably the best at insurance but again look for the advert which says AC it will be a lower insurance grouping.

[bigbadjoe]

Good luck on your test mate. It all depends on what car you can find at a good price. So I cant tell you what to buy, but I can tell you what small cars not to buy. Stay away from Rover's, especially the 1.6 and 1.4. I know countless people whose cylinder heads have gone after the 60-80k miles mark. Same applies for the older 1.4 pug engines. I wouldn't buy any of these ''bargin'' cars either. Things like Hyundai's, kia's, Skoda's ect. They all come with a large warranty when new but if your buying them second hand watch out. If you want reliability go either German or Japanese.

[turbonutter69]

Out of that list it has to be a Focus. Go for a 1.6 Zetec and your laughing.

[UtK]

Originally Posted by one in a million

i would not reccomend to get a saxo, simply because the vtr are groups 8 insurance and the vts's are group 14, which means your insurance will be high, astras are ok if you look for an 'AC astra' for some reason on autotrader if advert says astra AC, it cheaper on insurance, dont ask me why because i dont know lol. ford focus's are ok, and the honda civics are again quite expensive, i think they look at all these cars, find out which causes the most accidents when young drivers own them then price each one like that. if i was you, for a reasonably priced insurance look for perhaps, corsas, fiestas or clios.

Saxo VTR is a group 7 which even then is higher than the other cars im considering but it comes down to insurance, if the saxo is only a couple hundred quid more than the other cars insurance then i would go for it (i was qouted approx £1400 for a saxo through autotrader and while these figures arent accurate it shows that there is potential for cheaper insurance). I dont like corsas, clios or fiestas and i find that 1.4l corsas and clios are to expensive to buy initially (over £2000, my budget is approx £1500) so why not go for a faster but cheaper car and use the difference in price to pay the insurance increase. Im learning in a 1.6l focus and drive my dads 2.5 V6 omega so anything below a 1.4 is a downgrade which most corsas and clios are, but thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by turbonutter69

Out of that list it has to be a Focus. Go for a 1.6 Zetec and your laughing.

I think the insurance will be a bit higher for a zetec model but again like the saxo if the insurance is only a litlle bit more then yes i will consider it

PS: Checked the insurance for a 1.6 zetec focus through autotrader, a company called 4young drivers qouted me over £5000 fully comp

[MasterAuron]

If I had to do it all again I'd go for a 106 Quicksilver. Nice looking car and plenty nippy for a first car. Stripped out with some handling modifications it'd make an awesome little go kart, then as thing progress you can start adding nicking bits from the 106 GTi.

You're off the mark with engine size. The 1.6l Focus is pretty underpowered, especially the newer models, and a 2.5 V6 may sound a nice prospect but in a heavy lump like the Omega, it doesn't make for a quick car compared to some of the hot even warm hatches.

[turbonutter69]

Originally Posted by MasterAuron

If I had to do it all again I'd go for a 106 Quicksilver. Nice looking car and plenty nippy for a first car. Stripped out with some handling modifications it'd make an awesome little go kart, then as thing progress you can start adding nicking bits from the 106 GTi.

You're off the mark with engine size. The 1.6l Focus is pretty underpowered, especially the newer models, and a 2.5 V6 may sound a nice prospect but in a heavy lump like the Omega, it doesn't make for a quick car compared to some of the hot even warm hatches.

For handling and capability as well as practicality you will search far and wide to beat the Focus Zetec. Have you driven the new model?

[MasterAuron]

Originally Posted by turbonutter69

For handling and capability as well as practicality you will search far and wide to beat the Focus Zetec. Have you driven the new model?

I haven't driven the new model, but I don't need to to know that ~80bhp per tonne is underpowered. I have no doubt the handling and practicality are excellent, as this is what the reviews say.

Just to prove a point to the OP 1.4 8v 106 Quicksilver has 93bhp/tonne, will be cheaper buy, cheaper to insure, cheaper on fuel, cheaper to tax and cheaper to run in general. Sometimes a bigger engine isn't always best.

[one in a million]

up to you mate, but again, looking for a decent saxo, which aint been ragged about is hard to find, but looking for a genuine one, with about 60,000 miles on the clock your going to look at more than 2000 grand alone, anyway up to you saxo's are fast and would be fun to drive, but its all money at the end of the day, start off #!#!#!#!, and work your way up, and at least if you get a banger to start with at least you can learn in that rather than buggering up your new car. but every ones different good luck

[bigbadjoe]

Originally Posted by UtK

I dont like corsas, clios or fiestas and i find that 1.4l corsas and clios are to expensive to buy initially (over £2000, my budget is approx £1500) so why not go for a faster but cheaper car and use the difference in price to pay the insurance increase.

I like your style! That is exactly what I did. I got a 1.8 TD escort and spent my money on insurance. After my mate put a 'spare' turbo on it to upgrade it it was funny watching all my mates in my rear view mirror trying to keep up with me in there clio's and corsa's!! Go for it mate, get a bigger but cheeper engined car and spend your money on insurance. I have had 4 cars and the smallest engin size has been 1.8 (escort and prelude)

[xavier]

A 1.4 Civic is probably as quick as most of the other 1.6 models you list.

[UtK]

Originally Posted by MasterAuron

If I had to do it all again I'd go for a 106 Quicksilver. Nice looking car and plenty nippy for a first car. Stripped out with some handling modifications it'd make an awesome little go kart, then as thing progress you can start adding nicking bits from the 106 GTi.

You're off the mark with engine size. The 1.6l Focus is pretty underpowered, especially the newer models, and a 2.5 V6 may sound a nice prospect but in a heavy lump like the Omega, it doesn't make for a quick car compared to some of the hot even warm hatches.

Did some quick searching on the 106 1.4l quicksilver, pretty rare car, expensive, 75bhp is what the figures are saying unless im looking at the wrong car so its probably not the best option for me. Yes an omega is a heavy car but i reckon its still faster than your average car hence why small engine cars feel like a downgrade and dont forget im not gonna be racing hot or warm hatches...yet

Originally Posted by one in a million

up to you mate, but again, looking for a decent saxo, which aint been ragged about is hard to find, but looking for a genuine one, with about 60,000 miles on the clock your going to look at more than 2000 grand alone, anyway up to you saxo's are fast and would be fun to drive, but its all money at the end of the day, start off #!#!#!#!, and work your way up, and at least if you get a banger to start with at least you can learn in that rather than buggering up your new car. but every ones different good luck

TBH i dont mind if i find a saxo within my budget that has a lot of mileage or has been a little ragged because that way the car in some respects will be a banger but still fun to drive (hopefully)

[pgarner]

Originally Posted by xavier

A 1.4 Civic is probably as quick as most of the other 1.6 models you list.

bar the VTS yes. but they are dearer to insure and thirsty. also dont think the 1.4s were vtec so waste of time really. i did have one and could keep up with alot of 1.6 as they were pretty powerful (90bhp) for a 1.4 at the time.
of course now its slightly different.

[WLBjork]

Originally Posted by bigbadjoe

Things like Hyundai's, kia's, Skoda's ect. They all come with a large warranty when new but if your buying them second hand watch out. If you want reliability go either German or Japanese.

Bit of a contradiction there. Skoda may be a Czech company, but it has been owned by VAG since 1991, and since about 1997 it has increased it's supply of aprts from VAG to about 90%.

But even before that I would (and did) buy Skoda.

They are a solid company, building good quality cars at affordable prices.

There has been a time or two when they have topped J.D. Power's customer satisfaction ratings (and are always in the top brands), they have numerous awards from recognised magazines for the quality of their cars - What Car for example.

Cars that usually score badly in the reliability surveys are the French ones. Even the Korean Hyundai and Kia do significantly better.

[waynne]

Check out the Rover 214 Si, it's quick and fairly cheap to insure! (The 214 is also a Honda unit IIRC!)

[pgarner]

1.4 is a rover unit. but getting a 200 is slightly harder try looking for a 25 which is the same just with a different front end

[turbonutter69]

Originally Posted by waynne

Check out the Rover 214 Si, it's quick and fairly cheap to insure! (The 214 is also a Honda unit IIRC!)

As Pg said the 1.4 is infact a Rover Unit. IF you want Rover/Honda then 1.6 and up.

[UtK]

Originally Posted by turbonutter69

As Pg said the 1.4 is infact a Rover Unit. IF you want Rover/Honda then 1.6 and up.

I passed my driving test yesterday yeah first time with only a few minors so i was quite chuffed with myself till i found out it would cost over £500 to get me insured as a second driver on the omega and thats only till renewal date at which point it will double

I prefer Honda's to Rover's but since Rover's are cheaper to buy i will check them out and see what i come up with

[turbonutter69]

Well the Rover 200 with the right engine will be a Honda unit.
Congrats on the test buddy well done mate.

[pgarner]

Congratulations

Rovers arnt also cheaper to buy there cheaper to run and insure

yeah downside of being young and tring to get insured on a 2.5 would have been alot worse for you to try and do it as the main driver

[UtK]

Originally Posted by pgarner

Congratulations

Rovers arnt also cheaper to buy there cheaper to run and insure

yeah downside of being young and tring to get insured on a 2.5 would have been alot worse for you to try and do it as the main driver

Yeah btw i was just checking some quotes for a 1.6 saxo vtr and Quinn Direct quoted me at just over £1000

Oh wait did i mention that i filled my details out as IF i was a female? As a male driver insurance for me is over £1500 , what an absolute rip off...

[turbonutter69]

Insurance is a rip off for everyone.
Try moneysupermarket.

[UtK]

Originally Posted by turbonutter69

Insurance is a rip off for everyone.
Try moneysupermarket.

For males especially, so much for equal rights and pay and all that...

anyways checked moneysupermarket for the same saxo vtr, cheapest quote was £6489 which is just a LITTLE bit out of my budget

[turbonutter69]

Strange moneysupermarket worked out good for me.
I've just had a gander and did a quick quote on an Escort Cosworth and it came back at around £1000 an thats actually not too bad considering.