Recommendations for a small runabout car

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nofam

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#251484 27-Jun-2019 14:58

Hey all,

I'm in the market for a small second car for a city/suburban runabout - I live in a small-ish town so it won't be doing many KM's. My only real requirement is that it's economical, and 4-door, so our 4yo can get in and out of the carseat easily. Ideally it'd have ISOfix, but that may not be possible given the budget (~$10k).

To give you an idea of what I'd envisioned, a Starlet/Yaris/Vitz would be ideal - I'd probably prefer a manual for such a small car, as I'm not a fan of CVT transmissions, although they may have improved since I last drove one. So probably an engine of around 1300cc.

Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome, ideally based on cars you currently own.

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#2265767 27-Jun-2019 15:04

12kms - https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-1961061405.htm?rsqid=41993c569da04074b045cde49f22db79-005

17kms - https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-2166289995.htm?rsqid=41993c569da04074b045cde49f22db79-005

20kms - https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-2195009687.htm?rsqid=41993c569da04074b045cde49f22db79-005

22kms - https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-2150966970.htm?rsqid=41993c569da04074b045cde49f22db79-005

28kms - https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-2042329871.htm?rsqid=41993c569da04074b045cde49f22db79-005

michaelmurfy

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#2265768 27-Jun-2019 15:05

I have a Suzuki Swift GLX 2013 - economical, 4 door, automatic and great on long journeys. One of the biggest pros of the Swifts is they're cheap to maintain and repair. In the few years I've had my car I have not had any issues. I believe it cost me around $10k back when I bought it.

Mine is 1400cc and has plenty of power for overtaking.

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jonathan18

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#2265775 27-Jun-2019 15:14

Honda Jazz/Fit.

The NZ new model before the current one had a standard auto rather then CVT.

My wife had the 1.5, though it also came with a 1.3. She loved the car. It's also a fantastic option if you have kids (including isofix!). They are somewhat of a Tardis, being very roomy inside, particularly the boot (and I did the rounds of trying to fit a mountain buggy in all the various options when we were choosing). Magic seats as well. Nicely economical as well.

Obraik

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#2265776 27-Jun-2019 15:15

What about a Nissan Leaf? https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/CategoryAttributeSearchResults.aspx?search=1&cid=268&sidebar=1&rsqid=09a2a4ebbb6047cc955b5ea942bc476a-001&sidebarSearch_keypresses=0&sidebarSearch_suggested=0&14=Nissan&15=Leaf&21=&1=&minPrice=&maxPrice=11000&13=0&13=0&24=0&24=0&309=0&309=0&54=&searchRegion=100

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old3eyes

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#2265779 27-Jun-2019 15:22

If it's only a round town runabout I'd go for the Leaf.

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jonathan18

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#2265797 27-Jun-2019 15:56

Yeah, I was going to also recommend a Leaf as an alternative to the Jazz - we replaced my wife's Jazz with a Leaf and it was the best decision; the only bad thing was we should have done it way earlier!

At your price point it is likely a Leaf will have done a decent number of ks, have a decently degraded battery and/or be of the original v1 type - but you should still be able to find a decent car, and nothing else will come close to offering running costs as low. (Noting we charge every day using our hour of free power through EK, and only need to charge an additional couple of hours to fully charge it once a week - and that's with my wife using it a decent amount every day.)

Here's an example that seems to have a decent battery (11/12 bars), be of the v2 type, is a mid-range model (so comes with heatpump heater), has done only 36k km: https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/nissan/auction-2200712383.htm?rsqid=287bebefb7364fdea782f5b9b0c3666f-003

Mind you, it seems to come with the original Japanese charger only (and modifying this for NZ use is dodgy if not illegal, I understand) so they'll charge more for a proper charger, plus they haven't done the English dash conversion. (Also highlights that getting best 'value for money' may often mean dealing with a 'less-known' (shall we say!) dealership...

Edit - one thing to be mindful of, given you'll be carrying kids, is how much you care about safety features - specifically Japanese imports typically have only two airbags, so it's difficult to find Leafs (or Fits) with a full suite of them. This (and the auto box) were the reasons we went with an NZ-new Jazz, and also why we were comfortable to pay more for our Leaf (as it has six or seven airbags) - and this was something my wife wasn't willing to compromise on.

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nofam

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#2265803 27-Jun-2019 16:25

Thanks all, really hadn't seriously thought about electric tbh, but it does make sense, especially as we already run day/night rate power for our underfloor heating, so I could charge it overnight for around 11c/kw. What's the replacement cost for batteries? And are there any other EV's besides the Leaf that are worthy of consideration?

grimwulf

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#2265810 27-Jun-2019 16:39

Please please be sure to check safety ratings before you buy an older small car.

https://rightcar.govt.nz/ucsr.html?group=Small

Some of the ones mentioned above have woeful safety protection and given you mentioned you'll be carrying your 4 year old around in it...

Sure, price, performance, size, fuel consumption are all important - but if you have to pay a bit extra for a 4 star vs a 2 star - I'd say that's well worth the money.

Obraik

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#2265815 27-Jun-2019 16:45

At that price point the Leaf is really your only EV option. If you’re just doing short distances in it every day then a new battery probably won’t even be something you need to worry about. Just look for one that has a high SoH

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ObidiahSlope

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#2265826 27-Jun-2019 17:31

My pick for a town car would be one of the Nissan Cube style vehicles. A similar model is available from Toyota as a used import.

They have large doors and good seat height making it easy to get in and out of the vehicle, a big plus for those with mobility issues. The turning circle is good which combined with its small size makes it great for squeezing into parking spaces other drivers would not be brave enough to use. The rear doors are great for loading and unloading stuff.

A lot of people are put off by the appearance of this style of vehicle but people I come across who use them like them a lot. Because they are slightly odd ball they are cheap to buy second hand.

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wsnz

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#2265832 27-Jun-2019 17:54

jonathan18: Honda Jazz/Fit.

The NZ new model before the current one had a standard auto rather then CVT.

My wife had the 1.5, though it also came with a 1.3. She loved the car. It's also a fantastic option if you have kids (including isofix!). They are somewhat of a Tardis, being very roomy inside, particularly the boot (and I did the rounds of trying to fit a mountain buggy in all the various options when we were choosing). Magic seats as well. Nicely economical as well.

+1 for the Jazz/Fit. Using the 'magic seats' we can fit the same amount of boxes in the car as with the Toyota Corolla we had.

The 2014 (and above) Fit Hybrid 1.5L has a 7 Speed auto I-DSD transmission and we routinely get 3L /100km around town.

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Batman

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#2265909 27-Jun-2019 19:01

nofam: My only real requirement is that it's economical, and 4-door, so our 4yo can get in and out of the carseat easily. Ideally it'd have ISOfix, but that may not be possible given the budget (~$10k).

Dude, Honda Jazz is the only car that suits your needs.

tehgerbil

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#2265913 27-Jun-2019 19:19

Going to say we're very happy with our Toyota Allex, 1.5l, Isofix and zippy run-about.

For 10k you'd be looking at reversing camera and very low k's. Also look at the RunX series, model up from the Allex's.

Very economical, and very comfortable inside and comfortable ride.

jonathan18

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#2265914 27-Jun-2019 19:20

Batman:

nofam: My only real requirement is that it's economical, and 4-door, so our 4yo can get in and out of the carseat easily. Ideally it'd have ISOfix, but that may not be possible given the budget (~$10k).

Dude, Honda Jazz is the only car that suits your needs.

No, the Honda Jazz is one car that suits his needs! I agree it seems to tick all the boxes, but there will no doubt be other options.

Yarris sedans are another possibility - they're significantly larger than the hatch version.

But, yeah, I'd be very tempted if I was in your position to look at a Leaf. At this point battery replacement isn't really an option, but as long as you get one with a decent number of bars remaining you'll get 100km plus off a charge.

PhantomNVD

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#2266231 28-Jun-2019 12:51

+1 for a Leaf.

My wife does (did) an 84km return commute and we saved about $350/month in fuel just by switching to a Leaf. Now we have 3 months to go before the Leaf will have paid for itself outright, on fuel savings alone!

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