Yaris v Micra v Tida v Polo

[jee]

@jee~ are you going to buy new or pre-owned?

keigo, i'm looking at sub cars - you can't buy pre-owned. The list is fair limited - what i want within a reasonable price is not on the list, and what i want on the list is too much to pay for a car Somehow paying more than R120 000 for a car that will be traveling on all kinds of roads ( and transport dogs) is not what i'm for atm. (plus i have to buy my child a car this year too once she gets her license - but that will be second hand... something for a student )

my prob is that i'm tall, and i HAVE to have a decent space.

[Samaya]

I have a Polo 1600 Comfort line (2nd hand), I am tall (1,92m), It is a large car. But new is over R150000. BUT Getting a 1400 Trendline shouldn't be more than R120000. Still a large car but a smaller engin so might be a bit frustrating going up hills and so on. The Chevy Aveo is not bad BUT its resale might make the car not worthwhile. I was considering this too.

If you travel a lot and get a car allowance, you have to buy a new car that is VERY reliable but also cheap to service (Toyota and VW are your choices). Its usually a bad idea to get a second hand car when you will be travelling a lot.

If you travel short distances (Less than 10000km a year) then you can get almost anything. Dealers work mostly according to a cars mileage for trade in. So the higher the mileage, the lower the trade in value. The new Ford Fiesta is coming out in the second half of this year and it is looking really good.

Worst trade-in value 3rd: Peugeot, 2nd: Renault and the worst is: Volvo
Have a look at this SITE. It is not perfectly accurate but gives you an idea of what to expect on certain cars trade ins

[GreyWolf]

hyundai(?) accent?

resale maybe not so hot, but it's a 1600 with all the features you'd want, and more...

puppy...I think I finally found a topic you know nothing about!

[ecthelion]

if polo is a option then rather go for a seat ... a friend of mine is also looking into buying a car and did his research ... he came to the conclusion that the seat and polo falls in the same price range but the seat you get more extras plus the seat looks nicer too

[Screeper]

Jee, my girlfriend and I have just been through the whole researching a new small car phase. She eventually decided on a Mazda 2 but since that is not in your list here's what I think of the options..

Yaris - probably your best bet, but you said you wanted a 1600cc? There is no 1600cc Yaris. Biggest they've got is the T3 which is 1300cc.
However the car is very nice, lots of safety features and feels really well built. They are incredibly economical and have very low CO2 emissions. The rear leg room for me was a bit of a problem but front 2 seats were very comfortable. It is a very competitive package.

Micra - also was a fairly well appointed car, although it didn't feel quite a nice as the Yaris and my girlfriend didn't like the clutch (i didn't find anything wrong with it tho). However, once again no 1600cc engine available (1400cc petrol and 1500cc diesel are the only options).

Polo - it is slightly over-priced for the features that it comes with. However you do get the VW badge, and no matter what the VW haters say it will help you with resale. We currently own a Tdi Polo and we decided not to go with Polo again. The main reason is that it is easily the most hijacked small car (according to Netstars stats). We were also not overly impressed with the build quality of our Polo, nothing serious but just small glitches that were annoying.

Tiida - The Tiida is an odd one. It doesn't really fit in the compact car class like the other three, but then again it is not really in the Golf, Civic, Auris class either. Price-wise you will be looking at the bottom range Tiida against the middle-to-top of range of the other 3. I can't tell you much about the Tiida i'm afraid as it wasn't on our test-drive.

With regards to bad servicing experiences I don’t think you can blame the manufacturer entirely. Seems some dealers are better than others. So you can’t really judge what car to buy on someone else having a bad service experience unless you intend to use the same dealership.

It is quite an odd collection of cars you have to choose from. From the choices you gave the Yaris wins hands down if you accept the 1300cc engine.
How tied down to the those cars are you? Who says it has to be those four models?
There are so many other options to consider in your price range.

[viceroy]

if polo is a option then rather go for a seat ... a friend of mine is also looking into buying a car and did his research ... he came to the conclusion that the seat and polo falls in the same price range but the seat you get more extras plus the seat looks nicer too

And the interior is much cheaper in the SEAT

plus i have to buy my child a car this year

Why do you HAVE to buy your child a car?
I don't know if it's just me or not, but a car is something you earn...you work for it...makes you respect it more when you get it.

Anyway, you answer your question...out of all of those, I'd say the Polo.

Yes, they handle like boats, and are slow (I have the 2.0 Polo and it's disgustingly slow), but they're comfortable, safe in an accident. Have plenty of room inside, resale is good, and maintenance is easy.

[Keigo]

@jee~ are you going to buy new or pre-owned?

keigo, i'm looking at sub cars - you can't buy pre-owned. The list is fair limited - what i want within a reasonable price is not on the list, and what i want on the list is too much to pay for a car Somehow paying more than R120 000 for a car that will be traveling on all kinds of roads ( and transport dogs) is not what i'm for atm. (plus i have to buy my child a car this year too once she gets her license - but that will be second hand... something for a student )

my prob is that i'm tall, and i HAVE to have a decent space.

I have drove yaris and polo b4 (both friend's car)~ I feel yaris have more space than the polo~

when I sit in a polo~ my knee keep on knocking at bottom of the storage compartment under the steering wheel~

but my suggestion is go to the dealership and have a sit inside and see how it feels, maybe have a test drive will give u a better decision of choosing~

[GreyWolf]

scrrper is right, the Tiida is an odd car. Way bigger than the rest. A friend of mine had it as a courtesy car for a week or so and its is HUGE inside. quality is ok. but I find it frekin UGLY!

what about a fiesta?

[viceroy]

when I sit in a polo~ my knee keep on knocking at bottom of the storage compartment under the steering wheel~

How tall are you?
Perhaps move the seat backwards?

I'm 6'2" and I have no issues with knees knocking on anything in the Polo, and the seat can still go further backwards

[Keigo]

when I sit in a polo~ my knee keep on knocking at bottom of the storage compartment under the steering wheel~

How tall are you?
Perhaps move the seat backwards?

I'm 6'2" and I have no issues with knees knocking on anything in the Polo, and the seat can still go further backwards

I am about 178cm~ my friend is about 155cm~

we both have the same problem when stepping on the clutch~

knee keep on knock on it often~

yeah~ I adjust the seat backward to the end and move a little toward to get a good grip on the steering wheel~

[viceroy]

when I sit in a polo~ my knee keep on knocking at bottom of the storage compartment under the steering wheel~

How tall are you?
Perhaps move the seat backwards?

I'm 6'2" and I have no issues with knees knocking on anything in the Polo, and the seat can still go further backwards

I am about 178cm~ my friend is about 155cm~

we both have the same problem when stepping on the clutch~

knee keep on knock on it often~

yeah~ I adjust the seat backward to the end and move a little toward to get a good grip on the steering wheel~

Sounds very strange because I'm 186cm

[Keigo]

when I sit in a polo~ my knee keep on knocking at bottom of the storage compartment under the steering wheel~

How tall are you?
Perhaps move the seat backwards?

I'm 6'2" and I have no issues with knees knocking on anything in the Polo, and the seat can still go further backwards

I am about 178cm~ my friend is about 155cm~

we both have the same problem when stepping on the clutch~

knee keep on knock on it often~

yeah~ I adjust the seat backward to the end and move a little toward to get a good grip on the steering wheel~

Sounds very strange because I'm 186cm

next time let me try her car again~ and see if there is something I didn't adjust properly~?

[hamin_aus]

I'm 187cm and have a 40 inch waist, and I don't have any issues fitting in my Polo or accessing any of the controls.

[jee]

Hmmm i have a HUGE list of cars that i can choose from... i hate buying things like cell phones and cars *sigh*

it must be at least a 1600
it must have leg room (and not hitting my knees - i must be able to wear high heels as well )
it must be able to go on gravel roads (yeah, i will be traveling those)
there are some mazdas on this list.... 8O and Toyota Avanza.
the car must be fairly light to handle - so no double cabs
i transport computers and dogs
my cats played on page 4 so i have no idea what cars was available on that page
if i understand correctly they will do my maintenance
did i mention i hate buying cars?
Toyota corolla sprinter - i don't like corollas
i'm very bad with my clutch - the only thing i have always got to replace on my cars it the gearbox and co
what is a Dodge Caliber 1.8 SE M5?

[Keigo]

what is a Dodge Caliber 1.8 SE M5?

Dodge Caliber~ Price starting from R180K

http://www.dodge.co.za/caliber/index.html

[AlphA]

I'm 187cm and have a 40 inch waist, and I don't have any issues fitting in my Polo or accessing any of the controls.

1.97m and a 36" waist - no problems in a Polo here either

[Keigo]

I recall something... my friends car is Polo 1.9 TDI Sportline~ is that car differ in anyway to other Polo??

[viceroy]

Nope, no difference in dimensions at all

[Keigo]

mm~ so it must be something wrong with my adjust the seat~

[Screeper]

Jee - seems your car list is slightly flexible.

Go to your nearest Honda dealer and test drive the Jazz.
And if you are always breaking gearboxes then go for the CVT version.
In terms of build quality and reliability it seems to be the best small car you can buy.
Honda are constantly winning customer satisfaction surveys in this country.
The only reason my girlfriend and I didn't go for one is that the Jazz was slightly out of our budget.

btw putting a 1600cc 'limit' on your vehicle of choice is slightly inhibiting. You may find some 1400's that will out perform some 1600's etc, particularly if you factor in fuel economy. So rather just go and test drive the cars, there is no better way to make a decision than a spin on the road.

[jee]

Screeper - Honda is not part of the list - perhaps i must just wait for the new financial year to see what else they will add to the list. What i meant with 1600 is i want that power. I had a 1400 Nissan Sentra, and she was the most fantastic little car EVER! I suppose what i'm looking for is something that will give me the same flexible and drivable car, easy to manage, easy to park, enough power (you should see my new driveway! ) light on petrol, and i can drive 1000 km in one day with no problem

I hope i don't have to tell you guys my waist size *grins* (can tell you my shoe size however )

[Samaya]

The Yaris has a power output of 71kW, that is nearly as much as a Polo 1600 (74kW?) And the yaris is only a 1300...

Your best bet if you want a car that is super reliable, easy to drive, will look good on you and has enough power (81kW): Honda Jazz 1.5 CVT. All the seats fold down flat, It's got some very cool "gadgets" and has been rated the best overall small car in the JD power Consumer satisfaction index for the last couple of years.

[ecthelion]

you might as well go for a 1400 ... they do really move cheaper than the 1600 counter part

[viceroy]

The Yaris has a power output of 71kW, that is nearly as much as a Polo 1600 (74kW?) And the yaris is only a 1300...

Your best bet if you want a car that is super reliable, easy to drive, will look good on you and has enough power (81kW): Honda Jazz 1.5 CVT. All the seats fold down flat, It's got some very cool "gadgets" and has been rated the best overall small car in the JD power Consumer satisfaction index for the last couple of years.

and the torque figures?

If kW were everything then the Jazz 1.5 would be as relaxed to drive as my Polo (85kW), but I can tell you now...having a bunch more torque makes traffic a breeze, and climbing up hills or even driving with the car loaded is no problem, whereas in something with the same power and less torque will be gear change city for sure.

Another thing to take into account is that a bigger engine doesn't always use more fuel.

Think about it logically...a bigger more powerful engine powering the same weight around as the smaller engine is actually doing less work and requires less throttle input to do the same amount of work. Only if you really push will you notice a big difference in economy between the bigger and smaller engined cars.

[Hman]

Screeper - Honda is not part of the list - perhaps i must just wait for the new financial year to see what else they will add to the list. What i meant with 1600 is i want that power. I had a 1400 Nissan Sentra, and she was the most fantastic little car EVER! I suppose what i'm looking for is something that will give me the same flexible and drivable car, easy to manage, easy to park, enough power (you should see my new driveway! ) light on petrol, and i can drive 1000 km in one day with no problem

I hope i don't have to tell you guys my waist size *grins* (can tell you my shoe size however )

I'm going to repeat myself. Ford Fiesta 1600 TDCI.

It's got enough grunt for your driveway, as it has 90bhp and 204Nm on tap. And my dad who is over 6" long finds the car very comfortable.