A Companion For My Lexus

[Fido]

I'm looking to replace my wife's Honda Jazz within a budget of £20,000 with a better quality automatic that will take up about the same width. Not too keen on the VW Golf. Ideas for other options appreciated. Would be happy with 2 doors and no great need for too much boot space.

[jsj24uk]

I saw a few months ago on the Audi website, an A3 with the 3.2 V6 and DSG auto, about a year old with 10,000 miles for about £16,000. It had all the trimmings like leather, sat nav, xenon's etc. Nearly snapped it up myself but would have been too much to run as my driving school car compared to the Micra. How about a 1 series?

[janet]

I really like the looks of the new VW Sirocco 3 door, and I will drop in and have a look when I can, plenty of engine options too. Could be a replacement for our other car, a Mazda 3 sport (competent ,reliable,quality ok, plenty of toys) if the longer term reviews are OK...never had a VW before though....hmmmm ?

[King85]

For less than £12k you could easily get a brand new polo with the 1.4 auto lump at the SE spec which imo looks pretty nice for a small car.

For a similar price you could also get a brand new maxed out Toyota IQ VVT-i Petrol Multi-drive which has combined 60mpg, insurance group 2 and an A emmisions rating so its going to be peanuts to run and maintain.

[tinygsy]

how about a new chape Subaru Justy/ Daihatsu Sirion? They are fairly decent little cars with plenty of room inside them

[Anuj]

my advice would be to keep it jap. how about a civic?

[Asi]

i think if you get a audi a3....

[Parthiban]

If practicality is not important, then the 1 series has got to be in there - as the only RWD chassis it has to drive better than anything else. Otherwise an A3 is probably a good bet, nice looking cars........

[tinygsy]

what about the Alfa Romeo Mito? They look like quite interesting small cars

[reganlives]

I'd recommend a civic all day long but depends how old a car ur after. I've had my civic for 5 years now and its been an amazing car without any issues but unfortunatly is up for sale now as I've got the lex on the road. I'm sure u'll be able to get a newer shape civic for a good price

[Fido]

Thanks for these responses. Funny thing about my situation is that I am encouraging my wife to buy a new car and she really doesn't yet seem too keen! She has a 4 year old Honda Jazz which still looks like new and loves it. She does not like the latest Jazz redesign and has never liked the civic. She's not keen on Mercs or BMW. She had a look at the new minis and hated the interior. Although I was not interested she is considering a new VW Golf and is having a test drive tomorrow. Our nearest Audi dealer is quite a trip but there is not much enthusiasm anyway. I have a feeling that she will stick with her Jazz for a while and keep the money in the bank. Why are some people so sensible? I suppose I should be grateful.

[Asi]

Thanks for these responses. Funny thing about my situation is that I am encouraging my wife to buy a new car and she really doesn't yet seem too keen! She has a 4 year old Honda Jazz which still looks like new and loves it. She does not like the latest Jazz redesign and has never liked the civic. She's not keen on Mercs or BMW. She had a look at the new minis and hated the interior. Although I was not interested she is considering a new VW Golf and is having a test drive tomorrow. Our nearest Audi dealer is quite a trip but there is not much enthusiasm anyway. I have a feeling that she will stick with her Jazz for a while and keep the money in the bank. Why are some people so sensible? I suppose I should be grateful.

you should be grateful if she sticking to the jazz. you would save money more to spend on you next car. good luck with your test drive mate.

[Fido]

Golf tested - wow!

It may look unexciting but inside the 1.4 SE TSI Auto it felt like a smaller version of my Lexus. I sat in the back while my wife took it out. For me at 6.2 the back had plenty of room even with the armrest down. We quietly made our way to a short stretch of motorway and the car was a pleasure for me as a passenger and was obviously handling well. I took over and from the moment I set off I was hooked. The power of this turbo assisted 1.4 engine was amazing. The car handles beautifully. It is a much heavier car than the Jazz but the steering is light and responsive. There's no way we are looking at anything else. It comes in at around £17000 with no haggling. The What Car target price is around £16100 and it will be interesting to see how close to that my local VW dealer is prepared to go. So sometime this year a VW Golf will join the Lexus. And we may well keep the Jazz in the drive for general duties.

I read somewhere recently of a guy who bought an Audi without a test drive. Based on looks alone I would not give the Golf a chance. Having sat in it, been driven in it and then driving it myself I am now a fan. I drove a manual Mark V golf across Ireland last year and was not impressed. The new Golf is a sheer delight and will be a worthy mate.

[Asi]

so are you going to buy the golf for her

[Fido]

so are you going to buy the golf for her

An order will be placed soon.

[rubber-12]

I did a lot of test driving before I bought an IS200 sportcross 2003 (I really should put it in the new members area)

tested :

A3 : didn't like the way it drives, the comfort version is understeered and the S-line version breakes away very nasty. I did not find a comfortable seating position

1-series : OK with 16" tires, a suspension disaster with 17", OK with the M-sport suspension and 17"' or 18" tires

Civic : bad rear view, steering and braking did not feel good due to too strong servo

Subaru Impreza : the safest driving car, interiour is too Japanese

Golf (160 BHP and DSG) : that is the car I liked most, comfort and fun to drive. HOWEVER : there are a lot of delivery problems with Golf, check out the German forums on that point (my native language is Dutch, so German is not to difficult to read :)

I would have got my setup (Xenon is still not going in production in the near future) end 2009, but rumours are it could go to 2010.

So : now I have an IS200 with ALL options and I am a happy man.

[Asi]

so are you going to buy the golf for her

An order will be placed soon.

good luck mate. hope it all goes well.

[kev dood]

new jazz - very practical.

My wife has a VW Polo and I would never buy another VW in my life. Load of crap