For previous cars of mine i've gone for 1.2L as the 1L don't have much umphhh..

Apologies, but this is very much slipping into the "I don't know much about cars" mode, looking only at the engine size and nothing else!. It isn't the size of the engine that matters, but how much power it has, how much torque (and at what rpm).

The 1.0TSI engine in both cars mentioned by SLO are turbo, so plenty of "umphhh" :-)

Here is a comparison between the higher of the two power outputs of 1.0TSI available in the Fabia and Ibiza next to the non turbo 1.2 you get in the Hyundai i10 for comparison

Power: (1.0) 110BHP @ 5000rpm vs (1.2) 84BHP @ 6000rpm

Torque: (1.0) 200NM from 2-3000rpm vs (1.2) 118NM @ 4200rpm

Edited by badbusdriver on 02/04/2024 at 17:40

Corsa, etc

Since the Corsa is made by the Sellantis Group it has the same potentially troublesome wet belt as the Peugeots and Citroens, not and engine I would choose.

But here is a suggestion that I cannot see anyone else has made. In April 2018 the wife had a new Skoda Fabia and she only replaced it 2 weeks ago after 6 years of totally trouble free motoring. It was still fault free and will make the new owner an excellent car for the foreseeable future. She only swapped it because the arthritis and nerve issues in her left hip makes using a clutch (in any car) ever more difficult so an auto was needed. First choice was another Fabia but the design of the handbrake location made it impossible for her to fully apply it (arthritis again).

We have bought 3 Skoda's via a Broker named Carfile.net and their dealer is excellent. Here is a link to their Fabia page

www.carfile.net/buy-your-car/skoda/fabia_hatchback...l

Our choice would have been the 116 PS version (ours was the previous 110 PS) but the 95 PS version is a fine car as well. Forget the 80 PS version since its underpowered if you plan to go out of town (the Fabia is not a light car). For the extra £500 above the 95 PS version not only do you get another 20 PS (and more important another 30 torques) but you also get a 6 speed box instead of the 5 speed, much better on motorways.

The 116 SE comfort is well inside your budget at just under £19,500, even the SE-L spec (the one the wife had) which has all the toys as standard is still below your budget at £21,000. Forget the Monte Carlo, its not worth the extra and the ride suffers on the ultra low profile tyres (which are also more prone to damage on our delightful roads).

All Fabia's have 55 or taller profile tyres which make the ride way better than cars with ultra low profile tyres.

Over the 6 years she ran the car it averaged a calculated 48 mpg and that was driving with no consideration for economy. On long runs to the coast it would average 60 mpg or even a bit more if there were no jams.

So what did the wife have. Its a Yaris. About the same price as the Fabia Auto but better equipped and came with the electric handbrake as standard. After 2 weeks its shaping up well but its got a very hard act to follow. Dash says its averaged 70.5 mpg so far. Performance seems fine and the CVT transmission is by far the best example of the breed I have experienced.

But if an electric handbrake was available on a Fabia there would be one on our drive now. They are that good.