So.. Help me cure my small car ignorance! [Info Req]

[Synthian]

Hi all ..

The missus and I are looking at replacing her crap old 'town runabout' car (little old LX Torana) soon, and are looking at small uber economical buzz box in the 5k-9k range.

Anyone have opinions/reccomendations on what cars / makes have proven themselves over the years?

The sort of cars we have been looking at have been:

97+ Toyota Starlets
97+ Mitsubishi Mirages
etc ..

Most important points for us are:

-Economy.
-Reliability.
-Still having a lot of service life left.

Bonus points awarded to cars that:

-I fit in the front without learning yoga (I am 6ft1).
-Have A/c, Power steering.
-Can cruise at hwy speeds with 4 ppl in comfortably.
-Have already initially depreciated like small cars do and isnt going to be a massive loss when we sell.
-Basically get a lot of reliability/economy for your $
-Are manual, in my experience autos in tiny cars are like 80yr old hookers, sure they know what they are doing but its a painfull experience that will haunt you for years afterward.

Not that important points:

-Power (although 'some' would be nice)
-Brand affiliation

We are totally ignorant on options that most of the cars came with, engine configurations etc.

Has anyone got any tips / info on what are good combos to aim for?

..

Current car lists, just that you know where it would fit in to the scheme of things:

Car 1 .. Big V8 'oldschool' project car, lives in shed. (90% show, 10% road usable) - not practical.
Car 2 .. Small AWD turbo 'recent tech' project car (50/50 showey/road usable .. but still being built up) .. when completed it will be the missus' daily driver.
Car 3 .. My daily driver 'no-tech' falcon.

** Car 4 .. We'd like to have as a reliable little economical A to B car that will fill the gaps!

Thanks for any advice!

[willsy01]

2 litre N14 Pulsar Q or Ti......better than a Mirage or Starlet will ever be.

[QABB]

I have options plus for you:

1.
CLICK

-Have A/c,

Yes, it's air cooled.

Would suit you.

2.
Buy my 200

3.
Buy my SSS


1. is an auto so 2. or 3. are the only logical answers and me = teh profits.

[Elektra]

id go for something like a pulsar like willsy said easy fit 4 people in it no problems and im sure you wouldnt lose to much power..

I have a 99 excel that has never given me any problems and my other half is 6 foot 7 and has no worries driving it when it was our main daily until he got rid of his lx torana

[Captiva Fan]

The answer is most likely to be 'Corolla', it's going to be the safest choice in terms of reliability. The Starlet would be great for reliability & fuel economy, but you're pushing it to fit 4 people comfortably. Mirages are cheaply made & built of nasty plastics etc, but they're Corolla-sized & seem to be just about as reliable as a Corolla ... but if I were looking for "dull and reliable at sub-Corolla price" I think I'd get a late 90's Pulsar (N16 for $9k I guess?).
Also nothing wrong with Lasers & 323's ... those chopped-off-wagon-look 323's (& the equivalent Laser) seem among the nicest of the late 90's small-medium family cars.

N14 & N15 2.0 Pulsars are nice enough, but I personally think they're old & hence a bit too exxy for the requirements. If you could find a well looked-after babied well-maintained low-kms 2.0 car, it would be indeed be nice to drive ... but they're a bit thirstier than the other cars mentioned, too.

[DrNick]

Get on ICQ ya bum and chat with me....

S

[DaGoodGuy]

pulsar would be my choice. Buy boost boys SSS.

[XAC15T]

another vote for SSS... but its hard to find clean ones these days

[edo]

I have no opinion on such things...but I do want to know what the old school V8 thing is

[QABB]

You are getting some very good reccommendations there, i'm willing to trade an appropriate dirtbike + cash.

[Synthian]

Haha, Boostboy .. You are just trying to nab my bike!

Thanks for the opinions so far!

For the amount of Melbourne day tripping that we intend to do the fuel economy is a major plus. For example, a friends swift gets a round trip to Melb and back (Latrobe Valley) for ~$15 - $17!

Anything under $20 for that trip sounds like a winner to me.

What sort of fuel economy do the pulsars get? .. they look slightly larger than the micro cars we have been looking at.

Oh and a clarification : the 'comfort' statement in the original post was reffering to the ability of the engine, not the rear passengers I dont care if they get cramped up!

How are the Hyundais? .. I have heard a lot of ppl either say that they are brilliant or rubbish, depending on whether they have had a mechanical component fail!

Forg : Wouldnt a corolla be a bit big? ... I couldnt see it getting sub $20 trips if a swift is doing it in ~$16?

or am I totally misguided there?

[DrNick]

Buy my GS Accent!

Guy - Think XF with not too shabby NA power out of a 351. And think what is it BOOSTBOY, 10 years and counting?

S

[Captiva Fan]

You're right, Corollas & Pulsars & 323's & Lasers are larger; you can definitely get better fuel economy outta the tiddlers. I did mistake your comfort requirement.

And just about any small car is comfy on the highway. A mate had a 1990 Barina 5spd (carby 1.3 SOHC motor, all of 49kW from memory) & it was fine with 5 passengers (& damned frugal too).

Hyundais are generally pretty reasonable these days. For the money you're looking at, you'll get a 2000+ car ... which should be OK. Not as reliable as a Toyota, but still very good IMHO. In theory I'd prefer an Accent to a Mirage, truth be known, but that's without having been in either recently. I wouldn't consider anything from Hyundai apart from a really late Excel or an Accent, mind you.

Mind you, the cost of petrol & it's relation to low mass tends to be more of an issue in the city than the country. Maybe it's worth renting a 5spd Corolsar & going for a trip, to see what it'll do?

[THE ASH]

If ya want tiny - a Festiva. Might be hard to find a 4 door (plus hatch) tho.

These things are virtially fucking insdestructable. I had a 1.3l as a company car & flogged the bejesus out of it & it took the punishment fine & cost fuck all to run. I'd rather a 1.5 as the 1.3 I had did lots of highway driving & was too gutless to overtake easily whereas my mate's 1.5l company car went a lot harder & didn't seem to use any more fuel.

[matt b]

I had a 97 Starlet for 3.5 years and 70,000km as my everyday car. The only things I ever replaced were the front tyres once and the battery. Was a great little car but they are slow and fitting 4 adults in is not `comfortable'. As some people have already recommended I would be looking at the next size up i.e. Corolla, Lancer, Pulsar etc
Matt b