Suggest me a car for karma (terms and conditions apply)

[Absorb the anus burn]

An elderly relative is struggling with their large car. I think they should get something better suited to a semi mobile grumpy, but loveable Uncle who needs to drive for a few years, especially now they have a blue badge. I think it should be smallish to medium size, simply because it's easier to park and whiz cough crawl about in - never mind that 4 x 4s in London get on everybody's tits and are largely driven by twats.

Like Manuel in Fawlty Towers, I know nothing.... Can you suggest any cars that I can pretend I discovered all by myself? I will attempt to send karma your way over the week.[nb]Hybrid electric and petrol engine car would be good I suppose - the person lives in zone two opposite a largely empty charging point. I really know nothing about this shit, other than said person definitely does not want a two seater Smart Car rubbishy thing that can't go on motorways.[nb]Parking aids and a good gps would be useful for him I reckon. He has a reasonable budget but can be huffy and outraged by price swiftly enough.[nb]Thanks in advance.[/nb][/nb][/nb]

I only drive a few times a year and don't get nerdy about cars, but see these rather dashing looking horseless carriages on the road that are compact and packed t'brim with whiz bang gps technologocal elec-trickery.

[Blumf]

Always thought the Nissan Note would be good for coffin dodgers. The original version (not checked the current) had a pretty high seat so you didn't have to climb up and out of them. Otherwise, it's a boring Nissan, so should do the job.


Zzzzzz

[Twed]

Hello I would like to piggyback on this thread to ask: does anybody have/know about the Prius C and whether it's any good?

I'm a nervous, new driver at 32. I hate driving. I need my car to be small, easy to turn and just as uncomplicated as possible. Lack of power is not a concern.

[Obel]

Seat Ibiza's are great little cars. Has a VW engine (ie. reliable), drive really nicely, are comparatively cheap,  economical and the insurance is reasonable enough. Had one for two years and loved it.

I whole heartedly recommend Seat Ibiza's. To both of you. Especially you Twed, it's a perfect starter car, it was my first car as a very nervous 28 year old and I grew comfortable with it in no time. You'll be able to snap up a second hand one for a good price.

[Twed]

Sadly that would be a very expensive import where I am, but I appreciate the advice! Definitely the sort of car I'd get.

[Lee Van Cleef]

You'd need second hand as they don't manufacture them anymore, but a Toyota Corolla is generally very reliable. In fact Toyotas, Kias and Hyundais are all pretty reliable.

[Twed]

My wife's car is a Corolla. Very popular new still in the US. I learned to drive in it. It's still a little too big for me.

Turns out the Corolla is a completely different car here. I'm going to bow out of the convo, I'll just be wasting everybody's time! (Unless one of you has a Prius C, which is the same).

[buzby]

You'd need second hand as they don't manufacture them anymore, but a Toyota Corolla is generally very reliable. In fact Toyotas, Kias and Hyundais are all pretty reliable.

Apart from the drive-by-wire electronic throttle fault (and fault-ridden engine management software) causing uncommanded acceleration, the brakes not being powerful enough to counteract it and the resulting deaths:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009%E2%80%9311_Toyota_vehicle_recalls

[buzby]

Hello I would like to piggyback on this thread to ask: does anybody have/know about the Prius C and whether it's any good?

I'm a nervous, new driver at 32. I hate driving. I need my car to be small, easy to turn and just as uncomplicated as possible. Lack of power is not a concern.

The Prius C gets very good reviews over here, though it is expensive. Last time I was in London they had become almost the default choice for minicabs due to the LEZ emissions restrictions, though they are introducing a new version for the UK that is less hybrid and more plug-in EV as our tax rules change next April. It used to be that any car that emitted less than 100g of CO2 per km qualified for zero road tax, but next April this is changing so that a car has to virtually a pure EV to qualify for the zero tax bracket, which is going to drastically affect the hybrid market.

The other good thing about the Prius is that it uses NiMH batteries rather than Lithium Ion - they energy density is a lot less so you need more batteries and more weight, but they are a lot safer, especially in the event of an accident.

[buzby]

To the OP - the default OAP wagon always used to be an automatic Honda Civic (after Rover went down the tubes anyway) but a couple of generations ago the Civic got redesigned to aim at a younger market, so the Jazz is now Honda's offering into that demographic. It's dearer than the competition (though I'd be looking for a used one anyway) but Hondas are pretty bombproof. Similarly the Toyota Auris (replaced the Corolla) or the smaller Yaris (avoid the Aygo though, as it's probably a bit too small for an OAP to get in and out of easily).

The Nissan Note is another good choice, as mentioned upthread. My mate has one and it's a nice enough insode, if a bit bland (though an OAP probably won't mind that).

For a cheap option, look at a used Ford B-Max (the mini MPV version of the Fiesta). Pretty reliable, economical, great access due to the sliding rear doors and there's usually loads to choose from on the used market. I'd avoid the Vauxhall equivalent though. They usually are built slightly cheaper than the Ford equivalent and the smaller Vauxhall engines have a reputation for a thirst for oil.

[Noodle Lizard]

Hello I would like to piggyback on this thread to ask: does anybody have/know about the Prius C and whether it's any good?

I'm a nervous, new driver at 32. I hate driving. I need my car to be small, easy to turn and just as uncomplicated as possible. Lack of power is not a concern.

To counter the other bloke, I heard the Prius C is shit.  Apparently made of a lot of the same parts as the Yaris, and has a much higher incidence of issues than its non-C counterparts.

Priuses generally are fucking great though, they notoriously run forever, have great resale value and you can sometimes get tax rebates on them because of the environmental thingy.  Depends on your state.