Latest news with #smallcar
Auto Express
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
Help! I need a small, nimble first car for £7,000
Dear Auto Express, I need a first car that's small, nimble and easy to drive. My budget is £7,000. What can I get that's safe and relatively modern? - Jamie Fern, E-mail Passing your practical driving test is a significant moment for anybody. Once you're torn up your L-plates, the only barrier between you and a new level of freedom is finding your first car. Advertisement - Article continues below Of course, being a newly qualified driver, you'll probably be on the lookout for something which is small enough to help you to gain confidence when navigating narrow streets or tight carparks, while also being cheap to insure and run. Typically, the Citroen C1 has ruled the roost among new drivers. If you aren't drawn by its cute styling, you might be convinced by its dependable three-cylinder engine, which it shares with its Toyota Aygo relative. It's not the most sumptuous city car, but some colourful personalisation options do spice up the cabin. The SEAT Mii is the Spanish brand's twist on the Volkswagen up!, making it by default one of the most complete small cars you can buy. It boasts great build quality, grown-up handling and a surprisingly spacious cabin. The styling might be too conservative for some, though. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below The same can't be said for the quirky Renault Twingo. Being rear-engined and rear-wheel drive, the French city car is the reverse of its two competitors here, and this layout gives the Twingo fantastic manoeuvrability in cities. Here's our expert pick for three of the best first cars available for £7,000, together with links to buy them through our Find a Car service… For: Solid build, slick dynamics, roomy Solid build, slick dynamics, roomy Against: Plain design, fiddly parcel shelf Advertisement - Article continues below Stubby dimensions, short overhangs and clean detailing give the SEAT Mii a pleasant if not distinctive look. From behind the wheel, the Mii is hard to beat. It shares a platform with the Volkswagen up! so the handling is crisp and it's surprisingly enjoyable to drive. The ride is supple, too, and wind and tyre noise are well suppressed for this class of car. The most powerful 74bhp version offers solid performance for town driving and the three-cylinder engine feels peppy enough. A 60,000-mile 2019 Mii falls well within budget. None of these models is especially plush inside, but the SEAT gets closest to providing the feel of a bigger class of car. The dashboard layout is user-friendly, the switchgear is sturdy and the hard plastics feel durable rather than terribly cheap. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below The Mii is also surprisingly spacious, with more accommodating rear seats than the Citroen and a respectable 251-litre boot. Lower-spec SE models are equipped with alloy wheels, electric front windows, air-conditioning and a leather steering wheel as standard. A DAB radio can also be specified, along with a dashboard-mounted navigation system and Bluetooth connectivity. See our used SEAT Mii deals For: Tight turning circle, rear seat space, robust interior Tight turning circle, rear seat space, robust interior Against: Vague steering, small boot Advertisement - Article continues below With its engine over the rear axle and powering the rear wheels, the Twingo's set-up is closer to a Porsche 911 than it is to most other hatches or city cars. The design is unique, with rounded surfaces, tiny overhangs and a sloping glass tailgate. By relocating the engine and freeing up space at the front of the car, the Renault Twingo has a turning circle to rival a London Taxi. There's lots of body roll and the Renault tends to fidget over bumpy roads, but although wind noise builds at higher speeds, it's comfy enough. You can get a 2016 Renault Twingo with 20,000-miles on the clock for under £7,000. Renault added splashes of colour inside the Twingo to lift the ambience, with coloured accents on the steering wheel and air vents. It may not be as well screwed together as the SEAT, but the cabin feels solid and durable on the whole. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Visibility is great, too, and standard equipment includes a DAB radio, Bluetooth and a USB connection. The standard stereo is a six-speaker set-up, but some models also feature a subwoofer for punchier sound. There's plenty of space in the rear, even for four adults, although the rear-engined Twingo has the smallest boot in this company, at a mere 188 litres. Advertisement - Article continues below See our used Renault Twingo deals For: Distinctive looks, easy to drive, affordable Distinctive looks, easy to drive, affordable Against: Cheap interior, tight rear seats Closely related to the Toyota Aygo, the Citroen C1 uses that car's running gear. However, while it does its best to maximise the space inside, and has a glass rear hatch that makes it look more distinctive than the SEAT, the driving experience isn't quite on the same level. Its 1.0-litre three-cylinder motor is shared with the Aygo, and can feel out of its depth on a motorway, because it's short of punch even compared with its rivals here. It's fine around town, though, and the C1 is very easy to drive, with light controls. For £7,000, you can bag a 2018 Citroen C1 that's covered 26,000 miles. Like Renault, Citroen offers a variety of coloured panels and trims to add a dash of personalisation to the cabin of its city car. However, material quality isn't up to the best in the class, and the layout of the controls isn't as intuitive as the SEAT's interior. Still, all versions offered for sale other than the entry-level C1 Touch received a seven-inch touchscreen that's equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the higher-grade models; this is useful because the standard interface isn't particularly slick compared with its rivals'. Unfortunately, while the C1's boot is bigger than the Twingo's, the rear seats are very tight for taller adults to squeeze into. Those approaching six feet tall will be short on head and legroom. See our used Citroen C1 deals Did you know you can sell your car with Auto Express? Get the highest bid from our network of over 5,500 dealers and we'll do the rest. Click here to try Auto Express Sell My Car now ... Find a car with the experts New Xiaomi YU7 2025 review: a world-beating new EV to worry the establishment New Xiaomi YU7 2025 review: a world-beating new EV to worry the establishment BMW or Mercedes would do anything to keep the new Xiaomi YU7 from sale in the UK and Europe, and this is why The Electric Car Grant is here: Government's new £3,750 EV discount in detail The Electric Car Grant is here: Government's new £3,750 EV discount in detail The government has set out its plan to help reduce the cost of affordable EVs by introducing a new £3,750 Electric Car Grant for new EVs sold under £3… New MG IM5 has the Tesla Model 3 beaten on price and range New MG IM5 has the Tesla Model 3 beaten on price and range The all-electric IM5 brings new technology and design to the MG line-up
Car and Driver
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
1981 Ford Escort GLX Test: World-Class Shrinky Dink
From the January 1981 issue of Car and Driver. The editorial we have been feeling the hot breath of America on the backs of our necks while working on this road test. Everybody right down to the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker has been looking over our shoulders, trying to get a rating on the new Ford Escort. No Ford in memory has produced such widespread interest ("concern" may be a better word). Some of the concerned are potential customers looking for the latest development in fuel-efficient cars: they wonder if the Escort is it. Others have a more academic question: is the Escort the long-awaited import fighter from Detroit? All that heavy breathing ruffling our collars tells us you really want to know. So let's get down to business. Conclusion No. 1: The Escort is indeed a world-class small car with a combination of interior space and fuel economy that should make it one of the top choices in its class. It may not have the most interior space, or the best economy, or the lowest trunk liftover height, or the highest marks in any other category of small-car virtue you might name, but it's competitive on every front. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Conclusion No. 2: The Escort is the first small car from anywhere to offer Mr. and Mrs. America big-car comfort and luxury in a small package. Moreover, the long options list will make them feel right at home. This is a cushy car that just happens to be small. Conclusion No. 3: We don't want to sound elitist or anything like that, but we think Mr. and Mrs. America will probably be happier in Escorts than will car enthusiasts. This is no fling-about Fiesta, no rompin' Rabbit. There are no come-on-and-flog-me urgings coursing up the shift lever and the steering column. The Escort is just trying to be another nice car in the Ford family of nice cars—a mini LTD. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Naturally, we would have preferred an Escort with verve, but the mini-LTD personality has a charm of its own. You find it strongest in the interior. The test car is a GLX in a range of models that starts with a plain Escort and moves up in steps called L, GL, GLX, and SS. So it's not the grandest, but it's right up there. And the first thing you see when you open the door is American Plush. The carpets are deep. The door panels are soft. The seats are foamy. The instrument panel is a big, bluff-faced molding just like those of the larger Fords, and it contains only a speedometer and a gas gauge, a layout also just like those of the larger Fords. And the luxo, poly-spoke steering wheel is outfitted with thumb buttons for the optional cruise control, just as the larger Fords are. Can Toyota and Volkswagen match this? No way. It's easy to be cynical about such frills, to say that if Ford had spent more time working on the basics like engine performance (which we'll get to later) instead of diddling around with the money-grubbing options, it might have produced a car we'd all be foaming over. But never mind. You can't get mad at the GLX when it's such a nice (well, it is) package. The seats are foam-filled, have adjustable recliners, and are as good as the best Detroit has ever made. The dash has four big, swiveling vents to move air in a hurry. The top of the dash has been molded into a huge travel tray for cigarettes, sunglasses, or in case you need some place to melt your Hershey bars. This is American-car comfort and convenience all the way. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver You also get gadgets to play with. The blue-glowing electronic digital clock has buttons for date, elapsed time, and time of day. A map light on a stalk swings down out of the ceiling and swivels around in case you want to check somebody's tonsils. The AM/FM-stereo has a little button hidden down by your knee marked "Amplifier On-Off," and when you give it a pull, a pilot light comes on and the music gets really wonderful. None of this stuff has anything to do with economy or efficiency or engineering for the Eighties. It's just that Ford always made LTDs this way, so it's making mini LTDs this way too. What could be more natural? Sure, you can have a hair-shirt Escort if you want one, but that sort of low-calorie aspiration is not what made Detroit great. The Escort is an American small car. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Not that there hasn't been inspiration from elsewhere. You can tell that Ford designers have been combing over the Honda Accord, trying to steal the essence of that car, to transplant its considerable appeal into the Escort. But typical of Detroit, they saw only the gimmicks. Honda's most notable innovation in instrument-panel design is the "pictograph," a green-glowing outline drawing of the car styled along the theme of a directional gyro in an airplane. All it does is tell you when a door is open, the tailgate ajar, or the like. But it looks very space-age and makes first-timers say, "Oh, lookit that!" So Ford swiped the idea. If you go GLX or better, you get a little pictograph down by your ankle on the console with warning lights that glow red for low fluids or malfunctioning head, tail, or brake lights, and yellow in the case of low fuel. Honda also dazzled the industry with its coin trays for parking-meter money. Ditto the Escort. But getting back to the point, Ford wants you to open the Escort door and see American-style luxury and Japanese-style gimmicks (called "product content" in the industry): the best of both worlds, as they say. Thus overwhelmed, you then sign the check. The assumption is that Americans will buy comfort, they'll buy features, they'll buy flash, and they'll buy economy as defined by EPA mpg numbers. So those areas are where the design effort was concentrated. And in those areas the Escort does very well. But driving fun? What's that? View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Just the way the clutch works says a lot about the direction of Escort engineering. The pedal has a rather long travel, but the machinery all hooks up in the space of about an eighth-inch: clunk. And pedal effort does not diminish in a predictable way as you let out the clutch either. You just have to feel it out, feel it out, feel it out: clunk. Mr. and Mrs. America probably won't notice, but you will. And you'll conclude that the Escort is transportation rather than fun. The numb-clutch syndrome is also apparent in the suspension. It acts as though it has very little free travel. A brisk boogie on an expressway ramp has it rocking laterally, feeling very much as though it was bouncing off the bump stops. Put a couple people in the car, encounter a modest chuckhole, and again it recoils off the bump stops. Even straight down the freeway it's a little bouncy ("vertically active" in engineer talk). The Escort's suspension just wasn't endowed with the resilience and precision an enthusiast hopes for. However, ultimate cornering forces are not bad at all for a front-drive car, particularly a new-generation Detroiter with tires optimized for low rolling resistance. The Escort circulated the skidpad at 0.71 g, which is a laudable accomplishment. Some of the credit must be given to the optional alloy wheels, which are 5.5 inches wide, up a half-inch from the optional steel wheels and up a full inch from the standard equipment. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver The Escort's 1600 cc hemi engine is another component that falls short of the enthusiast's hopes. Ford went to a lot of trouble with the hardware parts of this engine—an aluminum head, an electron-beam-welded intake manifold, a crossflow port arrangement with angled valves and fully machined combustion chambers—but then tried to get by without the sophisticated on-board computers that all GM and many Chrysler models are using to optimize fuel flow, spark advance, EGR, and the like. The results have been nearly disastrous. The Escort does reasonably well in economy—30 mpg EPA with a four-speed manual transmission and a short options list—but the sacrifices necessary to get economy and meet emissions without the aid of a computer have killed performance dead as a hammer. The car is very slow—zero to sixty in 14.6 seconds, standing quarter-mile in 19.4 seconds at 69 mph. This is more leisurely performance than even the Honda Accord's, which typically brings up the rear in small-car acceleration. Moreover, the Escort labors mightily to attain whatever speed it can. Under hard acceleration, the engine climbs through several stages of roar—like a Weed Eater progressing from quack grass through the petunia patch and into a stand of maple saplings. This mastication is accompanied by vigorous buzzings transmitted up through your leg by the accelerator. The sound-level meter reports 89 dBA at the driver's ear during such a forced march, and that is louder than almost any other small car in the class. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Yet here's the contradiction. We think Mr. and Mrs. America will find the Escort a quiet car. For one thing, they won't run it to 50 mph in second gear in fits of enthusiastic driving. And that sort of flat-out operation is the only circumstance in which it is really noisy. Everyday driving for everyday citizens consists mostly of idling at traffic lights and constant-speed cruising at speeds below 65 mph. Here the Escort is quieter than most of the competition. And this, in turn, means that one of the main annoyances associated with travel in small cars—the auditory assault factor—just isn't a problem in an Escort. The other problem with small cars on long trips—lack of interior space—is also handled nicely in the Escort. The hatchback lifts to expose an uncommonly deep trunk, the sort of compartment that allows you to stow suitcases vertically; and if this isn't enough, the rear seat folds flat in typical hatchback style to open up just over 30 cubic feet of luggage space. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver If your cargo is just people, they fare well too. The universal standard for people packaging is the VW Rabbit. We find the back-seat room of the Escort to be even better. Headroom is slightly less, but still good enough for six-footers, and the Escort has better knee clearance. The VW achieves much of its comfort with "chair-height" seats and a high roofline for head clearance; the Escort provides a similar feeling in a lower car by depressing the floorpan in the area a back-seat passenger uses for footroom. This is an old Detroit trick, done for years in low-roof coupes, and usually the depressions were about the size and shape of dishpans and just reinforced the feeling of cramped quarters. But for a small tunnel, the Escort has a low floor from sill to sill. Your feet are treated to as much room as the rest of you, which is to say, a very generous amount for such a small car. So much for the coach-class passengers. Those up front have royal treatment, at least in a GLX-trim car loaded with options. On the surface, however, this complement of extras seems contradictory to the concept of a small car. How are we going to know if the Escort is successful as an import fighter when we're looking at an example loaded like the typical domestic? View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Let us answer this way. First, the Escort isn't really intended to be a bottom-of-the-market economy car. The Honda Civic, Toyota Tercel, Toyota Starlet, and Datsun 210 come in under it. And second, we suspect the real role of the Escort is less to fight imports and more to provide a next step for Americans who wish to downsize. These motorists are accustomed to a certain level of comfort and luxury; the Escort offers it in a smaller package with better fuel economy. In this regard, the test GLX is enormously successful. And for that reason, we're going to keep it around for another year as a long-term test car. We'll report back to you from time to time on its durability and on how well it adapts to life in a changing America. Watch this space. Counterpoints Do we have an irreversible inferiority complex over here? The home team has again failed to grasp the importance of building good small cars. Ford, oblivious to better examples, has fallen into the trap of building merely small cars, thinking that would be good enough. This Escort should have been called the Squirrel. Its handling and braking are thoroughly unpredictable, having been rubbered to death by the ride brigade. Performance is anemic, and mileage is nowhere near the best. The steering is wishy-washy on the highway, the clutch snaps over center with a clunk, and the shifter plings like a fingernail on a tin can. And Ford should get some sort of perpetual prize for coarse engine harmonics. High marks (these are compliments, now) for seating comfort, driving position, roominess, and outward visibility. Too bad you have to go inside the cheap-looking interior to find a few high points. Fortunately for Ford, the low points will probably creep right under the noses of a multitude of Escort buyers, who will go home thinking they're safe for the winter, nuts gathered by Ford's Squirrel. —Larry Griffin Somewhere in the management ranks of Ford Motor Company North America there must be a man who gets paid a lot of money to insist that Americans will be most comfortable with little cars designed to be just as out of touch as the big cars they replace. If there is such a man, the introduction of the new American Escort is his finest hour. Our test car is well appointed, quiet, and comfortable at rest, but a sore trial in motion. It suffers from a nasty pitching moment, a fore-and-aft hobby-horsing that is guaranteed to bring back carsickness as an adult affliction. The little devil's engine and drivetrain would be delighted to cruise all day at 75 or 80, but the ride quality makes that almost unendurable. Europeans are now getting their first look at Escorts that go faster, ride more smoothly, handle better, and are infinitely more handsome than the one done up by the troubled technoids in Dearborn. My advice to the reader would be to go buy a Fiesta. My advice to Ford North America would be to call Ford Germany and ask Bob Lutz to come over and make our Escort as nice as theirs. —David E. Davis. Jr. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver This is one unhappy little lump of a car. The fit and finish of the interior are below par. The engine drones. The steering is rubbery. The ride is undisciplined. The tall gearing works against the engine. In general, the Escort reminds me of an adolescent, all awkward and self-conscious. All of this tells me that Ford's American design team cut too many corners, thinking the masses wouldn't notice, or that the product planners misjudged what America expects of an econobox, or that the engineers simply lacked the know-how to create a world-class world car. This is not to say that the Escort is without merit. The overall packaging is excellent. Rear-seat comfort is exceptional. And its gas mileage is good as well. So the Escort should do well enough in the workaday world, serving people who think of cars as nothing more than travel appliances. All of the ingredients for a sparkling small sedan are here—on paper at least. Let's hope Ford management has a change of heart and sees fit to finish what it started. —Rich Ceppos Specifications Specifications 1981 Ford Escort GLX Vehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door hatchback PRICE Base/As Tested: $6476/$7789 Options: air conditioning, $524; aluminum wheels, $183; cruise control, $128; AM/FM·stereo radio, $100; rear wiper·washer, $94; premium sound system, $91; power brakes, $76; tinted glass, $70; cloth and vinyl upholstery, $27; heavy-duty battery, $20. ENGINE SOHC 8-valve inline-4, iron block and aluminum head Displacement: 97 in3, 1600 cm3 Power: 69 bhp @ 5000 rpm Torque: 86 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm TRANSMISSION 4-speed manual CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: struts/struts Brakes, F/R: 9.3-in vented disc/7.1-in drum Tires: Goodyear Arriva P165/80R-13 DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 94.2 in Length: 163.9 in Width: 65.9 in Height: 53.3 in Passenger Volume, F/R: 47/39 ft3 Trunk Volume: 16 ft3 Curb Weight: 2140 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 14.6 sec 1/4-Mile: 19.4 sec @ 69 mph 80 mph: 31.8 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 15.2 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 20.4 sec Top Speed: 87 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 217 ft Roadholding, 282-ft Skidpad: 0.71 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY Observed: 24 mpg EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/City/Highway: 33/28/44 mpg C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Ask the expert: Which £2,000 small car delivers the most driving pleasure?
Dear Alex, I drive a nice, safe Skoda Kamiq automatic. But I wish to buy a small car with a manual gearbox to drive to Switzerland and Scotland, to recreate driving memories from the 1980s in a Mini Metro and Citroën AX, when I was in my 20s. It obviously needs to be reliable, although outright performance is not important. What should I get for £2,000? – DH Dear DH, At this price, reliability is largely dictated by provenance, rather than brand. So it pays to buy chiefly on condition, history and length of MOT rather than aiming for a particular model. Having said that, the most reliable choice for that money would be a first-generation Toyota Yaris (1999-2005). I love these cars – cute, characterful and dependable. Your budget should get you a good one, although I'd recommend a 1.3-litre engine rather than a 1.0 for motorway driving. I found a 2003 T3 with only 54,000 miles and a year's MOT for £2,000. The Yaris should be enjoyable to drive, particularly compared with your Kamiq, but there are also more entertaining options within your budget. I'm thinking in particular of the original Ford Ka, renowned for its brilliant chassis, which was produced from 1996 to 2007. It will be less refined on a motorway than the Yaris, but more entertaining when you reach twisting roads. The Ka's mechanicals are hardy, but almost any example will have some sort of rust, so check it carefully. The 1.6-litre SportKa is immense fun; little else offers as many smiles for your cash. However, its rarity means you will probably have to settle for the standard 1.3, which is still a joy to drive. I found a 2005 Luxury, with leather seats, air conditioning, a long MOT, a full history and a very reasonable 77,000 miles, for £1,500. My final suggestion is a Suzuki Swift, the generation produced from 2004-10. Your budget probably won't quite get you into the marvellous 1.6-litre Sport, which would be ideal, but a standard Swift in 1.5-litre form gets close. They're great fun to drive and while they feel a little tinny, they're dependable. A 1.5 GLX with a full history, a year's MOT and 99,000 miles for £1,995 should be the ideal partner for your road trip.
