Yaris or Micra?

#11

"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote

Quote:

John J. Lee <jjl (AT) pobox (DOT) com> wrote:

Any opinions on this?

I'm expecting to do 50 miles/day commute weekdays for maybe a few
months, then moving so maybe 10 or 20 miles/day after that. Some long
journeys on weekends. Reliability and overall economy are the top
priotities.

At the moment, I'm thinking about 3 door Toyota Yaris 1.0 (probably
2002) or Nissan Micra (2003 model).

What should I get?

Definnitely not the Renault Clio with a Nissan badge....

check under the door mirrors they have Renault printed on ;-)

Just avoid the keyless ignition versions (the renault component...) engines
are strong.....80bhp from a 1.2 isn't too bad...

My sister drives a micra - I've had a few Yaris courtesy cars when my
celica's in for service.... I prefer the Micra....

#12

"John J. Lee" <jjl (AT) pobox (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

"DervMan" <thedervman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> writes:

"John J. Lee" <jjl (AT) pobox (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:874pozagqj.fsf (AT) pobox (DOT) com...
[...]
I'm expecting to do 50 miles/day commute weekdays for maybe a few
months, then moving so maybe 10 or 20 miles/day after that. Some long
journeys on weekends. Reliability and overall economy are the top
priotities.

Overall economy? Go for something larger and older then.

Interesting. So what sort of thing, at what age, hits the sweet spot
for economy at tolerable reliability over 3-5 years?

That depends on the previous keeper(s) and the car itself.

Quote:

One problem is that I'm clueless with car maintenance. Not just an
issue after buying it -- it seems a lot easier to buy a 4-5 year old
car with reasonable confidence than it is to get an eight year old
one. Maybe I can get a carhead friend / friend-of-friend to check
it...

Erm, yes, absolutely.

Quote:

Also, aren't I going to lose out a fair bit on reliability with a 5-10
year old car?

No, but, subject to car.

Quote:

I'm not sure what to expect, learned to drive late,
only been driving three years and didn't need to use that old banger
much. Now I'm going to be commuting by car, I actually care about
reliability.

Reliability once you're past the Friday machines and makes, is often as much
down to the owner as it is the car.

Quote:

I also wonder what will happen over the next five years with petrol
prices, road pricing, environmental taxes etc.

There's nothing you can do to plan for the unknown, though.

Quote:

OK, probably not much,
Gordon Brown has too many votes to lose there still :-)

[...]
Seems the
Micra isn't far behind in terms of reliability.

To be honest though, at this age they both ought to be reliable.

I'm trying to think 3-5 years ahead too.

Ditto my comment.

Quote:

I won't get a
pre-2003 Micra: too ugly :-)

They're better looking than the modern "thing."

Not to my eyes, I really hate the old ones with the headlights further
forward. It's not that I love the new ones -- they're just tolerable!

Except if you're in it you won't see it.

Quote:

The very latest ones are certainly even stranger, I read somebody
describe them as looking "amazed" which seems to fit :-)))

They have that startled "girlfriend caught with boyfriends in parents' bed"
look if you ask me. Ewww.

Quote:

Also wondering if 1.0 litre Yaris isn't a bit underpowered even for a
small car.

Well it depends on your perspective. It isn't exactly quick, but for
what
it is, it's an unburstable piece of kit. 67 bhp from a 1.0 and it'll
produce all of those horses all day, every day.

I'm coming from the "enough power to get out of the way of idiots"
perspective.

In my opinion there are three types of power sensation. Underpowered.
Okay. And ohmygosh. The 1.0 fits into the middle one.

Quote:

I suppose that's a bit of a "how long is a piece of
string" question though -- depends what the idiots are driving ;-)

And what you're used to...

Quote:

On the other hand presumably the smaller engine translates
into higher fuel efficiency.

That depends though. In day to day use for most people the Yaris 1.3 is
marginally thirstier. You'd not notice it. Unless you spend a lot of
time
in traffic - and you're not going to be - the 1.3 is effectively the same
as
the 1.0 with fuel *but* is materially quicker. It's not fast, but it
isn't
a slouch either.

I'd go for the 1.3. The only reason to get the 1.0 is because you can't
find a 1.3 in the right specification, condition and age...

They seem to be more expensive than the 1.0s. Was I misled by the
small sample I looked at on autotrader?

No, they are more expensive. This is for three reasons. One, they're
better. Two, they're in a higher specification and more often with five
doors. Three, fewer people bought the 1.3.

Quote:

And on balance I think the Yaris is
probably a bit less ugly, but there's not a lot in it ;-)

Pah. When the Micra was designed, Nissan were trying to make it look
ugly.
It dropped down the fugly tree hitting every branch.

Actually having seen a Yaris "in the metal" parked today, I take back
what I said about it being ugly (not beautiful, but not ugly). I've
yet to notice a 2003 Micra on the road, there must be lots out
there...

Well, perhaps, unless people avoided it.

Quote:

Anything else in the same category I should be looking at?

Lots to avoid.

:-)

[...]
I'm trying not to point you towards the Skoda Fabia because personally I
think the interior is awful and it's not attractive *but* it makes sense
in
this company. For your economy bias you either want the 1.2 three
cylinder
petrol or a diesel. The 1.4 four cylinder petrol is not all that
economical.

This definitely fits in the ugly category :-) I guess I could suffer
that, and I don't really care about the interior.

For me it's the opposite. I have to sit in and look at the interior for
25,000 miles a year. I only catch a reflection of the exterior when I pass
a shop window.

Quote:

No disrespect to your nickname, but a family member with a lung
problem keeps the disadvantages of diesels high up in my mind (except
maybe the very newest ones, perhaps they're cleaner I don't know). So
I guess it would be 1.2 petrol.

Do you know anybody that smokes? Have you seen the particulate emissions of
petrol engines?

Quote:

You might also want to find a Daihatsu Sirion. They have, erm, unusual
looks, but the three cylinder 1.0 is especially miserly with fuel.

cue "Postman Pat" theme

That would be the Daihatsu Move. Or Grand Move.

Quote:

Hmm...

Thanks for all the comments, lots to think about!

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

#13

"John J. Lee" <jjl (AT) pobox (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

"Zimmy" <x@y.z> writes:
[...]
I had a new Micra last year for 2 weeks as a courtesy car. Although it
was
reasonably nippy, it had the most unsupportive seats and lightest power
steering I've ever seen. Thus when going round corners you had to hang
onto
the steering wheel to prevent yourself from sliding over onto the
passenger
seat whilst simultaneously try to keep the steering wheel in the same
position. I was glad to get my old Polo back (which isn't exactly
renowned
for its handling).

Having driven a 15-year-old Fiesta (with power windscreen wipers ;-)
for three years, admittedly with very light usage, I'm doubting I'll
even notice bad power steering!

Is this power steering thing something that's going to trouble me on 30
min drives on relatively small country roads? Or longer drives? When
people said "power steering" in the past, I always just thought
"parking".

Depends on your driving style, it makes parking very easy, but you lose
'feel' in normal driving I thought, bit like those old arcade driving games.
If you don't push the car very hard, it probably won't bother you.

Quote:

I can see how nasty seats might get painful (literally) for commuting,
though, so thanks for the warning...

These were a bigger problem for me than the steering, and while not
painfully hard, they had all the lateral support of a park bench, and as a 6
footer my back was having to do all the work to keep me upright round the
corners, making twisty roads and corners hard work. Maybe its the upright
driving position in these cars - more like a van.

Z

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Yaris or Micra?

Miscellaneous UK car topics Other UK car topics (uk.rec.cars.misc)

Re: Yaris or Micra? - 03-05-2007 , 06:45 PM

Re: Yaris or Micra? - 03-06-2007 , 01:06 AM

Re: Yaris or Micra? - 03-06-2007 , 03:41 AM