Oi oi! Me grandad needs a car and I could use some ideas

". ." (xllx) 10/02/2016 at 17:20 • Filed to: None

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Here are his requirements:

- relatively inexpensive

- automatic

- petrol

- decent economy

- preferably awd

- small to compact car sized

- has to survive being driven 500 meters at a time, so no turbos

Trunk Impaired 318 > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:23

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Suzuki SX4 hatch

S65 > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:24

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Subaru Impreza

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:24

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Might be hard to hit the AWD requirement along with the others. My first thought would be Renault Clio auto. Comfortable, good value and pretty tough engines.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:26

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Do you all have the Crosstrek?

. . > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 10/02/2016 at 17:27

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Yeah, AWD and automatic aren’t that common together in small cars. Stuff like the Duster or the ASX only gets AWD with a diesel with no Auto option. :/

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Trunk Impaired 318 10/02/2016 at 17:27

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+1. Also if looking for used, cross-shop with the Fiat Sedici because they’re the same thing.

Funktheduck > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:28

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Crown Vic

. . > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 10/02/2016 at 17:28

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We get the XV, but it’s a bit more than my grandad would like to spend.

Boxer_4 > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 10/02/2016 at 17:30

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I believe it’s called the XV, but it’s offered over there.

. . > Funktheduck 10/02/2016 at 17:30

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I suggested that, but a 4.6l v8 isn’t really the best choice for a cheap runaround. Also, if you give my grandad a landyacht he’ll just keep crashing into things while trying to park. :/

Probenja > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:31

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Suzuki makes an AWD Swift in some markets, otherwise you’ll have to look at a CUV like a Qashqai, Yeti, CX3, Renegade, etc...

http://www.suzuki.co.uk/cars/cars/new/swift/swift/swift-4x4

Cé hé sin > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:31

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The awd is tricky. Will he compromise on that? If so try a Hyundai something or other.

Cé hé sin > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 10/02/2016 at 17:32

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Aren’t they manual?

. . > Trunk Impaired 318 10/02/2016 at 17:32

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They don’t sell them with automatics. :/

Sorry, they do!

Cé hé sin > Funktheduck 10/02/2016 at 17:32

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In Poland?

Cé hé sin > S65 10/02/2016 at 17:33

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In Poland? Hardly anyone buys Subarus outside America.

. . > Cé hé sin 10/02/2016 at 17:33

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He has a big yard to get out of in the winter, so AWD is kinda important.

Cé hé sin > Boxer_4 10/02/2016 at 17:34

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But he wants decent economy and a small or compact car.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:34

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Yeah maybe the impreza hatchback had an auto? Thats all I can think of and they have pretty lousy fuel economy.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:35

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Would a Corolla be the answer? It’s not AWD but it ticks every other box and fwd is not terrible in this situation.

Cé hé sin > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:35

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Nissan Micra. Not 4wd but ticks the other boxes.

Cé hé sin > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:36

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Buy him a big bag of salt.

Trunk Impaired 318 > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:36

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Probably a little harder to find but it should tick every box!

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Cé hé sin 10/02/2016 at 17:37

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Er yes, according to Wikipedia. But I could have sworn that it offered an auto, it was around that time when I was working for Fiat too. My bad.

. . > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 10/02/2016 at 17:37

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They also don’t make the Impreza for my local market anymore. There’s just the XV and the WRX STI. :/

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:38

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Seems like he may have to bend on a few of those requirements, im not sure a vehicle exists that hits them all.

. . > Cé hé sin 10/02/2016 at 17:39

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I’ll be fucking salty if he ends up buying something horrible, let me tell you that.

KnowsAboutCars > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:39

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How new it needs to be? Would 1st gen Audi A3 be too old?

. . > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 10/02/2016 at 17:41

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If only they made the Panda 4x4 with an automatic. :/

I think an SX4 may be the best bet.

MultiplaOrgasms > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:42

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Small to compact car with AWD and Automatic will be nigh on impossible to find. A basic Impreza might be your best bet. Why does he need AWD anyway.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:42

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Ah yeah they still make those dont they. Forgot they made a second gen haha.

. . > KnowsAboutCars 10/02/2016 at 17:42

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Probably. He’d like something new, but up to 2ish years old works.

. . > MultiplaOrgasms 10/02/2016 at 17:43

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Because he has a big, hilly yard he has to be able to drive out of whether it’s dry, muddy or snowy.

Probenja > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 10/02/2016 at 17:44

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The Suzuki has a 4 speed automatic as an option, not sure about the Fiat. The Vitara could also be an option although it is more thirsty:

Or a Terios if they sold those in Poland:

MultiplaOrgasms > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:45

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1st gen HR-Vs have (useless Honda designed) AWD and a CVT option.

AndyG_UK > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:46

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Why does being driven only 500 meters mean no turbo? To meet his requirements (but with a turbo), Opel Mokka?

MultiplaOrgasms > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:47

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But wait, the Suzuki Jimny is perfect for such a job AND they can be found with a 4-speed AT!

. . > AndyG_UK 10/02/2016 at 17:49

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Because if he only drives it 500m to the shops the engine will never get to warm up in that car. NA engines hate that, but turbos hate that even more.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Probenja 10/02/2016 at 17:51

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I really like the Terios but it’s not exactly spacious. I know that wasn’t a requirement, but they are incredibly narrow both inside and out. Vitara or Jimny would be good.

. . > MultiplaOrgasms 10/02/2016 at 17:52

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It’s true. I’m sure my grandad would also like the ride height and the fact that as a tall car it’d be easy for him to get in. What I’m sure he’ld hate is the ride quality and the fact that it doesn’t have enough doors. If my grandma’s sister visits then somebody would need to get in the back...

. . > MultiplaOrgasms 10/02/2016 at 17:54

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The original HRV is a bit too old, but I’ve just discovered that the new model doesn’t have an AWD option. What? What’s the point of the increased ride height then?

AndyG_UK > . . 10/02/2016 at 17:54

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I had no idea that turbo petrol engines hate it more than n/a ones. Most cars now in Europe, especially with auto and awd will have small turbo petrol engines or a turbo diesel, but they really hate it! tbh any car is not going to love that sort of treatment, especially it’s emissions equipment. Maybe petrol ATV might be a better idea?

Boxer_4 > Cé hé sin 10/02/2016 at 17:59

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To be fair, all I gave was the factual answer that the Crosstrek is available in Europe.

The Crosstrek is a small AWD vehicle with good fuel economy, at least by American standards... by European standards, not so much...

. . > AndyG_UK 10/02/2016 at 17:59

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He’s too old to drive an ATV. Also, he couldn’t drive my grandma and her sister to church on one. :P

Probenja > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 10/02/2016 at 18:02

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Well the Jimny isn’t wider and the Vitara is good in the front but the rear seats are a joke. If there are going to be only two people then they are going to be fine in all three options.

If they are only going to use it to go off road and in the city the Jimny is a good choice, it’s new, cheap and has an automatic option.

http://www.suzuki.pl/auto/Jimny.html

Cé hé sin > Boxer_4 10/02/2016 at 18:03

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On top of that, nobody buys Subarus anyway (except Switzerland, apparently).

AndyG_UK > . . 10/02/2016 at 18:04

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Just had a quick look around the interwebs and some people say a turbo petrol engine could actually be better than an n/a for only doing lots of short runs as the turbo will warm the engine and cat up quicker. Everyone says that turbo or n/a you should be changing the oil twice as often though, so if the service intervals are 10k miles, change the oil every 5k and regardless make sure it gets frequent long runs.

Funktheduck > Cé hé sin 10/02/2016 at 18:06

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I dunno what they have over there. Old people love crown vics though

Cé hé sin > Funktheduck 10/02/2016 at 18:08

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I guess it might have trouble with these:

- decent economy

- preferably awd

- small to compact car sized

. . > AndyG_UK 10/02/2016 at 18:08

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Thing is, turbos need lots of lubrication, and cold oil isn’t that good at lubricating. It may in theory be better for the rest of the engine, but the turbocharger lifespan will definitely be considerably shortened. If you have something spinning at 100-200k rpm, it’d better have all the lubrication in the world.

Funktheduck > Cé hé sin 10/02/2016 at 18:08

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Depends on standards for decent economy. The others? Yeah

Funktheduck > . . 10/02/2016 at 18:10

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But he’ll be miles away from the bumpers so he won’t notice.

Boxer_4 > Cé hé sin 10/02/2016 at 18:11

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Oh well, more for me then ;)

. . > Funktheduck 10/02/2016 at 18:12

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Until he has a lynch mob on his doorstep that is?

OPPOsaurus WRX > . . 10/02/2016 at 18:14

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Something higher like an Escape would probably be better over a Focus for older people to get in and out of.

Funktheduck > . . 10/02/2016 at 18:15

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That doesn’t happen around here. Did you see that news story (last year?) where an old woman hit the gas instead of brakes in a parking lot and did a ton of damage? They didn’t even cite her I think.

AndyG_UK > . . 10/02/2016 at 18:16

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That’s true but modern oils are pretty effective down to very low temps and start flowing really quickly, plus all cars have to deal with that first 30 seconds or when they are started, especially in really cold weather. Modern turbos are pretty resilient as well (they use ceramics a lot), I wouldn’t worry about the effects myself until the car was getting on in years. As I said there are more things to worry about than the life of the turbo with the kind of use your grandfathers car would get, like the catalytic converter(s), actual engine wear etc. 

. . > AndyG_UK 10/02/2016 at 18:18

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Well, the no 1 worry would definitely be a DPF. That’d literally need cleaning every few hundred km. It’s exactly why diesels are straight out (also, they take much longer to warm up than petrols so there would literally be no heat in the engine ever).

. . > Funktheduck 10/02/2016 at 18:20

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I’m joking about the lynch mob, but he specifically wants something smaller and easier to drive. He mostly uses my dad’s Navara at the moment and he’s dinged it quite a few times (luckily it wasn’t on other cars).

AndyG_UK > . . 10/02/2016 at 18:24

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Defiantly, my old Mazda 3 2.0 td used to take about 3-4 miles to reach normal temp, even with my heavy right foot, easily twice as long in winter. But I really wouldn’t worry about a modern turbo (in a petrol car) suffering due to such short trips.

BTW you can get the Fiat 500X with the 1.4 turbo, auto and 4X4, same for the Jeep Renegade. 

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > . . 10/02/2016 at 19:13

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The 1.6 NA Countryman All4?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 10/02/2016 at 19:26

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Older Panda 4x4? Didn’t some of the previous gens have no turbo...?

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 10/02/2016 at 19:28

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No automatic tho. :(

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 10/02/2016 at 19:35

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The current gen doesn’t, but did the second gen have an auto option...?

Funktheduck > . . 10/02/2016 at 21:37

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Mini Cooper?

FromCanadaWithLove > . . 10/02/2016 at 22:51

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Volvo S40 AWD with the 2.4i?