Is There A Better Value Low Cost Car That Is A Good As The 1.0 Ltr Man

[Cyker]

Nooo! Celicaaaaaaa!

(Celicas are cool :D And apparently cost the same to insure as my Yaris D4D??!! )

[Celica Euan]

Oh, I agree, the Celica's a lovely car - but I'm not doing any miles for business travel now, and the little use I make of it at the weekends really doesn't justify the expense of £250 road tax and £250 insurance a year before I've done anything...

Whereas having an iQ which my wife can use during the week to commute through town in (as opposed to in her RAV4... which is what we tend to use at the weekend as it's easier to get a 3-year-old son into the back of that than the Celica, he gets his own door etc!)... makes a ton of sense.

Plus, the iQ is loaded with shiny toys. And there's no such thing as too many toys. :)

[Cyker]

£250 insurance for a Celica!

I'm paying over double that for my Yaris!!

Tax is £30 tho' :D

[Celica Euan]

Just double checked, my mistake - insurance was actually £209.56...

Turns out there are a few fringe benefits to being middle aged and married ;)

Though I did pay £1200ish to insure my first MR2 back in the day - which I still rate as the car with the most comfortable seats that I've owned.

[Cyker]

Just under three times more then!

Hmm, so there are *some* benefits from being married

[Jezport]

We have the IQ2 with leather and satnav its. Its mainly my wife's car as I have a Jag, its the only small car that I have driven that dooesnt make me wish i'd taken my Jag instead. I drove a corsa,107 and a 500 and wouldn't have any of them compared to the iIQ.

[anchorman]

Interesting thread. I bought one of these;

http://www.daihatsu.com/catalogue/sirion/

It is really a Yaris in a Daihatsu body. You can pick up a 10 plate model with very low mileage for about 4k. It has the same 3 cylinder engine and 5 speed box but the big difference is the interior space. There is actually more front and rear legroom than my RAV4.

[bobkneale]

Interesting thread. I bought one of these;

http://www.daihatsu.com/catalogue/sirion/

It is really a Yaris in a Daihatsu body. You can pick up a 10 plate model with very low mileage for about 4k. It has the same 3 cylinder engine and 5 speed box but the big difference is the interior space. There is actually more front and rear legroom than my RAV4.

A very Intresting choice I would say that your choice is a "potential" contender to the IQ I have found a Sirion for £4000 that has only 12,000 miles and immacculate, http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/19780/stock.htm

I bet you cannot get an IQ that has only covered 12,000 miles for that price !

Positive Regards, Bob

[scgf]

It's interesting how the Smart is slated at the start of this thread. I replaced my Smart Cabrio Cdi (diesel) with an Aygo last year because I needed a four-seater. How I miss my Smart! IMO some of the so-called disadvantages are like urban myths. Someone heard the gears aren't good, so the story got propagated around. The semi-auto gearbox is a delight. I've driven many non-Smart owners around then told them casually about how some reviewers have criticised the car for 'throwing you back in your seat' when the gear changes. The reaction is always tempered with incredulity. The drive is excellent - 90mph on the motorway? No problem.

I rejected the IQ because it was simply too big for what is basically a two-seater. The width is quite ridiculous to be honest.

Assuming I need a four-seater again when I replace my Aygo next year, I'm going to use my usual baseline of free road-tax, and 60+ mpg and it's probably going to be either the new Hyundai i10 or the Skoda Citigo 5 door in white (looks so much nicer than the Up!)

[Celica Euan]

I test drove a Smart before opting for the iQ - and although rather distracted by the entertaining novelty of flappy paddle gear changes in the Smart I drove, ultimately felt that I'd prefer either a fully manual gearbox, or a fully automatic one.

As to the drive - the Smart felt notably harsher to me (having tested on basically the same roads - the Edinburgh Smart and Toyota dealerships are across the road from each other, though the Toyota chap had a much better/longer test route, the start bit was the same for both).

Thought this YouTube video was quite a decent comparison:

I'd agree that if you needed a four-seater than the iQ's a bit too compromised to be a sensible choice - in my circumstances (wife and three-year-old lad) it's ideal though.

Did consider the Aygo (and my sister used to have a Citroen C1) - my wife and I were sold on all the additional creature comforts in the iQ though.

In honesty though, Smart iQ and Aygo all have their place, wouldn't fault anyone for choosing any one of the three.

[bobkneale]

After test driving a Smart and a IQ after each other I liked the IQ better, the smart felt more like driving a go cart than a car. Also the IQ has more shopping space with the rear seats folded down, plus room for my wife and one grandchild if needed, that coupled with Toyota's IQ reliability that most reviews said was potentaily better than the smart I went for the IQ. My baseline was also 60+MPG plus no road tax !

Perhaps the smart is just as reliable as an IQ I truly am not sure.

[Celica Euan]

IQ probably edges it out a little - it was the single best model for passing MOT tests first-time at 91.2% as reported here, up till 2008 Smart had a 70.8% pass rate for all cars while Toyota had a 70.2% pass rate - but bear in mind that Toyota figure includes cars as old as 1985 vintage, while the oldest Smart's only 2003.

Either is probably comfortably in the top 10% though.

[scimberk]

My findings on the Smart, Suzuki and IQ were not based on heresay or reviews, they were based on very long test drives taken over several days, each taken on varied drives, none less than 300 miles, in the case of the smart it was a jaunt of over 400, split between my other half and me.

By far the most exhausting of drives was in the Smart, shame really as it was a car I have always liked. My other half has been put through the mangle in many weird and wonderful cars, aixam scouty, various Reliant 3 wheelers and a Secma 500 to name a few, none of those she had a choice on, as I bought them on a whim, the Smart on the other hand was different, I was left feeling that I would not have a home to live in if I bought one and believe me, she is no car snob.

The Suzuki was a nice car, but the IQ won on its oddness, normal car feel and luxury touches, she did say it reminded her of her old Avonbar Mini, that's when I should have known what would come next.

After having to deal with awful Toyota dealers, then buying outside of the Toyota franchise, I had many weeks of excellent IQ motoring, till one awful morning when she took it to work, now every work say I'm left with a VW Bora that sits staring at me on the driveway, a car that I have no intrest in, that has forced me to use my others.

Thanks VW and Toyota, you have renewed my intrest in old cars, but I still miss my Toyota IQ.

[bobkneale]

My findings on the Smart, Suzuki and IQ were not based on heresay or reviews, they were based on very long test drives taken over several days, each taken on varied drives, none less than 300 miles, in the case of the smart it was a jaunt of over 400, split between my other half and me.

By far the most exhausting of drives was in the Smart, shame really as it was a car I have always liked. My other half has been put through the mangle in many weird and wonderful cars, aixam scouty, various Reliant 3 wheelers and a Secma 500 to name a few, none of those she had a choice on, as I bought them on a whim, the Smart on the other hand was different, I was left feeling that I would not have a home to live in if I bought one and believe me, she is no car snob.

The Suzuki was a nice car, but the IQ won on its oddness, normal car feel and luxury touches, she did say it reminded her of her old Avonbar Mini, that's when I should have known what would come next.

After having to deal with awful Toyota dealers, then buying outside of the Toyota franchise, I had many weeks of excellent IQ motoring, till one awful morning when she took it to work, now every work say I'm left with a VW Bora that sits staring at me on the driveway, a car that I have no intrest in, that has forced me to use my others.

Thanks VW and Toyota, you have renewed my intrest in old cars, but I still miss my Toyota IQ.

Darren, I can fully relate to you above comments re your wife being put through the mangle with your past choices of cars for her, I also have done the same in the past, perhaps I should apologies to her for it, I might just do that today !