New car time. Civic, Focus or Golf?

olafgarten

Find yourself a 2012 Kia Ceed, they still have warranties until 2019. Very nice to drive and have a decent boot space. Usually go for a little more than 4k, but it's worth it. 

BigLicks67

I have had 4 Hondas and they have been super reliable and pretty cheap to service and maintain.
Regards, the Civic we had one which was pretty nippy and easy to handle. The negatives with that car were, road noise and pretty stiff suspension.

My neighbour has a Golf and a Focus and he prefers the Focus, despite the fact he generally loves all things VW. 

Axe_meister

The newer civics have very soft suspension so much so that even at 10mph over a speed bump the front dips down and you hear the little rubber skirts under the car scrape along the ground. I can do 30 in my MGTF over the same bump and still not ground out.

Bucket

Civic.

I have the shape before (mine is early 2005 with the 1.6 VTEC engine) and it's been great. The shape afterwards which you're looking at is great too. The only sticking point is the relative lack of engine choice - the 1.4 petrol will be too gutless, and the next size up is a 1.8, which is the one I'd go for.

They look great, they drive well, they're incredibly reliable and they're massive inside - way bigger than the Focus or Golf.

Flink_Poyd

As always there's a compromise. 

Focus: more choice in the local area (30 mile radius)  and I can find a lower mileage than the Civic for less money. £3k is for anywhere between 50 and 60k. Better choice of colours

Interior can be a bit bland, most 1.6 seem to be 99bhp and could be gutless as I do a 40 mile round trip motorway commute. 

Civic: better standard interior, 1.8L is 139bhp, slightly better spec. £3.5 to £4k for approx 70k. 

Less choice in local area, colours are limited to drab grey, red or the gold/champagne 

I'm starting to suffer from paralysis through analysis, you'd think buying a new car would be a fun joyous experience with the anticipation of a new toy, it's bloody stressful!

thomasross20

Agree with you there.
I almost bought a couple months back and went through the same thing and narrowed it down to the same cars, too.

Deadman

I almost sold my Civic recently for a newly acquired 3 series beemer. The beemer had a problem with the diff so went back to its owner (he was a mate so it wasn't a problem).

I loved the 3 series but I can't tell you how happy I am to be back in the Civic. It's reliable, roomy and I love the look of it (it's a 2013 1.8 Ti model). I took it for a service to Honda Oxford last week and they were spot on. Maybe I'm getting boring in my older years but it's great getting into a car you know is never going to let you down.

Took it up the North Yorkshire Moors recently up some very scary hills and hairpins and it was like a little mountain goat. It may not be overly powerful but it's very revvy and extremely light. I think I'm always going to be a Honda owner from now on.

stickyfiddle

Happy Golf 7 driver here. My sister did 80k in a mk5 and she still talks about how much she misses it despite having TTs and A3s since. 

I can't get on with Focuses. They feel cheaper than VWs and don't drive as well, though many love them. 

To be honest all are great cars - I'd get a drive or two of each then go with your gut. 

Sporky

stickyfiddle said:

I can't get on with Focuses. They feel cheaper than VWs and don't drive as well, though many love them.

Same here - my mum had two Mk1 Focuses (first one was a complete lemon) and I didn't think they were on a par with my Skoda.

stickyfiddle

Sporky said:

stickyfiddle said:

I can't get on with Focuses. They feel cheaper than VWs and don't drive as well, though many love them.

Same here - my mum had two Mk1 Focuses (first one was a complete lemon) and I didn't think they were on a par with my Skoda.

I'd actually go so far as to say I preferred an Astra I hired over your average non-RS Focus. Granted it was a GTC diesel with 190 bhp and fuckloads of grunt but that was at least a huge amount of fun out of roundabouts! 

randella

Sporky said:

stickyfiddle said:

I can't get on with Focuses. They feel cheaper than VWs and don't drive as well, though many love them.

Same here - my mum had two Mk1 Focuses (first one was a complete lemon) and I didn't think they were on a par with my Skoda.

They cost a chunk less than a Skoda to be fair. 

@Flink_Poyd Go for a test drive if you're thinking of taking the plunge on one of the 99 horse 1.6L jobs. They are pretty asthmatic. Mine is the 1.8L with (I think) 125BHP and doesn't exactly set yer knickers on fire when you put your foot down. 

DesVegas

I've just ordered a Focus as my next company car ( I have a Renault Captur now) if you can wait till April I'll let you know how it is.

Sporky

randella said:

They cost a chunk less than a Skoda to be fair. 

Her Focus cost more than my Fabia...

Flink_Poyd

Hg

randella said:

Sporky said:

stickyfiddle said:

I can't get on with Focuses. They feel cheaper than VWs and don't drive as well, though many love them.

Same here - my mum had two Mk1 Focuses (first one was a complete lemon) and I didn't think they were on a par with my Skoda.

They cost a chunk less than a Skoda to be fair. 

@Flink_Poyd Go for a test drive if you're thinking of taking the plunge on one of the 99 horse 1.6L jobs. They are pretty asthmatic. Mine is the 1.8L with (I think) 125BHP and doesn't exactly set yer knickers on fire when you put your foot down. 

Thats my concern with the 1.6, theres loads of 99BHP ones but the 115BHp arent that common around the garages near me. My current one is a 2001 2.0 Ghia so I think a weedy 1.6 might be a bit of a shock.

randella

Sporky said:

randella said:

They cost a chunk less than a Skoda to be fair. 

Her Focus cost more than my Fabia...

It would, it's a bigger car - the Fiesta is a Fabia-sized car, the Octavia is the fairer comparison. 

I know you've got a Skoda thing going on, but you're bending the rules now

strtdv

In fairness the Octavia is a fair bit bigger than a Focus.
Current Octavia estate has a bigger boot than a 5 series touring.
I'd imagine the Fabia is also big for its class.

jaytmon

Honda fanboy here - I have a 2003 Civic 2.0 (not the Type-R), picked it up for a little over £400 with 110K on the clock and I've added 20K to that in about 16 months, no problems apart from usual wear and tear. The downside is that occasionally I think I'm 17 again and drive like a twat.

How about knocking £1500 off your budget and going for a 2005 Type-S? It won't be as refined as the newer model, but you could buy a new guitar/amp/selection of pedals then with the difference!

Practically speaking, Ford parts will almost certainly be cheaper, but I'd hope that Honda parts would last longer. 

You could always throw caution to the wind and find a 05/06 Golf GTI (2.0 turbo) within budget. That would surely be fun. Just sell it before the turbo packs in...!

Bucket

strtdv said:

In fairness the Octavia is a fair bit bigger than a Focus.
Current Octavia estate has a bigger boot than a 5 series touring.
I'd imagine the Fabia is also big for its class.

The Octavia estate is fucking enormous - I've often considered one for my next car, because of the size, plus the fact it can be had with a 180bhp engine but looks dull as dishwater so won't draw attention to itself while parked in the rougher bits of London.

I suspect I will end up with another, newer Civic though. They're also gigantic inside, and I've come to really like Honda as a brand too. Their cars are so much better thought out and more desirable than any of their Japanese rivals (possibly excluding Mazda, whose stuff I like as well). They weren't started by a corporation, they were started by an engineer who wanted to make stuff, and that joy and passion for engineering and innovation still shows in what they make. Their cars are just effortlessly great.

thomasross20

Isn't the visibility through the back window of the civic a bit pants? 
Skoda defo good value but I wouldn't want something TOO big.
Dying to see what the OP gets!

Flink_Poyd

Deadline day is 18th Feb when my current MOT runs out, it'll be sold as spares or repairs so not really worth putting it through.