What Kind Of Car Should I Buy?

[Ella Bennett]

Hi folks,

I’m 22 and passed my driving test recently. From September, I will be commuting two hours per day by car, the majority of which will be motorway driving. My budget is 5k but I would prefer to spend around 4k. I don’t care if the car is ugly or uncool, my requirements are that: I need a highly reliable car which is going to be economical and cheap to run. I want to buy a car which is very reliable, as I need this car to last me many years and I will be using it constantly. I’d also like the car to be quite small.

I was originally planning on getting a Honda Jazz or Toyta Yaris due to their reliability and fuel economy, but after test driving a Jazz I was a little concerned with how it would do on motorways (which is what the majority of my driving is going to be).

Has anyone got any sensible suggestions which suit my requirements? Thanks

[Stuart Masson]

Hi Ella. Either the Honda Jazz or Toyota Yaris should be perfectly good choices for your needs. For motorway driving, you may benefit from one of the more powerful engine options instead of the entry-level engines, but you will need to check how this may affect your insurance premiums.

Even the basic engines will tick along at motorway speeds just fine, but they will take longer to get there each time and overtaking will be more difficult. Make sure you have a drive of any cars that you are considering to make sure that you feel comfortable in each, and try to take a test drive which incorporates some motorway driving as well.

You should also definitely read The Car Expert’s Ten Golden Rules for buying a car!

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