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You want a car in London? Why?
To be honest, neither will be great on the motorway, but the Mini is OK. Never been in a Fiat 500. You could always save your money, use public transport for getting through London, the tube is amazing after all at that and then get a old beater like a Ford Mondeo or even Jaguar XJ for £4k and have a really pleasant 120 mile motorway journey. Seems silly to spend loads of money on a car in London which will only get dinged, scratched or stolen.
To be honest, neither will be great on the motorway, but the Mini is OK. Never been in a Fiat 500. You could always save your money, use public transport for getting through London, the tube is amazing after all at that and then get a old beater like a Ford Mondeo or even Jaguar XJ for £4k and have a really pleasant 120 mile motorway journey. Seems silly to spend loads of money on a car in London which will only get dinged, scratched or stolen.
(edited 12 years ago)
Taken a mini one on the motorway - it was fine. Usually drive a 2ltr Focus and despite obvious differences, I found that I was comfortable enough in the mini and the car held it's own. It was good on fuel too.
As for the poster above: Agree with trying to avoid driving in London. I have been doing it for a while now and it has aged me no end.
As for the poster above: Agree with trying to avoid driving in London. I have been doing it for a while now and it has aged me no end.
I've driven a mini round an airfield and driven my mums 500 a few times. The 500 is very easy to control and is so small you can literally fit it into the tiniest of spaces. The mini was more comfortable and has way more capacity. Overall I would say the 500 for around London, just for the convenience, and to be honest it isn't too bad on long journeys either, surprisingly comfortable and fun.
do as gbduo says and get a big car for the motorway. You don't want to be driving into central London if you can avoid it anyway, and to be honest the size of car won't make much of a difference.
I've got a great big mondeo estate, which is excellent for motorways, but it does cope with driving into central London (mostly evenings and weekends to be honest) well, don't really have problems finding a space or anything.
A lot of people are disillusioned into thinking a small hatchback will be better for town driving because it's "small and nippy". In reality finding a space to park and dealing with traffic jams is going to be the same whatever car you drive, having a slightly smaller car won't really mean you can fit through smaller gaps etc. Anyway, I manage to squeeze through gaps that most drivers in minis and smart cars wouldn't attempt lol.....its all about knowing the width of your vehicle.
If you want to be able to beat the traffic in London get a bike!
The very very slight trade off from driving a slightly bigger car in London will more than make up for the better motorway driving, especially if you're doing it regularly.
Also, when you say around London, could you be more specific, are you talking suburbs or actually driving round the congestion charge area? Either way, going from driving a saxo to a mondeo didn't feel much different driving round and through London, the real noticeable difference is on motorways and dual carrigeways.
The bigger boot size and passenger space often comes in handy too! (not to mention insurance will probably be cheaper for something like a mondeo than a mini or fiat 500)
Hope that helps.
I've got a great big mondeo estate, which is excellent for motorways, but it does cope with driving into central London (mostly evenings and weekends to be honest) well, don't really have problems finding a space or anything.
A lot of people are disillusioned into thinking a small hatchback will be better for town driving because it's "small and nippy". In reality finding a space to park and dealing with traffic jams is going to be the same whatever car you drive, having a slightly smaller car won't really mean you can fit through smaller gaps etc. Anyway, I manage to squeeze through gaps that most drivers in minis and smart cars wouldn't attempt lol.....its all about knowing the width of your vehicle.
If you want to be able to beat the traffic in London get a bike!
The very very slight trade off from driving a slightly bigger car in London will more than make up for the better motorway driving, especially if you're doing it regularly.
Also, when you say around London, could you be more specific, are you talking suburbs or actually driving round the congestion charge area? Either way, going from driving a saxo to a mondeo didn't feel much different driving round and through London, the real noticeable difference is on motorways and dual carrigeways.
The bigger boot size and passenger space often comes in handy too! (not to mention insurance will probably be cheaper for something like a mondeo than a mini or fiat 500)
Hope that helps.
Used to own a Cooper S and I've done a couple of miles in a 500.
There's not an awful lot to choose between them, really. The 500 does have a little button that makes the steering go silly light which might be useful for particularly tight parking spots?
Realistically, you need to go and have a drive in both. You can't choose a car by what's written about it on paper and what they look like. You have to live with the decision EVERY DAY so if one of them is incredibly uncomfortable to YOU, what does it matter what anyone else thinks?
There's not an awful lot to choose between them, really. The 500 does have a little button that makes the steering go silly light which might be useful for particularly tight parking spots?
Realistically, you need to go and have a drive in both. You can't choose a car by what's written about it on paper and what they look like. You have to live with the decision EVERY DAY so if one of them is incredibly uncomfortable to YOU, what does it matter what anyone else thinks?
Save your money and get yourself a nice mk3 Ford Mondeo 1.8 petrol.
Go for a facelift one (chrome grille, 2003 onwards) and in a decent spec, probably Zetec.
Trust me on this - they are fantastic cars. I had one for a year and it never went wrong, still felt new, drove brilliantly, cheap to run, nice to drive, and extremely comfortable and relaxing on long journeys which is exactly what you want.
Go for a facelift one (chrome grille, 2003 onwards) and in a decent spec, probably Zetec.
Trust me on this - they are fantastic cars. I had one for a year and it never went wrong, still felt new, drove brilliantly, cheap to run, nice to drive, and extremely comfortable and relaxing on long journeys which is exactly what you want.
Personally, id go for the mini
Have had the MINI One D and still have the 500 TwinAir+ though I rarely ever drive that 500 these days.
Motorway driving, the MINI was a better one as it had better torque and better geared. It also gave better fuel consumption. The 500 is a bit underpowered especially if the motorway isn't perfectly flat and does drink fuel for a car this size. One thing to note is with the 500 when you get passed on the motorway by a fast moving lorry you do tend to feel it.
City driving, both were the same though the 500 is better in terms of manoeuvrability and rarely is there a lot too small for it to park
Fuel consumption, again the MINI was better as it was a diesel.
Comfort levels, I personally like the 500 more than the MINI in this respect, seats are more supportive and the interior feels livelier as well where the MINI is starting to date. Build quality the 500 is every bit as good as the MINI.
I guess it depends on what you are after in a car..... if it is power and a lively drive then the MINI is the one to go for as the 500 unless you get the 1.4l versions it will be fairly underpowered. I probably won't buy a new MINI now either as the new one should be out by later this year.
Personally after living in London and working in the City if I could avoid it I would avoid having a car.... parking is such a pain and it is often faster to walk or cycle than to drive.
Motorway driving, the MINI was a better one as it had better torque and better geared. It also gave better fuel consumption. The 500 is a bit underpowered especially if the motorway isn't perfectly flat and does drink fuel for a car this size. One thing to note is with the 500 when you get passed on the motorway by a fast moving lorry you do tend to feel it.
City driving, both were the same though the 500 is better in terms of manoeuvrability and rarely is there a lot too small for it to park
Fuel consumption, again the MINI was better as it was a diesel. Comfort levels, I personally like the 500 more than the MINI in this respect, seats are more supportive and the interior feels livelier as well where the MINI is starting to date. Build quality the 500 is every bit as good as the MINI.
I guess it depends on what you are after in a car..... if it is power and a lively drive then the MINI is the one to go for as the 500 unless you get the 1.4l versions it will be fairly underpowered. I probably won't buy a new MINI now either as the new one should be out by later this year.
Personally after living in London and working in the City if I could avoid it I would avoid having a car.... parking is such a pain and it is often faster to walk or cycle than to drive.
Original post by gbduo
You want a car in London? Why?
To be honest, neither will be great on the motorway, but the Mini is OK. Never been in a Fiat 500. You could always save your money, use public transport for getting through London, the tube is amazing after all at that and then get a old beater like a Ford Mondeo or even Jaguar XJ for £4k and have a really pleasant 120 mile motorway journey. Seems silly to spend loads of money on a car in London which will only get dinged, scratched or stolen.
To be honest, neither will be great on the motorway, but the Mini is OK. Never been in a Fiat 500. You could always save your money, use public transport for getting through London, the tube is amazing after all at that and then get a old beater like a Ford Mondeo or even Jaguar XJ for £4k and have a really pleasant 120 mile motorway journey. Seems silly to spend loads of money on a car in London which will only get dinged, scratched or stolen.
Sorry do you live in London?! Ummm, I live in 'greater london' and most of my travelling is around greater london and outside london, I hardly ever go into central london. And I am not sure how much insurance on an xj would be?!
Original post by InnerTemple
Taken a mini one on the motorway - it was fine. Usually drive a 2ltr Focus and despite obvious differences, I found that I was comfortable enough in the mini and the car held it's own. It was good on fuel too.
As for the poster above: Agree with trying to avoid driving in London. I have been doing it for a while now and it has aged me no end.
As for the poster above: Agree with trying to avoid driving in London. I have been doing it for a while now and it has aged me no end.
I drive around greater london not central - I am not crazy haha
Original post by Herr
Have had the MINI One D and still have the 500 TwinAir+ though I rarely ever drive that 500 these days.
Motorway driving, the MINI was a better one as it had better torque and better geared. It also gave better fuel consumption. The 500 is a bit underpowered especially if the motorway isn't perfectly flat and does drink fuel for a car this size. One thing to note is with the 500 when you get passed on the motorway by a fast moving lorry you do tend to feel it.
City driving, both were the same though the 500 is better in terms of manoeuvrability and rarely is there a lot too small for it to park Fuel consumption, again the MINI was better as it was a diesel.
Comfort levels, I personally like the 500 more than the MINI in this respect, seats are more supportive and the interior feels livelier as well where the MINI is starting to date. Build quality the 500 is every bit as good as the MINI.
I guess it depends on what you are after in a car..... if it is power and a lively drive then the MINI is the one to go for as the 500 unless you get the 1.4l versions it will be fairly underpowered. I probably won't buy a new MINI now either as the new one should be out by later this year.
Personally after living in London and working in the City if I could avoid it I would avoid having a car.... parking is such a pain and it is often faster to walk or cycle than to drive.
Motorway driving, the MINI was a better one as it had better torque and better geared. It also gave better fuel consumption. The 500 is a bit underpowered especially if the motorway isn't perfectly flat and does drink fuel for a car this size. One thing to note is with the 500 when you get passed on the motorway by a fast moving lorry you do tend to feel it.
City driving, both were the same though the 500 is better in terms of manoeuvrability and rarely is there a lot too small for it to park
Fuel consumption, again the MINI was better as it was a diesel. Comfort levels, I personally like the 500 more than the MINI in this respect, seats are more supportive and the interior feels livelier as well where the MINI is starting to date. Build quality the 500 is every bit as good as the MINI.
I guess it depends on what you are after in a car..... if it is power and a lively drive then the MINI is the one to go for as the 500 unless you get the 1.4l versions it will be fairly underpowered. I probably won't buy a new MINI now either as the new one should be out by later this year.
Personally after living in London and working in the City if I could avoid it I would avoid having a car.... parking is such a pain and it is often faster to walk or cycle than to drive.
Thanks that was really helpful
I am not going to buy a new mini maybe 2 years old (ish) Do you know when the new mini is out? Because I am presuming the used ones should drop in price slightly??I haven't heard anything about a new Mini coming out, and I highly doubt they will drop in price by a noticeable amount when the new one arrives as the residuals are so strong.
Whatever you do, DO NOT buy a diesel car for town driving. It will cost you more in the long term, so stick to petrol.
Whatever you do, DO NOT buy a diesel car for town driving. It will cost you more in the long term, so stick to petrol.
I think due to fuel prices today you really need to consider mpg. Yes a small car is easy to drive and park too for London I love the look of both cars but think you might get more for your money with the fiat 500. The newer the car the better the engine and hopefully more fuel efficient and hopefully less likely to breakdown. Consider an Audi maybe - not most attractive but say a3 very economical. Don't think mini will hold its value too well now.
The motorway's hardly Le Mans is it, I drive my 13-year-old Ka on it all the time. It was designed for cars in the 1960s after all. But if you live in London you can't possibly buy a car, it's a terrible investment - particularly something expensive like a Mini or a 500. Even if you're rich you should try not to make bad investments, do you know how much it will cost, including London postcode insurance and petrol?
Original post by A1 value
I think due to fuel prices today you really need to consider mpg. Yes a small car is easy to drive and park too for London I love the look of both cars but think you might get more for your money with the fiat 500. The newer the car the better the engine and hopefully more fuel efficient and hopefully less likely to breakdown. Consider an Audi maybe - not most attractive but say a3 very economical. Don't think mini will hold its value too well now.
What you have to remember though is that a small difference in mpg is a far smaller cost of owning a car when you take into consideration things like depreciation, initial purchase price, and maintenance.
A diesel car is NOT suited to town use at all. They only really make sense if you are doing over 15k a year due to the higher initial purchase price and the higher cost of the fuel. Also bear in mind that any diesel engine will not achieve these wonderful quoted mpg figures while the engine is cold - hence you would be better with a petrol car for town driving.
Diesels do not like to be used for short trips, especially the modern ones with DPFs that NEED long journeys at optimum temperature in order to regenerate. If it clogs, which it will, then it is over £1000 to replace. Then you have to take into account things like diesels are generally prone to more problems than petrol cars - clutches, DMFs, injectors, turbos, EGR valves, DPFs etc - a failure in any one of these will set you back a considerable amount of money, and it is certainly not unknown for cars to have these problems at 3 years old. Of course petrol cars can have these issues too, but they are much more common at lower mileages than petrol equivalents.
Diesels have their place without a doubt, but that place is not driving about a big city
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Arekkusu
The motorway's hardly Le Mans is it, I drive my 13-year-old Ka on it all the time. It was designed for cars in the 1960s after all. But if you live in London you can't possibly buy a car, it's a terrible investment - particularly something expensive like a Mini or a 500. Even if you're rich you should try not to make bad investments, do you know how much it will cost, including London postcode insurance and petrol?
Haha your comment made me laugh.
As I said I do live in greater london and most my driving is greater london and out of london. I already have a car, so yes I know about petrol and my insurance is about 1,100 on a mini one convertible and 800 on a fiat (2years no claims)Original post by 1992LP
What you have to remember though is that a small difference in mpg is a far smaller cost of owning a car when you take into consideration things like depreciation, initial purchase price, and maintenance.
A diesel car is NOT suited to town use at all. They only really make sense if you are doing over 15k a year due to the higher initial purchase price and the higher cost of the fuel. Also bear in mind that any diesel engine will not achieve these wonderful quoted mpg figures while the engine is cold - hence you would be better with a petrol car for town driving.
Diesels do not like to be used for short trips, especially the modern ones with DPFs that NEED long journeys at optimum temperature in order to regenerate. If it clogs, which it will, then it is over £1000 to replace. Then you have to take into account things like diesels are generally prone to more problems than petrol cars - clutches, DMFs, injectors, turbos, EGR valves, DPFs etc - a failure in any one of these will set you back a considerable amount of money, and it is certainly not unknown for cars to have these problems at 3 years old. Of course petrol cars can have these issues too, but they are much more common at lower mileages than petrol equivalents.
Diesels have their place without a doubt, but that place is not driving about a big city
A diesel car is NOT suited to town use at all. They only really make sense if you are doing over 15k a year due to the higher initial purchase price and the higher cost of the fuel. Also bear in mind that any diesel engine will not achieve these wonderful quoted mpg figures while the engine is cold - hence you would be better with a petrol car for town driving.
Diesels do not like to be used for short trips, especially the modern ones with DPFs that NEED long journeys at optimum temperature in order to regenerate. If it clogs, which it will, then it is over £1000 to replace. Then you have to take into account things like diesels are generally prone to more problems than petrol cars - clutches, DMFs, injectors, turbos, EGR valves, DPFs etc - a failure in any one of these will set you back a considerable amount of money, and it is certainly not unknown for cars to have these problems at 3 years old. Of course petrol cars can have these issues too, but they are much more common at lower mileages than petrol equivalents.
Diesels have their place without a doubt, but that place is not driving about a big city
You have definitely put me off a diesel
haha, although I already hate how they sound like tractors!Original post by Sadsnail
You have definitely put me off a diesel haha, although I already hate how they sound like tractors!
You have definitely put me off a diesel
haha, although I already hate how they sound like tractors!Don't get me wrong, they certainly have their place, but for what you are wanting it would without a doubt be the wrong tool for the job.
Original post by Sadsnail
Sorry do you live in London?! Ummm, I live in 'greater london' and most of my travelling is around greater london and outside london, I hardly ever go into central london. And I am not sure how much insurance on an xj would be?!
I drive around greater london not central - I am not crazy haha
Thanks that was really helpful I am not going to buy a new mini maybe 2 years old (ish) Do you know when the new mini is out? Because I am presuming the used ones should drop in price slightly??
I drive around greater london not central - I am not crazy haha
Thanks that was really helpful
I am not going to buy a new mini maybe 2 years old (ish) Do you know when the new mini is out? Because I am presuming the used ones should drop in price slightly??The current model MINI is already 6 years in the making, the new one should be out end of this year or next year as BMW generally replaces a car every 6-7 years....... the Germans don't follow the British way of doing things especially that of making the same car for 40 years
It should drop in price though not by much when the new one comes out. The One D models will always have a strong following as it is Congestion Charge exempt and many people buy them to commute into Central London where it can be cheaper and faster for some people to drive into work than to take the train. I was one of those As for the petrol engined MINI One, those won't have as strong a residual value as generally the ones that have good residuals are the diesels and the Cooper models, the Cooper S and the JCW versions don't hold their value as well any longer due to the stupidly high insurance on them even for a 30-something bloke The same is true for the convertible models but once you start looking at things like the Countryman or the Clubman etc then they depreciate just like any other car I thought you were off to Cambridge for uni this year? Cambridge isn't an easy place to keep a car.
If you will be buying used then the 500 will usually be better value for money. It would be a lot cheaper to maintain as well as MINI parts are expensive to buy and if you bring it for any maintenance work it will cost you some money especially when it comes towards the moments when the car will need a MOT. 2-3 year old MINIs, I would only buy one that is still under warranty and has had the TLC service pack... if it doesn't have one then stay far away from it
I probably would also squeeze the seller to give me the TLC XL pack thrown in as well Original post by Sadsnail
Haha your comment made me laugh. As I said I do live in greater london and most my driving is greater london and out of london. I already have a car, so yes I know about petrol and my insurance is about 1,100 on a mini one convertible and 800 on a fiat (2years no claims)
As I said I do live in greater london and most my driving is greater london and out of london. I already have a car, so yes I know about petrol and my insurance is about 1,100 on a mini one convertible and 800 on a fiat (2years no claims)Oh right I see, that does sound a lot more sane. I'd go for the fiat then, it's cooler.
Original post by Sadsnail
Opinions??
What's better for city driving (around London) mostly.
But also a 120 mile motorway journey on alternative weekends?
Thank youuuu
What's better for city driving (around London) mostly.
But also a 120 mile motorway journey on alternative weekends?
Thank youuuu
Well if your going to be in London...
Fiat 500 no doubt. Your exempt from the congestion charge. And you don't have to pay road tax.
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