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Car People: Swift, Corsa or Mini?

Much Ado

Much Ado

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 7, 2006
1,532
1
UK
Right, I'm looking to buy a supermini in the £7000-£9000 range. Here are my options:

Suzuki Swift (1.3 GL, new). Tried it and loved it, with a superb price tag of £7300. Great, right?

Vauxhall Corsa (1.4, new). More pricey new model, but is getting great reviews this year. On a lot of shortlists for COTY 2007. £8500

Mini One Convertable (1.6, used). This only has 1200 miles on the clock over 3 years, is mint condition, and looks an absolute steal at £8500.

Insurance is as insane as ever, but i'm getting the same sort of quote for all three cars. Thanks!
 
What is the gas mileage like for each model? How much interior room in each, especially the driving position? How much trunk space? What about warranties, does the used one have one? What is the reliability like for each?(check Consumer Reports, etc.) Looking at those questions and others might help you narrow it down some.

I hope this helps.
 
Hmm...I'm going to have to vote the Corsa, because for the same price as the Mini you're getting a NEW car. The Suzuki, ah, I'm not much for Japanese cars. If I didn't mind a used car I would definitely vote the Mini, but if people across the pond treat their cars as badly as most do stateside then steer clear!
 
Discount the mini such a massive premium on them you are wasting your money.

I'd say get the swift.
 
I test drove a Swift for my brother only a few months ago, surprisingly impressive car, zingy little rev-tastic engine, and unarguably one of the most stylish and screwed together interiors in its class. Handles well too, surprisingly... given the twist beam hanging at the back (perhaps my only criticism of the car really)... one can only imagine exactly how good it would've been with control blades instead.

I personally don't like MINI's, but I can appreciate their appeal. I'd be a little wary of a car only doing 1200 miles over 3 years, that's almost certainly either an ex-demo or has only been used in city traffic, which potentially means the wear on it is far greater than the number of miles would suggest, few things are worse for a car than continual stop-start driving.

Lastly, I refuse to drive Vauxhalls. The absolute only thing the Corsa has going for it is the TV commercial... C'MON. :p
 
Haven't driven the Swift or Mini but just a note or two about the new Corsa. I found the ride on most of the models okay, but the SXi has a very hard suspension. Try it before you buy it! The other think I wasn't too keen on is that the lower part of the windscreen is a long way from the driver, so if you don't have AC to clear the screen in winter, make sure your arms are long enough to reach so that you can wipe it when it mists up.
 
Thanks all. I've asked this question all over the place, and the Swift is just ahead at the moment.

iGav said:
I'd be a little wary of a car only doing 1200 miles over 3 years, that's almost certainly either an ex-demo or has only been used in city traffic, which potentially means the wear on it is far greater than the number of miles would suggest, few things are worse for a car than continual stop-start driving.C'MON. :p
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I know the owner, and the car is barely driven. Not a scratch on the thing.
 
1200 miles is nothing even if it is all stop and go traffic. Still, 3 years old might mean it is at the end of its warranty period.
 
The Mini is the best one to go for - it'll hold it's value better, it's not new (so you're not losing that first 20% of the value the minute you drive out of the showroom), and with 1,200 miles on the clock, it'll be as good as new.

Plus convertibles are fun :)
 
bigandy said:
The Mini is the best one to go for - it'll hold it's value better, it's not new (so you're not losing that first 20% of the value the minute you drive out of the showroom), and with 1,200 miles on the clock, it'll be as good as new.

Plus convertibles are fun :)
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And we have a winner :D

This is the real cost of running a car - depreciation. The MINI has one of the highest residual values of any car in the UK. For that reason alone it's the one to go for.

Like iGav I wouldn't have touched the example you mentioned having done a suspiciously low mileage over 3 years. However if you are *sure* of its history, and it has full service records (bear in mind it may not have had even an oil change since new 3 years ago :eek:), and you're not put off by the lesser practicality of the convertible (although you can put the back seats down IIRC), go for it :cool:

BTW COTY 2007 has been and gone, the Corsa didn't win it, the Ford S-Max did. COTY has never guaranteed you a good car though, sometimes far from it :eek:
 
bigandy said:
The Mini is the best one to go for - it'll hold it's value better, it's not new (so you're not losing that first 20% of the value the minute you drive out of the showroom), and with 1,200 miles on the clock, it'll be as good as new.

Plus convertibles are fun :)
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I can't disagree with any of this. Spot on.
 
I'm actually in the market for a car now (but am in the States). I really like the new Swift - it's the car the Mini should be, and it gets my vote.
 
No one thinks the Corsa then? :eek: (Except GSMiller)

It's turning into a two-horse race, if you'll excuse the irony.
 
I absolutely think the Corsa, hands down.
There's nothing like brand new, and the quality of Open/Vauxhall is stellar, much better than Suzuki. I had a brand new Suzuki for 5 years, and the quality was terrible -- I would never buy Suzuki again. My dad has been driving Opels (i.e., same as Vauxhalls) most of his life, and has had virtually no problems, ever.

Like I said, I would *never* buy used if I could get brand new for the same money. Plus I think the mini is a ridiculous, ugly little thing.
 
drlunanerd said:
BTW COTY 2007 has been and gone, the Corsa didn't win it, the Ford S-Max did. COTY has never guaranteed you a good car though, sometimes far from it :eek:
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Indeed, there's been a couple of travesties over the years. :p

Incidently, the Fiat Nuova 500 has just won COTY 2008. Deservedly so, and I think comes in on budget for the original poster. ;)
 
iGav said:
Indeed, there's been a couple of travesties over the years. :p

Incidently, the Fiat Nuova 500 has just won COTY 2008. Deservedly so, and I think comes in on budget for the original poster. ;)
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Interesting addition to the mix, the new fiat 500s do look quite nice (althoguh not a patch on the original), although I have only ever seen pictures of them on the internet rather than the real thing.
 
The other alternative is of course wait for the 2008 Ka (that incidentally shares the same platform as the 500) and will likely be nothing other than utterly divine to drive, whilst (like the 500) enjoying the added benefit of rarity for several months. ;)
 
I really think you need to consider how many elephants/giraffe/etc you can fit into the Swift or Corsa...


:p
 
Funnily enough, my family has each car on this list;

I am speaking from experience, don't get a Swift. They are shocking cars to drive on country roads. It doesn't hold the road in a reassuring way, the steering is twitchy and the brakes don't inspire ANY confidence. The brakes are truly awful. On the plus side, the fit and finish inside is good and the doors shut with a satisfying clunk.

I drive the Corsa, and it is leaps and bounds ahead of my Brother's Swift. The steering is less numb and the clutch is much easier to live with. (The arrangement on the Swift leads to high revs and stalls - it is tricky even for the most experienced drivers).
I will ignore the Mini because i am yet to drive it, being a group 16 i will have to wait a few years.

My money would be on the Corsa, but if aren't interested in out of town handling/performance i see no reason not to get the Swift as the playing field is even around town.
 
Bah, everyone's advice is all so good, and yet i still don't know which to take. I've pencilled in more test-drives for the weekend.

Maybe my question should be- which should i not get?

dcv said:
I really think you need to consider how many elephants/giraffe/etc you can fit into the Swift or Corsa...
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Convertible then, for the giraffe. :)
 
Much Ado said:
Maybe my question should be- which should i not get?
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That's easy. The Corsa.

Autocar Review Corsa 1.4 16v said:
Fast, though, this Corsa is not. Vauxhall claims 60mph in 11.8sec, but we took 12.0sec, and it feels slower than that. Fancy overtaking in fourth gear? Plan well: 50-70mph takes 13.1sec. Third, then? You’re still looking at 7.7sec. A 1.4-litre Clio is half a second quicker to 60mph and will accelerate from 50-70mph in fourth in 9.8sec. We returned a 36.6mpg average over our test, with a best of 46.0mpg on a touring route, which is competitive but still not brilliant for a small car.
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How about a Mitsubishi Colt? They're cracking little cars too.
 
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