Help me choose a hatchback /EUROPE/

Help me choose a hatchback /EUROPE/

  • VW Golf

    Votes: 18 37.5%
  • Ford Focus

    Votes: 19 39.6%
  • Opel Astra

    Votes: 4 8.3%
  • Honda Civic

    Votes: 9 18.8%
  • something else?

    Votes: 5 10.4%

  • Total voters
    48

zvucnjak

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2010
Messages
18
Location
Belgrade, Serbia
Car(s)
1997 Skoda Felicia 1.9 D :(
I'm thinking about buying a used 2003-2006 hatchback, probably petrol engine, 1.6 l max.
Reliability, quality and cost of ownership are the main criteria.
I have a few candidates...

First thing you (or I :) ) think about when you hear the word "hatchback" is of course VW Golf. Great quality but it's a bit pricey compared to the others, and it's incredibly popular among thieves over here (and I don't have a garage).

Second one is the Ford Focus. On balance, I could probably say that I like this one the most. Some say parts are expensive though, some say they're not...

Then there is the Opel Astra. This is the most common brand in my country along with VW, which means parts and repair shops shouldn't be hard to find... :)
Thing is though, its quality is nor so good as with those above...

The last but not the least, Honda Civic. Low price, but I'm not sure about maintenance and stuff... Hondas are not so popular over here...


I would be grateful to hear some owner comments, how satisfied are you with it, does it brake down a lot, which would you recommend, considering all these facts...
Especially if there are German or Italian owners, because that's where I'll probably be buying it...

Thanks a lot!
 
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The Civic should be a solid car.
 
Are Mazda3:s out of the equation?

Well, here's the thing... I like Mazdas very much, but they are a bit over my budget... I'm trying to fit into 4000-5000 EUR category (Germany/Italy prices), while those are around 6000 (+ 30-40% import taxes n' stuff like that)...
But I'm not excluding it, if I stumble upon a cheep (-ish) Mazda 3 I would seriously consider it... (or if the budget miraculously increases :) ).

P.S. Thanks for the interesting and tempting suggestion :)
 
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I can only give you a non-suggestion: the Astra sucks. In fact, most cars Opel made after the mid-nineties were more or less debacles. Stay away.
 
My Zafira whilst not wow does a solid job. ?

Anyhow Civic or the Golf IMHO. Golf may be better for parts in your neck of the woods.
 
Be different. Get a Megane.
 
Seat Leon? I'm not sure, but it sounds like a Golf in a Spanish hat, so it at least looks more interesting and probably costs less.
 
I love how 3 of the first 7 posts contained suggestions not on the poll. I'm not being sarcastic: it's one of the reasons to love this place. *laughs*
 
If European Hondas are anything like American Hondas, you don't need to worry about a Civic's reliability. My first car was a 1999 Civic; I drove it to 100,000 miles with no significant issues (and no issues at all aside from a dead battery and a loudly-rattling exhaust tip). It squeaked and rattled like it was about to fall apart, but it never did. And knowing other Civic owners, that's pretty typical.
 
I'm thinking about buying a used 2003-2006 hatchback, probably petrol engine, 1.6 l max.[...]
You won?t get past a Volkswagen product if you?re looking at engines of that Size. VAGs 1.4 TSI or 1.6 FSI Engines beat everything the competition has to offer. Get a Golf, Skoda or Seat with one of these engines ... just for giggles, go and try the Focus with the 1.4 or 1.6 engine in comparison. It?s a significant difference (especially since the golf is a couple kilos lighter than the Focus). If not for the Engine, I would recommend a Focus (bigger, just a bit behind the Golf on build quality & material quality, better driving feel). But at the smaller sized-engines, VWs products just can?t be ignored.
 
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I can only give you a non-suggestion: the Astra sucks. In fact, most cars Opel made after the mid-nineties were more or less debacles. Stay away.
Oh I wouldnt say that about a G (a H should, unless the price situation is seriously different down there, be way out of his budget), it's pretty solid. Only thing you need to worry about on a 1,6 of the period is that it's essential to have the cam belt and water pump changed when specified (pretty cheap), other than that they're pretty bulletproof. Doesnt rust, fits alot of stuff, uses little fuel, understeers like a two-wheeled dog, cheap to insure. All you need in a point A to point B hatch. I think it's more accurate to say that the time period you're refering to was between the late 80's and late 90's, because just about everything they produced during that time was indeed quite poor.

I'm thinking about buying a used 2003-2006 hatchback, probably petrol engine, 1.6 l max.
Reliability, quality and cost of ownership are the main criteria.
I have a few candidates...

First thing you (or I :) ) think about when you hear the word "hatchback" is of course VW Golf. Great quality but it's a bit pricey compared to the others, and it's incredibly popular among thieves over here (and I don't have a garage).

Second one is the Ford Focus. On balance, I could probably say that I like this one the most. Some say parts are expensive though, some say they're not...

Then there is the Opel Astra. This is the most common brand in my country along with VW, which means parts and repair shops shouldn't be hard to find... :)
Thing is though, its quality is nor so good as with those above...

The last but not the least, Honda Civic. Low price, but I'm not sure about maintenance and stuff... Hondas are not so popular over here...

The Ford is nice if you like taking your cars on bendy roads, it's got the most precise gearbox and it's generally the most fun to drive, altough you'd be better off with a slightly beefier engine than a 1,6 if that's your thing. Do they put salt on the roads in Serbia? Fords of the period doesnt like salt, makes them brown. Here's the perforation corrostion status of cars from 2002-2005 in the nordic countries, carried out by the swedish government body Institute of Corrosion Prevention (now called Swerea) on 1000 cars. Higher is better ;)
MOT results for the Focus is below average, while the Focus II launched in 2004 scores above average.

http://img138.imageshack.**/img138/4466/rost1.jpghttp://img109.imageshack.**/img109/717/rost2s.jpg

Because changing every door on every Focus and Mondeo turned out to be expensive for Ford, in 2008 they sorted out their cavity treatment and now they're really great. Only for cars going to the nordic countries though, the rest gets no special treatment. Here's the underside of an RS.
http://www.fordclubsweden.se/forum/showthread.php?t=62360

Cant say anything about the Civic, hardly exists here. Honda actually put up ads with pictures of lawnmowers next to my commute to school, saying they forgot to tell people that they make cars too. All I know is they seem to come with blue and green lights attached to the underside of the car and generally make alot of noise (from the stereo, blaring out arabic music).

If you can afford a Golf, I think it's the most balanced choice, only irritating thing about them is the softlack which peels off on many cars, they're generally quite expensive to service and if you take it to a dealer it's likely they will spit in your face because they hate customers above everything else in the world.
 
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Focus or Civic

Both are great cars, in fact although I voted for the civic, I think the focus is probably the best all-rounder. All cars in the Focus range handle brilliantly, though the smaller engines can sometimes be a let down (hence voting honda, because their 1.6 is quite good). Though, I know ford share the 1.6TDCi with Citroen, I'm wondering if they also share the petrol 1.6 too, because my friend has that engine in his C4 and its not bad at all.

i would also look at the C4 as a off-beat choice... but as a car to drive its a bit, stale. 5-spd box on those is also awful where as with ford and honda, its bolt-action rifle precise.
 
You won?t get past a Volkswagen product if you?re looking at engines of that Size. VAGs 1.4 TSI or 1.6 TSI and FSI Engines beat everything the competition has to offer. Get a Golf, Skoda or Seat with one of these engines ... just for giggles, go and try the Focus with the 1.4 or 1.6 engine in comparison. It?s a significant difference (especially since the golf is a couple kilos lighter than the Focus). If not for the Engine, I would recommend a Focus (bigger, just a bit behind the Golf on build quality & material quality, better driving feel). But at the smaller sized-engines, VWs products just can?t be ignored.

I highly doubt TSIs fit in his budget. Also, there is no 1.6TSI :lol:


Also, how much car do you need? http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showDetails.html?id=137401160&pageNumber=1
 
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I can only give you a non-suggestion: the Astra sucks. In fact, most cars Opel made after the mid-nineties were more or less debacles. Stay away.

the astra h realy doesn't. since 2002 i've had 7, and all of them were rock solid cars, with great road holding, awesome brakes and good interiour. drawback is that it was eachtime a 1.7 cdti. they can do with a bit more power.

that being said, the focus has a stiffer chassis and will be cheaper, the civic has better engines but parts cost a ton, and the golf will feel more advanced, but initial price will be steeper.

but there is realy isn't anything wrong with the astra

PS: take a look at last gen megane as well
 
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Our Astra is an H generation, while it is nothing special it holds up well. My only criticism, the brakes are too touchy when wearing boots... but that's not really a bad thing.
 
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