Is it just me, or are these extremely hard to find!
Prepared to spend up to $3500. And not fussy one make/model etc. Just a manual car, up to1800cc. Soo. hard to find. :(
jezz43,
Mar 15, 9:03am
define economical, i have a mazda astina GT. 1800 DOHC. very quick car for what it is. gets about 17kms/ltr petrol open rd, yet only about half that around town.
morrisman1,
Mar 15, 9:05am
do you do around town driving or open road! If around town then only really a nana car can be properly economical. On the open road then dont rule out the cars that dont appear to be economical, something like a toyota corona or nissan bluebird can be very economical on the open road.
hello_there1,
Mar 15, 9:14am
Bit of both as far as travel goes. Looking for about 10km/ltr petrol round town. Not stuck in rush hour traffic, as have fairly flexible hours with my job. Don'tmind if it is a nanacar. lol
bubbles52,
Mar 15, 9:24am
toyota starlet, i spend 20 bucks per week
morrisman1,
Mar 15, 10:08am
My 91 sentra 1.6 gets about 9.5L/100km around town and low 6's on the open road. For $3500 you could get a late 90's one.
Because you do open road I would suggest not getting an econobox like a charade or starlet, the fuel savings aren't worth the power sacrifices which really make themselves known on the open road.
morrisman1,
Mar 15, 10:14am
Do you nana it! I get about 6.4L/100km on the open road sitting at 110km, passing where possible and hoofing it up the hills (always a speed test going up the kilmog!)
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 15, 12:19pm
Fiat Punto, 2000 or newer, 4 1/2 star ncap, 4 airbags and huge economy. But without the drawbacks of other small cars, in that you have similar power to a standard 1.6 or even 1.8 litre car yet economy that befits its 1200cc's.
The comparatively long/wide wheelbase makes them punch above their weight in the handling/ride department as well.
Nearly impossible to beat for value for money, they are reliable, parts are cheap and available and maintenance is minimal.
There are a few kiwi new manual ones around, a guy on here picked one up for about $2800 the other day. lucky bugger!
hello_there1,
Mar 15, 5:41pm
We had a toyota starlet. Sadly got rear ended a week ago (by a policeman) and it was written off. So was trying to find something comparable.
zirconium,
Mar 15, 9:10pm
Our 1800 manual toyota carib gets 7.5-8L/100km, and it's 4wd. Nice car, nice handling, not too sluggish, fine for longer trips.The 2003 manual 2L ford mondeo stationwagonwe had was very simliar. Bigish car, nice to drive (zippy, manouverable), around the 7-9L/100km mark. - The latter was a bit heavy on tyres though.
morrisman1,
Mar 16, 2:25am
Seriously Jazz, thats stretching the truth a bit much, I know of no modern 1.6/1.8 engine which produce as little as 80hp which is what the 1.2L 16v version. Even the old datsun a12 engine has close to that and is incredibly economical so I dont understand what is so special about this Fiat you rave on about.
Even the 1.4L in the getz we had as a rental had 107hp which felt only adequate for a car of that size. Perhaps your opinion on 'powerful' is less than mine but I know for sure that even with the light body your 80hp is not going to perform anything like the 130hp that most 1.8L cars have.
With pax and luggage that punto is going to need every one of those 80 horses to pull it around on the open road
cjohnw,
Mar 16, 2:30am
Ask Jeremy Clarkson what he thinks of Fiat cars.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 16, 2:47am
Grrr not this again. Look its like this, when people see 1200cc they think its going to be a wimpy little thing like a 1.3 Demio etc. I point it out and make the comparison because the 1200cc twin cam actually propells the car along very well.
Just comparing specs on paper is folly because factors like weight, aerodynamics, torque curves and parasitic drag all make a difference. Fiat really think about things like using electric power steering which gives the same advantage in performance as lightening the car another 50KG.
In terms of actual driving experience its much the same as a 1.6 or 1.8 Corolla. I have owned both at the same time, I have drag raced them together to 100km/h and I have driven both over the kaimais etc many many times.
I really don't want to split hairs over the last 10km/h of top speed etc on this any more. Go out and drive one and then jump into the Classic 1.6 NZ new Corolla or the later 1.8. and see for yourself. For what its worth the Manual Corolla vs the manual Punto comes out in the Corolla's favour (Just) but CVT Punto vs Auto Corolla the Punto wins. yes there is a difference but its bugger all.
In terms of whats so special, find me something else you can buy for about $3500 with a 4 1/2 star safety rating, 4 airbags, air con and extra nice goodies like a factory sub that performs as well with the same or better economy.
morrisman1,
Mar 16, 3:26am
It is a wimpy little thing, 80hp is 80hp. You sound like one of these boy racers with a 78 escort 1.1 that 'goes hard aye bro'.
It might not be a slug but to compare it to something of not much larger size but with 50hp more is just ridiculous. Im not talking about accelerating to 50km/h around town, I'm more talking about hauling your arse past a row of trucks going up a hill and not taking the whole passing lane to do so. My sentra isnt that much quicker to 100 than a mates older 1.4 carby one with 12v but it will leave his behind as soon as we get to a hill on the open road.
Which power steering systems weigh as much as an engine block! 50kg is a lot - guess its just another of your exaggerations. They probably did it to save money more than anything.
In what way is the Punto significantly more aerodynamic than any comparable vehicle! nobody makes things out of lego anymore.
morrisman1,
Mar 16, 3:39am
im interested where you find all these cheap ones too, all but one on trademe are $5000+
craig04,
Mar 16, 3:56am
Jazz, all these old debates could be avoided if you simply said power to weight instead of power.
morrisman1,
Mar 16, 4:15am
Power to weight isnt everything, yes it largely affects acceleration but to a point.
you could have a 500kg car with 50hp, thats 100hp/ton. Upgrade to a 1500kg car with 150hp (same power/weight ratio) and I guarantee that it is going to have a superior 90-130 acceleration time.
The reason is simple, traveling at 90km/h may require 30hp due to drag, that leaves a spare 20hp worth in the little car to propel the car from 90-130, thats only 40hp/ton of spare power and that figure will decrease as speed increases. On the larger car you might need 50hp to propel it at 90km/h, that leaves 100hp spare for acceleration which is 67hp/ton of spare power. BIG difference here. That is the difference that makes getting up hills easy in larger cars.
We know that larger cars do not have significantly higher drag than small cars at constant speed because extra urban economy ratings go from around 5.5L/100km for a modern shopping basket up to about 7L/100km for a medium size sedan like a mazda 6.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 16, 5:33am
If only! I just wish that since it seams to matter so much to some people that theywould borrow one from a dealer line it up against a bog standard Corolla etc and compare first hand themselves. Arguing on paper is fine to a point but it dosn't take into account things like the reduced parasitic loss from the likes of theelectric power steering, drag co-effieicnts, how and who measured the output rating, how much torque the engine produces, what the gear ratios are and the spread of torque through the rev range plus whatever else I have forgotten to include.
Look at the 0-100km/h times they are all much of a muchness, if the original poster wants to seriously consider acceleration beyond the maximum legal speed limit then I would suggest none of the vehicles being compared here are likely ideal.
There comes a point where I really don't give a rats. I have owned two Corolla 1.6 GL's while running a fleet of work Fiats. I have done serious milage in all the vehicles including regularly hauling 4-5 adults up the Kaimais.I have also had long term use of a 1.3 Starlet and owned various other small cc vehicles. SO if you don't believe me thats fine, just try and keep it to yourself instead of confusing poor poster 1. When I next buy a Punto ELX I will even let you know and you can come try it for yourself when you fly up here sometime.
And for peets sake man there have been several sub 4K Punto's on here in the last few weeks and they are regularly selling at Turners etc. There is even a thread on here from a few weeks ago devoted entirely to someone who bought one for $2800.
I am not sure what you have against me morrisman or why you insist on being so nit picky sometimes. By all means challenge me on stuff where I am stretching my knowledge but I am totally sick and tired of people who have not even bothered to drive one constantly picking at what I am saying. Its just unhelpful and confuses the original poster.
Perhaps I need to get Ken Ring to confirm what I am saying, then people will believe it!
craig04,
Mar 16, 6:07am
Jazz, you regularly talk about hauling 4-5 adults up the Kaimai's in the Punto. These guys obviously keep finding their way back. I think you need a new approach. What about the Karangahake Gorge instead.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 16, 6:11am
LMAO! Thats a supurb call! You would think the stench of being stuck between two miniature horses for the ride would be enough to put them off but no!
jcs4,
Mar 16, 6:12am
I have a 2l manual toyota corona. $20 got me more than 140km and thats with a heavy foot. its OK around town too.
dunbar01,
Mar 16, 8:35am
I brought a 1996 Telstar TX5i, 2.0, 5 Speed Man. when I brought it I was getting 530 kms per tank. Then I had it serviced and tuned and was amazed that I now get 650 kms per tank. When I full it I always write the mileage down and run it after the orange light comes on, then I deduct the old reading from the new one. I think that's pretty good for a 2.0 ltr
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 17, 12:43am
If only it were that simple in the real world.
richardmayes,
Mar 17, 12:57am
The budget almost stretches to a Honda jazz, or a higher km civic.
I think the OP has been suggested a number of potential cars to investigate. A little Punto may suit the OP right down to the ground if she wants to spend her entire budget to get a relatively late model car. Or it may not. Punto / anti-Punto thing can now die please.
mottly,
Mar 17, 3:31am
sentra's are great - and cheap as too run (and you can still get them in manual!)
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