What's a good car for my 18yo daughter

FlickySpinny said...

Bit more expensive, but I've just bought one of these brand new (yesterday).

I spent a long, long time working out what we needed and what was the best value. You can pick these up for $17k inc. the safety pack if you haggle hard (do it at the end of the sales month, and over the phone).

Mazda2 Neo with Safety Pack
6 airbags (incl. side and curtain)
ABS
Electronic Stability Control

Looks awesome, stupidly easy to drive and park, great visibility, and big enough to get wave kit in if an extreme emergency takes the Kombi out of action.

On top of all that, the 1.5 has just enough guts to actually pull you out of trouble, as opposed to Hyundai Getz 1.4 which just turns fuel into noise and smoke if you put your foot down. It also feels a lot more robust that the Getz.

Plus... the depreciation on these things is virtually non-existent, esp if you buy the 2011 model which has just had a slight update and had the Stability Control added.


Spent a long time working out which car to buy - this I reckon is the best value car on Australia's roads today (big claim I know).

I would definitely avoid small 4x4s - in your price range they almost exclusively have no stability control, and in the hands of a youngster/anyone, these are the cars that need it most. Seen too many softroader crashes on slippery roads in the UK.

poor relative said...

Get her something classic that she will love and cherish
it'll never go at warp speeds and who knows she might just might take an interest in the mechanics of it all.