What minicar to buy?

[ghosthunter]

If you can stretch your budget to 575K, you can also buy the Toyota VIOS 1.3L J M/T

Or if you are really sticking to your budget, check the Kia Picanto. It seats four in relative comfort, handles well (almost like a go-kart when taking corners) and looks pretty good too. The small 1.1L petrol engine has enough "oomph" to get the car going at a reasonable pace. The engine is rev happy which is good since you will be needing that quality for a quick get-away.

Cargo spare at the rear is rather small but it can be supplemented by folding down the rear seats. Ride quality is surprisingly good for a car of this size, almost comparable to cars of the 1.6L class.

Handling (like I said above) is very good, even better than most of the bigger cars I was able to test drive as this car gives good levels of feedback to the driver of what is happening around the car. Sound insulation against road noise is average.

The interior is surprisingly very good for the price range, especially if you would compare this car to the Suzuki Alto (which is very spartan when compared to the Picanto). It is basically the same as euro spec version in most ways. With my 5'8" height ad rather big frame, I have no problems getting in and out of this car, nor do I end up bumping shoulders with my passenger, as I ending up doing with the Suzuki Alto.



Price is 500k for the manual and 550K for the automatic tranny.

Hint, don't try upgrading the wheels of this car to a wide/low-profile set of tires because it will kill the fuel consumption figures and also might affect ride comfort as well.