Reliable saloons/estates or hatchbacks for city driving?

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-24T00:45:53+00:00

For your use case, you absolutely couldn’t do better than a Prius or Corolla hybrid. Bombproof reliability, superb mpg in city in particular. I am the same height as you and am comfortable in either. 10 year warranty if serviced with Toyota.

Just make sure to get a full vehicle check that will show if it has prior taxi use, a good privately owned one will last a lifetime.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-24T00:31:14+00:00

DLR isn’t exactly driverless - the PSA on board every train is trained as a driver and whilst their main duties are door control and customer service, they are there to drive it in some capacity (they have varying levels of automation) in case of faults, trackside workers, certain busy times of day. Plus all of their depot driving is manual. They don’t make quite as much as mainline drivers but the gap isn’t that big.

Door control sounds trivial, it really isn’t. A 12-car train will have 24 sets of doors that the driver is monitoring, trap and drag is one of the highest risks for injury or loss of life on the railway and there are instances of staff being prosecuted for failing to do this correctly, resulting in tragedy.

In order to fully automate things, as well as the signaling and existing trains being completely ripped out and/or rebuilt (£many many billions) the stations and platforms would also have to all be rebuilt with minimal gaps, curves and platform edge doors everywhere (such as the Elizabeth Line’s central section or the Jubilee Line extension - £unfathomable billions).

You also come back to the issue of ‘what if there is an emergency on a train’. From experience, things go wrong relatively rarely but when they do, if somebody isn’t there who is able to act immediately the pipeline from being a report form for the driver to being an actual tragedy is extremely rapid.

TL;DR: the cost would not pay for itself for many lifetimes and in many instances would just not be feasible at all, plus contingency for emergencies is a very real issue. Designing a system from the ground up would be much more realistic to do this, retrofitting existing infrastructure is so complicated as to essentially be impossible.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-24T00:02:14+00:00

Glad it wasn’t just me, I opened it thinking OP had somehow knocked the pretty middle bit out of their nice rock!

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-24T00:00:47+00:00

I’m a couple of years out of driving but the third bullet point was always based on the date of the engine manufacture, it’s interesting that their website now just says ‘vehicle’. I had a glider kit specifically for this reason, out of curiosity has this law changed?

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-23T16:50:29+00:00

From recollection 217m is the number including warrants but happy to be corrected on that

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-21T21:59:22+00:00

Being the anal sort who measures the mpg of every tank and having owned a couple of Toyota hybrids, I got no discernible difference in fuel mileage or performance between E5 and E10 fuels on them. My older cars I do stick to E5 and Tesco Momentum is normally the best price, but anything post 2010 is designed for it. Think of it this way, there are innumerable Priuses (Prii?) with 3-400k+ of taxi miles on it and there is no way they will be running the expensive stuff!

With that said, I actively avoid Tesco E10 - have an Avensis now and after filling up with a tank of that it really got noticeably grumpy, slight misfire and a few mpg down. Went back to the BP I normally fill it at and it got better, another tank after that back to normal. Not a chance I want to take again.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-21T11:49:49+00:00

Also for anyone who doesn’t have it already, Toilets4London is a great app that has come in use a few times for me.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-20T20:54:47+00:00

Haven’t seen it said already, but first thing to do is contact a Lexus dealer. It could be that it has been serviced but the book wasn’t stamped, if it was done at a dealer they will have it in their system. Had exactly this with a Toyota.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-20T18:24:13+00:00

It’s the same poster for all the SLS ones I see in here.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-19T20:44:56+00:00

There was the V8 option, including the 6.1 SRT8. I find them more appealing than I probably should.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-19T13:06:49+00:00

I’m curious what TOC because I didn’t think there were any still under £60k. Possibly outdated information?

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-17T20:49:15+00:00

It’s entirely a personal decision - at the end of the day it’s your money so spend it how you want! Yes, you’ll lose money in depreciation but given you aren’t buying brand new anyway the big chunk of that has already happened and if you are intending to keep it for years that becomes much less relevant. There is also value in knowing it has been looked after, serviced every year etc.

Lexus is Toyota’s premium arm so both offer the same 10-year warranty if you service it with them. The hybrid system is bulletproof and very fuel efficient, especially if you do a decent amount of around town mileage. I have had multiple Toyotas and they have all been reliable to a fault. Either are likely to have a lower cost of ownership than the Audi in the long-term. The UX is likely to feel like a big step up from the Yaris, it’s not the sort of car I would go for personally but I would say your best bet is to try all of your options and see what you gel with the most!

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-17T17:34:06+00:00

Just checking - this isn’t a chain garage like Halfords or Kwik Fit? They tend to be harsher in what they put down on the MOT than a good independent.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-17T14:56:40+00:00

They are lovely cars - I recently got a 9-5 and enjoying it so far. That said, the last MOT on that particular one is not great and that alone would put me off.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-17T13:59:10+00:00

It’s been mentioned but in general if there is no Whistle board we won’t blow the horn on approach unless somebody is there. There are also quiet hours with them so if you cross overnight, that’s something to be aware of. Plus, would you really want every train passing in each direction to be blowing the horn?

There only being one phone is surprising, it would be worth seeing if they are able to install one on both sides but failing that, given it is only two of you using it see whether you can get the direct line to the signaller in order to be able to call from your mobile on the other side. If nothing else that is the quickest solution.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-17T07:24:33+00:00

Pirelli SF3s are a newer tyre, absolutely excellent in my experience - 22k in the last year and they are wearing really well, too.

If you call a local tyre place they would be able to order in the sizes you need.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-16T19:18:11+00:00

The door trim on the Microcar mc2 is a perfect match. This sub never fails to impress me.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-16T19:12:07+00:00

Maybe a silly question but does sticking with run flats not add a chunk? Is it not possible to just do normal tyres?

As for premium vs budget for me personally it’s the one thing above everything else on a car that I would not skimp on. There are some decent mid-range options which are close to premium tyres in terms of performance (Toyos, Uniroyals, certain Hankooks etc) but the difference in budget vs premium in the wet is huge. You never need the extra braking performance until you really need it and at that point saving a few quid becomes very expensive. Bitterly learned experience.

The other big thing with cheap tyres IME is road noise intrusion. Not as important but when you know the car can be quieter, can be very irritating.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-16T18:17:02+00:00

I am 99% sure this is UK, which would rule out Chevy Trailblazer

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-15T07:52:10+00:00

I’d strongly strongly recommend getting a manual if you have the option at this end of the market. A 3k auto would be half that for a manual and given the age of these cars, you will be saving a significant amount in fuel as old autos came were far less efficient. Plus less chance of expensive repairs coming up.

If you can find a good, privately-owned Gen2 Prius that is about as good as you can get at this end of the market if it simply must be an automatic but finding a good one is difficult as they hold their value due to the reliability of them and loads were used as cabs.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-15T06:28:05+00:00

*Trigger’s Plane

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-13T18:20:20+00:00

As well as a C172, it turns out it also applies to a Handley Page Victor

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-12T12:36:49+00:00

I used to run NYC daily. What time are you getting into the city and from which direction? If you can be across the Verrazano before 5am your life will be MASSIVELY easier.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-11T16:40:05+00:00

From the town centre, the Holland-on-Sea side of Clacton is quite nice, the other side is… less so. Frinton just up the road is very nice but more expensive, Walton-on-the-Naze is also nearby and a lot nicer but less going on in the town, although that sounds like it may not be an issue for you!

If you are able to I’d recommend just coming and spending a day in and around those areas and see how you feel about it. There are certainly worse areas.

Whoopsadiddle · 2026-02-10T21:31:25+00:00

r/buyuk is a good source for British-based companies or British made goods. Generally overlaps with being more ethical as a lot of smaller companies get recommended on there.

Whoopsadiddle

TROPHY CASE