Help me find something interesting for €5,000.
Oh noble and all knowing oracles, whose driving gloves I am not fit to clean, I beseech thee. How best can I spend my €5k credit union loan to replace the daily hack, given I have many motorway miles to go each morning, and miles to go before I sleep? How much hybrid can I get; are they all knackered by now? Or am I consigned to TDI/HDi/diesel ownership, with the vagaries of DMF grenades and DPF clogginess to contend with? Is there a smart petrol alternative I've missed? It doesn't need to be big, just clever... and frugal, and reliable, and appealing to the lady-folk, and not a complete joyless, soul-sucking experience to drive. I'm not asking for much, am I?
Cian, Ha! (35 1/2)
Cian Hanrahan (Ennis)Jun 2014 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
FULL DISCLOSURE: Cian is known to us at CompleteCar.ie through the medium of Twitter. Friend of the show, you might say...
Hi Cian,
Given that we know you I'm half-tempted to steer you into some hilariously disastrous classic car cul-de-sac, then sit back and watch the carnage unfold. However, I know you've already been there and done that so I won't.
Instead, I'm going to go out on a major limb, put my journalistic reputation to the test and recommend an Alfa Romeo. Yup, an Alfa. Your budget should get you into a 2007 or 2008 159 1.8-litre petrol MPI version. The 159 was always a ruggedly built car and while it's still occasionally prone to the classic Alfa electrical glitches, it's also probably the most all-round reliable car ever to come out of Milan.
It's also utterly gorgeous. reasonably spacious and really very good to drive. True, the 1.9 diesel would be more economical but it doesn't sound as good as the petrol. Enjoy, and let us know if anything goes explosively pop!
Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Adviser@neilmbriscoe