Could it work? I'm 17, not fussed about ride and how it copes on an mway so much, more concerned about having some fun, wind in the hair, B road blasting hoots, and as far as I've seen, the insurance is fairly good. I'm definitely interested in a Copen, they appear to be cracking rays of sunshine in a sea of dull.
If you can afford the insurance, then the 1.3 is relatively cheap to run and reliable. To be honest I'd postpone for a year or two get some experience under your belt as a dink in a Copen won't be cheap to repair. A cheaper option I'd consider is a Aygo/107/C1/Sirion, reliable/strong, cheap to run and insure, good fun and easy to drive. The 1.0 engine on these is good fun.
I think the 1.3 might be difficult to insure but if you can afford it for either 660 or 1.3 then I would say it is a great first car - one of the few you can get today that will give you a love of driving the motorway driving is good too. Just be aware of maintenance and insurance costs before you fall in love with one.
Is the Sirion a viable car then for a first? As in would it be better than the Yaris or others? Its more oddball and young drivers might think less of it, so it could avoid the rush of young drivers binning them. I checked insurance on the Kei unit Copens (avoiding the 1.3 over insurance),and got a quote of £3,300. Not bad for a car of its type.
I would not take a Copen as a first car. Better get some experience first, so you can appreciate it fully Sirion or Cuore is fine, Yaris and Aygo as well. If you want small, a Smart car is also a viable option
I had a Sirion and it was a great little car, if you can afford the insurance/road tax move up an engine size. It is a bit oddball but the second hand price has come down a lot. For real oddball check out the YRV but the 130 Turbo is insane but 4-track is different. Don't even think about a Smart, it will try and kill you at the hint of ice and financially they are a money pit, constantly going wrong. I had a Smart Roadster and as much as I loved the style, it was always suffering water leaks, electrical faults etc.
The one that's striking me most is the 1997-2006 Terios. Thoughts on those? The insurance is pretty negligible compared to a Sir ion as far as I've seen, really not much more, and would be better for little scrapes thanks to the chunky bumpers and bigger space. Might have to find a Terios forum to get more detail though.
I don't know much about Terios but I bet they are well built. I've never heard anyone ever complain about them on other Daihatsu forums. Another car to look out for is a Sirion Rally II or IV. These are heaps of fun to drive as they come with a perky tuned 1.3 engines! There's the old skool Charades too! You could look into Perodua cars which are mostly rebranded Daihatsu's.
I had a smart 451 prior to the copen and it was a great car for its purpose - city driving. The ones with the mitsubishi engine are very reliable, just do not buy an MHD, the starter motor is belt driven, which makes lots of trouble... You can basically buy any Daihatsu and it will be satisfactory, as long as it does not rust and was well maintained However, a Copen needs to be taken care of - I'd say its better to get some car experience and driving experience, then go for a nice Copen... I did the same and I have to say it was a good idea Khalid: Can you get Perodua in the UK? I thought it was indonesian
Perodua were imported into the UK for a while. The last version of a Subaru Justy was also a rebadged Sirion as well. The Terios pre 2007 is a little under powered and quite agricultural to drive. The other option is a Materia which are cheaper to run than a Terios, more refined than the older Terios, very different looking but pretty reliable. Water pump went on the two I've owned at around 80k miles but that's all.
I do like the Charade post 2003 a lot, as well as the post 2005 Sirion. Got a quote on a Sirion Rally, and it's fair to say I nearly choked. I never expected the Terios to be refined, but they're cars that are meant for a battering and the reliability seems to be top notch. Weirdly, Peroduas and Justus seem to cost more on the used market than a Sirion/Charade/Terios.
Best thing you can do at this stage is go and test drive some models, you'll soon conclude which one is for you.
FYI, the 1.3 and 0.7 are both insurance group 24, I found my quotes didn't vary switching engines although I am 39, might be different as a 17 year old new driver.
@MartiniSalad As you're in Batley, you'll likely be looking at the same cars that I've been to see (Glashoughton etc) so if you want to send me a PM, I'll tell you what I thought of them. Don't bother going over to Rawdon Motors though - I bought theirs !
