OK, with the discussion on the city cars finished (, winning trio being Twingo as the main choice, plus Up and Panda as alternative), time to go to petrol vehicles.
Main choice - Toyota Yaris(2002-2010, up to 175 kkm).
Running costs: €/€€.
Pros: good reliability, good rustproofing, low depreciation.
Cons: lots of badly-equipped examples, tight interior, expensive parts.
Issues: clutch wear, exhaust rust, 1.0 taking too much oil.
Fiat Grande Punto/Punto Evo (2005-2012, up to 150 kkm).
Running costs: €/€€.
Pros: spacious interior, good equipment level, cheap parts.
Cons: not-so-good materials, high depreciation.
Issues: front suspension wear, electrical failures, gearbox synchronizer wear, 1.4 timing problems, 1.2 ECU and fuel pump problems.
Opel Corsa(not Vauxhall!)(2000-2011, up to 150 kkm).
Running costs: €/€€.
Pros: spacious interior, low depreciation, good equipment and ride, good reliability (except 1.0).
Cons: lots of mismaintained examples, low 1.0 performance and reliability, awful semi-automatic gearbox, low-rent materials.
Issues: plastic wear, brake wear, exhaust rust, 1.0 timing chain stretching, semiautomatic gearbox failures.
What do you think? Would you change anything?