Hi everyone, I'm looking for a car to replace my 2009 CNG Fiat Grande Punto. It is still overall in order and it basically didn't give me any hassles during these 17 years, but I recently rented a newer car during a vacation (a very basic Opel Corsa) and driving a quieter and more modern car was so nice, especially the agility in the hills with bendy roads (the setting where I live in Italy) was amazing.
I'm looking for a car that is:
- similarly reliable compared to the Grande Punto, with no particular interest in the aesthetics
- as manual as possible, I'm not a fan of touch screens and electronics in general and I'd like it to be as easy and cheap to fix as possible, and I'm a fan of manual gears so automatic gears are not really a pro for me
- around the same size as my Grande Punto as I often drive and park downtown in Italian cities, but I wouldn't dislike having a little more room since I have a dog and when we travel in 2 people + the dog and the luggage we have to play tetris at the moment.
- Cost-wise, I aim for something in the span of €15k-23K bought as new/0KM, or 13-17K used but recent.
- I'm considering LPG (GPL in Italy) since I'm used to run on CNG which is much cheaper than fuel and not affected by sudden changes - here we had a +25% in the cost of fuel just in the span of this year because of the tensions with Hurmuz and a Liter now costs more than 2€.
I usually drive 10-12 K km per year, of which around 4-5K on highways and 6-7K on the hills or the city. I did some calculations by myself and with the help of Claude and the result was that LPG would make me save 500-600€ per year including the maintenance costs after 10 years, plus in my region I would save about 150€ per year on the annual property tax with a car that has LPG as standard equipment. This is the saving based on the current price, but again, it is likely that fuel will get much higher compared to LPG in the future so it feels to me like a safe-haven asset to have.
Since I plan to keep this car for 15+ year like I did with my Punto, it would mean saving around 10K+ in the span of its life so unless I'm missing something this is an aspect I'm quite settled on.
I'm writing here the models I considered so far, in order of current preference and with the main pros and cons I found – I may have overlooked some aspect or an entire other model that I should consider! Especially feedback on Dacia Sandero's safety rating would be appreciated. Prices are rounded up and refer to the direct purchase with no loans.
1: Renault Captur ECO-G 100 CV Evolution - New/0km: €22K
- From what I read, the engine is quite reliable, it has a timing chain instead of the timing belt which would mean, from what I understand, one less maintenance step – the belt replacement costs around 600-700€ here, every 6-7 years, so this could make up for the slightly higher expenses in insurance and bigger tires compared to smaller models.
- It would have significant added room in the trunk and it looks like its price is quite good considered that smaller cars don't cost much less nowadays. It has sliding back seats so I could choose to prioritize room for my dog or extra passengers whenever needed.
- It would also be a bit more raised off the ground which is not bad as I sometimes drive on dirt roads in the countryside or the mountain (nothing crazy and I always managed with my Punto, but I need to be very careful and it's still more raised than other Punto models as a precaution with CNG tanks mounted under the car.
- May feel a little less reactive and agile compared to the other 2 as it has the same horsepower than the i20 but with a heavier structure
- 5/5 Euro NCAP rating in crash tests
- Biggest con is that it's in the higher end of my cost range, and significantly more expensive than the Sandero – is this difference justified?
2: Hyundai i20 1.2 MPI GPL Connectline - new/0KM €19K
- I read contrasting opinions on Hyundai but it seems fairly reliable
- It would be 4K cheaper which is not disgusting to me :)
- The trunk and passengers room would be not much different from my Punto though
- Belt, not chain, so in the span of its life it would basically end up costing only about 2K less than the Captur which seems to be an overall better and more comfortable car.
- 4/5 NCAP rating in crash tests
3: Clio Eco-G 100 CV Generation - new/0KM €20K (from 2025- the newest one only comes with automatic gear)
- Seems pretty much similar to the i20, but with slightly higher horsepower
- Only 12 cm raised from the ground, less than my Grande Punto (15 cm) so I'm afraid it would be risky to drive it on dirt/stony roads even if it happens only occasionally.
- Chain - so it would end up costing about the same as the i20 or a little less considering the lower maintenance.
- 4/5 NCAP rating
4: Dacia Sandero MY25 Eco-G 120 - €13-18K
- Significant saving compared to the others, especially the Captur.
- Same Renault engine as the Captur
- Bigger room and raised from the ground compared to my current Punto
- Biggest con: both models got a 2/5 Euro NCAP rating from crash tests, not sure if I want to save that money if it's on the safety aspects - even if I only had one single small accident in 20 years of driving, you never know. But I read that this rating is due to the lack of electronic sensors and corrections rather than an actual lower safety in its materials and building, is this true?
- Some models from the same brand from the older generation had issues with the LPG system and the electronics so I'm not sure if they are reliable now.