The Lemon Fool

I have a scruffy 16 year old VW Polo which has been great. I bought it new. It will probably have to go because I live just inside the extended Ultra Low Emissions Zone in London which goes live in a few weeks. £12.50 for each day the car is driven, because it is a non-compliant diesel.

My car is simple with minimal electronics - no electric windows, no air-con.

Is there a new car that I could consider, which wouldn't have a load of electronics I don't want? I'm happy to switch lights and wipers on, I don't need sensors for that.

There's a thread praising the Honda Jazz, so I'm thinking of a secondhand pre-hybrid.

An important factor is the width of the car. I have a narrow driveway which most new cars would be too fat for.

Any ideas?

If you want cheap, cheerful & low tech then consider the Dacia Sandero. My daughter passed her test last year and has a '19 model (0.9 TCE). Great little car for the money. It does have electric windows and air con but the very basic model (Access) has neither. I think you'll struggle to find a recent car with a more basic spec.

Although it’s the entry-level Access model with the temptingly low sticker price, in reality you are buying a very basic car, without electric windows, stereo equipment or air conditioning.

https://www.parkers.co.uk/dacia/sandero ... ed-review/

While you can avoid whizzy stuff, if you try too hard you will just end up with a cheap and nasty car, which will have skimped on ride and safety as well as electronics. So I expect you will have to forgot the pleasure of turning the window handle. City cars from major manufacturers have all the sensible features, even the Dacia Sandero, Britain's cheapest car, has A/C and cruise control on its entry level model now.

Do you want to avoid the tech or just avoid paying for the things you don't value?

Much of the tech is there as a cost reduction and reliability improvement. In theory you'd have to pay to avoid it. (In practice you may not be offered a more costly old school alternative). Quite a lot of the tech can simply be ignored, unless you are looking for something that can survive an EMP.

Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris or Mazda 2 would be good cars to look at.

John

Redmires wrote:If you want cheap, cheerful & low tech then consider the Dacia Sandero. My daughter passed her test last year and has a '19 model (0.9 TCE). Great little car for the money. It does have electric windows and air con but the very basic model (Access) has neither. I think you'll struggle to find a recent car with a more basic spec.

Dacias in general are basic, but they work. Very popular in rural France, where they're regarded as Renaults without the sophisticated bits.

As, indeed, they are. Dacia is owned by Renault, and most of its models are based on ten/twelve year old Renault technology. What you have to decide is whether you'd trust a ten year old Renault.

Seriously, though, the reviews aren't bad. https://www.theaa.com/used-cars/reviews/dacia.

BJ

I've got a golf so like VW. If you like the polo go for a new petrol one, or an id3 if can afford as guess in future will charge for petrol cars in ultra low emission zone next.

Adamski wrote:I've got a golf so like VW. If you like the polo go for a new petrol one, or an id3 if can afford as guess in future will charge for petrol cars in ultra low emission zone next.

Speaking of which, the farmer next door has just accepted £900 part exchange for his faithful 2009 petrol Golf estate, with just 65K on the clock. A dozen minor marks (that's how it often goes on farms), or it would have been closer to £4K. Somebody's going to buff it up and make a few grand on it.

The students around these parts seem quite fond of Suzukis (Swift and Alto). They're built mainly for the Indian market, I believe - tough and reliable, but with relatively few frills. The downside is that everybody will mistake you for a student.

BJ

Classic cars are exempt from the ULEZ.
So the world is your oyster https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/

Must be forty years old and registered as Historic....... easy to find one c5ft wide.

V8

You can buy a Mini Moke new now and it has very few creature comforts. They are even soon to be manufactured in the UK.

MM