Why we choose small cars

[BenT]

In another thread Paul mentioned that he has downsized from a Falcon and congrats to him on joining the Polo club.

I've always been a fan of small cars - fuel consumption, parking ease, handling, and extra space in my garage - but how have you found the transition from a large car?

I may need to upsize once my 2 daughters hit their mid-teens (in 3 more years) but for now the Polo GTIs are just the right size for my wife and I.

We drove to Metung for the day earlier this week and we only would have needed a larger car if we wanted to take luggage but we just took small fishing rods, an esky and a bucket and that was enough to fill the tiny Polo boot. Even if we wanted to do that once or twice a year it would be cheaper to hire something bigger like a Cruze or Mazda 6.

It was a 30 degree day and with the aircon on all the way we averaged 6.4l/100kms over the 500km distance which is not as good as the 5.3 I got it down to when commuting to work on the freeway in the morning but still pretty good IMO. We did our first long drive many years ago in a brand new 1998 1.6l Pulsar and that was a horrible drive because it had no power for the big hills on the Hume. The power of my 1.4l Polo GTI was perfect and I'd love to take the wife's 2015 1.8l manual GTI for the same drive to compare fuel consumption and comfort but I don't want to risk the stone chips in the red paint.

Anyway back to the topic... I wouldn't buy a larger car for daily use just because I need a bigger boot a couple of times a year, renting would be cheaper.

So why do you prefer a small car and have you ever had or considered a bigger car?


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[amazeer]

because corners and roundabouts

I have 2 cars. Make the missus drive the lancer wagon. Kids wont want to be with you much when they are mid teens anyway.

[Mi16 Man]

Father of 3 + Mini-Schnauzer. The MY13 AWD Kluger is the family hauler. The Polo GTI is my chariot on weekdays to/from work along with '1 kid only' trips to the shops or sports games.

I've got a combined 342kW right there. Both cars complement each other for required duty. Just cancelled an order for a Skoda Octavia vRS Wagon to replace the Kluger. Don't need two 'hot' cars. The Skoda would just get trashed....


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[LunchboxVRS]

I had a 6r polo that I modified. If I just needed a car to go from a to b fine. But the family has gotten bigger and I wanted to be able to tow a small trailer for odd jobs and transport a gokart in the future. Getting older the harsh fide of the polo (my fault as I change the suspension) was no god for long trips and if I went to stock it would look to tall and not as fun to drive short distance. If I could afford a run about and a family car I would still have a small car (not the 6r as the drivetrain was ****) but can't justify 2 cars. plus I have my cafe racer.

[trive2]

I'm rubbish at parking. That is all.

[Tig19R]

This is my concern going up to a car like a Tiguan. You get so used to small cars, and the ease of parking, i'll be back to looking like a rookie!!!

[maxrob200]

I had to drive a Kia Carnival the other day and I was packing it....huge, blind spots, corners like a barge.

[Mi16 Man]

I had to drive a Kia Carnival the other day and I was packing it....huge, blind spots, corners like a barge.

Both my wife and I refer to the Kluger as a 'Barge' or 'Cruise Liner' (being white). To its credit, reverse and parallel parking is easy due to good vision. No reverse sensors unlike the tiny Polo, just a basic reverse camera (4" screen).


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[Mountainman]

We have two cars - the Mk7 Golf and the 6C Polo. Most of the time I drive the Polo on my own and don't need a bigger car and even with the two of us the Polo is usually the one used. In fact the size of the Polo feels wasted sometimes - it's bigger in every dimension than our Mk1 Golf from 1977. It's when a third or fourth person is being carried that the Polo doesn't really cut it. Unless they are a small kid the front seats need to be moved forward as a compromise.

And I disagree with the statement that small cars handle better - just compare the Golf with the Polo. The Golf stops, steers, handles, rides and holds the road better. However the Polo is quieter and smoother mechanically and overall it's the one I prefer to drive