Kia Picanto 1.0

I bougfht the car from new after my previous car was written off. My daughter was just coming up to start driving lessons and I wanted a car suitable for someone to learn in and have as a little run about afterwards. In fact she has now grown up and gone but I have kept the car rather than trading it in for something more "macho" something Clarkson wouldn't snigger at.

I would agree with all the people who said this car is excellent. It has a raft of features includingelectric windows, central locking, cd player which also plays mp3 discs so you can put something of the order of 8 or 9 cds onto one mp3 disc and play the lot. It has all round disc brakes, ABS, Electronic brake force distribution. Fuel consumption is supposed to be about 50 mpg. I get nearer 45 but most of the miles I do are commuting ten miles to work each day and ten miles back so it doesn't really get warmed up. On longer runs it is a bit better. The one thing I really liked about it was the headroom for the driver. I am quite tall and find Clio's and other superminis really too cramped but this is great.

I have now done about 50k miles after 5 years and it has never let me down, It cruises at a steady speed in the fast lane of the motorway keeping up with all the Jags and Beamers.I know it doesn't have the same top speed but most people are probably doing between 70 and 80 and it goes well at this speed. If pushed it can go quite a bit quicker easily. It gets one annual service from the main dealer and really doesn't go wrong. The worst problem I have is that the solenoid which operates the rear door lock has failed but I can't be bothered to change it. I will at some point I am sure.

So if you are looking for something cheap, cheerful, comfortable and easy to drive with good long term reliability - look no further!