I was quite tempted to go for an i20 over the Panda in June, test drove a few and liked them but went for the Panda. My friend with the high spec i40 had it in for warranty work and got an i20 courtesy car, we went for a few trips in it.
Initially I panicked and thought... this is a nice car, did I make the wrong choice? Looked great, good size, GREAT spec features for the money. But everything inside was so rough, flimsy and plastic. The switches looked great too but I could see them falling off in a year or two they were that bad. I felt glad that though the Panda was basic, it’s rock solid in the way the i20 isn’t and will be sure to last more gracefully.
The longevity is where I think the Dacia’s, Hyundai’s and Kia’s will start to fall down. Passed an i10, latest shape, in Belfast yesterday and it did NOT sound good. Could well be lack of care from owner, but it can’t be that old and clearly had major engine trouble coming to it..
My opinions of cars are known well on here, but I think a Polo / Fiesta / Clio will nearly 100% outlast the i20 by miles, which to me would suggest they’re “better”
Years ago there was a phrase "Friday afternoon car", used to describe any car that seemed more unreliable than its peers, assuming it had been made on a Friday afternoon when the workers were just wanting to go home. It was always nonsense of course. Most manufacturing plants either finished at midday on a Friday, or worked full shifts where the day did not matter much. Generally quality was poor and they could throw out a crap one at any time of day or night, or was that might throw out a good one occasionally?
When I first went to the Rover dealer to work, the warranty manager (Yes really, someone dealing full-time with warranty claims) showed me his records. The same customer names repeated regularly, despite changes of cars over the years. Some woould change their car annually, having complained of something every week for the year, and go on to do the same with each subsequent car. Stayed loyal to the brand though. We could clean, service and polish their 'problematic' car, sell it on, and only see it again for servicing. Suddenly reliable? No. It is the owner that makes the biggest difference to a car's reliability.
Further examples. My father was a 'car breaker'. Every car he owned needed perpetual maintenance, no matter how good it was at purchase. My brother is a bit like that. They both marvelled at how my cars seemed so reliable, even the real dogs, (a couple of really crap ones).
Think about your friends and relatives. Some will be for ever complaining about car issues, others hardly ever.
At last, I may get to the point, sorry if you're losing the will to live.
Any car will last well and give good service if treated properly. I don't mean gently, or low miles, I mean mechanical sympathy. Conversely, any 'relaible' make can be made unreliable by an unsympathetic owner, although some will tolerate this better than others.
The Dacia/Hyundai/Kia and similar, are mostly bought on budget, by owners who are not enthusiasts, just wanting transport. As such they are more likely to be unloved, and less well cared for, and in later life, even cheaper still and bought and run into the ground. They are therefore less likely to last as long or in as great numbers as the more premium brands. Given time, any of these could be made to last as well as the premiums.
