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Looking at buying a small very cheap to run hatchback, so far got it narrowed down to a VW Golf TDI Bluemotion (2013) or a Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost (2014). Bearing in mind that I do a lot of open road driving and probably about 20k per year, which one of these would you recommend, and do you have any other ideas? I have a liking for small engined turbocharged cars such as the Ecoboost, and I know Renault make a 0.9 litre engine version of the Clio but I haven't seen it in NZ.

Also bear in mind that I intend on putting this car on a COF and using it for Uber.

Hi there,
The Fiesta or Focus have a terribly problematic Powershift transmission so I don't recommend this vehicle for your particular use.
The Golf is a good option, with a few different engine choices available. The new Suzuki Swift Sport, or SEAT Leon turbo would be ideal if you were interested in something cheap and new.

Thanks for your help, I never knew the Powershift boxes had any issues. What do you know about the Volkswagen DSG gearboxes such as the ones in the Mk6/Mk7 Golf? Are there any known major issues with them?

We have received many complaints about them, now Ford has changed the Focus back to a conventional automatic transmission, while the Fiesta is still Powershift.
The earlier DSG (MK5) had a few complaints, but we have not really received any about the DSG for a while so they must be fairly good.