208 GTI

After test driving the 208 GTi, I know is an awesome car. Quick, very good looking, quality was excellent with a great cabin, decent space in the back and the premium maintenance plan offered are all good value.
The only reservation I have is the manual gearbox, the auto's in the same class are the Polo GTi and the Clio RS, which the Polo I am not too keen on, especially with the price they want for the new 1.8T one and the Clio RS is a no go as I have a sibling who owns one.
If we look at the regular supermini's, which would you know have a decent automatic gearbox, I am wondering whether they are worth the consideration as the automatic gearbox might be worth having even though there is a big sacrifice in performance?
I do drive in traffic a lot, an hour and a half a day around..
Although I do appreciate that a manual is more fun when you are pushing the car
 
Only you can answer that one, but I would say the following matters to me:

1. Reliability. If you are unsure of the Clio RS (or the 208), then do not get it. If you don't feel confident driving around in the car, you won't enjoy it. Don't compromise on reliability to get an automatic gearbox, in other words.
2. Price. It is a difficult one to do, but you will be happier that you did not overspend in 2 years time. That few hundred R difference per month adds up!

Then look at things like an automatic gearbox.

The problem with automatic (or DSG) gearboxes in superminis is that not many cars have them, so your choices become very limited. If you want a supermini with an automatic gearbox, you end up having to either compromise price (new Polo GTI), or reliability (Clio RS or used Polo GTI). If I were you, I'd probably be looking at a slightly used Polo GTI, if not, go for the 208 and put up with the manual.
 
A manual car isnt that bad in traffic, you get used to it very quickly. Used to be in the auto i20, then to a manual, 2hrs+ traffic on N1 each day. Aint no biggy
 
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