I did not want to spend vacation time on car issues but I have no choice. After some asking round it is clear that no one can ever win the used car game so it is time to just buy new and be done with it. The following are my criteria of what a car has to be before I will buy it...

1. New
2. Well under 200000kr
3. Automatic (trust me, it is better for everyone else too)
4. As cool as possible
5. Practical enough to hold my bikes inside
6. Not white, silver or beige

These 6 things reduce the choice a hell of a lot unless I prefer ordering from the factory and waiting a minimum of 3 months. I am not at that stage yet. So which cars in greater Göteborg meet the first 3 requirements?
Kia Picanto - not big enough for my bike and far from cool
Fiat 500 - again too small and very cool except only in white and silver
Fiat Punto - good size but non-metallic white and very crap interior
Peugeot 308SW - bigger than a whale and I know what these are like after 2 years
Mitsubishi Colt - again with the non-metallic white and they have killed the design
Mazda 2 - this was highest on the list for a bit even the only one available is beige but they are everywhere and I have seen two actually broken down

So then we have the serious list...
Opel Corsa - rated by TopGear as the best car you don't want. It is so boring outside but quite comfy inside. Has an 85 bhp eco engine which saves a grand a year on taxes but is rather unexciting to drive.
Citroen C4 - Really only a few kr under the top price and quite the comfy midsized car. They had black and red which are both fine but compared to the supercool DS3 sitting next to it, somehow it seemed like a waste of money. Plus the inspection stats for 3 year old ones are well under the Germans and the eco engine was a bit small for the size of the car.
Honda Civic - I think this may be the winner. They had 5 automatics, one in each colour. The summer sale brings it into the price range and you can't get any cooler. The designers must have went mad. The engine is a 1.8L which means higher gas costs but a lot more power.

But still it is quite depressing to come to the conclusion that the Honda Civic is the best available option. There have been 5 Civics through the years in my family and two are still in service. But the Canadian version is a sedan which is ugly som fan so I could satisfyingly say to my sister that my Civic is cooler than yours.

So now I need a few days to think whether I want to dive head first into a loan at a time when I do not need a loan. It would save my cycling season...