OV9

Swervin_Mervin wrote: Wed Nov 13, 2024 5:14 pm

Rich B wrote: Wed Nov 13, 2024 3:23 pm I still
have an irrational hatred for Vauxhall - plus i don’t know why they called that one such a shit name - though it is the sort of car a very old grandad would have.

It's not irrational. They're shit. They were always shit and then they, somewhat amazingly, got even more shit when Stellantis came into being.

And that Corsa makes the Superb I linked look like daylight robbery

By amazing coincidence, my swedish pal got a review of a '23 Corsa from her other arf today.

too many screens, digital dash that does sign reading doesn't work properly, terrible auto gearbox and not enough grunt to overtake a lorry on a hill.

She rarely talks cars to me unless she wants to double check that what they're looking at buying isn't known among 'the likes of us' to be a complete dog of a car - something they'd not be aware of - so for her to just drop that on me out of the blue suggests that the '23 Corsa is fuuuuuuuuckin' shiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

That said they've owned Saabs in the past, so even though they aren't car people, they do have standards, unlike - and I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say - 80% of vauxhall buyers, who just look at the upfront cost, monthly cost and colour and go "Yup, good enough" and call it a day.

Not reading speed limit signs properly is very common - our rental Hyundai is very bad at it. It picked up a 10km/h sign in a car park then nothing else all the way back to the hotel
The bings and bongs amuse me now but there are lots of them even if you don’t exceed the speed limit.

Saab were just tarted up vectras

Vauxhall seemed to be propped up by parents buying their kids corsa limited editions wiv black rims n roof innit that came with a years free insurance

There’s not as many new corsas kicking around now, as they’ve tried to move it a little upmarket since stellantis bought it and started using Peugeot platforms

Beany wrote: Wed Nov 13, 2024 5:55 pm …vauxhall buyers, who just look at the upfront cost, monthly cost and colour and go "Yup, good enough" and call it a day.

Oi, I’m making sure it has metallic paint too

Jobbo wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 7:29 am Not reading speed limit signs properly is very common…

My 14 year old BMW is pretty good. Not 100% perfect but not too far off, so there’s zero excuse for a new car with an extra 14 years tech development behind it.

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 9:38 am

Jobbo wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 7:29 am Not reading speed limit signs properly is very common…

My 14 year old BMW is pretty good. Not 100% perfect but not too far off, so there’s zero excuse for a new car with an extra 14 years tech development behind it.

My Audi and MX5 are pretty much perfect too. I think I might blame Maltese signage to an extent; it’s a bit random. But I’m sure I passed at least a few 30, 50 and 60 signs on the 7 or so mile journey

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 9:38 am

Jobbo wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 7:29 am Not reading speed limit signs properly is very common…

My 14 year old BMW is pretty good. Not 100% perfect but not too far off, so there’s zero excuse for a new car with an extra 14 years tech development behind it.

If it’s that old won’t it just be reading speed stored on the gps maps?
Does it actually recognise speed limit changes on smart motorways?

It reads the signs. It’s pretty good.

Update:
I’m moving away from leasing for one major reason, that I will spend the entire term crapping myself about damage. There’s a few potential culprits: I have a skill for kerbing wheels (60% of my parking is reverse parallel), this week the Smart wing mirror got smacked by an idiot squeezing through a non existent gap on my road, and when I washed it today there’s a small scrape on the side that I don’t remember seeing. That’s a few scrapes on a car I’ve owned for just over 4 months. The stress needing to keep a car in A1 condition for 2+ years will be a nightmare.

Mazda 6 looked great and brilliant spec but has been eliminated as too many horror stories about the 2.2 diesel engine which is almost exclusively used in the facelift cars under £10k

Which means I’m still looking at Atecas, although I’m scraping the barrel wrt specifications on them. Also been browsing for:

Matty wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2024 9:43 pm

Shlergen wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2024 9:21 pm 15-16 plate Superb 2.0 SE L Exec. £30 road tax, 190bhp, car play, adaptive cruise..

I keep toying with changing mine but it's great for motorway slogs, taxiing kids and carrying a decent amount of crap.

That, or an Octavia would be where my money would go for those requirements TBH.

Hard agree that the Superb SE L Exec looks like a fantastic car for the money. Gonna dig into these a bit further.

Coming down to something like this I reckon. The Skoda makes a lot more sense due to being far more economical and has a more modern interior too. The 1.6 Skoda might be a bit limp, although does insane MPG. The 1.6 Ateca would likely be a poor choice tbh.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... 1076039238?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... 0165273075?

if i’ve missed it, why the need for a family spam chariot? have you got twins on the way?!

I want a car that's good on the motorway so I can whizz around the UK or down to my folks easily and can fit a large fridge in the back because both me and my gf regularly need to lug shit around, and we hire cars or vans quite regularly. Hence I want faultlessly reliable and economical because it's a essentially a comfy utility vehicle.

fair enough, and i’d agree with your decision that leasing wouldn’t be the best choice if you’re concerned with city parking damage.

i’d be searching on a criteria rather than a specific model, private sales, and try and find something owned by a fastidious old gent who has it serviced every year by the main dealer despite only doing 3k miles!

Is a diesel the right choice? What kind of mileage will you be doing and what about ULEZ?

DeskJockey wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2024 1:02 pm Is a diesel the right choice? What kind of mileage will you be doing and what about ULEZ?

I think pretty much anything post 2015 is ULEZ (petrol are usually ok from about 2005.)

Just having a quick look and you can get a way better choice of cars with a petrol Euro 5 vs a diesel Euro 6. And not sure how much I’d trust a near 100k modern diesel.
But agree that leasing is risky in London unless you’re mates with a bodyshop.

Rich B wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2024 1:23 pm

DeskJockey wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2024 1:02 pm Is a diesel the right choice? What kind of mileage will you be doing and what about ULEZ?

I think pretty much anything post 2015 is ULEZ (petrol are usually ok from about 2005.)

Yes, found the same. Did it in the wrong order.

DeskJockey wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2024 1:02 pm Is a diesel the right choice? What kind of mileage will you be doing and what about ULEZ?

ULEZ is fine with these. Also mileage is a 'who knows' guess - I can't do long journeys in the Smart, so therefore I get the train if I need to travel out of London. I don't use a car every day, in fact, it can sit outside without moving for a week or two at a time. My spec is in the first post, however the main aim is getting good fuel economy if I decide to pop up to Scotland or down to my folks (only 100 miles, but commonly a 2.5 - 3 hour drive)

Was chatting with Sundayjumper earlier and worked out that I'm more concerned about weekly/monthly costs (fuel, parking, tax, repairs) than initial purchase price.

Makes sense then. My worry, and one of the reasons we sold the diesel Mazda, was the impact of short drives where it never really got to warm up. If it isn't a daily driver, then you're probably fine.

Joe Achilles did a couple of great videos on a Passat with I believe the same engine. Epic drive from Morocco to London on one tank. Something daft like 1000+miles, it's great content