New Car - (not many of you will like)

Hugh Jarse said:
My 'best' car was a Peugeot 405 Executive TD 1.9 (K reg)

I bought it after My Montego Countryman was destroyed in a head on crash south of Rennes. Sadly tbe other driver overtook ln a blind bend.

It had only 7K miles when I got it and I sold it to a mini cab driver in Swansea at 285K miles! He then put another 200K on it! Never let me down no matter the weather or distance.
Next was the rare Renault Savanna 2.1 TD. Bulletproof engine which my then SWMBO used till the gearbox went years later. I had a variety of work cars and in 2007 we got a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso and a C3 Plurial for our daughter. At that time I had a Jaguar X Type.I do like French cars but as most of my cars are 'company' cars I go with what my sons are doing deals for (our own business vehicles).

At times we always had something unusual available. A Vauxhall Astra VXR was great fun when my youngest son broke his leg playing football....
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Now this is getting scary; I also had a 405 executive diesel. In estate though.

And I had a savanne the 2.5td. That was an absolutely bargain of a car.
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I won't do the miles to warrant the diesel version. 90% retired now. As long as it can carry my camera kit and me, smoothly to the Ferry ports of Pembroke, Fishguard and Holyhead, I wiill be content.
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GLA A45 then :)
 
i dont see the problem with car makers making cars that look similar, its not a new thing. there are only so many ways you can make a car to pass regs, as most cars have to be able to run people over at certain speeds and have the pedestrian survive, so there will be lots of similar looking vehicles..
 
dejongj said:
Now this is getting scary; I also had a 405 executive diesel. In estate though.

And I had a savanne the 2.5td. That was an absolutely bargain of a car.
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I adored the 405. It was the saloon in black with the factory fitted spoiler. It ate up the Calais to Munich runs I did every 3 weeks.

The Savanna I got was one of two the local dealer has. A 7 seater 1.7 petrol and the 5 seater 2.1l - Two very different vehicles. The 1.7 seemed sluggish and hard on my back. The 5 seater was like driving a sofa with a rocket engine.
 
Matt said:
i dont see the problem with car makers making cars that look similar, its not a new thing. there are only so many ways you can make a car to pass regs, as most cars have to be able to run people over at certain speeds and have the pedestrian survive, so there will be lots of similar looking vehicles..
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What, with blood all down them?

Seriously, it's easy to make an ugly car. And the shorter the car, the harder is is to make it look good. And then there are fashions that come and go. Look at the range of oversized super minis at the moment from BMW/Mini, Fiat, Citroen and others.

You could create a radically different car that people like. But that is extremely hard to pull off. Cars must fit in to what people are used to seeing or they are considered ugly. There is no such thing as "before their time". If you want to make a rounded looking car, it just has to be more rounded than the current cars to get that effect. It's a heavily relative and subjective thing.
 
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Ford used to be pretty good at making 'different' cars, the sierra, the first gen focus...Hyundai are making strides in the quality of their vehicles, and now getting bold with their designs, even if they do look similar to others.

The tucson comes with a silly amount of kit, and having test driven it im comfortable with what is coming.
 
ianp5a said:
Look at the range of oversized super minis at the moment from BMW/Mini, Fiat, Citroen and others.
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That has to be the worst 'style' or 'trend' of car at present!! IMO obviously ;)

Matt said:
Ford used to be pretty good at making 'different' cars, the sierra, the first gen focus...
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I was born with Ford in my veins but all there stuff now just looks too identical. It's like Daddy car, Mummy car, Brother car & Baby Sister car....
 
Thankfully Ford have dropped those highly criticised Sierra, Scorpio, Mundano and roundy Fiesta designs to now make some of the best looking cars. BMW were once blighted by Chris Bangle arrogance, yet have now succeeded in dropping all that and make good looking cars again.
 
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John Young said:
I have the 1.6 diesel but apparently the 1.2 turbo petrol is the one to go far as its quick
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FWIW, company cars here ~ my last one was Seat Leon 1.6TDI and it a sluggard, could not trust it in an overtaking manoeuvre. Replaced in Feb 2015 for the Leon ST with its 1.4 ACT engine, talk about chalk & cheese :) the diesel was 105PS but the petrol is 150PS and has some real punch plus the ACT tech means it will seamlessly switch between 2 and 4 cylinder running..........a good drivers car. Oh and the emissions no more than the diesel.
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I adored the 405. It was the saloon in black with the factory fitted spoiler. It ate up the Calais to Munich runs I did every 3 weeks.

The Savanna I got was one of two the local dealer has. A 7 seater 1.7 petrol and the 5 seater 2.1l - Two very different vehicles. The 1.7 seemed sluggish and hard on my back. The 5 seater was like driving a sofa with a rocket engine.
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We too had 405s - a petrol saloon and diesel estate - though neither were exectutives. A friend had a Savanna, and his shed put me off them permanently. :p

ianp5a said:
Look at the range of oversized super minis at the moment from BMW/Mini, Fiat, Citroen and others.
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I'd be fascinated to know if you've driven any of these cars? I ended up buying my Mini Countryman* last year after test driving a number of cars, simply because it drove better than most of the others (Mazda 6 sport was the nearest competitor - Ford Focus was not good) and had a boot wide enough to take my mother's mobility scooter. Had an ordinary Mini Cooper as a loan car, and that was so much fun. We had a Fiat 500L in Canada 2014 for 2 weeks and 3000km, and again it was good to drive and very very practical. Yes, the styling is a little less bland than the more conventional designs, but that's not all bad.

*biggest flaw is the computer looking after maintenance, which nags about servicing - designed for the iPhone generation?
 
ancient_mariner said:
We too had 405s - a petrol saloon and diesel estate - though neither were exectutives. A friend had a Savanna, and his shed put me off them permanently.
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In the case of the 7 seat Savanna I would agree with the 'shed' descriptor - the shell was not the same as the 5 seat version. The two different 'chassis' designs made for 2 different vehicles in handling, suspension and comfort. My experience of driving mine nearly 5 thousand miles in 28 days on a European trip was of comfort and no aches and pains.
 
Hugh Jarse said:
In the case of the 7 seat Savanna I would agree with the 'shed' descriptor - the shell was not the same as the 5 seat version. The two different 'chassis' designs made for 2 different vehicles in handling, suspension and comfort. My experience of driving mine nearly 5 thousand miles in 28 days on a European trip was of comfort and no aches and pains.
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His was a 7 seater, and it fell to bits quite rapidly. Unfortunate because he had little cash and a large family.
 
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LOL All this talk about shed's made me look again; did I really own one? It was not the savanna I owned, it was a Safrane 2.5TD...Phew :) :p
 
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dejongj said:
LOL All this talk about shed's made me look again; did I really own one? It was not the savanna I owned, it was a Safran 2.5TD...Phew :) :P
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When you posted I did think that I had not heard/seen a 2.5TD Savanna but I let the thought drift.

I am heading to Mercedezs on Tuesday..... The GLA is on the list of must look again. Especially as I followed one along a country road at lunch time. I am now doubting it will be big enough. No chancs of going for a B series though.
 
Get yourself in the cactus and don't waste time looking at anything else. I went with a negative attitude towards one and still bought one
 
LeeRatters said:
That has to be the worst 'style' or 'trend' of car at present!! IMO obviously ;)



I was born with Ford in my veins but all there stuff now just looks too identical. It's like Daddy car, Mummy car, Brother car & Baby Sister car....
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There isnt another Kuga in the country which looks like mine

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Gary Coyle said:
Not until they sort out their crappy wafer this plastic interiors and cheap plasticy faux leather seats, the Hyundais are worst
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the one im getting is better than the old ones by a long way, but the lower down plastic stuff and a bit on the door are still not up to the quality of my current focus.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Not until they sort out their crappy wafer this plastic interiors and cheap plasticy faux leather seats, the Hyundais are worst
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You can get Hyundais in all sorts of quality levels. Some compete well with BMW and Mercedes.

I'm not saying that because I like Hyundai cars in any way. I'm saying it because I know what they, and others, are doing.
 
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There's a lot of duplication, the climate controls under the screen are duplicated on the touch screen as are all the hard buttons round it. Steering wheel has radio/phone buttons on the left and cruise control/driving mode buttons on the right.

The speakers in the doors and the two either end of the dashboard all light up and you can choose the colour/style of lighting (or off), top centre on the dash is a big speaker and there's another in the boot, for eight altogether!
 
this is the Hyundai interior, there is a thin strip of naff plastic on the door, and then low down in the footwells and around the lower centre console. generally soft-touch on the dash etc

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Hugh Jarse said:
When you posted I did think that I had not heard/seen a 2.5TD Savanna but I let the thought drift.

I am heading to Mercedezs on Tuesday..... The GLA is on the list of must look again. Especially as I followed one along a country road at lunch time. I am now doubting it will be big enough. No chancs of going for a B series though.
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It is basically an A class size, similar size to a Golf or a Focus.

For now the GLE (previously known as M class) is the next one up. But I think there will be a GLC as well, yes you guessed it C class size. And my GL will be renamed to GLS, to align with the S class.

At least there is plenty of choice from all brands, and it sounds like you are getting one for yourself and not for others. Beauty is a very individual thing.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Not until they sort out their crappy wafer this plastic interiors and cheap plasticy faux leather seats, the Hyundais are worst
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I see nothing but full leather and luxury in my 11 year old Hyundai.


 
LeeRatters said:
That has to be the worst 'style' or 'trend' of car at present!! IMO obviously ;)



I was born with Ford in my veins but all there stuff now just looks too identical. It's like Daddy car, Mummy car, Brother car & Baby Sister car....
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I think the fiesta is the best looking ford in s long time. The transit connect and custom are the best looking in there class too in my opinion.
 
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I hear Hyundai rust protection is one of the best. Not sure where I read it but apparently they dip the whole body then spin it in the zinc paint to get in all the gaps.
 
They wouldn't give you a 7 year warranty if they thought you were going to need it.
 
Steep said:
They wouldn't give you a 7 year warranty if they thought you were going to need it.
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Is that what you get? Can't argue with that.

I think they've come a long way. They have a good looking range. Remember the old accent? :hungover:
 
Actually no I'm wrong Hyundai seem to give a 5 year warranty, KIA give 7 years. I assumed that since their the same company these days the warranty would be the same.

/edit I'm still wrongish, you get 'up to' 12 years anti perforation warranty with both makes, depending on vehicle I think.
 
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Steep said:
Actually no I'm wrong Hyundai seem to give a 5 year warranty, KIA give 7 years. I assumed that since their the same company these days the warranty would be the same.

/edit I'm still wrongish, you get 'up to' 12 years anti perforation warranty with both makes, depending on vehicle I think.
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Most manufacturers have a 12 year Perforation warranty.
 
Engine wise its "A manufacturer backed, unlimited mileage, Five Year Warranty* which is fantastic.
 
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