Chat about cars you've been in lately

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Very Tall Brad
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Very Tall Brad » Fri Feb 10, 2012 3:18 pm

RoastBeef wrote: To me personally, the best car I have been in is the Lotus Excel, I have owned a few and think they are the most under-rated car ever. Superb in any situation imo, never understood why they are so over-looked and why anyone would choose the Esprit instead.

I agree. I have had two Excels (one new) and three Esprits (two new) of each. The Esprits are (or were) special looking but, in the real world, the Excels are so much better. And more reliable. But never again. Those days are behind me now. I get more joy from seeing a 1984 Cavalier on the road.
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by rickt500 » Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:03 pm

I saw an E reg 520 today (e28?), boy did it look dated compared to the mk1 800, the almost seperate door frames etc really made it look more of a classic. Was in very nice condition though.
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Tenesmus » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:59 pm

Currently driving a Nissan Qashqai 4wd in Ireland. What a nice car. Extremely comfy seats, goes well once you get the hang of the turbo diesel. The brakes rip your face off, makes me wonder if there's something wrong with the Sterling's. 40mpg. If I were in the market for a sofft roader I'd think about this one. Silver is a crap colour though and makes it difficult to find in the car park.
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by MikeMedford » Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:56 am

Most of the newer (last ten years or so) Nissans have sharp brakes, most amusing driving one for the first few times as you end up chewing dashboard at any stops :lol:

Speaking of Nissan, friend of mine picked up a 55 plate Micra yesterday, 1.4tdci Sport with 104k miles on it for £2k.

Went for a spin in it with him yesterday and aside from wear on the steering wheel and the gearstick having a bit of play (I'd be happy if my vitesse gearstick only had that much play!) it looks and feels pretty much new.

No creaks, no knocks, interior immaculate, engine barely audible inside (surprising seeing how typically derv like it sounds outside!) and everything works as it should.

Goes quite well for only having 80 odd bhp and is very frugal on the diesel, can't really fault it at all for what it is.

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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Richard Moss » Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:58 am

A bit of a "Burke and Hare" job on this thread, chaps :)

For my part, I've only been driving my own cars (1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2001 Grand Cherokee V8 and 2003 Chevrolet Lumina Coupe). The V8 is the worst of the lot by a long way, heavy, high centre of gravity, cruddy brakes and poor offroad performance to boot and gives me very little driving pleasure (if any). The 1996 is a hoot off road and the Lumina is just just great fun - fast, smooth, comfortable, surefooted etc. and I actually enjoy driving it to work, even though the local roads are full of nutters!
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Manalishi » Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:50 am

Had a go in a 2005 Mustang the other day owned by a friend. (the retro version) I was surprised over handling and braking, the V6 4.something litres with 215 bhp went really well up to about 60-70mph. Very torqey and good grip over the rear wheels. Interior was rubbish, hard to see the instruments but seats were ok. Noisy engine, but a nice sound, very potent. Apparently a few flaws like the prop shaft not being secured properly resulting in it falling off at 120mph plus! Later model were refined at those points. The seals over the fuel pumps in the back seats were ~20cm large rubber/plastic discs stamped "Jaguar". :D

Nice car, if I had the time, space, cash I might have gotten one.

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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Richard Moss » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:13 am

The V6 coupe, with cloth interior and manual gearbox is listed at £23,0000 here - which seems like good value. The top spec V8s are more like £36,000 - £38,000 . They feel very small, though.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by simon » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:26 am

A ford fiesta Ghia small and cramped.
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Manalishi » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:41 am

Richard Moss wrote:The V6 coupe, with cloth interior and manual gearbox is listed at £23,0000 here - which seems like good value. The top spec V8s are more like £36,000 - £38,000 . They feel very small, though.
The rear seats are for very small children only, but the front is huge! My friend is 195cm and probably 120kg and he fits ok. A lot more room than in the 820.
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Rover 820 Vitesse Coupe 180bhp -93 (Italy)
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Tenesmus » Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:00 am

At the Air Tattoo Vauxhall had a couple of the rebadged Holden V8s that are now available here, a ute and a saloon. Wow, but who'd pay 50k for a Vauxhall?
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Richard Moss » Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:03 am

They would do better to rebadge them as Chevrolets - or at least that would have been the case if they hadn't devalued that brand with the Chevrolet Matiz
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by mtamin » Mon Sep 03, 2012 6:58 pm

Thought I'd mention my current company vehicle. VW Passat 1.4 TSI DSG SE. Couple of good things - engine is a modern miracle - very smooth and performs very well - no really even though a 1.4 it is excellent in this respect - a great alternative to a diesel and I am glad I opted for that. Auto gearbox smooth to start with but now has an annoying judder (30,000 miles) when moving off from rest when warm - apparently a common complaint for which there is no cure.
Now the bad - and my my there is plenty of it! For a reasonably large car it has a rather poor jittery ride, as though it has been firmed up to try and match a Mondeo's dynamic ability and has been taken too far. OK so it does not wallow but so what? - its too firm to be comfortable and the cheap seats don't help. Cheap and nasty - electric lumbar support does not mean you have an electric seat - but means they can say 6 way adjustment in the brochure. Can't get comfortable in it no matter what I do and it gives me back ache - seats too hard and completely unsupportive. While I'm on the seats which are beige (my choice) how penny pinching and thoughtless not to cover the black metal runners with a plastic facade/cover of some sort on at least the drivers side. Even my wife's Rover 45 manages that! You open the door and what greets you? - hard black metal against beige carpet (carpet? - well some sort of fuzzy felt of the cheapest quality they can find) - looks awful.
Paint finish good but generally looks cheap and unbroken by any detail or trim. Dull, soulless, and frankly annoying that so many people believe them to be the best thing since sliced bread. What a boring car. I have no regard for it whatsoever and that is unlike me. Actually I hate it. I could happily put it in a crusher and laugh at the destruction of such a nasty car. Wheels look nice but as usual these days are an inch or so too large and tyres too wide. The worst car I have ever driven in snow. Absolutely unbeliveably bad. You just can't move! Actually I'm going to have to stop now as its getting annoying even thinking about it. In case you are wondering I had to have a VW from my company car list. Thank God there are a selection of Rover's for the weekend!
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by BennyVitesse » Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:34 pm

I'm finding what mtamin says about VW group products to be the sad truth, my father has a 3 year old Ibiza which he has owned from new its done less than 30k and been serviced promptly on the button. Its needed 2 new DPFs in that time and has only once achieved anywhere near the claimed mpg. Yes the paint finish is good but the interior is very very cheap, it even doesn't get door rubbing strips! He's now looking around for a replacement and the VAG offerings (Polo/Ibiza/Fabia) are all as bad as each other and yet people continue to rave about them, I've told him to look at every single new car in that class (regardless of image/brand etc) and look at things like JD Power before opening the chequebook.
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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Richard Moss » Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:55 pm

Two extremes : Aston Martin DB7 Vantage V12 and mk1 MG Metro 1300. These just could not be more different.

The Aston Martin was smooth, refined, comfortable, relaxing but very small and badly let down by the detailing in the cabin ( Ford Fiesta switchgear!). The most striking thing about it after its looks was just how fuss-free the driving experience was. A superb long range cruiser with just enough luggage room for two adults. Just don't treat it as anything other than a 2 seater. I liked it it I would put my money into a Jaguar xk8 and save 80% of the purchase price!

The MG Metro is e complete opposite - small, bouncy, busy and unrefined but with much more space than the DB7. It's a hoot to drive, but tiring over any more than about 150 miles. However, despite being 30 years old and having just 1275cc and a single carb (giving about 70bhp on a good day) driving through a 4 speed box it is perfectly capable of keeping up with 21st century traffic.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: Chat about cars you've been in lately

Post by Richard C » Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:33 pm

A bit of a defense of VW coming here, I have been in a Polo and it was a horrid 3 cylinder thing wouldn't touch with a barge pole how people flog them to death in the outside lane of the motorway i'll never know. I have a 2010 Golf Bluemotion a 1.6 Derv, its a company car so i haven't forked out £20k for it, I have done 76k in just over two years and in that time its had 5 tyres, 5 wiper blades and a set of brake pads on the front. It has never gone wrong and I find it comfortable (I have been to scotland and back in a day in it) my only gripe is the gearbox is a little whiney at times. Having said all of the above It has no soul it just does the job its designed to do. It doesn't do the claimed 800 odd miles the current radio ad states unless you want to be a mobile speed bump on the motorway but I do get over 600 miles to a tank at normal motorway speeds 70-75mph, it's £35 per year to tax I can't comment on Insurance as I don't pay for that. If I needed a modern car that I had to pay for out of my own money then yes I would buy a Golf just not a new one as mine drives just as good as it did 76k miles ago and wouldn't loose as much money.
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