garethj

For those of you that hang on my every word, you’ll know that I got rid of my spaceship Civic to find something that was more fuel efficient and cheap to insure my daughter on, she turns 17 next week. I would link to the thread but I’m a busy man here. After some top stuff was suggested, I did an Autotrader search for anything diesel, less than £2000 and trudged through a lot of porridge. Then I found a Kia pro_cee’d (yes, all that punctuation). When Kia started importing cars into the UK in the early ‘90s they were known as a cheaper, duller version of a dull Japanese car of

When I was in my early 20s, I had a succession of Alfasud Sprints. Obviously they weren’t the pinnacle of reliability because cars of the late ‘70s and early ‘80’s were like that. However I do remember the visits to the dealership for parts and the distain in which they treated their customers. Customers? Fucking ignorant twats, is what they thought. Just because people came into the dealership and paid an extortionate amount in advance for parts, they then somehow expected the parts to actually turn up at some point. I remember going to a Toyota dealers at the same time and thin

Ooh, back atcha with the PistonHeads comment 😀 I’d never driven one before (I guess most people haven’t) but it’s a similar drive to the Civic but with VW Tdi acceleration and fuel economy but hopefully with Japanese levels of reliability. It’s also not a bad looker for what is a sea of modern, bland vanilla. It’s no Peugeot 504 coupe, but we’ll see how it goes for a year as dependable and “slightly interesting” transport.

Update! I had my eye on a Suzuki Swift diesel but there was only one close by. I went to see it and the clutch was utterly fucked and there was an interesting dent in the sill like it had driven off a very high kerb. I didn’t buy it. There are a few up north and the sales manager in Leeds definitely earned his commission but elsewhere they’re thin on the ground. A Toyota Corolla diesel is apparently quite a good drive and the 3 door ones look alright but again - finding one that isn’t fucked is a challenge. Amazingly they hold their value better than the newer Toyota Auri

When I ran Tatras for a few years I knew a lot of people with Trabbis. One conversation I remember is “The engine is very simple; it’s only got 7 moving parts. Unfortunately they’ll all stop working at some point” ?

That’s a shame, a Yaris engine but fun to drive looks attractive but I’ve also heard they don’t do the miles that well?

Or that it’s a petrol. ? I’m obviously a bit mental but not enough to swap one diesel hatchback for another and expect 20% better fuel economy. Current Civic is 1.8 petrol

Which Volvo is this? I like them mostly because of the stereo?

Yes, the Celica managed to be relaxing but at the same time a fun drive. A 205 turbo diesel isn’t refined but it’s a huge hoot, I imagine a Honda Insight is good because it’s so single minded and you’re literally driving the car from the future.

My current Civic is a petrol so upper 40s to the gallon is it when I’m trundling around. Book figure is about 42mpg I think. A diesel version would probably be sensible but there aren’t many cars I’ve had two of and the Civic isn’t that special. Some interesting suggestions, I’ll have a look at a Mini One, BMW 320 and I’d love a Xantia but I’m not sure it would do 15,000+ a year without a mishap, just because even the newest one has had several careless owners by now

Saves about £600 a year which is the same as a £1000 pay rise. Agree about reliability which is why it’s in my list of must-haves

Yes.... but no? Is a 406 coupe any good or likely to be fucked by now?

No filling stations on my route?

Maybe if it’s going to be tedious it had better be fucking reliable ? Something with a bit of fizz about it somehow would be good

Mid 50s mpg from a 1.8 petrol Civic? I’m like driving miss Daisy and 47mpg is my best ever