The most underestimated shite of all times

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

My dad liked the big Peugeots. One memory I have of him is the way he would constantly be altering the driver's seat on longer journeys. I didn't really think about it until recently, but this is probably why!

[Pete-M]

My dad liked the big Peugeots. One memory I have of him is the way he would constantly be altering the driver's seat on longer journeys. I didn't really think about it until recently, but this is probably why!

My dad used to do the same. As a passenger the 604 is magnificently comfortable so I could never understand why my dad constantly cursed the driving position and was forever moving the seat.

 

Then, after 18 months of welding and work on mine I finally got to drove it home from the welders. MY 604, after 25 years I owned one and was finally getting to enjoy the luxurious ride. Within 5 miles I was cursing the driving position and stopping at every lay-by to work out why it was impossible to get comfy. I wanted to set fire to it less than a week after finally getting it on the road.

[Vince70]

How about the Suzuki Baleno...

These things seem to be under the radar to the average car buyer that will normally go down the A3/Golf/Bora or Focus/Astra route when buying a normal everyday car..

 

Yet with jap oily bits these seem to go on forever and a day like clockwork and are cheap to run and ultra reliable and drive really well yet can be had for the price of a weekend Booze up..

[John F]

wafers, on 26 Sept 2015 - 10:46 AM, said:wafers, on 26 Sept 2015 - 10:46 AM, said:

Cavs were highly regarded in their day, but now they're old rotboxes, there doesn't seem to be much love for them at all, much like most old Vauxhalls. I saw a really genuine, rot free example of a Cav Turbo for sale recently, and the owner was struggling to sell at £2600ish. Real Q car, comparable to a Saph Cosworth, but completely different value trend. Just a few years back the value would have been much more on a par with the Cossie. Real shame - they're damn good cars, but just don't really have much of a following any more.

 

The 1994-onwards ones were galvanised so are fairly rot-resistant (more so than a lot of 'modern' cars), and those that are still on the road tend to be well looked-after. IMO their styling has aged well, too.

 

And they still have a strong niche following - even here in Autoshite, which is surprising for a Vauxhall.

 

Tidy sporty ones can still fetch strong money. There are a couple of turbos on eBay, one of which is currently on £4k plus... 

[nacho man]

I have just done Derby to Loch Ness on one tank with just a stop for some nosh on the way.

 

 

441 miles. 36mpg. A good average speed except for the a9 which is camera heaven.

 

Not bad for 800-1000 for a aero. 230bhp for the least powerful version. Pretty underrated for sure.

[twosmoke300]

My Saab always surprises me how good it is on fuel . That reminds me I must pick it up from having had a full paint restoration and detail . Shiny !

[scdan4]

Mines ok on the motorway, but its appaling round town. 

 

Averaging 13 - 17mpg here aboot the houses. 

[twosmoke300]

Something not right there . Even dicking around in cornwall where no journey is more than 7 miles I get no less than 28 out of mine

[Rocket88]

Two spring to mind...the 505 because of it's brilliant seats and [in GTi version] brisk efficiency,and any Carlton, because all Voxalls were shit after these...........

[Bear]

Wouldn't count the 505 as underestimated. It was a relatively expensive car in the UK when new, and it was - rightly - considered the French competitor to the W123/W124 four-pots. It's a shame PSA are so bad at supporting older models, as I reckon many more 505s would be ambling around the UK if they did - particularly estates. It's like the 505 estate never went through "shite" phase, it passed from "sought after" to "where the hell did they go" almost overnight.

 

Having said that, the R21 Savanna pulled the same trick. 7 seater 21s were easy, easy sales - then they'd all gone.

[Noel Tidybeard]

renner 19

• daycent french ride qualidee
• squishy seats that are comfy enough
• not too plasticy inside
• seems to handle ok even on pinhead 165 tyres (remember them???)

i'd hate to think what an equivalent escrote would be like [shudder]

[Uncle Jimmy]

Brilliant ride quality, great handling, very well equipped for the 70s. Only two things wrong with them, the driving position is abysmal and the PRV V6 is truly horrible. If Peugeot had built the 604 with straight seat runners and the V8 it was designed for it would have been one of the best cars ever built. Until it rusted away.

I do remember the driving position not being the greatest- although I like to sit rather bow legged and close to the wheel.

As for the PRV; the version fitted to the 604 and, I believe the Tagora is virtually a different mill from the Ovlovs and the R30 with much better top end. They did still suffer from soft camshafts though I believe.

[forddeliveryboy]

Every car I've ever owned which I've enjoyed is underestimated. Except a hateful 205 diesel with nasty steering, shagged calipers, Peugeot rear wheel camber and a leaky IP. They're properly estimated, except still cheapish - so perhaps worth buying? Tbf the XUD made up for lack of suspension and brakes, plus it wasn't rotting like most other small cars do at 250k.

[DVee8]

Vauxhall Astra.

[cros]

 The A55 commercial, an unsung hero. Shame on you for not recognising a motor that towers above all the other chaff that has been suggested so far.

[xtriple]

 The A55 commercial, an unsung hero. Shame on you for not recognising a motor that towers above all the other chaff that has been suggested so far.

Fuck me, is that a picture of my new purchase belching out smoke?

[DSdriver]

 It's like the 505 estate never went through "shite" phase, it passed from "sought after" to "where the hell did they go" almost overnight.

 

 

Africa!

[Roostybroon]

Can't believe nobody's mentioned the Rover 75/Mg ZT.

Shame on you.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Remember how these and others like them were derided in the '70s?

At different stages all Japanese, Korean and Malaysia products have been laughed at.

[Tetleysmooth]

Sorry to be predictably boring, but.....

 

 

They're quick, quiet, comfortable, easy to work on, cheap spares, good on fuel. Need I go on?

 

Some right cheapies about too. There's a manual driveaway 2.4T over on the Volvo forum for £150 as we speak.

 

Totally underestimated as far as I'm concerned.

[Roverageous]

Can't believe nobody's mentioned the Rover 75/Mg ZT.

Shame on you.

Thing is I don't think they're underestimated. Thriving owners clubs and massive turn out at events etc... I don't go a week without getting comments from random carpark people about how nice cars they are / were.

 

Contrary to most peoples' opinions I don't think the 75 / ZT is going to gain "classic" status, perhaps with the exception of the V8s, but they will remain niche.

 

In 10 years time Rover will be long forgotten, and they'll still be worth 50p.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Negative Creep]

Nissan Bluebird - very comfy, easy to drive, reliable, styling has aged well

[Junkman]

Sorry to be predictably boring, but.....

 

 

They're quick, quiet, comfortable, easy to work on, cheap spares, good on fuel. Need I go on?

 

Some right cheapies about too. There's a manual driveaway 2.4T over on the Volvo forum for £150 as we speak.

 

Totally underestimated as far as I'm concerned.

 

They are the opposite of underestimated. There is much underserved hype about them.

[Tetleysmooth]

They are the opposite of underestimated. There is much underserved hype about them.

 

Maybe you just had a bad apple then.

 

One man's meat etc etc.

[Junkman]

Who underestimates them? Everyone knows they are good, no?

[Tetleysmooth]

Who underestimates them? Everyone knows they are good, no?

 

Absolutely.

[Bear]

I'm gonna expand on the Carisma - I thought I had but can't see the post.

 

I had a late '90s GDi just after the Marea - it was the first of those cheap lease deals you'd get clogging up the fax machine, and got roped into being a sort of pool car. The styling was almost offensively bland - lights "just big enough to lack character" at each end, a shapeless chin and forgettable profile (hatchback). Boot was huge and flat, seats looked like an elephant had puked on them, and it had no sunroof because A/C.

 

At the same time as this, we had a Porsche 924S, I had my 480 auto and probably some forgotten CXs/XMs somewhere (once found an XM I'd left at a dealer for them to sell a couple of years later, because I'd gone "Oh, an XM!" and went to look. "It's yours. Please take it away."). The Carisma was smooth, predictable and surprisingly nicely balanced, to the extent that when trying to get family to the train station in Berwick and running late it was faster through some familiar bends than I was happy doing in the 924S; no-one complained either, it was that unflustered. The GDi engine really did deliver on the economy claims, too, with an average of 44 and a best of 52 mpg.

 

It went wrong once, when a coil pack failed. Warranty so no big deal. And it is the only car I've had vandalised with no idea how/why, someone walked over it and left bootprints on the roof.

 

Anyway, the underestimated bit really comes from the fact that rationally, the cheap and cheap to run Carisma should have been everywhere boring rep hatchbacks could be found, yet (particularly pre-facelift) they didn't seem to sell very well. Probably due to the ironic name.

[Junkman]

(once found an XM I'd left at a dealer for them to sell a couple of years later, because I'd gone "Oh, an XM!" and went to look. "It's yours. Please take it away.")

"Dealership Find" - I can see this spawning a new disease on Ebay.

 

BTT I would like to add two cars I found surprisingly good, i.e. better than I expected them to me.

 

Toyota Carina II (T 150) - I bought one of these while living in pre-NCT Ireland, simply on the grounds that it was the cheapest car offered in Buy&Sell. IIRC I paid 75 Airgeads for it.

It was a right old wreck having served as a Dublin cab for a while. To my astonishment, it went well, even on extended weekend trips up and down "da cuntree" and on an extensive three week holiday trip to England, all the way over to the East coast and down to that there London. It was surprisingly nippy, which is proven by the fact that it caused me to get two speeding tickets. It survived two years with absolutely zero maintenance and sadly had to be banger raced discarded, when the NCT was introduced.

 

Rover P4 - OK, I always figured they are good, but all my expectations were exceeded, when I drove FPB7's example. This was the first time for me and I was surprised how capable these cars still are.

[phil_lihp]

Outside of this forum and a few other places, these still seem to suffer very much from an image problem.  So many people turn their noses up or smirk when they see one, yet they are, to my mind, pretty much perfect small hatchbacks.  Nice to drive, massive range of body shapes and engines, reliable, comfortable etc, etc.  All the general public see, however, is 'that' badge and a constant threat of head gasket failure.  Hence why, for now, they're still as cheap as chips and long may it continue!

 

[Timewaster]

Nissan Bluebird - styling has aged well

Interesting use of the word "styling"

Never gone out of fashion cos it was never in fashion.