Mini Polish road trip [Modern shite rental]

[Spurious]

So we're over visiting the future in-laws in southern Poland.  It's been a thoroughly enjoyable week so far, came over on Monday. 

We're off the mountains.  We had been offered the uncles Polenez van to drive but it's needed tomorrow when we'd be away with it  ??

Anyway, we've rented a (surprisingly) brand new Clio. It's rather nice on first impressions. I had thought about renting something cheaper but the thought of handing over my credit card details to small town renters with bad reviews made my credit card hide away in my wallet. 

More, mountainous, snowy pics incoming. 

[Spurious]

In a refreshing change you can actually see the engine and it's not hidden away under layers of awkward to remove plastic. 

Looks relatively easy to change spark plugs, coil packs and belts. 

It's a 3cyl 1.0l turbo. Drives a lot like a small diesel, lots of boost down low, and good torque but runs out of puff at higher eg5k rpm 

 

[Kiltox]

If you like it, I have one for sale.....  

[Spurious]

1 hour ago, Kiltox said:

If you like it, I have one for sale.....  

No, it's alright. I've too many cars right now. 

Initial impressions over 200km. 

Engine is a bit gutless around 70-80km/h. Needing frequent downshifts. It's alright but I think a 1.5dci would be a better mix of car. The Clio is a big car nowadays. 

Fuel economy is okay. 42mpg on the computer, mixed urban/rural driving. I'm sure that might stretch up with 100km/h constant on a motorway. 

 Ride is a bit harder than I'm used to. Isn't too clever over speed bumps and rough roads. 

Nokian winter tyres are solid. Very surefooted. 

 

[Spurious]

 

Poland is surprisingly poor for interesting old car spots nowadays. Not a lot in Krakow, the suburbs or south towards Zakopane. I suspect since the population is a lot more prosperous and the roads are covered in salt for a great deal of the time that all the cars didn't survive or were just sold or scrapped. 

A few of these Fiat saloons, this was parked up but I don't know the model, badge had fallen off. It's not a Tempra. 

[egg]

I was going to say Palio, but I've just found out the saloon is called a Siena.

[Spurious]

10 minutes ago, egg said:

I was going to say Palio, but I've just found out the saloon is called a Siena.

Theres lots of Fiat saloons over here, some of which we got in the UK. These ones I'd not seen before. Google tells me they were produced in Tychy which isnt a million miles from Krakow. Also goes to show why the Poles love Pandas. They're everywhere. Like the Yaris in the UK.

Also a Mitsubishi with a fucked rear end, home made rear wheel steering ?

 

He pulled off the main road and into the supermarket beside me. How I don't know. 

[Spurious]

A working MK2 Golf high in the hills. It's seen it's fair share of salt. 

Also a mighty purchase, a very good tee shirt. 

[Spurious]

And our icy steed for the couple of days. 

Further thoughts; engine is actually alright. It does have a limited power band. Push it on a bit and it sounds alright. I'd prefer the 1.3 turbo or the venerable 1.5dci 

 Gearbox is only a 5sp, you don't miss the 6th. It's a long legged gearbox with sensible ratios.  

Interior is well screwed together. No trim rattles. Nothing fell apart. It's basic but it works fine. Switchgear is sensible. 

No coolant gauge which is a negative. Wipers don't have a mist function which in 2020 is a bit of an oversight. 

Average economy was about 40mpg. In the cold and the hills that's alright. 

Seats are comfortable but lack armrests. Ride is firm, almost sporting and lacks composure over the bumps.  But it's not uncomfortable. 

Steering is too light at town speed, one of these electronic assistance steering racks. Firms up at speed but lacks a bit of feedback. It does grip rather well though.  It went where I asked it too. 

Overall, it's a competent little car.  Time will tell how well these small capacity turbo engines will fare in the reliability stakes but a small turbo petrol isnt a new idea. The Japanese have been at it for decades. I would imagine they'll be just fine. I'd recommend the 2019 Clio, should make a sensible second hand purchase in a few years. 

 

 

[C1am]

23 minutes ago, Spurious said:

a Mitsubishi with a fucked rear end

A Mitsubishi Impreza - a new one on me!

[Noel Tidybeard]

dont forget to change the engine sound on the radio!

[Spurious]

Just now, C1am said:

A Mitsubishi Impreza - a new one on me!

I was second guessing myself when I posted that. Was it one or the other, I couldn't recall  I'm not very good at my Japanese cars. 

 

[Spurious]

Just now, Noel Tidybeard said:

dont forget to change the engine sound on the radio!

What? Even with the bog standard 100tce? 

I knew various hot hatches were up to that sort of trickery didn't think the bog standard Clio was at it too. 

It's gone back to the rental agency so I can't play with it now ?