What could replace a BX?

[vulgalour]

This is a great car.  I really like this car a lot.  Problem is it's a diesel.  This wasn't a problem when I got it and hadn't been a problem until moving into the current house.  Now, even before the world event, I found I wasn't driving enough distance to justify a diesel and I know from experience that diesels do not like just pottering here and there so something has to change.  This is a very hard decision to make because the only thing about this BX that was a compromise when I got it was that it was a diesel, I had been holding out for a basic non-sporting petrol version.  I don't even mind the diesel in this car, I like the noise it makes and it's a pretty good old lump, the lack of turbo never bothered me because the turbo-equipped BXs and other Citroens I've driven have always been annoying to keep on boost for the type of driving I normally do so there's no benefit there for me.  So, parting with the car is a purely practical decision and not one I'm taking lightly or rushing into.  I probably won't be ready to move this on until next year at the earliest.

The problem comes when I have to decide on a replacement.  I don't want to replace it with something I've had before, and that includes a BX.  I also don't want anything post 1990 because I've learned from experience that while post 1990 cars are very good, they always leave me a little bit cold and that means I get bored of the car.  So that means 1989 and earlier and that's getting much harder to do now as supply and demand fight it out.

To add to the issues, the only mod-con I really like is electric front windows.  I don't particularly like power steering, I hate sunroofs on most cars, I despise air conditioning, and cannot tolerate leather seats.  Automatic gearboxes are right out.  I like my cars to be fairly basic and very comfortable, and I also like them to be fairly quiet inside - surprisingly, this BX is fairly quiet inside, even with a noisy old XUD up front - because I can't be doing with all that stuff cars have to have these days.  I also particularly like the size and style of car the BX is, and the hatchback is particularly useful.

The criteria it must meet:

• Large 4 door hatchback
• Petrol engine, manual gearbox
• Electric front windows (manual are fine too, this is pretty much the only option box I want ticked)
• No sunroof, no power steering, no aircon, no CD player, no power seats, no heated seats... you get the idea
• Long travel suspension and soft seats for the waftiest of rides
• No newer than 1989
• Cloth or velour interior, no leather
• Minimum of 25mpg average preferred, no single figure mpgs please
• Not an Ambassador, I've already got a Princess
• Not a 4x4/softroader/offroader

Budget is inconsequential at this point, whatever I purchase would be saved up for or have the BX as part/all of the trade in/swap cost.

The only reason for any of this consideration is that a diesel is ill suited to my driving habits, so I'm happy to stick by the BX indefinitely really because right now, nothing else is tempting me at all, not even in the eBay Tat Thread.

[DodgyBastard]

 

Sounds like you need one of these...

[DSdriver]

This meets nearly all your requirements except electric windows

[garethj]

Would a Saab 900 or even a 99 do?  Not sure about the power steering though, I think they all came with it

[vulgalour]

I was traumatised as a child (stroppy teenager) by the rear suspension on the family Peugeot so you'll have to remain King of Pugs for now, @DodgyBastard

@DSdriver I forgot some Traction Avants do that!  Tempting.

I'd entertain a SAAB as a toy certainly, not sure I'd want one as a daily.  I've sat in quite a few and there's something about the seating position that always feels off somehow, I think it's the seats, they feel very... orthopaedic.

[DSdriver]

1 minute ago, vulgalour said:

I was traumatised as a child (stroppy teenager) by the rear suspension on the family Peugeot so you'll have to remain King of Pugs for now, @DodgyBastard

@DSdriver I forgot some Traction Avants do that!  Tempting.

I'd entertain a SAAB as a toy certainly, not sure I'd want one as a daily.  I've sat in quite a few and there's something about the seating position that always feels off somehow, I think it's the seats, they feel very... orthopaedic.

The electric window problem could be worked around by removing the winder and attaching a cordless screwdriver to the winding shaft

[egg]

Another FOAD fave - Renault 18?

[DSdriver]

1 minute ago, egg said:

Another FOAD fave - Renault 18?

Or 16?

[Jon]

Large hatchback but without power steering rules out loads of ideas I had. Which would you rule out first, if need be? Possibly more choice if you accepted a saloon or estate, or a low spec early  Rover 800 or Mk3 Granada could fulfill hatch requirements but may have superfluous extras.

Possibly an SD1 2000 but to be granted, that's not too dissimilar to a Princess in size or era, plus I think a BX would be more practical on a daily basis. Excellent steel wheel design, mind.

Convert your BX to petrol?!

[vulgalour]

They were saloons... however, there's a certain someone local with a rather lovely 11 I could perhaps try... @RobT

EDIT:  comment aimed at @egg

[RayMK]

These are comfortable and capable if you can find one without chronic rust problems.

Edit: Being a Ford, the base model probably has no heater and the vacuum operated wipers are variable speed (always the wrong speed for the conditions) Possibly.

[dollywobbler]

I've struggled with this quandary myself and currently seem to think the BX's predecessor is the best choice. No electric windows though.

[S2000]

Volvo 240 Estate or a Audi 100 Avant old chap?

[Andyrew]

Large depends on your perspective, Its bigger than a sofa, and a sofa is big. 

not so sure of the "waftness" tho. 

 

 

[vulgalour]

@Jon Estate base is covered by the other half's diesel van (another reason I don't need a diesel car), and saloon base is covered by the Princess, I really want a large hatchback because it is very practical so I guess the thing I'd be willing to compromise on is equipping with PAS if I absolutely had to. SD1 as you surmise is too close a kin to the Princess, though they are a very commendable barge in their own right, a car I've experienced through other people and not one I wish to inflict upon myself just yet.

@RayMK I like how they look, I hate how they ride, something about Fords of that era do nothing for me.

@dollywobbler Not sure I can keep up with a GS/A, I'd LOVE a CX but the sort of CX I can afford to buy I definitely can't afford to run.

@S2000 I LOVE 240s, I used to have one years and years ago.  Trouble is, I don't want another saloon.  Not that keen on Audis, after the 70s, they just don't do anything for me.

@Andyrew I had been considering a Dyane recently, as it happens, though not as a BX replacement.... hmmmm

[sutty2006]

Can I be the only one to recommend keeping it? N/A diesels aren’t that bad for short journeys. Heck, my Carlton turbo diesel does me 8 miles to work and back. 4 there 4 back etc etc. It’s more modern diesels that suffer with short distance. If you can make it work, make it work. No harm in trying. But I do sympathise for getting a petrol. I’ve not had a petrol daily for over 10 years and I do miss it to a certain degree. 

[egg]

Keep going with the Renners - how about 21? Hatch, just meets '89 rule.

[LightBulbFun]

36 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

The criteria it must meet:

• Large 4 door hatchback
• Petrol engine, manual gearbox
• Electric front windows (manual are fine too, this is pretty much the only option box I want ticked)
• No sunroof, no power steering, no aircon, no CD player, no power seats, no heated seats... you get the idea
• Long travel suspension and soft seats for the waftiest of rides
• No newer than 1989
• Cloth or velour interior, no leather
• Minimum of 25mpg average preferred, no single figure mpgs please
• Not an Ambassador, I've already got a Princess
• Not a 4x4/softroader/offroader

how about Zels old Lada Riva estate that @Cavcraft now owns and I think is trying to sell?

not something most people would call a waft mobile but it ticks most of the boxes nicely  

(ok its from 1993 and has fuel injection but the rest of it is from the 1960s!)

[vulgalour]

@sutty2006 I'm doing just that until a replacement I'm excited about can be found.  Replacing the BX is a tall order, because I'm so damned fussy.

@egg 21s are just the wrong side of what I like.  Just.  Whatever it is that 21s do differently to Renaults before them is what I don't enjoy as much.  They're close to right, all the same, and they do look nice.

@LightBulbFun Nope.  Nope nope nope.  That's like swapping your favourite comfy armchair for one of those devilish wooden folding beach chairs.  As a toy, the Lada is a big fat yes, as a BX replacement, it's a bigger fatter nope.

[S2000]

Bluebird.......of the Nissan ??

[vulgalour]

On paper, the Bluebird is an excellent choice.  In practice, they're pretty dull.  There's a reason they were used as taxi cabs for so long by so many.  It's the same reason I don't want to go back to Rover 200/400s.  I admire them for what they are and what they are is what makes them so boring.

[RayMK]

2 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

@Jon Estate base is covered by the other half's diesel van (another reason I don't need a diesel car), and saloon base is covered by the Princess, I really want a large hatchback because it is very practical so I guess the thing I'd be willing to compromise on is equipping with PAS if I absolutely had to. SD1 as you surmise is too close a kin to the Princess, though they are a very commendable barge in their own right, a car I've experienced through other people and not one I wish to inflict upon myself just yet.

@RayMK I like how they look, I hate how they ride, something about Fords of that era do nothing for me.

@dollywobbler Not sure I can keep up with a GS/A, I'd LOVE a CX but the sort of CX I can afford to buy I definitely can't afford to run.

@S2000 I LOVE 240s, I used to have one years and years ago.  Trouble is, I don't want another saloon.  Not that keen on Audis, after the 70s, they just don't do anything for me.

@Andyrew I had been considering a Dyane recently, as it happens, though not as a BX replacement.... hmmmm

I actually agree with you regarding the Scorpio but a local taxi firm wafted me to LHR and back numerous times in the 1990s. Despite not being a Ford man, it impressed me.

I've owned a Dyane and absolutely adored it, more so than my 2CV6. Also had Dad's GSA for a while after he left this world. Preferred the Dyane. CXs are fabulous of course, but not available as hatchbacks. I was going to suggest a Renault 20. They are so rare now that fixing a Renault 6 may have been easier to contemplate ?.

Perhaps Sutty's words are the wisest.

[vulgalour]

The trouble with the Scorpio/Granny is that as a passenger they're great, and as a driver I always felt the steering wheel was only nominally connected to the car.  They just have this baggy, vagueness to the driving experience that I don't enjoy.  Sierras don't have it so much (I don't want a Sierra) as the larger cars, and Fiestas have it less still.  There's just something wooly about that era of Fords.

[RobT]

1 hour ago, vulgalour said:

They were saloons... however, there's a certain someone local with a rather lovely 11 I could perhaps try... @RobT

EDIT:  comment aimed at @egg

The 11 is an acquired taste.  Like most French I suppose...you're more than welcome to have a blast in it though.

The heavy steering can be annoying, but then the floaty ride makes up for it.  The Monotrace seats can also take getting used to.  Despite looking comfortable, it took me a while to find a good driving position.

But that's all minor bollocks.  It's an old interesting car, so worth living with a few foibles.

Oh, and it's got electric windows.

[LightBulbFun]

how about a base spec Jaag of some kind?

I think some are manual and have a cloth interior, and they will waft with the best of em but I suspect they might have too many other luxuries for you? and being a jag, not be as reliable as you would like!

(although to be fair you never said anything about the car having to be reliable!  )

[Dabooka]

What about an Alfa 33?

Seems to tick most of the boxes, but I have no idea what the ride is like. Terrible I expect.

 

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Would a metro be too small? You'd probably need to forego the electric windows mind unless you ignored the '89 rule and looked at the Rover Metro rather than the Austin variety.

 

Both versions have a lot going for them. The Rover Metro I had swallowed more than you'd imagine, it rode well and didn't have any of that nasty PAS. the 8v K series is an absolute peach of an engine and rarely suffer the same woes as the bigger 16v units

 

Or get a proper one:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264692506530

 

Sent from my TA-1012 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

[vulgalour]

Jags don't come in hatchback flavour and I don't like the claustrophic seating position.  In fact, that's something that puts me off a lot of RWD stuff and modern stuff, I don't like being surround by centre consoles and door bins and whatnot, I like the openness of a FWD interior like the BX has.

Alfas fall into toy territory I think.  That 33 looks to be a lovely example, even with its awkward looks.  Quite a few Alfas have the Fiat problem in that I like them and cannot get comfortable in them at all.

Metros are out because of the stupid offset seating position.  I really like Metros and the one reason I've never owned one is the fact that they couldn't be arsed to make the pedals, seat, and steering wheel line up so it does a number on my back.  It's  shame, because I like everything else about them.

[Out Run]

Just keep the BX. What do you think is going to go wrong with it?

No DPF, EGR, CAN etc etc to upset. I can’t see an issue.

[Zelandeth]

The Lada is actually surprisingly comfy.  I was really surprised by that side of things.  The saloons ride better though, the estate is slightly more stiffly sprung.

Renault 25 sounds like what you're after... Mechanically pretty uncomplicated if you stay away from the V6 and auto.  I've skipped buying a few which were in pretty basic spec over the years as I was spoiled by my first one being a Monaco.

Other one which immediately springs to mind would be a Mk II Cavelier.