Unpopular Motoring Opinion Thread

[rattlecan]

5 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Yeah the percentage of income thing probably wouldn’t work especially on self employed and students etc. I’d just go for the £500 start option, I’ll bring it in during the second month of my run at Prime Minister. 🤣

Tbh you’d not be able to do any worse than the shit show we’ve had for over a decade

[Timewaster]

On 20/03/2024 at 08:31, Yoss said:

You had me at corduroy seat covers. 

Talking of which, leather seats are massively over rated. Especially some of the modern grey ones. if you're going to have them they need to be a proper colour and have at least 50 years patina.

But even then a decent velour is better than leather any day.

Most mainstream cars leather seats are horrible.

I have a leather clad Bini and it is hard, either stone cold or roasting hot and always slippy.

It reminds me of summer holidays as a kid in the back of dads Renault 12 with my legs stuck to black vinyl seats.

Most 2nd hand cars I see with leather, it is split and flaking away at the edges.

In the 90s, a couple of acquaintances had leather seated luxo barges. An XJ6 and a Senator. 

The Senator was mint, and fast. The Jag was old and scruffy and plodded along. 

But the seats?!

The Jag was soft and supple and comfortable and lovely.  The Senator was hard and scratchy and just not nice.

Also, leather covered steering wheels. Scratch and scuff easy, the surface wears away and they look like an 8 year olds school shoes at the end of term in no time.

[2flags]

On 18/03/2024 at 16:24, UltraWomble said:

What Hill Will You Die On for your opinion but other motorists think is wrong:

THE ROVER K-SERIES METRO/100 WAS UTTER SHIT AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT IT WAS.
IT DESERVED TO DIE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED OFF MUCH EARLIER.

The A series mini Metro/ Metro was an adequate BLARG offering for the time,  in an ideal world the bean counters would have fitted it with normal suspension rather than hydrolastic/hydragas  and someone shoudl really have tried harder to come up with a 5 speed option rather than the overly tall 4th gear. But considering when it was designed and how quickly it went into production against established small cars like the Fiesta and Polo, it was OK.

Grease nipples remained a part of weekend fettling, as was checking the dash pot had a bit of oil in it and going around the car treating rust blebs before they became bigger blebs the size of a subframe. It was still a car with 1950's technology and people who bought them for the most part understood this. Fast wind to 1991 and the K series Metro...

The K series engine, good on paper but not quite as good IRL. A small coolant leak quickly led to the head gasket failing and in some cases completely knackering the engine. OK, not the end of the world, but something that should have been better from the outset, as was the use of plastic locator dowels and bolts that went riiiiiight through the block to  attach the head. Dont get me wrong the K series when looked after and with an adequate coolant system can be a really good engine, Lotus used them for a while. The thing that really really really pisses me off about the K series Metro/100 was teh build quality.
Essentially  Metro Mk2 with some facelifts both inside and out but with no attention paid to the actual build quality.

In the early 1990's  customers were starting to get used to cars with decent prep and rust prevention from new, so that they were not the proud* owner of a pile of rust on wheels by 6 years old.  Despite Rover being able to make a 200/25 bubble with reasonable build quality, they somehow bypassed this on the Metro and examples 4 and 5 years old were rusting badly and failing MOT tests - for this reason alone is why I hate with a passion the K series Rover Metro/100.
No matter how good a new/sorted 1400 16v feels driving the whole of the underlying car remains frankly a let down with a clocks shared with the LDV vans of the time.

I dont expect to sway anyone with my opinion or change theirs if they only see the K with rose tinted spectacles, in the same way that cars I loved and still do are undoubtedly utter shit. However its my opinion and I shall DIE ON THIS HILL.

 

 

Over to you...

You are correct that the build quality was rather poor on the interior. However, I came out of a Mk1 Corsa and into a Metro. It was chalk and cheese. The Metro handled, the Corsa didn't. The Metro had some go in it, The Corsa didn't. I was a driving instructor. All of my pupils preferred the Metro bar none. I agree that the car should have had a better design, been more modern and have been better put together, but overall, it was still a good car. As for the K series, again quality control was the problem. The Chinese managed to sort it out with the MG6. No reported problems there. Why couldn't Rover had done this ten, fifteen years sooner? I know they had little money available at the time, but a bit more on development, with better quality control and who knows, maybe they would still be with us today. 

[Yoss]

33 minutes ago, Timewaster said:

Most mainstream cars leather seats are horrible.

I have a leather clad Bini and it is hard, either stone cold or roasting hot and always slippy.

It reminds me of summer holidays as a kid in the back of dads Renault 12 with my legs stuck to black vinyl seats.

Most 2nd hand cars I see with leather, it is split and flaking away at the edges.

In the 90s, a couple of acquaintances had leather seated luxo barges. An XJ6 and a Senator. 

The Senator was mint, and fast. The Jag was old and scruffy and plodded along. 

But the seats?!

The Jag was soft and supple and comfortable and lovely.  The Senator was hard and scratchy and just not nice.

Also, leather covered steering wheels. Scratch and scuff easy, the surface wears away and they look like an 8 year olds school shoes at the end of term in no time.

Leather in a big Vauxhall is doubly tragic. They were the kings of velour. They had some beautiful interiors. And I assume you paid extra for the inferior leather. Makes no sense at all. 

[DavieW]

I preferred the XR2 to the XR3/XR3i.

[Wibble]

48 minutes ago, 2flags said:

You are correct that the build quality was rather poor on the interior. However, I came out of a Mk1 Corsa and into a Metro. It was chalk and cheese. The Metro handled, the Corsa didn't. The Metro had some go in it, The Corsa didn't. I was a driving instructor. All of my pupils preferred the Metro bar none. I agree that the car should have had a better design, been more modern and have been better put together, but overall, it was still a good car. As for the K series, again quality control was the problem. The Chinese managed to sort it out with the MG6. No reported problems there. Why couldn't Rover had done this ten, fifteen years sooner? I know they had little money available at the time, but a bit more on development, with better quality control and who knows, maybe they would still be with us today. 

I’m not so sure the Chinese sorted the problem. I have a colleague who is from Cuba. Cuba did a deal with China for a load of MG6s to be used as taxis and undoubtedly the most modern cars in the country. He went home to visit his mother just prior to Covid and brought a suitcase full of head gaskets with him, as so many were off the road.

The people there are on their knees with empty shops and 6 hour now up to 12 hours a day power cuts but the older ones are all brainwashed and believe Castro’s promises that things are looking up. Government claim there is no inflation as petrol is still only $1 but the pumps are dry and you can only get fuel on the black market. The tourism collapse thanks to Trump has decimated their income.

[Metal Guru]

9 hours ago, sierraman said:

I get the appeal of an old Defender if you liked tinkering with things. I don’t get the other stuff at all though the new Defender as capable as I’m sure it is seem to get bought by these ‘all the gear - no idea’ guys. You know the type, have a ‘shop’ full of DeWalt gear and a £3,000 Axminster thicknesser but you can see from the clinically clean garage no actual work goes off in there. They probably have a pair of Timberland boots that they genuinely think they could cross the Sahara in and a TAG Heuer watch that has the capacity to tell the time under 200m of water. Something I’d quite like to see them test. 

Whoa! I feel like I’m on Pistonheads having my daily transport slagged off.

I’ve got several pairs of Timberlands. 

[Cavcraft]

On 20/03/2024 at 18:26, eddyramrod said:

Twelve months off work in a cell isn't a deterrent?

In already overcrowded prisons and turning them into more serious criminals? Sounds like a recipe for a very expensive disaster.

[Cavcraft]

7 hours ago, 2flags said:

You are correct that the build quality was rather poor on the interior. However, I came out of a Mk1 Corsa and into a Metro. It was chalk and cheese. The Metro handled, the Corsa didn't. The Metro had some go in it, The Corsa didn't. I was a driving instructor. All of my pupils preferred the Metro bar none. I agree that the car should have had a better design, been more modern and have been better put together, but overall, it was still a good car. As for the K series, again quality control was the problem. The Chinese managed to sort it out with the MG6. No reported problems there. Why couldn't Rover had done this ten, fifteen years sooner? I know they had little money available at the time, but a bit more on development, with better quality control and who knows, maybe they would still be with us today. 

Christ almighty, I know I'm the resident Vauxhall fan boi/Corsa licker,  but a Metro is absolutely leagues behind the Vauxhall. 

 

 

[Metal Guru]

13 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

In already overcrowded prisons and turning them into more serious criminals? Sounds like a recipe for a very expensive disaster.

There’s always Rwanda. Might as well make use of them, no illegal immigrants are going there.

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

In already overcrowded prisons and turning them into more serious criminals? Sounds like a recipe for a very expensive disaster.

The problem with prisons is not necessarily that people don’t belong there, it’s the lack of discipline and purpose people have in there. 

[2flags]

2 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

Christ almighty, I know I'm the resident Vauxhall fan boi/Corsa licker,  but a Metro is absolutely leagues behind the Vauxhall. 

 

 

Sorry, but the Mk1 Corsa, though much better made than the Metro, was utterly gutless, had unresponsive steering [four turns from lock to lock.] The Metro was a much better drivers car. Far more responsive and much more fun to drive. The build quality was, as you rightly said shite. Shame really as it was a great car underneath. 

[Timewaster]

2 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

Christ almighty, I know I'm the resident Vauxhall fan boi/Corsa licker,  but a Metro is absolutely leagues behind the Vauxhall. 

 

 

In a lot of ways, yes.

Butto drive,  the Metro inherited the go-kart feel from the mini and was lively and chuckable.

The Corsa was stodgy and numb. Steering, brakes and gear change were vague and it wasn't an engaging or fun thing in any way.

 

I base this entirely on two work vans we had when I was a yoof. An early Metro van in doom blue which may even have been badged Morris, and it's eventual replacement an L reg Corsa.

[inconsistant]

My mums late 80’s (AR) Metro was a better drive than her late 90’s Corsa.

[inconsistant]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

The problem with prisons is not necessarily that people don’t belong there, it’s the lack of discipline and purpose people have in there. 

Maybe we could fund prisons the same way we fund Higher Education, so the people  using the service pay for it, maybe through a high interest loan they pay back over their working life?

 

Unpopular motoring opinion to get back on track:

As well as total mileage, cars should record total fuel used to give a lifetime mpg for every car.

[MiniMinorMk3]

13 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Not had the pleasure of a Corrado but we had a 1983 924 as a daily driver for about 18 months in 2004/5 ish.  It was OK - not sporty by then but well built and easy enough to work on.
It was in need of a top end rebuild so my wife went for a run out Escort instead. That ate a cambelt rather quickly  despite SH from a Plymouth main dealer showing it had been done..... should have stuck with the 924.

I had a 924 as a daily in the early naughties. The only problem I had was a dodgy starter motor. I ran it for about a year and 20,000 miles. It wasn't fast, but it was a good drive on the open road. Town or stop start driving was a bit tiresome with no power steering and the heavy feeling clutch. I replaced it with a 2.7 litre 944. That felt similar to the 924 but better in every way. The aluminium suspension helped the ride, there was power steering and another 50 bhp to play with. I got my last speeding ticket in it going passed a van on the A1.

[sierraman]

50 minutes ago, inconsistant said:

Maybe we could fund prisons the same way we fund Higher Education, so the people  using the service pay for it, maybe through a high interest loan they pay back over their working life?

 

Unpopular motoring opinion to get back on track:

As well as total mileage, cars should record total fuel used to give a lifetime mpg for every car.

Probably have to go out selling drugs to pay back for the accommodation 😂

[Uncleben]

 Cars should be enjoyed and driven, in all weather, all through the year, not wrapped up in a heated garage all winter and only used when the sun shines. 

You may well have spent £20k and years of your life restoring it, but whats the point if you only use it 9 days a year.  

 

[Spiny Norman]

4 hours ago, Timewaster said:

The Corsa was stodgy and numb. Steering, brakes and gear change were vague and it wasn't an engaging or fun thing in any way.

As an ADI during the 90s I drove several examples of Metro & Corsa along with most other superminis of the era and the Corsa was better than the Metro in terms of looking more modern and rear seat space and err... that's it. In all things to do with driving dynamics the Metro pissed all over it.
Only the VW Polo felt as heavy and lumpen to drive but at least the Polo handled which the early Corsas didn't. An appalling car in every way except its nice dashboard and far worse to drive than its predecessor the Nova.
Give them their due, later ones were far better but the first K/L reg  ones were horrid.

[eddyramrod]

9 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

In already overcrowded prisons and turning them into more serious criminals? Sounds like a recipe for a very expensive disaster.

Maybe, but since when was prison supposed to be fun?  I have no problem with the inmates bunking 4 to a cell.  Whose fault is it they're there?  Most especially, whose fault is it if they're sent down according to my proposal?  I'm certainly not pouring booze down their necks and giving them the keys to a high-speed killing machine, and I would like to think none of us are that irresponsible (not to mention downright malicious).

There's a very appropriate song in The Mikado, which was written before the motor car became a viable proposition: Let the punishment fit the crime.

[Dyslexic Viking]

2 hours ago, Uncleben said:

Cars should be enjoyed and driven, in all weather, all through the year, not wrapped up in a heated garage all winter and only used when the sun shines. 

If I had done that where I live with my old Mercedes, it would be dead within a few years. The salt and chemicals they dump on the roads here kill cars.

[Timewaster]

1 hour ago, Spiny Norman said:

Corsa was better than the Metro in terms of looking more modern

I think that's what made it even worse.

The Metro looked like your grans shopping car and the Corsa was all modern and funky.

Until you drove them and it was the other way around.

[egg]

19 minutes ago, Timewaster said:

The Metro looked like your grans shopping car and the Corsa was all modern and funky.

Corsa had a more comfortable driving position though? At least for me.

[Metal Guru]

Most non EV cars carry around about 50 litres of a highly explosive liquid that could go up with the slightest spark.

[Timewaster]

7 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

Most non EV cars carry around about 50 litres of a highly explosive liquid that could go up with the slightest spark.

You ever tried to set light to diesel?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

17 hours ago, DavieW said:

I preferred the XR2 to the XR3/XR3i.

This, I had a brand new XR3i in ‘85 on one of the many times I broke or crashed it the lease company lent me an early Mk2 XR2 on steel wheels, I bloody loved it! Didn’t want to give it back, as much fun to chuck around as the MK1 I’d had but with a 5 speed and that raw CVH power was just as good as the Escort as an everyday proposition. I managed to keep it for a month, my car was fixed but I kept making excuses and the guy at the lease co. whose company car it was was happy to drive my XR3.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

19 hours ago, Timewaster said:

Most mainstream cars leather seats are horrible.

I have a leather clad Bini and it is hard, either stone cold or roasting hot and always slippy.

It reminds me of summer holidays as a kid in the back of dads Renault 12 with my legs stuck to black vinyl seats.

Most 2nd hand cars I see with leather, it is split and flaking away at the edges.

In the 90s, a couple of acquaintances had leather seated luxo barges. An XJ6 and a Senator. 

The Senator was mint, and fast. The Jag was old and scruffy and plodded along. 

But the seats?!

The Jag was soft and supple and comfortable and lovely.  The Senator was hard and scratchy and just not nice.

Also, leather covered steering wheels. Scratch and scuff easy, the surface wears away and they look like an 8 year olds school shoes at the end of term in no time.

That’s because most mainstream “leather” in modern cars is plastic, just like your Dad’s Renault 12. Unless you raid the option list on Mercs, BMWs and Audis you’re getting synthetic stuff on anything under anA8/S Class or 7. Presume ‘ lesser’ brands are the same. 

[Cavcraft]

2 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

Maybe, but since when was prison supposed to be fun?  I have no problem with the inmates bunking 4 to a cell.  Whose fault is it they're there?  Most especially, whose fault is it if they're sent down according to my proposal?  I'm certainly not pouring booze down their necks and giving them the keys to a high-speed killing machine, and I would like to think none of us are that irresponsible (not to mention downright malicious).

There's a very appropriate song in The Mikado, which was written before the motor car became a viable proposition: Let the punishment fit the crime.

Who said it was fun?

I take it you will happily pay the estimated £48, 409 per year it'll cost to keep them there, though?

[goosey]

I’ve never liked the 1999-2008 Citroen Xsara Picasso. 

[loserone]

35 minutes ago, goosey said:

I’ve never liked the 1999-2008 Citroen Xsara Picasso. 

That's quite a popular view to be fair