Time to change car

[Andy48]

Posted by PatMc on 27/02/2017 21:14:01:

Did a bit of showroom & online research on both cars & decided on a Qashqai. Then I got some quotes via Carwow for the Qashqai Tekna & N-Connecta.
After further "negotiating" at our local Nissan dealer we've tentatively agreed a deal subject to the test drive of an N-Connecta proving satisfactory this Thursday.

Just agreed to trade in my 3 year old Mitsubishi ASX and achieved a trade in figure above 60% again. We looked at Qashqais last year and the auto was simply horrible. They also have the worst reliability of any SUV. I'm picking my new ASX in a couple of weeks. Its the same price as the above Qashqai, but has a 2.3 litre Euro 6 diesel, a 6 speed silky smooth automatic gearbox that adjusts to your current driving style, 4 wheel drive, leather seats and 5 years warranty. All the equipment is the same apart from not having side or front cameras, though it will have front parking sensors.

Petrol consumption is not as good,but today on a long run still achieved over 50mpg, and generally does 45mpg around town. Its a fair bit faster than the Qashqai.

Go for a petrol 2wd version and they are a whole lot cheaper. Worth a look before you sign up.

[Andy48]

Posted by Frank Skilbeck on 27/02/2017 18:15:49:

The US has never really started using diesel cars, same with Russia.

There's a fairly obvious reason for this, and that is diesel would freeze in winter without special precautions. Much of the western half of the US in the Rockies suffers from this, plus the fact that petrol is so much cheaper in the US.

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by Andy48 on 28/02/2017 17:11:08:

Posted by Frank Skilbeck on 27/02/2017 18:15:49:

The US has never really started using diesel cars, same with Russia.

There's a fairly obvious reason for this, and that is diesel would freeze in winter without special precautions. Much of the western half of the US in the Rockies suffers from this, plus the fact that petrol is so much cheaper in the US.

It doesn't stop their trucks in winter though, but the real reason is gas (petrol) is so cheap they don't mind running big engines that do less than 25 mpg. Not sure what it's like in Russia now, but a few years back a Russian friend of mine told me that the Russian diesel quality meant that the modern high pressure common rail electronic injection systems suffered excessive wear in Russia.

[ted hughes]

Scrappage scheme proposed:**LINK**

[kc]

Andy said "Petrol consumption is not as good" well it would be nil if you are buying a diesel! Are you really buying a new diesel? no wonder they offered you a high part ex deal!

The government will really be able to get to grips with the diesel situation after Brexit and will be able to tax diesel much more - so diesel drivers pay the same tax per mile as petrol. At the moment this would ruin the British haulage industry, but when brexit happens they could tax the huge tank loads every foreign lorry brings in full of cheap continental diesel. ( all these continental lorries which clog the roads around southern England are contributing nothing in taxation hence no money to pay for the potholes everywhere )

[Matt Jones]

Depending on budget Audi RS, Merc AMG and BMW M division all have estates with anything from 4.2l V8 through 5l V10 to 6.2l V8, that should cover most options.

[MattyB]

I am secretly hoping that diesel persecution depresses SUV sales and brings back a renaissance in the traditional "proper" boxy estate car which is always going to be more fuel efficient.

I currently have a Passat diesel. It is completely character free, dull as dishwater but is one of only a handful of what I would call true estate cars available. The Mondeo, Civic and Merc E class estates (and maybe the Hyundai i40) are some others, but bar those there is precious little choice - the rest are swoopy roofed pseudo wagons with little practical advantage over the saloon versions. As an aeromodeller and father of a young family I have looked at plenty of SUVs as alternatives, but bar the Range Rover (a very expensive option) none of them offer the space and practicality of a real estate, and all will be more expensive to run. I am sure my next car won't be diesel, but hopefully there will be a range of hybrid or ultra efficient petrol wagons available to choose from by then.

Edited By MattyB on 01/03/2017 15:04:18

[flight1]

Berlingo multispace have had 2 over the last 16 years 1st one petrol second 1.6hdmi both went well and never any problems and you can carry a large load and a good ride and you can pick the petrol ones up at a good price now.

We have just now replaced the last one with a C3 picasso (excellent) as the latest belingo is even bigger and the missus didn't want that much bigger car and couldn't be persuaded . The c3 picasso has a decent petrol version redally available

[Mike Etheridge 1]

MattyB did not mention the X-type Jaguar Estate. I know it's a Mondeo in disguise but my 2.00 litre diesel SE has been very good with over 40 to the gallon fuel consumption, leather interior with heated front seats, electric wing mirrors that are also heated, an electrically adjusted driver's seat, integral Sat nav, cruise control and plenty of room for planes. It's done 59,000 miles to date and now not worth much so I could recommend to modellers that have not got a large budget but would like a bit of luxury to go and buy an X-type but not mine as I cannot afford a new one.

[Andy48]

Posted by kc on 01/03/2017 14:03:08:

Andy said "Petrol consumption is not as good" well it would be nil if you are buying a diesel! Are you really buying a new diesel? no wonder they offered you a high part ex deal!

The government will really be able to get to grips with the diesel situation after Brexit and will be able to tax diesel much more - so diesel drivers pay the same tax per mile as petrol. At the moment this would ruin the British haulage industry, but when brexit happens they could tax the huge tank loads every foreign lorry brings in full of cheap continental diesel. ( all these continental lorries which clog the roads around southern England are contributing nothing in taxation hence no money to pay for the potholes everywhere )

Eh?

Firstly continental lorries do pay tax when they come into the UK.

Diesel is taxed at the same rate as petrol.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Aye British roads for British lorries...take back control...shame about the imported stuff we want though

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by MattyB on 01/03/2017 15:03:25:

I am secretly hoping that diesel persecution depresses SUV sales and brings back a renaissance in the traditional "proper" boxy estate car which is always going to be more fuel efficient.

I currently have a Passat diesel. It is completely character free, dull as dishwater but is one of only a handful of what I would call true estate cars available. The Mondeo, Civic and Merc E class estates (and maybe the Hyundai i40) are some others, but bar those there is precious little choice - the rest are swoopy roofed pseudo wagons with little practical advantage over the saloon versions. As an aeromodeller and father of a young family I have looked at plenty of SUVs as alternatives, but bar the Range Rover (a very expensive option) none of them offer the space and practicality of a real estate, and all will be more expensive to run. I am sure my next car won't be diesel, but hopefully there will be a range of hybrid or ultra efficient petrol wagons available to choose from by then.

Edited By MattyB on 01/03/2017 15:04:18

Don't forget the Skoda Superb and the 5 series isn't too bad nor my friends V70, but my next car might be a van..............

[GONZO]

flight1, my wife has just purchased a new C3 Picasso, last of the old style, in white. She got the top of the rage version with all the whistles and bells, bigger wheels and the glass roof. She got the petrol version with the 110bhp 1.2ltr 3 cylinder engine. I must say it is very nice, surprisingly spacious and given that its brand new goes well(cant give it too much 'welly' until its done more miles). The initial mpg is in the upper 40's. The best bit was the on the road price for a brand new car. Others may disagree but I thought £11,750 was very good. Oh, and the dealers threw in lots of extras like mud flaps and mats etc.

[Andy48]

Posted by Trevor Crook on 28/02/2017 07:58:59:

Oh, and a manufacturer listing is here: http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

Seriously flawed results though.

Its based on warranty claims. Many cars now have 5 or 7 year warranty, and as with my car the manufacturer's extended warranty is far cheaper and better than 3rd party warranties. Thus its no surprise when you look at the average age of the Kia, it is down at the bottom of the list as it would be with a 7 year warranty.

Again cost of repairs. How do you rationalise that when you have, say, a simple cheap car at the bottom of the range and an expensive sports car at the top?

[MattyB]

Posted by Frank Skilbeck on 01/03/2017 19:20:24:

Don't forget the Skoda Superb and the 5 series isn't too bad nor my friends V70, but my next car might be a van..............

Fair point, I did forget both the Octavia and Superb - strange as I nearly bought an Octavia last time around! That 5 does look pretty big, but when I looked at it I found the roofline a bit swoopy and the load area too shallow, so I went for the bigger, character free option!

Posted by Mike Etheridge 1 on 01/03/2017 17:18:06:

MattyB did not mention the X-type Jaguar Estate. I know it's a Mondeo in disguise but my 2.00 litre diesel SE has been very good with over 40 to the gallon fuel consumption, leather interior with heated front seats, electric wing mirrors that are also heated, an electrically adjusted driver's seat, integral Sat nav, cruise control and plenty of room for planes.

Sorry, the Jag is a little too "lifestyle sport tourer" to qualify as a proper estate for me... ;o)

Edited By MattyB on 02/03/2017 14:42:58

[Mike Etheridge 1]

I must admit I bought the Jaguar when a 35 year term Endowment policy matured. It has been ideal over the last 10 years for shifting both my boys gear when they went to university. My biggest model is a KK Falcon at 8ft span but most are 5 to 6 feet span, and I am unlikely to buy any of the ready made models with mega sized engines, so the Jaguar Estate is plenty big enough.

I forgot to mention that it has a heated front screen and an automatic setting on the wipers, so on a frosty morning there is no scraping of the windscreen, you just press one switch that initiates the front and rear screen and wing mirror heating. They can be switched individually / manually as well There are other features that have appeared on my wife's new Seat such as air conditioning, but she would have loved the heated front screen that are only available on Fords and Minis and possibly the new Jaguars I think? No 'Run Flat' tyres on either car fortunately and both have spare wheels.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Andy48]

.... especially when the car is garaged overnight.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Good points chaps but my garage is only big enough for a small car such as my wife's old Polo Ranger. The garage is the only place where I can build or repair models and it's also full of University stuff in large storage boxes. As I am retired I must admit that I have not had to use the front screen heater much this year as any ice has generally melted by the time I get moving. We have found that despite their build quality VW cars are dreadful for screen clearance as you often need to clear frost from the insides of the cars as well as the outside. This has always been the case with the Polo Ranger from new and my wife's Golf MK 5 was not much better and neither is my youngest son's Polo FSI. My first car was an Austin A30 which had no heater or screen washer, how did I ever manage?

[Frank Skilbeck]

Another VW to add to the list, should get you to the field in time,

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]