Car/route suggestion

s/seems to// s/think/knows/

Reply to
Steve Firth
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That's what you seem to think, isn't it?

Reply to
Timo Geusch

"Timo Geusch" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

The P-reg 155 1.8 16v I had as a co.car was still alive last time I checked the plate on DVLA - no record at all now, so presumably it's gone private plate since then.

Reply to
Adrian

How dare you! That's libellous!

Reply to
Steve Firth

Yeah, but the 900 series has RWD too. And even cheaper for a lot comfort.

Reply to
Elder

'Fun' was the important word which rules out a RWD Volvos. I'm not sure why you're still pushing it.

I was half expecting you to suggest that a diesel one can be run on chip fat, and that the doing so is the fun. (c:

Reply to
Douglas Payne

The correct answer is of course MX-5.

If space is a problem, throw away the spare tyre and/or get a boot rack and a wicker hamper to attach to it.

You can stow things on the rear shelf with the roof up and also free up some space on either side of the fuel tank by removing the plastic boot liner trims at the front of the boot.

Reply to
Douglas Payne

I was just thinking how diesel is the big car fuel of choice in a lot of euroland because they get or used to get tax breaks for it.

So should repairs be needed, most road side monkeys would know what they were doing, and fuel would be plentiful and cheaper, and the johnie foreigner roadside caffs/services tend to be better and the car will be comfy and can still get the back end out even on diesel, and you will have all the room you could want for luggage, or even kipping in should the need arise. Just need a bumper dumper for the morning.

Reply to
Elder

Right what about either an LS400 or GS300.

300 will be dearer but better on fuel, 400 will be cheaper but drink like a fish. Both are like rocket powered armchairs on the motorway.

A little wallowy but still fun to chuck about.

Reply to
Elder

Indeed. Much as I enjoyed my old 760 GLE it wasn't exactly fun unless it was being caned mercilessly in a straight line. It didn't really /do/ sideways.

It could be made to go sideways, but truth be told, it was shit at it. Corner, lift off, unsettle it a bit, application of full welly, lurch, roll, squeal, back end out a bit, more welly, back end out a bit more, opposite lock, run out of power, lurch, frantic unwinding of lock, back going straight again. Amusing on a gravel car park, s**te on roundabouts.

Not enough fun to want to do it more than, oh, once.

Reply to
Pete M

Eh? Are there special old-RWD-diesel-Volvo-only roadside caffs that are particularly good, or something?

Just suggest some sort of SO Sssang-Yyong (sp?) and be done with it, ffs! :-)

Reply to
AstraVanMann

Yeah, they are weird them foreigners.

I was just thinking solid, bulllet proof european estate for bombing across europe, ok the diesel in the 900 is the old VAG one, but that means it is pretty well known and mechanically simple to fix.

A decent old Merc estate would be cool, but you wouldn't get a diesel W210(for the turbo) in rust free example for the money.

Reply to
Elder

I've been considering a Korando for the farm, a Daewoo one, not a SSanggg YYYYoooonnnggg. The major reason for Daewoo being they're a bit newer and they are still cheap. The Merc-derived engine is good, with many interchangeable parts with Mercs so servicing should be easy. The bodywork seems OK ish the interiors are vile.

Other cars in the same league include the Hyundai Galloper (a Shogun built under licence) and the Hyundai Terracan. The Terracan is too new for a Cheap Old Shed.

However all of these vehicles, except possibly the Terracan, are bloody useless for long drives. That's why I stick with the Exploder, big comfy seats, cruise control so you can sit all day at 130kph and an engine with adequate torque so that you can cruise over mountains at a steady

130kph.

Umm and they're cheap to buy, cheap to service and cheap to insure. Get an LPG version and they're even cheap to run, but you won't get a good LPG one for less than £1500, plenty of good unmodified ones for that money.

I wouldn't touch the Musso with yours even if you were on the end of a

40ft pole. I've seen too many of the rusty gutless heaps in various stages of decrepitude and breakdown.
Reply to
Steve Firth

If you keep saying things like this, next week there'll be a thread from Elder stating "Sold the Lexus, bought a Musso". ;-)

Reply to
Pete M

Still loving the IS, and the fact that no matter how I drive it I get low 30s mpg, and it doesn't break.

Yes it is a little boring but only because it is so reliable, but it is doing everything I need for the majority of the time.

Reply to
Elder

I'd suggest anything other than an exploder. They are a big, thirsty unreliable tank. How about a Legacy turbo estate? Fast, surefooted, cheap on fuel and roomy.

Fraser

Reply to
Fraser Johnston

How many have you owned?

Reply to
Steve Firth

None thankfully. After talking to my mechanic about how he can swap their gearboxes in his sleep I am very thankful. They aren't popular out here. We can die if our 4x4s break down in the bush so everything over here is Toyota or Nissan with very few Land Rovers owned by strange men with beards.

Fraser

Reply to
Fraser Johnston

So there you go.

And what age are these Explorers and how many miles do they have on them? The gearbox is built by Mazda, it's as reliable as anything build by Mazda. Extremely reliable, good for at least a quarter of a million miles without attention. Some dumbfuck mechanics swap out the entire gearbox when the box starts to hun between second and third at high mileages. This is pointless and sign of their ignorance since the part that fails is a solenoid valve external to the gearbox and easily replace without remaving the gearbox. Cost about £60 including labour. Of course that doesn't suit some mechanics because a gearbox replacement means that they can charge £2000 for the work.

Albert is thinking of driving across Europe, not Australia. From the sound of it not only are our mechanics better, but we tend not to drive cars into the ground and ruin them by lack of servicing.

I'l take your laughable claims about unreliability seriously when you state which models from which years you are talking about.

And yes, a Landcruiser VX Amazon would be a better vehicle for an expedition, particularly if he was thinking of going to the Sahara. However he's not going to find a good reliable one for £1500 or less, nor is the Amazon going to use less fuel, and the price of parts will make his ears bleed. And he's driving on roads which may occasionally be snowbound but where he's never more than fifteen miles from a service station and there's pan-European rescue and recovery available for about £35. He's not trying to cross a desert.

Here's a list of the number of times my Explorer has broken down driving across Europe, on journey of 1500 miles each way and it has over 200,000 miles on the clock now.

START OF LIST END OF LIST

Reply to
Steve Firth

My Fiesta Ghia CVT never broke down on me. Doesn't make it a good car ;)

Get an 850 T5 - cheap as chips, reliable, quick and roomy

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

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