A Comfortable Car & Cheap To Run

Googled data varies slightly, but a Mk2 GTI weighed in somewhere around the 950kg mark - about the same as a 1.0 litre Lupo (should that be Lardo?) weighs today.

Your Beetle cabrio is more like 1385 kg. That's pretty much a 50% weight increase, and goes a long way to explain the economy deficit.

Ian

RichardK ( snipped-for-privacy@NOSPAMbtconnect.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Umm, yes, I think I would, too.

Oh ok.

Yeah, I would.

Oh bleeding hell yeah, I know what you mean. It's farcical really.

Cheers.

Granted, but OTOH engines are supposed to have improved in terms of technology and become more efficient than they used to be. Things obviously didn't weigh up properly.

Peter

On that point, I would agree with you wholeheartedly. One point six miles per gallon would be absolutely horrendously dissapointing on something like a V12 Jag, let alone a 1.6 Beetle :-)

Peter

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember RichardK saying something like:

Tanks get better mpg.

Oh, I know. But all the extra weight is for stuff I don't want - SRS, crash protection (I don't recall the old Beetle having much of that), emissions control crap. I mean, it even has plastic wings.

No wonder I expected the 1.4 A140 to be a slug, but it is probably quite light really. Plastic wings, tailgate, quite light seats.

Richard

Bah. I'm tired and trying to get organised to drive a Transit to Cambridge and Nuneaton.

Richard

Yes it's a good enough engine, but it lacks brilliance.

Much better than the 1.6 and 1.4, heh.

Grimly Curmudgeon ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

To quote SteveH elsewhere this evening, in ref to a certain Pinquecento - "Give it 'ere, I'll show you"...

Or with the 1.8T.

But an Octavia is screwed together better and will hold it's value much better. Interior space, yeah, I can see that, but that's because the Mondeo is a *huge* car these days, even the MkI/II was a lot bigger than an Octavia. Ride and handling are quite subjective and personal - I find my Passat rides and handles very well - ride is better than the 156, but it doesn't handle anywhere near as well, though. But that's more because the 156 handles exceptionally well, whereas the Passat / Mondeo etc are all around the 'average' ball-park.

Fair enough - I'm not exactly huge, and only 21, so I've never found an issue there.

Air Conditioning is brilliant - icy cold and the only squeeks I'm getting are from the leather (Driving me insane). Radio is indeed absolutely s**te, which is why I've replaced it now.

Hmm, mines a Ghia X so I guess its a bit nicer although we did have a 2.0 LX as the family car from 6 months old until 4 years old - the only bad thing it did was shed a ridiculous amount of value. Everything else about it was faultless, not a single thing went wrong and it didn't have any rattles after 50k when it was sold.

Depreciation is absolutely savage - but thats why I got mine. I'd never had found a fully loaded 4 year old car for under £3k otherwise.

Most do gallons per mile...

But the Mondeo took the Peugeot 405's brilliance in the handling department and _made_ it average. It redefined the class average...

What's wrong with it using oil ?

Why not ? Just top up as and when required.

Maybe some people are too lazy or forgetful to check their oil?

I think the original question got lost here somewhere, but how about a Saab

Androo

Well it's not like you have to do it on a daily basis or anything !

The message from "Nom" contains these words:

Ah - you've not had some of the cars I've had.