Lexus LS400? Luxury everyday or money pit waiting to happen?

If the Passat is the definition of a hot hatch - surely I'm in a scalding hatch :-p

It can't be, it isn't a hatch, it just outdrives them all. All I tell you, all. Except the Golf. Or something.

Would it be a turbo, do you need to get out to put the roof up and down=20 and did people ever turn heads for a Rover Cabrio other than to point=20 and laugh?

Class is as Class does.

--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream:

No... but then I'd have bought a 216 Cabriolet for around that if not less, and it would still be a: reliable, b: fun to drive given it has the 130bhp same twin cam lump as the GTi, and c: worth basically what it owed me, given it wouldn't be a rotten heap in the first place, and wouldn't have deterioated much in the time I'd owned it. ;-)

Erm, it's an old Rover - it *would* be a rotten heap :-)

I just broke in a new pair of front Pirelli P6000s from Scarborough to Whitby on the A171 - which for some reason was empty (Well, I overtook 2 cars - but they were well before the best bit ;-)). Christ that was fun :-) My little scalding hatch really is immense fun to drive hard on a road like that - especially with tyres that aren't Kwik Fit own brand 'Ceat's'.

But they don't have that engine.

This is where you have to come to a compromise - the W124s are more rot resistant and better built, the W210s have a better engine but rust like a MkIV Escort and have similar build quality.

Personally, for me, the W124 would be a better purchase.

Given that you don't have the first clue about anything other than squeezing the last couple of MPG out of your cars, any comment regarding handling can be disregarded.

You said the same thing about the GT4 4wd.

--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream:

All have achieved over 30MPG on regular premium petrol. The Skoda gets=20 closer to 40.

I reckon the suspension might be OK for a while. Can't do much about the=20 engine noise in the cabin, might need rear discs for the MOT next month.

I know. I never proposed to get "like new", driving or otherwise. But a=20 lot of older cars still have lots of life in them.

--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream:

The most enjoyable aspect about my typical commute at the moment is trying to average the same mph as mpg...

LOL, one of you is really winding the other up...

I can safely say that is not the favourite part of my commute. (c:

Given that you can't help yourself but have a personal go at me rather than come up with facts and figures, your response is predictable. As is the response to this post too.

First there was the Primera. That handled well, went well, cost nothing. Diesels were s**te, why would you need one? Then you swapped it for the Passat. Suddenly the Primera was a sloppy, evil handling car with shiny hard plastics, a coarse engine. Oh and diesels were still s**te, Passat diesels would make no sense, the Passat B5 1.8T would out-handle any hot hatch you'd come across and be refined enough such that you could be stroking its soft touch plastic dashboard whilst running the Gumball3000 rally on half a tank of petrol. Or something.

During this time you can't bring yourself to run an Alfa Romeo over your commute, but not because Alfa Romeos are s**te and will fall apart under the drive, no, because they're exclusive, or something like this. Oh and the Alfa Romeo 75 would be too quick for navigational rallies.

At this point should I introduce your comment about the Fiat Cinquecento Sporting "going well?"

Insert some nonsence about cup holder covers, throw in a bundle of "mini reviews" to try to persuade people you do drive other cars, then how wonderful the new Passat is... oh I've lost the will to go on. Where's the "send" button?

Oh come on now, trying to *average* ~58 mph in the first half of the rush hour can be challenging... :-p

Heh. Surely not.

Challenging? I don't doubt that it can be. However, given the lack of roads with speed limits over 50mph on my commute, I'd find it nigh on impossible, even if the traffic level let me exceed the limit.

You said the same thing about the GT4 4wd.

Haldex 4wd isn't 'a bit s*it' though is it. It's economical FWD when you're cruising and grippy 4wd when you need it.

So having a go at me for not driving an Alfa isn't personal? - from where I'm sitting it is.

Which are all true.

As I recall, I pointed out that the Passat had a much better interior, and that the Primera, whilst being a very quick car point to point, lacked the feedback at the limits I desired. I got to the point where I was driving it almost right on the edge and knew it would end up in a ditch before long.

I was never overtaken by anything - hot hatches included in the Passat on anything but dead straight roads where I chose not to do silly speeds. It was also quicker off the line than most hot hatches - official 0-60 times put it at 7.9secs, which is equal or better than a lot of so-called 'hot hatches'.

No, because I couldn't find a decent cheap car for the commute. I spent ages looking for a suitable Alfa before settling on the Passat. The Primera was bought because I needed something to get me to and from Wales whilst I was having the clutch slave repaired on the 75.

Which, taken in context of a 1.1 city car, they do. Do you understand context?

My car is my office, I want nice detailing, quality plastics and generally somewhere I want to spend my time. This happens to rule out everything from Ford - even Vx make better quality interiors. And yes, the B6 Passat is quite a remarkable car. As sharp to drive as anything else in the class whilst being finished to a higher standard and having pretty much the best diesel engines in the class, too.

I still hate diesels, but as diesels go, this one's a good one. However, neither myself or the company will pay the tax and fuel costs of the

Still, despite all your attempts at taking the piss out of me, I can console myself that I don't have a Yank at home pulling my strings and telling me what I can and can't buy.