You can't use that argument with me, though, and /I/ thought the GDI was a good car - it went through the Coldstream bends 5-up at 90, a speed which my Porsche 924S felt quite twitchy at in comparison.
I notice the GDI was dropped from the later ones, making last-gen Carismas probably very, very dull indeed.
Richard
RichardK ( snipped-for-privacy@NOSPAMbtconnect.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
Mmmm. Don't think this one would have hit 90. But it was a rentaslushomatic.
Ah, mine was a manual. I can't imagine what it would be like with an auto because the Supra's box (as an example of a Japanese auto) is a power-sapping slug of a thing, the Sera's is a frantic, mad thing, and the Hondamatic Accord I had was quite snappy.
I don't know if the Carisma would have had a CVT or something.
Either way, mine would do 120+ on the clock, and was a compelling argument for the "Increased efficiency means 20% more power or economy depending on how you drive" theory behind the direct petrol injection engine.
Richard
RichardK ( snipped-for-privacy@NOSPAMbtconnect.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
No, it was a normal autobox. Think it would have been closer to the Supra, in that way if in no other.
Mine would do >45mpg if you kept to speed limits on my regular hull / gatwick round trips - >500 miles a tank.
I don't remember there being an auto GDi carisma.
Tim S Kemp ( snipped-for-privacy@timkemp.karoo.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
This wasn't in the UK.
I would hardly call £250 'really expensive'.
Skoda Octavia?
I've got one, an S-reg 1.6. It's great. Much better than the pile-of-toss mk2 Mondeo I had before it.
The 1.6 is just plain wrong. The Octavia works best with VAG TDI engines, otherwise it's just, well, mediocre. Not a bad car, but not good either.
Oh and the Mondeo rides and handles better and has more interior space, too.
People say that the VAG 2.0 8valve 115bhp lump is crap, I loved the one I had in a mk3 golf estate and that had done 135k miles and still going very strong.
The TDI is the choice though, my TDI is a million miles away from my other car (peugot 406 2.1TD).
I know Dervman is a Ford fan, but I think there crap, it's only MHO.
Andy
The 1.6 is great, fast enough (for the car it is...), economical enough. Built so well, much better than the Mondeo. Mondeo had less head and leg room than the Octavia (I'm 6'6" so I'm acutely aware of the room issue!).
The Octavia may be mediocre, but it's a hell of a lot better than the Mondeo.
Just my oppinion of course.
Cheers.
My dad has an Octavia Estate with the 2.0 engine, I think it's pretty good too, loads of torque low down, will drive around all day at 'motorway speeds' and still get 40 ish mpg. It's effortless to drive.
Never driven the TDI version.
Other than the Mondeo, the only Ford I've driven is a Focus. It was breathtakingly uncomfy, but I think that was more to with my hugeness combined with the smallness of the focus' seat than anything. Never had the same problem in another car.
You'd be lucky to find a garage willing to do it for £250. The subframe needs to be dropped to get the box out, which means a whole load of jiggery pokery to get it all set back up again, if you want the thing to drive right again.
Ta, G.
I suspect that's the 1.6 I have in my Beetle.
3,400 RPM at 60, or something equally silly - always looking for 6th gear. Goes very well for a 1.6 in a car of that weight (the Beetle is a cabrio, so pretty heavy), but returns a shameful 33mpg.It is a nice engine, and unlike the 2.0 doesn't use oil (allegedly the
2.0 is quite heavy on oil, which is one reason I didn't want one), but economical enough? My Golf GTI 1.8 8v returned 45mpg.Richard
What was it you didn't like about the Mondeo? I really like mine - it's comfortable, effortless on long journeys, smooth and pliant around town, has a decent engine, is reasonably well built (125k now and nothing has fallen off), reliable, suprisingly fun to drive with decent handling and communicative steering, absolutely loaded with every conceivable extra, a nice pleasant interior, cheap to run, and it cost less than £3k @ 4 years old.
Top notch.
Did you get lumbered with a horrible old TD Aspen or something?
Aye, my Dad's 1.8 Mk1 Mondeo's been nothing but reliable. He bought it at around 2 years old with around 30k on the clock for around £8k (cue cries of 'HFM?'), back in around 98 - it's a P reg - last of the Mk1s.
It's recently clocked over 100k, and has never needed anything major doing - just normal consumables, plus I think one pair of lower suspension arms (front IIRC, the ones that Mondeos are known for knackering). Once it failed to start, and we took the plugs out and cleaned them up, and it went fine. It doesn't get much use at all these days, but it'll probably go on strong for another 10 years or so - they don't seem to rust generally (well this one hasn't anyway).
It's a good drive - decent ride/handling combination for a car of its size, and the 1.8 Zetec is a relatively perky engine (not going to set the world on fire, but nippy enough).
Peter
Yeah, I know what you mean about that, but I can't say it bothers me at all.
Fair play, I'm quite happy to get anything over 30mpg. Different standards I suppose. The first car I had was a 350 V8, so fuel consumption isn't something I get too stressed about.
My dad hasn't had any problem with that. Again, I'm not quite sure he'd be too bothered.
Quite an apathetic lot really ;-)
Cheers.
Everything, lack of room mainly, although I am rather large, the interior of the car (at least for the driver) is disproportionally small to the exterior lardiness of it. Therefore, as you can appreciate, it wasn't terribly comfy for long journeys.
I don't think I would say it was well built either, all the plastic bits squeaked, the air con was crap, just all the little niggling things that let it down. Rubbish radio also!
I can see why people would like it if they were averaged sized and got a good one, but I must have got a dog or something. Oh, and the wish bones needed doing after some short time.
It might have been cursed (obviously) because it got written off by a kid in a 106 in January. I didn't mourn.
No, it was a 1.8LX but said it was an Aspen on the book. I didn't like it, but It wouldn't prejudice me against all Fords or anything.
Cheers.
I don't think Richard's the overly fuel consumption obsessed type - he was just pointing out that, for something with not all that much go, you'd expect better economy. Especially when something like the brilliant Mk2 Golf GTi is much better on fuel.
"What do we want?"
"Nothing."
"When do we want it?"
"Whenever."
That was a party political broadcast on behalf of the UK Apathy Party.
Peter
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