Rolls Royce of small cars

[ClaphamGT3]

redchina said:

The answer is a Panther Rio.



Sadly only around 14 made, but its what the marketers wanted you to buy.

Maaaay not have been executed perfectly..

A kit car based on a Triumph Dolomite Sprint - the automotive equivalent of building your house on sand.

A Citroen Xantia 3.0 V6 would also be ideal - if you can put reliability concerns out of your mind

[itcaptainslow]

Citroen C3 Exclusive, preferably with the leather box ticked and the 110bhp 1.6 HDI with the 6 speed gearbox-swift enough for most things, ride quality is the best I've come across in a supermini and it's refined. Far from the last word in dynamic sharpness, but that isn't the requirement.

You'll get 55-60mpg and low road tax too.

[mrnvh]

The new shape C3 is very refined and comfortable indeed, followed by the Polo. The Fiesta isn't bad either as they're all competing for people downsizing who expect saloon refinement for supermini prices.

If you have change left over you could probably add a considerable amount of soundproofing yourself if you're not too worried about cutting your hands on trim and snapping innumerable clips.

[crostonian]

Or staying with Citroen but a bit more luxurious, how about a DS4;

[BGarside]

VW Golf Mark 4 130hp turbodiesel in Highline trim and with 15" wheels. Economical, quality feel interior, comfy ride, and spend some of the £7k or so left over on replacing worn suspension, brakes, tyres etc.

Also easy to remap to around 175hp for a more effortless feel. Loads of torque for easy overtaking and relaxed cruising.

Surely this would be ideal??

[itcaptainslow]

crostonian said:

Or staying with Citroen but a bit more luxurious, how about a DS4;

Ride isn't the smoothest though, better off with a C4 for that.

[braddo]

BGarside said:

VW Golf Mark 4 130hp turbodiesel in Highline trim and with 15" wheels. Economical, quality feel interior, comfy ride, and spend some of the £7k or so left over on replacing worn suspension, brakes, tyres etc.

Also easy to remap to around 175hp for a more effortless feel. Loads of torque for easy overtaking and relaxed cruising.

Surely this would be ideal??

For a bit of refinement you have to rule out pretty much any diesel.

Does the OP have a particular reason for looking at W124 Mercs but not the 190E/W201?

The 190E would be dwarfed by that DS4 Citroen! The only issue with the older Mercs might be that very few came with air conditioning. Having the windows open on the motoway rather ruins the refinement experience.

If you don't care about the Grandad image perhaps an early W202 C Class might be an option? A C280 Elegance will be dirt cheap, likely to have aircon and proper refinement/ride. The early ones, say pre-1997, pre-date the infamous build quality nadir of late 90s/early 2000s.

[keith2.2]

If you insist on small and economical - how about a Clio Bacarra. They touted it as a mini limousine.

For comfortable and wafty without costing a fortune, people have correctly gone French..but nobody has yet suggested a top spec laguna (RXE or V6).

[simonrockman]

Lancia Thema 8:32

[Luke.]

How about the Mini Goodwood?

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/mini/mini-goodwo...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Probably a bit pricey mind you...

Edited by Luke. on Monday 1st September 16:43

[Agent Orange]

crostonian said:

Or staying with Citroen but a bit more luxurious, how about a DS4

Got me thinking. DS3? Though last Citroen I was in was a 2CV about 25 years ago!

braddo said:

Does the OP have a particular reason for looking at W124 Mercs but not the 190E/W201?

...perhaps an early W202 C Class might be an option? The early ones, say pre-1997, pre-date the infamous build quality nadir of late 90s/early 2000s.

No objection to a W201 other than my intention is to get a small car ie. preferably hatchback class small. Though I do appreciate new small cars are big!

Another C-Class? Already got one! Also having owned a 1-2 year old W208 I don't fancy going back to that age of Merc.

[bakerstreet]

Saab 95

[nipsips]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

All I know is its based on a Fiat Brava/Alfa Guiletta.

May be worth a shout though.

[braddo]

Agent Orange said:

No objection to a W201 other than my intention is to get a small car ie. preferably hatchback class small. Though I do appreciate new small cars are big!

Obviously the 190E will be longer (good for ride comfort ) but they seem to be smaller in every other dimension! I just looked at Parkers and the the widths are:

190E - 1828mm
VW Polo - 1901m

A 190E also has a fantastically small turning circle so for moving and parking in small spaces, I should think they compare surpisingly well to current small hatches.

[Clivey]

mrnvh said:

The new shape C3 is very refined and comfortable indeed...

It's a shame then that ride quality is it's only plus point. My old C4 was a much, much better car. Citroen were showing signs of turning a corner but seeing the new C3, C4 and the DS-branded models, it looks as if they've dropped the ball.

[TheInternet]

I asked a similar question recently, a few good suggestions made, but nothing that quite hits the mark: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=143...

[Lozw86]

A lot of people suggesting 15+ year old cars to do 25,000 miles per year in. Certainly would not be my choice.

[Matt UK]

Lozw86 said:

A lot of people suggesting 15+ year old cars to do 25,000 miles per year in. Certainly would not be my choice.

Why?

[Zwolf]

Some characteristics are inherent to the basic design of given vehicles. A small hatchback is about as good at being a luxury saloon is at motorway cruising, as the barge is at being nippy around town, easy to park and cheap to run.

So strike a compromise in the middle with a 5 Series diesel auto, in SE spec on standard wheels (16" for six cylinders) without the optional sports suspension and swap the runflats for regular tyres.

[anonymous-user]

Mitsuoka Galue? It's a Japanese Rolls Royce, hand made too!




https://www.mitsuoka-motor.com/english/lineup/galu...