whats your ideal car for a 2 week europe tour?
Discussion
nish81 said:
Thanks for the ideas - I didn't intend this thread to be a 'buying advice' thread, mainly just to look at pictures and hear what others did, but I've managed to get some good tips too.
about the Mini: yeah I was referring to the post-2014 ones as those were the ones I had a chance to rent for a day. I found them too smooth/comfortable and not really as fun to throw around. you also said they do nothing for you either, is that for the same reasons?
I'm planning on test-driving a pre-2014 convertible/cooper next week, in the hope that it's just more fun. I'm not sure what it is about the newer ones - maybe the increased weight - but my current (hired) toyota aygo is more fun to drive around than a 2015 cooper was.
the car would double as a daily driver in central London where it's hard to park anything above 4000mm so I might just go for a mini convertible or a pug 208 gti with sunroof. the ones you listed would be great, but also pretty impractical for my current situation. plus I figure I'm 25 years old so should have plenty of time later on to do a trip in something a bit more upmarket
To be fair I haven't driven the new "MINI" but for all the reasons you said basically. It's bigger, heavier and the styling outside and in has lost some character. It doesn't look cute and cheeky any more, just ugly and I don't like the dull new colour palette. BRG, electric blue or gunmetal grey for me and they don't seem to offer those any more. That's a shame because the mechanical package looks pretty strong. The previous gen MINI has some worthwhile improvements over the original new MINI whilst being more economical but the Peugeot engine can have some timing chain issues. Mine is just a regular 2010 Cooper hatch and touchwood, I haven't had any issues with mine yet but its only on around 50k. I would have loved a Cooper S but would want one of the later cars that have more power (184bhp vs. 175bhp) and had some of these issues addressed. Not sure exactly when these improvements were introduced but I chose a newer Cooper over an older Cooper S for this reason. A convertible would be more fun and more of a sense of occasion for a road trip if you don't need the practicality of a hatch. Other cars to consider. Abarth 500 or Fiesta ST? Maybe an MX5 if you don't need two seats or a GT86/BRZ (would that be too long)?about the Mini: yeah I was referring to the post-2014 ones as those were the ones I had a chance to rent for a day. I found them too smooth/comfortable and not really as fun to throw around. you also said they do nothing for you either, is that for the same reasons?
I'm planning on test-driving a pre-2014 convertible/cooper next week, in the hope that it's just more fun. I'm not sure what it is about the newer ones - maybe the increased weight - but my current (hired) toyota aygo is more fun to drive around than a 2015 cooper was.
the car would double as a daily driver in central London where it's hard to park anything above 4000mm so I might just go for a mini convertible or a pug 208 gti with sunroof. the ones you listed would be great, but also pretty impractical for my current situation. plus I figure I'm 25 years old so should have plenty of time later on to do a trip in something a bit more upmarket
Me and the Mrs did a 5 countries in one weekend tour in one of these back in the 90s. Comfortable, went like the clappers (on the Autobahn obviously) and better handling than the Capri 3000 GT. And when you put the back seats down you have a double-bed sized space to kip in. Happy days!
This pic is not my old car - mine had a groovy vinyl roof. if anyone knows the whereabouts of KTF 613 P, please give her my kind regards.
Before the children were born We a fair few Continental trips my my little car. Last one we did 3000 miles from Calais down to the south of France along and back up to Normandy in my throttle bodied 205gti. 12 tanks of fuel!
Can't imagine that now 150 miles is tiring in thT car!, saying that in period my dad did a similar trip in his Austin Somerset.....he still has one and it must have been some adventure!
Op take anything that is fun and enjoyable that provides an element of adventure.
In the Alan Clarke diaries he talks about taking his 425cc 2cv down to the Alpes....we've got one of those too and I don't think I'd go further than 10km in it! (We can't anyway it's not finished!)
Can't imagine that now 150 miles is tiring in thT car!, saying that in period my dad did a similar trip in his Austin Somerset.....he still has one and it must have been some adventure!
Op take anything that is fun and enjoyable that provides an element of adventure.
In the Alan Clarke diaries he talks about taking his 425cc 2cv down to the Alpes....we've got one of those too and I don't think I'd go further than 10km in it! (We can't anyway it's not finished!)
Edited by Simes205 on Monday 20th March 23:05
nish81 said:
Simes205 said:
Before the children were born We a fair few Continental trips my my little car. Last one we did 3000 miles from Calais down to the south of France along and back up to Normandy in my throttle bodied 205gti. 12 tanks of fuel!
Can't imagine that now 150 miles is tiring in thT car!, saying that in period my dad did a similar trip in his Austin Somerset.....he still has one and it must have been some adventure!
oh perfect! how was the trip in the 205? was it a fun drive?Can't imagine that now 150 miles is tiring in thT car!, saying that in period my dad did a similar trip in his Austin Somerset.....he still has one and it must have been some adventure!
I'm thinking of buying the 208 gti partially with a trip like this in mind at some point, but everyone says I should go for the open air feeling. other options are a ds3 cabrio and a mini cooper s cabrio, but the former has conflicting information on how it drives and the latter sacrifices a lot of practicality (no real room)
Car has solid engine mounts so lots of vibrations and no air con which is nice when it's 38deg!
We've done down to the alps and down to Spain before too in it.
Simes205 said:
In the Alan Clarke diaries he talks about taking his 425cc 2cv down to the Alpes....we've got one of those too and I don't think I'd go further than 10km in it! (We can't anyway it's not finished!)
An old friend used to take his 2 CV down to Provence for a long holiday every summer and I don't doubt every mile was an adventure . His was the mighty 602cc version though ...I don't doubt it's a blast taking some uber BMW or Merc on a long trip but let's not allow the car mags to persuade us that 300bhp is compulsory . Edited by Simes205 on Monday 20th March 23:05
Other friends drove a Maestro to Ulan Bator on a Mongolian rally- now that's a bloody road trip ....
twizellb said:
so called said:
I go to Spain or Portugal in this every summer
Did the Algarve in this last year, no problem.
Apart from the Tuscan I've used two different Chimaera's, another Tuscan and a Tasmin.
I would say, overall, the Chimaera with the RV8 and a bit more tyre rubber.
The missus do'nt look to impressed.Did the Algarve in this last year, no problem.
Apart from the Tuscan I've used two different Chimaera's, another Tuscan and a Tasmin.
I would say, overall, the Chimaera with the RV8 and a bit more tyre rubber.
k sake put that camera away before I stick it up your ae, I'm hungry." look. 
Edited by so called on Tuesday 21st March 13:13
Watchman said:
Two weeks in this was just never enough. It was totally addictive. Each day at a different hotel in a different European or Scandinavian city, town, village or just a hotel in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
Sometimes I regret selling it - most often when I look at pictures like this:
Out of interest, what tyres are those and were they any good?Sometimes I regret selling it - most often when I look at pictures like this:
coppice said:
Simes205 said:
In the Alan Clarke diaries he talks about taking his 425cc 2cv down to the Alpes....we've got one of those too and I don't think I'd go further than 10km in it! (We can't anyway it's not finished!)
An old friend used to take his 2 CV down to Provence for a long holiday every summer and I don't doubt every mile was an adventure . His was the mighty 602cc version though. (602/discs though, not a 425/drums, no way!)
The 2CV has been on some short runs to Southern France, but we've been much further in it too.
Oilchange said:
They are spectacularly good under a lightweight 7. People complain they're rubbish in the wet but it depends on your driving style. I drove that Caterham hard, so much so that even on a very wet tour of Ireland, the tyres got hot enough to completely dry out during the time it took to fill up with petrol at a sheltered petrol station.
They are crossplies though, which leads to a less forgiving cornering experience than a radial. A radial will squeal first and totally let go quite some time later. ACB10s tend to let go fairly quickly after the squeal and because you've achieved a much higher cornering force up to the point that they let go, means you have to be wary of being kicked off a corner hard.
And they tramline. This was the reason I eventually swapped them for CR500s (radials) which were 8/10ths as sticky but nicer on the road.
Edited by Watchman on Tuesday 21st March 18:57
nish81 said:
sorry for the very slow reply - hadnt actually realised you replied to be honest. I actually test drove an older (2012) mini cooper s on saturday and loved the drive, so I think I agree with you about the mini.
if I wre going to buy a hatch it would probably be the 208 GTI so that I can get the sunroof and at least some semblance of the open-top feeling. maybe even the DS3 cabrio although I've heard the drive isn't great on that.
now the decision to make is whether the true open-air feeling of the mini is worth the loss in practicality compared to a 208 w/ sunroof (so still some open feeling)
I have seen a few hardtop MINIs with a large panoramic sunroof, so maybe if you can find one. Abarth 500C? Again, you do lose a bit of practicality over the hatch. Not driven a 208 GTi, I'm not biased, as I once owned a 205 GTi and love it but it doesn't really do anything for me. Perhaps a decent steer though? How about a RenaultSport Clio?if I wre going to buy a hatch it would probably be the 208 GTI so that I can get the sunroof and at least some semblance of the open-top feeling. maybe even the DS3 cabrio although I've heard the drive isn't great on that.
now the decision to make is whether the true open-air feeling of the mini is worth the loss in practicality compared to a 208 w/ sunroof (so still some open feeling)
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