My 'what car' thread.
Discussion
Ok, so here’s my clichéd “what car?” thread, designed to meet my exacting preferences. 
Two scenarios here.
1. Downgrade from the current car to free up some money for our wedding! Budget is then £5-10k.
2. Theoretical purchase in a year or so once the wedding is out of the way and I’m getting bored of the Astra. Budget then is £15-20k.
Swerni and I have debated the benefits of going for a daily driver and something fun vs a daily driver that can be fun when the opportunity presents itself. I’m probably in the second camp, but am willing to be swayed.
A little about me first to help with the ‘character’ element. I’m 27, engaged, have a small flat in South London and have to park the car round the corner on the road every night. I do around about 15,000 miles a year, 99.95% of that is on the M25 or other commutes in 50-70mph traffic or stop-start depending on how lucky I’ve been. Generally speaking you won’t see me going over 70-75mph on the motorway. Once in a blue moon I’ll push up to 90-odd leptons on a private road so outright speed isn’t a major factor. I do however like to have enough in-gear power to overtake easily.
The other 0.05% is the bit I love, the fun B road I happen across on a trip to visit friends where I can get my foot down, turn in and have some fun. Because of this fuel economy and luxury (toys etc) are higher priorities than outright performance.
I’m a slightly nervous driver, so although I’m happy to press on, I worry about things like the fact that I’ve only ever had FWD cars might mean I’m liable to bin a RWD car on the first slippery corner I encounter. I wonder if AWD might be more sensible than RWD if I want something considered more ‘sporty’.
So, with that out of the way, here’s the criteria;
Must have;
Reasonable economy. (Given the slog, I’m talking about easy to achieve 45mpg, preferably 50+mpg. If it drops off hugely when I’m pressing on whilst on the B road that’s fine.)
Less than 10s 0-62mph. Ideally somewhere around 8s. (I’m not all about 0-62mph times, but hopefully that will give you an idea of the performance level I’m looking for.)
2, 3 or 5 doors. I’m not particularly fussed, though having only 2 or 4 seats would actually be a bonus rather than 5.
Reasonably modern. I’m not really into older cars. Generally when I’m mooching around Autotrader I’m looking at up to 5 years old with lots of toys.
Auto / DSG. Because of the amount of time I spend cruising rather than nailing it, a manual isn’t very attractive to me, and is downright annoying on the M25 when the traffic gets bad. Preferably with a paddle-shift because I’m sad and fall for the hype.
Would like to have;
Luxury – satnav, Bluetooth, iPod adapter or hard drive for music, cruise control, leather seats, heated seats, xenons, sunroof (or even a convertible) and a good comfortable driving position for longer journeys. It doesn’t have to have all of these but for guidance my current Astra has all except the sunroof / convertible box ticked.
I'm open to either diesel or petrol. I used to quite like the way my Golf GT TDi drove on the motorway, with a nice surge of in gear torque when I wanted it. Current car is a petrol so either's good.
My taste in cars (though not necessarily ones I can justify / afford to run - just to give you an idea of what I like) extends to;
VW Scirroco
VW Golf Mk5 or Mk6
Audi TT (current shape)
Porsche Cayman
Lotus Elise S2
Mercedes SLK (yes I'm quite tempted by the idea of the derv they've just launched.)
BMW 1-Series
Lotus Evora
So with no further ado I’ll open it up to the combined wisdom of PH. Surprise me! (Or indeed suggest things I regularly think of!
)
Two scenarios here.
1. Downgrade from the current car to free up some money for our wedding! Budget is then £5-10k.
2. Theoretical purchase in a year or so once the wedding is out of the way and I’m getting bored of the Astra. Budget then is £15-20k.
Swerni and I have debated the benefits of going for a daily driver and something fun vs a daily driver that can be fun when the opportunity presents itself. I’m probably in the second camp, but am willing to be swayed.
A little about me first to help with the ‘character’ element. I’m 27, engaged, have a small flat in South London and have to park the car round the corner on the road every night. I do around about 15,000 miles a year, 99.95% of that is on the M25 or other commutes in 50-70mph traffic or stop-start depending on how lucky I’ve been. Generally speaking you won’t see me going over 70-75mph on the motorway. Once in a blue moon I’ll push up to 90-odd leptons on a private road so outright speed isn’t a major factor. I do however like to have enough in-gear power to overtake easily.
The other 0.05% is the bit I love, the fun B road I happen across on a trip to visit friends where I can get my foot down, turn in and have some fun. Because of this fuel economy and luxury (toys etc) are higher priorities than outright performance.
I’m a slightly nervous driver, so although I’m happy to press on, I worry about things like the fact that I’ve only ever had FWD cars might mean I’m liable to bin a RWD car on the first slippery corner I encounter. I wonder if AWD might be more sensible than RWD if I want something considered more ‘sporty’.
So, with that out of the way, here’s the criteria;
Must have;
Reasonable economy. (Given the slog, I’m talking about easy to achieve 45mpg, preferably 50+mpg. If it drops off hugely when I’m pressing on whilst on the B road that’s fine.)
Less than 10s 0-62mph. Ideally somewhere around 8s. (I’m not all about 0-62mph times, but hopefully that will give you an idea of the performance level I’m looking for.)
2, 3 or 5 doors. I’m not particularly fussed, though having only 2 or 4 seats would actually be a bonus rather than 5.
Reasonably modern. I’m not really into older cars. Generally when I’m mooching around Autotrader I’m looking at up to 5 years old with lots of toys.
Auto / DSG. Because of the amount of time I spend cruising rather than nailing it, a manual isn’t very attractive to me, and is downright annoying on the M25 when the traffic gets bad. Preferably with a paddle-shift because I’m sad and fall for the hype.
Would like to have;
Luxury – satnav, Bluetooth, iPod adapter or hard drive for music, cruise control, leather seats, heated seats, xenons, sunroof (or even a convertible) and a good comfortable driving position for longer journeys. It doesn’t have to have all of these but for guidance my current Astra has all except the sunroof / convertible box ticked.
I'm open to either diesel or petrol. I used to quite like the way my Golf GT TDi drove on the motorway, with a nice surge of in gear torque when I wanted it. Current car is a petrol so either's good.
My taste in cars (though not necessarily ones I can justify / afford to run - just to give you an idea of what I like) extends to;
VW Scirroco
VW Golf Mk5 or Mk6
Audi TT (current shape)
Porsche Cayman
Lotus Elise S2
Mercedes SLK (yes I'm quite tempted by the idea of the derv they've just launched.)
BMW 1-Series
Lotus Evora
So with no further ado I’ll open it up to the combined wisdom of PH. Surprise me! (Or indeed suggest things I regularly think of!
)veevee said:
Probably just 'cos it's not a very good thread, and you've pitched the TT and (diesel!) SLK against much more PH cars.
Oh you're absolutely right, they're awful choices for anyone who loves cars.But sadly I don't exactly have the money to match my tastes, so I have to compromise.
The diesel TT, SLK, 1-Series and Roc are what I've managed to come up with on my own, as a sensible, level-headed and boring sort of chap.
I'm interested to see what the 'true PHers' will suggest. Will they agree that for my circumstances those cars are the best fit, or will they be able to suggest something far more interesting and PH worthy?
Posh Octavia: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
Sporty ones avail for same price, but fewer of your luxuries.
Sporty ones avail for same price, but fewer of your luxuries.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff