Forgive me....
Discussion
apologies to bring this up on such a fine Tuesday morning but I feel the need to confess my sins and get this off my chest whilst the memory is still fresh (cue the drive time confession music).
You see my problem is this. I'm regularly provided with hire cars to run up and down to London town and normally find myself seated in some kind of an Insignia (comfy but meh - probably my preferred choice), an Octavia (economical but meeeh) or occasionally a run of the mill Korean s**tbox ($%£$& meh me no likey). Yesterday was no exception, I begrudgingly settled into my rented Cee'd (meeeh), moved the seat around, fiddled with every switch, turned the lights on, turned them off etc...as you do....until madam closed/slammed her door and the glass from the near side wing mirror tumbled out. Her thoughts - bugger it's my fault and I liked that car very much as it was in a nice colour and it was an automatic. My thoughts - Excellent. I can feel an upgrade coming on, or the very least they can do for me is find the keys to another Insignia with a proper gearbox with which I can play with. So I popped back inside without a moments hesitation with the keys for the s**ybox and in return the kind man at the desk exchanged them for some keys to a Peugeot.
A Peugeot what? I sighed when I saw it slumping outside. A three thousand and whaaat? A Three Thousand and Eight apparently. A 3008. It's an ugly family van. I am not a family man. Now I know you can see it coming from a country mile but here's the shocker. Perhaps it's because it started from such a ugly practical family wagon pedestal in my mind or perhaps it's because I was already preconditioned to like it from being so fond of my old Citroen ZX diesel, the first car I owned after leaving uni, but I arrived home 270 miles later having really ENJOYED the journey.
For starters it felt punchy for a diesel. Not too many revs, but that's largely irrelevant when you have a slick gearbox, I enjoyed playing with the way the torque came in to overtake - and still returned home with 50mpg. It hit it off with me straight away by syncing straight up to my android phone and streaming music from Spotify via something called bluetooth. The windscreen is massive and curved (I'm used to looking through a letterbox designed for smurfs) and the visibility consequently excellent. It had a panoramic roof glass that spanned the whole ceiling, a clever split boot, a hundred different storage compartments big enough to lose small kids and/or animals in, including underfloor bins to presumably keep your large stash in and last but far from least (I am most easily pleased) - the best bit - was that it had a bloody head-up display with radar!
Seriously! A Head-Up-Display. It's brilliant, and the radar is rather clever - set it to your desired distance and it reminds you when you're too close (pictorially rather than with an annoying bing or buzz) - how on earth did I drive before without the speed being displayed on the tarmac in front of me? The upshot of this is that I now must have a HUD. I couldn't help but think that it would be a useful addition for trackdays. Honestly, we can't afford those for 80 million dollar trans-altlantic passenger jets and yet my bloody Peuguet hire car has one! I really must be putting years behind me now because fowl looks aside I can really see how a family could put together a case for one of these.
Anyway it did get me thinking....it did roll around a bit.....I'm not about to part with my current steed quite yet, but when I become old(er), do you think it would acceptable to slap on a set of Ohlins and some A048's?
help
You see my problem is this. I'm regularly provided with hire cars to run up and down to London town and normally find myself seated in some kind of an Insignia (comfy but meh - probably my preferred choice), an Octavia (economical but meeeh) or occasionally a run of the mill Korean s**tbox ($%£$& meh me no likey). Yesterday was no exception, I begrudgingly settled into my rented Cee'd (meeeh), moved the seat around, fiddled with every switch, turned the lights on, turned them off etc...as you do....until madam closed/slammed her door and the glass from the near side wing mirror tumbled out. Her thoughts - bugger it's my fault and I liked that car very much as it was in a nice colour and it was an automatic. My thoughts - Excellent. I can feel an upgrade coming on, or the very least they can do for me is find the keys to another Insignia with a proper gearbox with which I can play with. So I popped back inside without a moments hesitation with the keys for the s**ybox and in return the kind man at the desk exchanged them for some keys to a Peugeot.
A Peugeot what? I sighed when I saw it slumping outside. A three thousand and whaaat? A Three Thousand and Eight apparently. A 3008. It's an ugly family van. I am not a family man. Now I know you can see it coming from a country mile but here's the shocker. Perhaps it's because it started from such a ugly practical family wagon pedestal in my mind or perhaps it's because I was already preconditioned to like it from being so fond of my old Citroen ZX diesel, the first car I owned after leaving uni, but I arrived home 270 miles later having really ENJOYED the journey.
For starters it felt punchy for a diesel. Not too many revs, but that's largely irrelevant when you have a slick gearbox, I enjoyed playing with the way the torque came in to overtake - and still returned home with 50mpg. It hit it off with me straight away by syncing straight up to my android phone and streaming music from Spotify via something called bluetooth. The windscreen is massive and curved (I'm used to looking through a letterbox designed for smurfs) and the visibility consequently excellent. It had a panoramic roof glass that spanned the whole ceiling, a clever split boot, a hundred different storage compartments big enough to lose small kids and/or animals in, including underfloor bins to presumably keep your large stash in and last but far from least (I am most easily pleased) - the best bit - was that it had a bloody head-up display with radar!
Seriously! A Head-Up-Display. It's brilliant, and the radar is rather clever - set it to your desired distance and it reminds you when you're too close (pictorially rather than with an annoying bing or buzz) - how on earth did I drive before without the speed being displayed on the tarmac in front of me? The upshot of this is that I now must have a HUD. I couldn't help but think that it would be a useful addition for trackdays. Honestly, we can't afford those for 80 million dollar trans-altlantic passenger jets and yet my bloody Peuguet hire car has one! I really must be putting years behind me now because fowl looks aside I can really see how a family could put together a case for one of these.
Anyway it did get me thinking....it did roll around a bit.....I'm not about to part with my current steed quite yet, but when I become old(er), do you think it would acceptable to slap on a set of Ohlins and some A048's?
help
Very tempting package and loads of interesting technology (whilst it is still working), but three things hold me back:
1. It adds up to something around £25k in that trim which puts it in serious competition with more desirable beasts
2. Its a Peugeot that ISN'T a 205 or 306GTi
3. It is without doubt the most hideously designed car since the Ssangyong thingy with the shed on the back.
Pass.
1. It adds up to something around £25k in that trim which puts it in serious competition with more desirable beasts
2. Its a Peugeot that ISN'T a 205 or 306GTi
3. It is without doubt the most hideously designed car since the Ssangyong thingy with the shed on the back.
Pass.
I love the apology, but nothing wrong with it for the function you used it for. Great mile muncher!
I loved my old demonstrator version I had, top spec 163 Auto, and a 150 too, really nice for a 120 mile a day commute.
And when you travel up country to buy a new toy, plenty of space to kip!
I loved my old demonstrator version I had, top spec 163 Auto, and a 150 too, really nice for a 120 mile a day commute.
And when you travel up country to buy a new toy, plenty of space to kip!
king sheep?
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