Could you live with an ugly car.
Discussion
A favourite topic of discussion between my ex-wife and I was whether if we lived in a street with modern, spacious, well appointed, warm and comfortable houses looking onto the most beautiful, picturesque but less pleasant to live in cottages where would we rather live. I went for the ugly house with the nice view, my wife opted for life in the pretty option.
I can think of the motoring equivelent. I regularly accompany staff as a passenger in cars owned by themselve's but financed by company travel expenses. A car that particularly impressed me was in a Renault Laguna GT 180 Estate. Trust me, the exterior is as unappealing in the metal as it is in pictures but the interior trim and furniture make it a very nice place to be and in addition the car was very very quick, handled and rode well.
The time I spent in the car was a very positive experience indeed. So positive, in fact, I had a wee sniff around Autotrader and was very pleasantly surprised at just how cheap I could pic up a nearly new Estate version when the time comes to replace my trusty old Merc.
One problem, pretty it ain't. Not sure I could live with an ugly car. Could you?
I can think of the motoring equivelent. I regularly accompany staff as a passenger in cars owned by themselve's but financed by company travel expenses. A car that particularly impressed me was in a Renault Laguna GT 180 Estate. Trust me, the exterior is as unappealing in the metal as it is in pictures but the interior trim and furniture make it a very nice place to be and in addition the car was very very quick, handled and rode well.
The time I spent in the car was a very positive experience indeed. So positive, in fact, I had a wee sniff around Autotrader and was very pleasantly surprised at just how cheap I could pic up a nearly new Estate version when the time comes to replace my trusty old Merc.
One problem, pretty it ain't. Not sure I could live with an ugly car. Could you?
king hate hatchbacks.RocketScience said:
I had a quick look on Autotrader and their specs for a Renault Laguna 2.0 dCi 180 Dynamique 5Dr Estate suggest
0-62 mph in 8.5 seconds.
Were you talking about a different, quick version?
That's surprisingly slow for the power, guess it's a big old thing though. Still I'm sure that low down diesel torque makes it feel quite swift.0-62 mph in 8.5 seconds.
Were you talking about a different, quick version?
Anyway I reckon the facelift looks a bit more agreeable, but with a car like that I'd be getting pretty bored regardless, need something for the weekend too! An MG TF would do nicely.
Facelift;
Yeah I could do fugly. Would always favour oily bits over looks.
Wouldn't do do it the other way. I have an insurance courtesy car sitting outside - a Mercedes E250 CDI Sport. Looks great in black/black with 18's and other "AMG" bits. Purposeful outside, vault-like and cossetting inside. But powered by the most infernally noisy four pot banger possible Shuddering juddering, bellowing, groaning, roaring thing. Sounds (and feels) like some sort of industrial compressor at idle and then gets monumentally worse.
If I had a choice I'd have have taken the (mush slower) E 200 pertol and would happily lose the Sports trim. Just to get back to the hushed experience that a Merc should offer.
So, yes,function over form for me.
Wouldn't do do it the other way. I have an insurance courtesy car sitting outside - a Mercedes E250 CDI Sport. Looks great in black/black with 18's and other "AMG" bits. Purposeful outside, vault-like and cossetting inside. But powered by the most infernally noisy four pot banger possible Shuddering juddering, bellowing, groaning, roaring thing. Sounds (and feels) like some sort of industrial compressor at idle and then gets monumentally worse.
If I had a choice I'd have have taken the (mush slower) E 200 pertol and would happily lose the Sports trim. Just to get back to the hushed experience that a Merc should offer.
So, yes,function over form for me.
Function should trump form for someone who is into driving. Trying to think back to some older examples: Clio Williams, 205 GTI, Lotus Elise, Lotus Carlton- did the looks ever really matter? I don't remember them ever being discussed- it wasn't the point. They looked how they looked and that was that. This obsession with looks that some posters display, particularly in relation to the M135i, is weird to me. The focus seems in many cases to be more based on "what the Jones's will think" than the finer points of the car. I guess that's why Audi is doing so well.
I opened the curtains to this beauty this morning;
In all honesty it's a demo for the wife, and though we wouldn't have that colour and those wheels it is a surprisingly good car. I am a bit embarrassed to think folk might assume I've bought it in that spec though, but will a blinged up one look any better?
In all honesty it's a demo for the wife, and though we wouldn't have that colour and those wheels it is a surprisingly good car. I am a bit embarrassed to think folk might assume I've bought it in that spec though, but will a blinged up one look any better?
carinaman said:
MissChief said:
Yes. I had a Multipla for about three years. Fantastically practical thing and even the looks grow on you eventually.
I've always liked the look of them. That Facelift they did on the Multipla was criminal.Thank you to the "Butt Ugly Owners Club" And your annual Butt ugly Ball at Billing.
The idea that there are people fitting the 5 cylinder 20 V 2.4 VNT Turbo alfa to a multipla is quite amusing. 200 BHp and Black smoke. Cooooooool.
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