Cars that shouldn't be popular but are
Discussion
alock said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
TheRoadWarrior said:
Republik said:
Citroen Xsara Picasso. Nasty pieces of s
t designed for people who have chopped their balls off and given them to their wifes.
Must admit i dont really understand 5-seat MPVs.. sure, you've got 3 kids you need a 7 seat car which means big mpv or discovery etc. But what is the point of a 5 seat car that looks like a pram but has no more space than a normal car? t designed for people who have chopped their balls off and given them to their wifes.Dont understand that one. Yet there are thousands of those small-MPVs on the roads?
and, erm, that's about it
From about 4-6 months, your baby will probably be in a buggy that is at about the same height as a car seat in a normal car so would have to be raised to get them into an MPV. From 18 months your toddler will be walking up to the car by itself and trying to climb in. The higher the car the more likely you'll now have to lift your 2 stone toddler.
Small MPVs are the car equivilent of expectant parents buying a £500 pram/travel system thinking it's mandatory for their little darling. 6 months later it's gathering dust at the back of the garage and they've bought a £50 buggy.
the amount of times I've banged my head on the door frame...
nsmith1180 said:
Nissan Quasqai...
No headroom. No driving enjoyment. ste engines and not even a real off roader.
What a load of bNo headroom. No driving enjoyment. s
te engines and not even a real off roader. ks!Clearly you have never driven one, or were just too inept to adjust the seat!
Apologies, I guess you could be some sort of freak of 8' in height and 2' of that is your legs.
Seriously, you'd have to be a freak of nature to rub your head on the headlining.
I don't know whether you have seen the adverts either but I think the target audience was for those seeking a robust, lofty town car.
As for the engines being crap, they have good performance and excellent economy. The engine range is mainly Renault.
A fully specced up Tekna with sat nav, leather, bluetooth phone, MP3, panoramic glass roof, heated leather seats, auto dimming rear view mirror, mood lighting, automatic headlights, HID headlights, automatic wipers, keyless enttry and start, dual climate control, 4x leccy windows, ABS, traction control, 17" alloys, colour reverse camera, traffic information, weather information, lane assist, illuminated visors, fold back (for parking) heated electrically adjustable mirrors, chilled glovebox, masses of storage compartments. Loads of room inside too.
Oh and 60mpg and £135 a year RFL. Oh and no cambelt changes to worry about as it has a cam chain
All for £18k new.
Spec up a Focus to that level (in fact you can't as we tried) and it'll cost you nearly £10k more!
Edited by Kentish on Wednesday 21st October 10:25
anonymous said:
[redacted]
at least the princess diana conveyance has a wind deflector - eh?! 
_____
MCS was underpackaged and over priced yes. other stuff i don't agree with especially the steering but each to their own.
people didn't moan about the puma's packaging.. and for me that was always the sort of market the MINI was aimed at...
_____
but anyway - as you all were!
__________
i tell you what thou i don;t know what i'd buy now. i really think i'd buy something like an aygo AND something else. i mean an ST or a gti are more efficient point to point cars but that's it...I really think i have bcome a proper old skool PHer now.. newer cars just don't appeal to me all that much.
in a way that's what the r53 mcs has going for it (as do things like the old RS megane.. in that in different ways they're still a bit 'old fashioned' (but not a potential deathtrap!).
i guess i might look at something like a 130i if i had the money... but they're compromised too (and one would get pretty much the same sorts of criticism as with the MCS - which does get tiresome although you'll note that in gerneral now they're older people seem to actually be able to see through a lot of their prejudices!)! so that brings you back to the gti and st...
so as i say i think aygo and maybe a 7 or a modified mx5 are the way to go.
Robert060379 said:
BMW Mini! Chrysler Neon engined, Astra sized, over hyped, over priced, crap boxes. BMW have never made front wheel drive with good reason.
TheStig10 said:
New sytle mini, i just hate them
The Wookie said:
Girlfriends Cooper cabrio is utterly horrid. ...
It is in fact the worst all round car I have ever driven.
+3 on the MINI, I've driven one, nothing special unless spending a lot of €'s. Ridiculously overpriced to buy an "image", yet it seems like every fashonable company needs to have them in their fleet.It is in fact the worst all round car I have ever driven.
Kentish said:
nsmith1180 said:
Nissan Quasqai...
No headroom. No driving enjoyment. ste engines and not even a real off roader.
What a load of bNo headroom. No driving enjoyment. s
te engines and not even a real off roader. ks!Clearly you have never driven one, or were just too inept to adjust the seat!
Apologies, I guess you could be some sort of freak of 8' in height and 2' of that is your legs.
Seriously, you'd have to be a freak of nature to rub your head on the headlining.
I don't know whether you have seen the adverts either but I think the target audience was for those seeking a robust, lofty town car.
As for the engines being crap, they have good performance and excellent economy. The engine range is mainly Renault.
A fully specced up Tekna with sat nav, leather, bluetooth phone, MP3, panoramic glass roof, heated leather seats, auto dimming rear view mirror, mood lighting, automatic headlights, HID headlights, automatic wipers, keyless enttry and start, dual climate control, 4x leccy windows, ABS, traction control, 17" alloys, colour reverse camera, traffic information, weather information, lane assist, illuminated visors, fold back (for parking) heated electrically adjustable mirrors, chilled glovebox, masses of storage compartments. Loads of room inside too.
Oh and 60mpg and £135 a year RFL. Oh and no cambelt changes to worry about as it has a cam chain
All for £18k new.
Spec up a Focus to that level (in fact you can't as we tried) and it'll cost you nearly £10k more!
Edited by Kentish on Wednesday 21st October 10:25
Auto wipers
Auto headlights (Actually i dont mind other people having this as it might mean they occasionally have their lights on for a change!)
Lane change departure gizmos
auto dimming rear view mirrors
Blind spot monitoring
Electric seats even
All just adds weights and complication and serves to disconnect the driver from the task of actually driving.
+4 on the Mini.
As a real mini fan I went to see one to replace my 147 1.6 Lusso.
For a start the roof felt absurdly high, the seating position felt like you were sat on it, rear seat passengers have no leg room and the boot is tiny.
All things I can ignore if it's fun to drive but it just wasn't (Cooper S). It was underpowered "feeling" even compared to a NA 1.6 in the 147 (albeit a revvy gem of an engine) and simply didn't feel special enough to pay a premium for over competitors.
In the end I plowed the money in to another special car (Lotus) and turned daily driver in to Shed.
As a real mini fan I went to see one to replace my 147 1.6 Lusso.
For a start the roof felt absurdly high, the seating position felt like you were sat on it, rear seat passengers have no leg room and the boot is tiny.
All things I can ignore if it's fun to drive but it just wasn't (Cooper S). It was underpowered "feeling" even compared to a NA 1.6 in the 147 (albeit a revvy gem of an engine) and simply didn't feel special enough to pay a premium for over competitors.
In the end I plowed the money in to another special car (Lotus) and turned daily driver in to Shed.
ZesPak said:
Ridiculously overpriced to buy an "image",
you could have bought a mazda 6....i'll leave you with that thought...
(and here's something to really scare you - i, a mini owner, could be very tempted to buy the heavy less efficient 159 over like you did. why? because for what it is it's an extremely attractive car!).
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i'll leave it after this one.. but i didn;t buy an image. i am the complete reverse of an allbaronetoninguy 40 grand millionaire but i like the way it drives. and i like the way it looks. i think that's something people often don;t seem to 'get'. yes there are loads of them and they look the same but they have a 'different' look rarther than any sort of 'image'.
and they are still relatively 'classless' like the car they ripped off. they're not that expensive for crying out loud.
_________
briSk said:
ZesPak said:
Ridiculously overpriced to buy an "image",
you could have bought a mazda 6....i'll leave you with that thought...
(and here's something to really scare you - i, a mini owner, could be very tempted to buy the heavy less efficient 159 over like you did. why? because for what it is it's an extremely attractive car!).
______
i'll leave it after this one.. but i didn;t buy an image. i am the complete reverse of an allbaronetoninguy 40 grand millionaire but i like the way it drives. and i like the way it looks. i think that's something people often don;t seem to 'get'. yes there are loads of them and they look the same but they have a 'different' look rarther than any sort of 'image'.
and they are still relatively 'classless' like the car they ripped off. they're not that expensive for crying out loud.
_________
As for the Mazda 6, I loved that one! But few stock cars out there, and pretty expensive in higher trim meant the 159 was a better bet.
Also much nicer interiour in the 159. My next car could be a Mazda 6 tough
.ZesPak said:
I get the arguments, but still they're purchased for all the wrong reasons (in general).
As for the Mazda 6, I loved that one! But few stock cars out there, and pretty expensive in higher trim meant the 159 was a better bet.
Also much nicer interiour in the 159. My next car could be a Mazda 6 tough.
don't get me wrong i understand what you're saying as well but in general you could say that for loads of cars:As for the Mazda 6, I loved that one! But few stock cars out there, and pretty expensive in higher trim meant the 159 was a better bet.
Also much nicer interiour in the 159. My next car could be a Mazda 6 tough
.bought a (non RS) resnault because i want to show everyone how middle class i am
chose an alfa because jeremy clarkson says it's a rite of passage
bought a saab because i have to because i am an architect
bought an audi because someone suggested it makes me less of an arse than if i'd bought a superior bmw. OH clarkson has told me it actually makes me more of an arse
bought a pious because the guardian told me too
bought a vw because i want to show i am a little bit more wealthy and slightly more right wing than my renault owning middle class neighbours
bought a skoda because i am so uppermiddle class i am entering the reverse snobbery echelons
bought pretty much any japanese performance car because i am so lower middle class/upper middle class that i have to bang on about how much more performance per £ i have got until everyone is bored to death
bought a kia santa fe because i am mentally deranged
TheRoadWarrior said:
Kentish said:
nsmith1180 said:
Nissan Quasqai...
No headroom. No driving enjoyment. ste engines and not even a real off roader.
What a load of bNo headroom. No driving enjoyment. s
te engines and not even a real off roader. ks!Clearly you have never driven one, or were just too inept to adjust the seat!
Apologies, I guess you could be some sort of freak of 8' in height and 2' of that is your legs.
Seriously, you'd have to be a freak of nature to rub your head on the headlining.
I don't know whether you have seen the adverts either but I think the target audience was for those seeking a robust, lofty town car.
As for the engines being crap, they have good performance and excellent economy. The engine range is mainly Renault.
A fully specced up Tekna with sat nav, leather, bluetooth phone, MP3, panoramic glass roof, heated leather seats, auto dimming rear view mirror, mood lighting, automatic headlights, HID headlights, automatic wipers, keyless enttry and start, dual climate control, 4x leccy windows, ABS, traction control, 17" alloys, colour reverse camera, traffic information, weather information, lane assist, illuminated visors, fold back (for parking) heated electrically adjustable mirrors, chilled glovebox, masses of storage compartments. Loads of room inside too.
Oh and 60mpg and £135 a year RFL. Oh and no cambelt changes to worry about as it has a cam chain
All for £18k new.
Spec up a Focus to that level (in fact you can't as we tried) and it'll cost you nearly £10k more!
Edited by Kentish on Wednesday 21st October 10:25
Auto wipers
Auto headlights (Actually i dont mind other people having this as it might mean they occasionally have their lights on for a change!)
Lane change departure gizmos
auto dimming rear view mirrors
Blind spot monitoring
Electric seats even
All just adds weights and complication and serves to disconnect the driver from the task of actually driving.
The auto wipers are something I'd never worry about personally.
The auto lights are useful but not essential - they come on in tunnels which is quite handy
Lane assist is quite a handy feature of the satnav where it flashes up a real life image of the junction and signage to help you at complex junctions. The traffic monitoring is excellent and flags accidents on the journey ahead.
Auto dimming rear view mirror is also quite handy - I'm forever dipping the one in my car up and down manually but my car is much lower so it's needed more often.
Blind spot monitoring with the rear revese camera is also very handy as it's amazing how many morons cross the street behind a reversing car form the space you are backing into
Electric seats are rather nice in the winter to warm the buns
ZesPak said:
briSk said:
^which reminds me - where's the standard TT-kicking?
You're talking about the Audi TT?That would be on here, if it were popular. Hardly see any around actually...
me shank da man big stylee rubba dub ya get me riight!
You lot miss the point of the Mini, it isnt for Petrolheads, like the Picasso isnt, these are cars that are, for the most part for people that arent interested in cars, they are just things that fit a lifestyle or neccissity.
I think if it were down to Pistonheads to select peoples cars, the school run mums Picasso would be replaced by a Supercharged Exige and the Mini a Monaro VXR.
Now the X6, that has little point.
The Maxi, see you have gone and done it, set MGJohn off, I kind of agree with him though, these came out what at the end of the sixties, they introduced some new concepts, ok they werent pretty and tended to rust and break down but at the time, pretty much everything did.
I think if it were down to Pistonheads to select peoples cars, the school run mums Picasso would be replaced by a Supercharged Exige and the Mini a Monaro VXR.
Now the X6, that has little point.
The Maxi, see you have gone and done it, set MGJohn off, I kind of agree with him though, these came out what at the end of the sixties, they introduced some new concepts, ok they werent pretty and tended to rust and break down but at the time, pretty much everything did.
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