Cars you never see anymore on UK roads post-1990

[Prinny]

Honda Ballade / Rover 213(6). The boxy ones that rusted like buggery. As can be seen in the pic...

[Douglas Quaid]

Audi coupe. Used to see loads of them. Haven’t seen one for years.

[CS Garth]

I saw a Mk 2 cavalier estate at the weekend being driven in anger - i was extremely excited, my wife less so.

[Zedboy]

Saw a scabby Brown Renault Safrane on M25 this very afternoon ... it was the facelift version on NL plates. Looked very outdated ... but a R25 can be French-cool style still methinks

[Opel-GT]

has the Renault Fuego been mentioned yet?

[ClaphamGT3]

swanny200 said:

Conscript said:

Renault 25. Never massively common anyway, but I'm nostalgic for them as my dad used to own one, and I remember seeing others around at the time. I haven't seen on in the UK in about 15 years now. Have seen them in France however.

Can't remember when I last saw a Safrane either to be honest, or a Xantia but spotted a 605 estate the other day

The 605 is a particularly rare spot, bearing in mind they never made a 605 estate....

[PurpleTurtle]

Mazda MX3. I only went in one once, a colleague gave me a lift in his. 1.8 V6 if I recall correctly? It struck me as a smooth engine and a neat little hatch.

Still a few about according to How Many Left, but I haven’t seen one in yonks.

[carlove]

Opel-GT said:

has the Renault Fuego been mentioned yet?

Saw one on Saturday and one today (I suspect the same car) , must be years since I last saw one. I tell you what I did see at the weekend, this example wasn't a 1990s car but I'm sure they were still being made in the 90s, a Fiat 126.

[carlove]

I remember seeing these funny looking Mazda 121s about a fair bit, not seen one for years, also don't see the rebadged Fiestas any more.

Also this generation 323, always thought they looked cool, still do if I'm honest.

[unsprung]

jon_273 said:

unsprung said:

A.J.M said:

Average life of a car in the U.K. being scrapped is 13.9 years according to the SMMT.

It makes one think: When battery-electric vehicles become rather more common on the roads, how long will they last? No ICE moving parts. Brakes that, because of the regenerative function, endure for ages. Features and functionality which, in some cases, improve with time and are updated over-the-air.

After 15 years or so, swap the battery array for a fresh one -- and repeat. Might need to do something about suspension bushings though.

Will people will still want one at 15 years old though? What about when fashions change change and people want to have the latest thing...

Yes, there will surely be some of that. No matter what the utility and/or affordability of the older vehicle, it will simply no longer feel right.

I do imagine, however, that there will be some who will be content to run the same reliable EV "forever".

Sofa said:

I’d imagine EV’s will (on average) last about as long as current ICE cars do, assuming their depreciation curves remain the roughly same and battery packs don’t become massively cheaper.

A 14 year old Nissan Leaf will probably be worth peanuts, so I’d be surprised if many people would be paying thousands to swap out the battery pack for a fresh one.

It could be foolish to bet on significant reductions in the cost of batteries, but that's where my guess is at the moment.

On a somewhat related note... A knowledgeable chap here on PH posted something recently about there being an equal chance of an innovation breakthrough on the infrastructure surrounding hydrogen fuel cells as on the development of higher energy density batteries for EVs. Very interesting!

[sim72]

I see a 205GTI (G330WHP - anyone's on here?) regularly.
My mate has a MkV Escort, R-reg, he bought it for pennies and it's still working 2 years on as a snotter.
Our neighbour has a L-reg Cavalier in lovely condition. Probably because he never drives it.

[Mark-C]

carlove said:

Also this generation 323, always thought they looked cool, still do if I'm honest.

Me too ... pop up headlights always look cool

[The Ors]

Kit cars.

Haven't seen one for ages (apart from the one rotting on my driveway).

[gamefreaks]

Lada. They were everywhere in the ‘90’s.

Haven’t seen one for years now.

Talbots too. I remember they had these nasty, rattly engines.

Opel Manta.
Vauxhall Calibra.
Rover 800.
Volvo 940/960.
Saab 900.
Fiat Uno/Tipo.
Peugeot 309.
Renault 21.

[Eyersey1234]

I saw a Citroen 2CV on the M62 on Sunday (not strictly post 1990 I know)

[DJP]

The Ford Escort, the last model before the Focus came out.

They seemed to vanish almost as soon as they were discontinued.

One minute they were everywhere, the next they were gone.

[Plug Life]

Good riddance.

[Mound Dawg]

timmymagic73 said:

I've seen the same 1994 Scorpio estate twice in the last week or so on my commute - looks very tidy in white, but stuck out like a sore thumb in modern traffic.

Saw one of these recently too. I was surprised at how small it looked in traffic for what was (in its day) quite a lump of a car.

[HTP99]

Mound Dawg said:

timmymagic73 said:

I've seen the same 1994 Scorpio estate twice in the last week or so on my commute - looks very tidy in white, but stuck out like a sore thumb in modern traffic.

Saw one of these recently too. I was surprised at how small it looked in traffic for what was (in its day) quite a lump of a car.

I saw a bug eyed Scorpio on the M25 a couple of months back, I was almost in wonderment when I clocked it as I'd not seen one in years, it was still bloody ugly though.

[Wildcat45]

DJP said:

The Ford Escort, the last model before the Focus came out.

They seemed to vanish almost as soon as they were discontinued.

One minute they were everywhere, the next they were gone.

Yet Escort fans - always in white - appear everywhere, mainly on grass verges or flat roof pub car parks advertising cars wanted for scrap. It's always 1990s last generation Escorts.