Fiesta ST Replacement - Page 1 - Car Buying

EliseMatty

Original Poster

18 posts

189 months

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Saturday 9th February 2019

Hi,

I've had my Fiesta ST a little over 2 years but I'm looking to replace it. I'm spending more time commuting due to traffic and occasionally driving longer distances which is causing me to get quite irritated by the ST.

I need/want something more spacious and comfortable, the ride is harsher than I'd like now and it's made worse by the state of the roads around me. The seats aren't as comfortable as I'd like given the extra time I spend in them and they cause a bit of back and leg pain.

I'll be p/x'ing my car plus about 5,000 to buy a replacement.

I'd like something with 5 doors, a good sized boot, comfort in terms of ride, seats and low road noise if possible. Things like sat nav, cruise control etc cetera would be nice, they're not essential but I'll get the best spec I can afford.

I've considered a Mondeo, Octavia (maybe VRS depending on ride?), Insignia. Am I overlooking anything obvious?

Thanks in advance.

ZX10R NIN

29,872 posts

146 months

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Saturday 9th February 2019

So how much are you talking about in total? That way people will be able to give some viable options, also how many miles are you now going to be doing annually?

EliseMatty

Original Poster

18 posts

189 months

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Saturday 9th February 2019

Maximum is probably £15,000 and around 8,000+ miles. Not necessarily a huge amount of miles daily, maybe 20 miles on a work day, but can be in the car over 2 hours commuting.

ZX10R NIN

29,872 posts

146 months

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Saturday 9th February 2019

Buzypea

225 posts

160 months

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Saturday 9th February 2019

Just over two years ago I was in exactly the same position as you. Was getting really irritated with my ST spending two hours a day commuting. I’d had enough of the recaro seats, choppy ride and naff interior.

I went for the Astra 1.6T 200 Elite Nav. Same performance as the ST, 0 to 60 in 6.6 seconds, but the interior and comfort are in a different league. All the toys you could want, Android Auto, Apple car play, heated steering wheel and seats, decent sounding infotainment system with 8 inch touch screen....etc. etc. I was so impressed with it I replaced it with another one a couple of months ago.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

EliseMatty

Original Poster

18 posts

189 months

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Sunday 10th February 2019

ZX10R NIN said:

Wow, thanks for all those suggestions. Must say I hadn't realised a few of those were within price range.

I'll definitely have to check them out with a test drive. I like that the Infiniti and Lexus are rarer, would be considerably easier finding an Insignia which is both good and bad in my opinion.

In terms of the insignia's spec is there much I'd miss out on by not getting the sri vx trim? I notice they all seem to come with 20 inch wheels and replacement tyres are quite a lot more than their 18 inch counterparts.

EliseMatty

Original Poster

18 posts

189 months

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[news]

Sunday 10th February 2019

Buzypea said:

Just over two years ago I was in exactly the same position as you. Was getting really irritated with my ST spending two hours a day commuting. I’d had enough of the recaro seats, choppy ride and naff interior.

I went for the Astra 1.6T 200 Elite Nav. Same performance as the ST, 0 to 60 in 6.6 seconds, but the interior and comfort are in a different league. All the toys you could want, Android Auto, Apple car play, heated steering wheel and seats, decent sounding infotainment system with 8 inch touch screen....etc. etc. I was so impressed with it I replaced it with another one a couple of months ago.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I hadn't realise how well spec'd these were or their performance. They seem very good value for money.

What is road/wind noise like?

Buzypea

225 posts

160 months

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Sunday 10th February 2019

EliseMatty said:

Buzypea said:

Just over two years ago I was in exactly the same position as you. Was getting really irritated with my ST spending two hours a day commuting. I’d had enough of the recaro seats, choppy ride and naff interior.

I went for the Astra 1.6T 200 Elite Nav. Same performance as the ST, 0 to 60 in 6.6 seconds, but the interior and comfort are in a different league. All the toys you could want, Android Auto, Apple car play, heated steering wheel and seats, decent sounding infotainment system with 8 inch touch screen....etc. etc. I was so impressed with it I replaced it with another one a couple of months ago.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I hadn't realise how well spec'd these were or their performance. They seem very good value for money.

What is road/wind noise like?

Road and wind noise are subjective and I can only compare to what I have driven in the past, but I’ve certainly had no cause for complaint.

After googling Astra K road and wind noise, the first result I found was this quote from a review from the ‘Honest John’ website....

“Comfort is certainly what the Astra does well: the ride quality is very good and at motorway speeds there's little road or wind noise, making it a relaxed car for doing long journeys in.”

So coming from a professional car reviewer, I guess it’s pretty good.

ZX10R NIN

29,872 posts

146 months

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Sunday 10th February 2019

EliseMatty said:

Wow, thanks for all those suggestions. Must say I hadn't realised a few of those were within price range.

I'll definitely have to check them out with a test drive. I like that the Infiniti and Lexus are rarer, would be considerably easier finding an Insignia which is both good and bad in my opinion.

In terms of the insignia's spec is there much I'd miss out on by not getting the sri vx trim? I notice they all seem to come with 20 inch wheels and replacement tyres are quite a lot more than their 18 inch counterparts.

The hard thing is to find a non VX SRI as at this point Vauxhall were loading (look out for an Elite model as it has 18's but more spec) up their cars with spec as the new model was due imminently.

The Infiniti's are well worth seeking out as is the Lexus GS250.

The Elite Astra's are a good shout but they're hard to find in 200 spec.

Sc0tchland

436 posts

102 months

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Sunday 10th February 2019

ZX10R NIN said:

If it doesn't have to be five

You've got some amazing suggestions, I don't know how you do it..