Alternative take: PH Cars of the Year
Discussion
I, like many, have been enjoying the recent PH articles on Cars of the Year.
Problem is, as others have identified, that motoring journos live in a ratified world where they can drive other people's cars either unavailable to the great unwashed, or that are only available to those several pay grades above theirs. In other words, irrelevant to most of us.
So, my proposal is a discussion of other people's cars driven this year by us mere mortals.
I'll start by nominating the surprisingly decent Toyota Corolla Hybrid estate we got for a week in Croatia. It did everything we needed it to in comfort, economically and quietly.
Honorable mention to the 130,000km Seat Ibiza estate we had in Tenerife back in July, which gamely took us all over the island without complaint.
And I'm trying to forget the woeful Vauxhall Grandland we had in Scotland. Where it rained a lot.
So, over to you: what have you driven this year?
Problem is, as others have identified, that motoring journos live in a ratified world where they can drive other people's cars either unavailable to the great unwashed, or that are only available to those several pay grades above theirs. In other words, irrelevant to most of us.
So, my proposal is a discussion of other people's cars driven this year by us mere mortals.
I'll start by nominating the surprisingly decent Toyota Corolla Hybrid estate we got for a week in Croatia. It did everything we needed it to in comfort, economically and quietly.
Honorable mention to the 130,000km Seat Ibiza estate we had in Tenerife back in July, which gamely took us all over the island without complaint.
And I'm trying to forget the woeful Vauxhall Grandland we had in Scotland. Where it rained a lot.
So, over to you: what have you driven this year?
Megane RS265... Fantastic fun on some back roads. Enjoyed a few early morning drives this year. Troublesome car, but good none the less. Other is our BMW X3 (F25). Fantastically comfortable car, witch a brilliant sound system, comfortable seats and carted us all over. Love this car. My vote for my personal car of the year, of the only 2 I've driven is the X3, as the Megane has simply cost me thousands in repairs this year.
2023 I'm replacing the Megane, not sure with what yet, but likely some form of 6 cylinder diesel. We'll see.
2023 I'm replacing the Megane, not sure with what yet, but likely some form of 6 cylinder diesel. We'll see.
I haven't driven anything especially PH apart from the shagged Mini CS I bought as a temporary stop gap. The ride's awful (better on non-runflats, but still not great) and it scrapes on the crap in the middle of the lane we live in. And it's also too small as we have three tall kids, so I have to borrow my wife's worthy but dull Mazda6 shed if I'm going out with all three of them. And then she grumbles because she hates it...
But it makes me giggle and whenever I get back into it I wonder if I could work out a way to justify keeping it.
I've had a few hire cars over the year.
The Jeep Compass was forgettable apart from the horrid over light and vague steering.
The Citroen C3 Aircross was surprisingly competent. Comfy, drove ok, pulled up hills at 85 on the autoroute with 5 on board, and with no fighting about who had the short straw middle seat in the back.
The two-tone Fiat 500 "Dolce Vita" we got for a boy's weekend climbing in Chamonix caused most laughs but wasn't notable on the driving front.
And an honourable mention for the mighty D4 that was brilliant in every way and hardly broke down at all but was KIA on holiday in France. Four months later I still can't decide if I'm brave enough to roll the reliability dice again and get another.
But it makes me giggle and whenever I get back into it I wonder if I could work out a way to justify keeping it.
I've had a few hire cars over the year.
The Jeep Compass was forgettable apart from the horrid over light and vague steering.
The Citroen C3 Aircross was surprisingly competent. Comfy, drove ok, pulled up hills at 85 on the autoroute with 5 on board, and with no fighting about who had the short straw middle seat in the back.
The two-tone Fiat 500 "Dolce Vita" we got for a boy's weekend climbing in Chamonix caused most laughs but wasn't notable on the driving front.
And an honourable mention for the mighty D4 that was brilliant in every way and hardly broke down at all but was KIA on holiday in France. Four months later I still can't decide if I'm brave enough to roll the reliability dice again and get another.
Turbobanana said:
I, like many, have been enjoying the recent PH articles on Cars of the Year.
And I'm trying to forget the woeful Vauxhall Grandland we had in Scotland. Where it rained a lot.
So, over to you: what have you driven this year?
I have to live in Scotland, it's still raining, on the upside I don't know what a Grandland is and suspect therefore that I have not had to drive one. I'd say that makes us even! And I'm trying to forget the woeful Vauxhall Grandland we had in Scotland. Where it rained a lot.
So, over to you: what have you driven this year?
Happy New year folks!
stickylabels said:
I have to live in Scotland, it's still raining, on the upside I don't know what a Grandland is and suspect therefore that I have not had to drive one. I'd say that makes us even!
Happy New year folks!
Sorry for late reply. To clarify, Scotland was great despite the rain. We loved it and will return this year. The Grandland was veryyyyyy zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, I nodded off there for a moment.Happy New year folks!
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