Golf here too, but a 2015 2.0 TDi SV. Halfway between the hatch and an estate. Fits gallons of stuff, and will run from Cornwall to my parents in Farnham, and back, on a full tank. Can’t complain at that.
Seat folding configuration means I can treat it like an estate car, which is good when loading my ledge to go skate or chucking in surfboards etc. It’s not flashy or sporty, but works well. Second Golf, after the gearbox fell out of my last one at about 160,000 on the motorway, doing 90mph (well, 5th gear slipped off the gearing rack).
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my cheap mondeo has quite a big boot, so it usually holds lots of stuff i take with me some where and never take out. Manages to get all the stuff in when we go to the father in laws in Norwich. Its done 213k, and i need it to hang on til i buy a house then i can think about a car.
Unsure about how to finance the next car though. I really want a VW Caravelle but they hold their value really well. Was thinking of saving a couple of thousand and using a bank loan for the rest. Its looking like i’ll be able to get my mini finished this year which is something to look forward to.
At work we have a couple of Skoda Karoq (audi q7) and they are really well specced. Apparently the newer one of the ones we have had to be toned down becausue people were buying them over the equivlient Audi.
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My car history is chequered to say the least. Currently driving a 2007 bobby basic Focus which we’ve had since 80k and is now on 140 odd. It’s like a cockroach, just won’t die or even cost much actual money. I keep waiting for something catastrophic to fail, but it hasn’t yet. Alternator went in Croydon the other year which was a pain, but that was sorted for around 300 quid on the day so no complaints there. All it needed on the last MOT was a fog light bulb. I guess we could afford something newer and flashier if we wanted, but it does everything we need so what’s the point? It even handles OK in a dull kinda way.
Lowlights include a yellow Metro 1l in the early noughties that cost me 200 quid and was made mostly out of rust. I remember driving back down the M62 one night after a gig, it was firing on two and a half cylinders at best and struggling to top 40mph. Not fun.
Also had a Passat estate with the 1.8T from the Golf GTi in it, which on paper was great - massive, comfy, reasonably quick. Except it handled like shit, the seats hurt my back whatever I did with them and it wasn’t that quick unless you revved the balls off it, at which point you could virtually see the fuel gauge go down. I was secretly so pleased when the turbo went I didn’t buy another car for years.
High points include a MK2 Golf Driver, which looked like a GTi but didn’t go like one. It was still an absolute hoot to drive, light by modern standards, decent enough handling and no power steering. It also looked super cool in slate grey, and I regret ever getting rid of it. Probably worth a few bob now too.
After the Passat I went in completely the other direction and got a Toyota Yaris. It was the SR model with lower, stuffer suspension and boy racer body kit, and even with the (revvy as heck) 1.3 vvti engine it was amazing fun on B roads, handled like a rolleerskate and you could thrash the nuts off it whilst barely troubling the speed limit. I’m a big fan of little, light cars. Probably would still have that if some gomper hadn’t driven into it and mangled the front struts, writing it off in the process.
High point though was a facelift NB MX5, in 1.8 flavour. I’ve driven faster cars, and I’ve driven much more expensive cars, but I’ve never driven anything that’s so much fun to drive in the real world. Light, perfect weight distribution, rear wheel drive - it really was sublime. I’d recommend one to anyone, though keep an eye out for rust. Surprisingly practical too, if you squint - we managed a 2 week trip to Dorset and Cornwall in it. Pre baby, obviously. Got rid when I changed jobs and started commuting by bike, and it just wasn’t getting used. When we get into our next house I’d be very tempted to pick up an NA as a weekend / track project where I don’t need to worry about driving it 40 miles a day.
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If I was in the market for a small car I’d look at the new Mazda 3, I think it’s quite pretty.
Reminds me of the Brera a little bit. Never had a Mazda though, I bet the interior is all plastic.
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Yeah I’ve heard good things about those as well, the exterior looks aren’t bad at all either.
Best car I had was a 2.0 Turbo Diesel Alfa Giulietta.
Back to that Defender, they’re not that expensive. I was thinking it would be 80k but it’s like 50k.
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Yeah my mum has a duke. It’s tiny. She also used to have a bmw mini and that is the worst car I’ve ever driven. Every time I got in or out of it I whacked a bit of my self on the awful interior lay out. Everything about that car is awful
I just got 31 lengths of 3x2 inside and 2 sheets of ply on the roof of my 13 year old Honda jazz and it didnt grumble, it’s a tardis.
Mazda 3s are actually a properly top-notch alternative to the Golf/Astra/Focus/Civic power 4 that rule that sector. The new Skyactiv-X engine tech that runs a petrol engine in low revs using compression ignition like a diesel to improve efficiency and maintain power is brilliant. I forgot about the Mazda 3 when I was musing about cars I wanted because I actually, properly want one.
Interior doesn’t look bad at all. Minimalist, but apparently premium-feeling
According to Top Gear it isn’t as good to drive as the last two generations of it though, which is a shame. Apparently the 2 older models were best-in-class chassis wise.
PS I don’t work for Mazda.
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I had a 2002 Mazda 323. I loved that thing. Proper tank.
Audi wanker here.
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It’s a thread about cars. We’re all wankers.
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Oh my word!
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I used to see this 1 off Ferrari estate car parked outside my office near Marylebone. I remember googling it the time, quite interesting how the guy got it.
From Wiki
Ferrari 456 GT Venice: It was a series of seven 5-door estate (wagon) commissioned by Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei. After Pininfarina designed and built them, the prince only purchased six and the remaining car was purchased by a private car collector in the United Kingdom. Each piece is rumoured to have cost the Sultan’s brother around US$1.5 million.[12]
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Z8 for me. There’s one down the road from me and I drool every time I see it.
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Yeah that’s a lunatic car. Love the look of it.
But for me it would be the Alfa 8C.
One day I will own a 4C for sure.
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My dream car when I was younger was always the Maserati 3200 because I love those boomerang lights at the back:
You can buy one pretty cheap these days because they don’t work. But it’ll look great in your driveway.
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It looks like an old Peugeot
You should see what the W8 one does, it was basically a countdown timer to overdraft.
