Dieselman
Banned
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- Peugeot 403 Convertible
LOL...
Exactly what we said...
Addictive performance; impressive fuel economy
Styling is too subtle for most hot hatch buyers
LOL...
Exactly what we said...
Addictive performance; impressive fuel economy
Styling is too subtle for most hot hatch buyers
scumbag
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
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- Abu Dhabi. UAE
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- Its German, has a round badge, reminds me of a Mercedes. Satan fuelled
Ade B
MB Enthusiast
what kind of driving is she planning for it John?
in my experience little cars are horrible on motorways and big cars are very thirsty on short runs.. sort of obvious.
my first car was a 78 ford granada 2.8 - i ran it with the fuel gauge in the red constantly (as I could never afford more than £5 of petrol at a time), on retread tyres (which made it lethal in the wet) and had to adjust the tappets every weekend....
I would have thought running costs would be one of the prime considerations - is she off to university in the near future?
Ade
in my experience little cars are horrible on motorways and big cars are very thirsty on short runs.. sort of obvious.
my first car was a 78 ford granada 2.8 - i ran it with the fuel gauge in the red constantly (as I could never afford more than £5 of petrol at a time), on retread tyres (which made it lethal in the wet) and had to adjust the tappets every weekend....
I would have thought running costs would be one of the prime considerations - is she off to university in the near future?
Ade
grober
MB Master
Clarkson's take on the Skoda Fabia VRS quote:- "a genuinely very good little car." http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article455398.ece
And he's not a man to mince his words!
And he's not a man to mince his words!
OP
OP
glojo
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Hi Ade,
At present she has just finished at college and has an option to carry on with her education but I would plan for more town use as opposed to dual carriageways.
We have had a good chat and she feels the Mercedes are slightly too big, there is no way I will try to get her to choose something that she doesn't feel happy about. i can't help but wonderjust how much bigger the 190\C-class is when compared to a Golf, but that is another question.
I'm not sure about that Suzuki
she is at work at present so that will have to wait. Why would I suggest this smallish 4x4 and what are the plus points for a young girl, wth her first car? (I will need answers when she interrogates me)The good news is Jenson Henson beat his team-mate
but woeful comes to mind.John
Carrotchomper
MB Enthusiast
Starting off with a big vehicle makes one confident but does lead to a certain mindset! I first started off in my Mum's E34 5 series, and since then, apart from a minor aberration with an MG metro, have had large saloons/estates ever since. Old before my time? D'Oh!
Dieselman
Banned
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- Peugeot 403 Convertible
Quote Clarkson.
Study the performance characteristics of this car carefully and you will arrive at an extraordinary conclusion. It may only be a 1.9 litre diesel hatchback, but round a track it will blow a supercharged Mini Cooper into the weeds. It is astonishingly fast.
I only mention this because when the 'race' was on TG it was not believed that the MINI was a Cooper S.
Ahem..!
DieselCar mag tested the 0-62 at 8.5s
Mrs Dm has one and a friends wife now has one having tested a number of cars. Both preferred the Fabia.
Now the interesting thing is that both are relatively steady drivers...until they get behind the wheel of the vRS.
Dieselman
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Back OT.
If the young Lady in question wanted a Suzuki Vitara she would have said well before now and I wouldn't propose one as they are truly awful things to drive and fuel economy is rubbish.
If the young Lady in question wanted a Suzuki Vitara she would have said well before now and I wouldn't propose one as they are truly awful things to drive and fuel economy is rubbish.
Vitara's are the worst 4x4 on the road, they rot, the soft tops leak and the engines are not much better...
the thing you have to remember is everyone seems to be giving expereiences of relatively new cars... for your budget you are going to have to stick to something reliable like a honda or VW.
No point looking at reviews of new cars when you are looking at buying a 12 yr old run around.
the thing you have to remember is everyone seems to be giving expereiences of relatively new cars... for your budget you are going to have to stick to something reliable like a honda or VW.
No point looking at reviews of new cars when you are looking at buying a 12 yr old run around.
scumbag
MB Enthusiast
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- Its German, has a round badge, reminds me of a Mercedes. Satan fuelled
Agree with you points about VW's. Defo the way to go for older I think altho I would suggest that some of the SEAT range that uses the VW platforms are just as good and reliable, if considerably cheaper to boot.
If I may add a defence to using parkers guide however, is that some of their reviews actually mention what was up with the older versions, like the KA, so I believe if you take the time to research these cars, using these reviews as a part of that research, you gain a clearer picture of a car of the ages we are looking at here.
As another defence too, the Vitara is a girls car!!! They do it in Pink for goodness sakes.
MangoMan
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Vitara. 
About the only thing I'll add is that the probability of having an accident in the first couple of years driving is quite high, so I'd go for something as new as possible for the budget - a couple of airbags, ABS and traction control could be far more useful than anything else!
Howard
MB Club Veteran
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I'd say go for a Ka , i'd never driven one until i met Angela ...
Now i love it , drive it whenever i can .... It's got airbags , good fuel economy , ABS , a nice long 5th gear for cruising on the motorway , my only gripe is the lack of power low down ( ours is the early one , T-reg with the old style engine ) but then for a grand you'd be looking at the same thing ...
Angela's is a T plate, and has never failed an MOT , we put it's first new exhaust on it this year ( £100) , and fixed the TPS problem thanks to you guys on here .... other than tyres , the exhaust is the biggest thing done ....It will need new shocks ( front) later this year , but they are pennies , ours is on 50k .... find one that has been looked after , not owned by Waynetta Slob ....
Nice plastic wraparound bumpers ( not painted like the fancy Ka's ) so if you have a knock , just bolt a new bit of plastic on .... dirt cheap from a scrappy , or even a Stealer if you have to ....
Interior is spacious and comfy ....
It's got hardwearing trim , tyres are cheap , etc etc etc .... it's all good
Honestly, its a great car ....
Now i love it , drive it whenever i can .... It's got airbags , good fuel economy , ABS , a nice long 5th gear for cruising on the motorway , my only gripe is the lack of power low down ( ours is the early one , T-reg with the old style engine ) but then for a grand you'd be looking at the same thing ...
Angela's is a T plate, and has never failed an MOT , we put it's first new exhaust on it this year ( £100) , and fixed the TPS problem thanks to you guys on here .... other than tyres , the exhaust is the biggest thing done ....It will need new shocks ( front) later this year , but they are pennies , ours is on 50k .... find one that has been looked after , not owned by Waynetta Slob ....
Nice plastic wraparound bumpers ( not painted like the fancy Ka's ) so if you have a knock , just bolt a new bit of plastic on .... dirt cheap from a scrappy , or even a Stealer if you have to ....
Interior is spacious and comfy ....
It's got hardwearing trim , tyres are cheap , etc etc etc .... it's all good
Honestly, its a great car ....
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scumbag
MB Enthusiast
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- Its German, has a round badge, reminds me of a Mercedes. Satan fuelled
Now that bit just does not come over sincere at the end of your post!
In fact me thinks you might be looking for a buyer of said car?:bannana:
For all things Ka - http://www.dervman.com
BenzComander
MB Enthusiast
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