Chevrolet hell!

[Sp!ke]

Whats a Fibibizapolo?

 

[timskemp]

Whats a Fibibizapolo?

It's like a Sharalhambralaxy, but smaller...

 

[rf065]

300s are supposed to be 50% merc (w210 based), must have been the bean counters 50% they picked.

As is the Dodge Charger I had for the last two weeks.
I was looking forward to this car because it was supposed to be based on the old E Class chassis & Mercedes had helped design the engines. Should be better than the usual US crap you get from Dollar Car Hire I thought.

Unfortunately, the amalgamation of an asthmatic 2.7 litre V6 with a US slushbox, wallowing suspension & over light steering, acres of cheap plastic & incredibly unsupportive seats, meant it was as bad as anything I have ever rented in the US in the past.

 

[timskemp]

Whats a Fibibizapolo?

Fabia / Ibiza / Polo (Skoda/Seat/VW) - all the same basic shell and chassis but with a little bit of each companies DNA thrown in.

Sharalhambraxy was Sharan / Alhambra / Galaxy (VW/Seat/Ford)...

 

[Sp!ke]

Ahh...

I drove my fathers 1.9tdi Fabia estate recently. Thought it was one of the most unpleasent cars I've driven in a long time, whereas I drove a little 1.4 polo three weeks ago as a hire car and thought it wasnt bad at all apart from the lack of HP.

Apart from the obvious similarities like the switch gear and other bits and bobs, they were poles apart.

 

[wallingd]

Well we had our Matiz 0.8 for NINE YEARS and it was excellent - practical, fast enough & if careful fairly eco. 54 from Lincolnshire to Brighton.

We now have an i10... A world away in terms of quality, refinement & road-ability of course, though not quite the character.

Obviously if you're coming down from something like an W210 then it's a different story. But you have to accept it's a different class of car.

 

[grober]

If we are into common platforms I would still recommend the Panda/500/Ka chassis as an basic second car. Of these 3 the panda is the least pretentious/cheapest has 4 doors and will always bring a smile to your face. FiatSupaSaver.com - Why Pay Dealer Prices? Brand New Fiats- Huge Discounts

 

[219]

Ok, my question - if you had £6-8k to spend on a motor what would you get? (a pre-loved Merc doesn't count, got to be new!)

Newish rubbish just doesn't count in my book .

I'd normally expect to get 6 or 8 cars for that kind of money - and all would have a three pointed star on them !

For a cheap runabout , you can't beat a 190E - simple , solid engineering and very little to go wrong - so very little ever does . You can say the same about an aircooled Beetle , another excellent budget car , but they tend to fetch more than 190's these days - irony or what ?

If I was spending that much on only ONE car , it would have to be something special - maybe a decent W111 coupe , possibly a nice Ponton , maybe a nice W108/109 or a W116 - but usually I pick my cars up for a lot less , AND I have less trouble with them than people who pay a lot more for newer rubbish .

 

[janner]

I bought my daughter a Kia Rio a few months back... £7k with a decent level of kit.
It's one size up from the Piccanto (Kia's equivalent to the Matiz)

The Picanto is actually a pretty good cheap car. Haven't driven a Rio.
Totally agree the Matiz is absolutely awful. The worst understeer ever and the cheapest plastics imaginable.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

2-seats? SMART ForTwo Cdi

4-seats? Nissan Pixo

 

[SilverSaloon]

Didn't GRAV888 buy a C300 not so long ago?

How did that work out, anybody know?

arnt you confusing it with a chrysler 300C?

 

[flango]

A friend of mine , who is an American car specialist, recent had a 1996 Cadillac Seville in for service.
A pretty good car when it was running OK, but a diagnostics nightmare when anything went wrong.
Something like 7 ECUs.

Cheers
Johnsco

14 ECU's on a Volvo V70 T5

 

[neilrr]

arnt you confusing it with a chrysler 300C?

Dunno. What's the difference?

 

[JasM]

Dunno. What's the difference?

 

[neilrr]

Chrysler C300
Google


Chrysler 300C
Google

 

[Rory]

Ok, my question - if you had £6-8k to spend on a motor what would you get? (a pre-loved Merc doesn't count, got to be new!)

Don't know how much they are now but my daughter got a new Mitsubishi Colt CZ1 5dr with a/c for £7500 a couple of years ago. Very adequate car for around town and has cruised well on the motorway with 4 adults and luggage on airports runs.

Personally I prefer the 3dr and they were being sold as low as £6K at one point.

 

[Satch]

You cannot expect anything other than pure misery from a Matiz unless you use it as a road legal shopping trolley

796cc three cylinder engine. 51.5hp @ 6000rpm. 71.5 Nm @ 4400rpm. 0-60 time 18.2s, max speed 90mph. Go for the auto version and that becomes 21.9s.and 84mph, giving it the dubious honour of being the most sluggish car on sale in the UK.

There is 1.0 version but it is still ****e.

Per Top Gear:

"Crashes over small potholes, falls into bigger ones entirely. Also apparently has an interior constructed entirely from recycled plastic wastepaper baskets, so feels loud and wearing after any length of time"

"You can fit two humans in the front, but the back is only for those who have disrespected you in the past. The boot is only 104litres, making it the same size as some of the larger handbags on the market. But this is a cheap car, so you can afford not to fall in love"

But it could have been worse: a Perodua Kenari for example. Now they are really dreadful.

 

[stevieb15]

Probably whatever Honest John recommended in the Saturday Telegraph motoring section last time he was asked.

 

[Mudster]

I spent three weeks with a Chrysler 300c in August in Florida.....It's a barge, awful thing.

However when you look at what cars cost out there, you simply realise they are built to a budget.

Once someone wants a nice car they generally buy European.

I have to say the new Camaro looked nice though.

Range Rover's looked tiny, some of the pick up trucks are so absurd they do make me chuckle.

 

[puffsorted]

Had a 6 month old 5000 mile Corsa 'Life' (I think thats what it was called) while Merc were fixing some rust on the CLK a few months back. I believe it was the ECO version and it had the most awful ride and road noise, I swear the tyres where running at about 70PSI to get the rolling resistance down.

Seriously you must have 'no life' to spend £9000 new on one of these things