Slow Car on a lease, thoughts ?????

[poormansporsche]

So turns out my latest youngtimer classic is using oil at a alarming rate and needs to go.

My daily commute is a round trip of 40 miles. 3 miles country lanes, 10 miles motorway, 7 miles dual carriageway / residential, 6 days a week so upwards of 300 miles a week.

I've never had a new car and have absolutely no interest in modern cars but with ULEZ and whatever the days of disposable interesting fast bangers for a grand is over.

I have a lot more interesting things to spend 300 plus quid a month on than some bland eurobox.

But I've seen a lease for a Suzuki Swift at £150 quid a month with my above average mileage is nothing.

But it's not a quick car , 12 secs to 60. I drive like a old grunter most of the time but I do like a bit of power if I need it. I don't drive my cars anywhere near their full capacity. So my question is, has anyone bought a slow car on a lease, knowing it's never going to be yours and ragged it all the time with no mechanical sympathy ????? Does this make it seem faster than it is ??? I haven't test driven yet but I don't think I will get the full picture anyway.

Thoughts ?

 

[markjay]

We have a 2016 Suzuki Vitara 1.6L NA and a 2016 Suzuki S-Cross 1.4L Turbo (very similar to the Vitara but with bigger boot) and they are both great little cars. A little basic, but well built and cheap to run. They are both AWD, but FWD variants are also available.

I don't have first hand experience with the Swift, but I think it may be too small for comfortable (and safe) motorway driving?

 

[markjay]

BTW, the 0-60 figure for my 1.6L NA car (120 hp) is 10.9 sec, but I wouldn't know because I never 'ragged it'....

 

[BPD07]

No modern car is really a slow car, and you don’t need to rag one to make progress. With the smaller engine, you will suffer in the traffic light derby or the 50-70 time for overtakes, but you can learn a different more relaxed style of driving. Wasn’t it James Hunt who said his a35 was the most fun on the road?

Save the Mercedes for high days and Sunday. Drive a euro box for the commute, you never know, you may get to like it.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Suzukis are great cars and sell well globally - they're just not popular in the UK and Europe.

Would have thought that the bigger issue is size: it's smaller than a modern Polo or Fiesta. Do you fit ? (Especially if you're tall). And maybe the ride will seem too firm?

I'm amazed at how slowly people drive their cars generally. Yes, there are speed limits but people around the M25 have lost all interest in acceleration, apart from the blokes in works vans. We buy powerful cars yet use only a fraction of that power.

Will it suit your driving? The only way to know is to test drive it. They're desperate to sell at the moment, so demand a longer drive. And go to another garage to double check. In any case, the longer you chat to them, the better the deal that you'll get. It is a three year commit, so you don't want to make a mistake

The benchmark cars are the Fiesta: fabulous car. Polo: reliable but dull. And Clio: loveable but a tad Frenchly unreliable.

If you can charge your at home, the BMW i3 will make your fuel bills almost disappear.

 

[markjay]

Suzukis are great cars and sell well globally - they're just not popular in the UK and Europe.

Agreed about the UK, but there are plenty of Suzuki cars in Switzerland (especially the AWD models) and plenty of Suzuki cars in the South of Italy (especially the Swift) - the two places I've been to recently - and so I suspect that these cars may actually be quite popular in the rest of Europe as well. Part of the issue though is a fairly limited range of models, and not having any 'wow' original electric model (just the usual Hybrids).

 

[Londonscottish]

My wife's Fiat 500 has the mighty 1.2 engine with all of 69bhp. I just looked up the 0-60 and it's 12.5. I just sort of trundle around it, keeping up with the traffic and no more. I find it strangely relaxing. No point in trying to overtake very often. So I just don't bother.

The only slightly annoying/alarming part is trying to get up to speed on a motorway slip road and/or losing speed on motorway inclines. That's when I notice the lack of back-up grunt.

To put it into context, it has around 80 bhp/ton; my E500 has 200 bhp/ton.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Agreed about the UK, but there are plenty of Suzuki cars in Switzerland (especially the AWD models) and plenty of Suzuki cars in the South of Italy (especially the Swift) - the two places I've been to recently - and so I suspect that these cars may actually be quite popular in the rest of Europe as well. Part of the issue though is a fairly limited range of models, and not having any 'wow' original electric model (just the usual Hybrids).

I didn't say that Suzuki doesn't sell, in Europe. I said it doesn't sell well.

It's the 19th biggest seller in Europe, with 30,000 units (mainly the Vitaras you mention), roughly 1% of Suzuki's global sales of 3 milion. The Swift is overshadowed by the domestic superminis.

The big export market for Suzuki being India, of course, where it sells something like a million.

 

[NJSS]

I suggest avoiding any Ford with the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine - the 1.5-litre EcoBoost seems to be more reliable.

I quite fancy the Ford Fiesta ST with the 1.5 litre engine.

 

[poormansporsche]

Cheers for the replies.

It's the Swift or nothing. There is absolutely nothing else out there for a similar price. I've already got the Kia Sportage Turbo nutter hybrid for family / wifely duties which costs me enough, Any more than the £150 a month will dig into my booze / therapy / loose women fund and just not prepared to do it.

I did recently get rid of my 200 bhp Supercharged Mini which was fun for a while but was hard work after a week or 2 of commuting.

Better get a test drive booked.!

 

[BTB 500]

Yup a test drive (or two) is the answer!

I've had many small/low powered 'second cars' over the years and enjoyed driving them all. An old Mini, Fiat 126, Metro, Nissan Micras, Honda Jazz, etc.

I'd have though a Swift would be absolutely fine ... 10 miles of motorway or 7 miles of dual carriageway is nothing, and presumably traffic speeds aren't high when commuting. Let us know how you get on!

 

[Swotty]

I found that changing to cars with an autobox was the best thing for easing a commute, especially in traffic.

We have a Fiat Panda (2005) with not a full but electronically controlled auto .... is that expensive to lease?

 

[NJSS]

The Audi A1 Sportback S Line 35 TFSI 150PS is worth a look

SWMBO is suffering with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis at present, so we are using her A1 rather than my R230 at present. It's not a bad car, although I would like to try both manual & auto before making a decision.

 

[markjay]

...It's the Swift or nothing...

I think he made his position clear

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Not leased but I have a manual Smart ForFour, and it’s sloooooooow, but I enjoy cruising in it, and I enjoy squeezing pace out of it - the engine is so lazy you simply can’t abuse it - it requires anticipation to maintain momentum to get the best out of it.

 

[JHS]

We had a Swift in Barbados, great little car. Only changed it for a Mitsubishi L200 because of the dire condition of the roads.

 

[ToeKnee]

Not leased but I have a manual Smart ForFour, and it’s sloooooooow, but I enjoy cruising in it, and I enjoy squeezing pace out of it - the engine is so lazy you simply can’t abuse it - it requires anticipation to maintain momentum to get the best out of it.

I guess that's not the Brabus then.......

 

[ioweddie]

I got a 1.0 VW Taigo its replaced my 2015 C220d Premier plus estate. I had the Mercedes for 7 years from new...Downsized 2 years ago to a new R line DSG...I can honestly say I love it...Don't get me wrong the Merc was a beautiful car. The Taigo is just a nice place to be....Does everything I want and worth considering...

 

[ALFAitalia]

I think that anything that can get to 60 in 10 seconds can be an issue these days....especially if you spend a bit of time on dual carriage ways and motorways. You need a bit of poke to join a busy motorway and changing lanes can need power to avoid the BMW/Audi piloting reps. However if its in town all or most of the time.....where a push bike is a fast as tuned E63.... it will be fine!!!
My wife had a base FIAT 500 as a courtesy car when a deer tried to kill her SLK.....and I had to return it to Southampton for her. Only about 50 miles....most of which was on the A and M27. Took a lot more concentration than my normal cars when changing lanes etc.....and so much more tiring to drive.....felt like I d taken it to Cornwall by the time I got there!!! A relaxing drive it was not. (Uncomfortable and noisy too for a brand new car....but that's for a different thread!).

 

[NJSS]

I entirely agree about the current FIAT 500. SWMBO hired a 500 Hybrid City Car with a 70 HP Petrol engine in France earlier this year. It was 9 months old and had done 60k km. Clean & tidy but a bl..dy awful car to drive, and as you say noisy & uncomfortable. .

A shame as I always liked the petrol 500 - my granddaughter has a 6 year old one which the family love.