Advice please....
An ex has phoned me this evening asking for advice on replacing her 2003 IS SportCross petrol
It’s a 2.0 straight six, manual.
Last week it needed some welding in the floor, in the area of the spare wheel. She bought it as an ex demo, it’s been used and abused, often filled with builders bags full of garden waste from her and her partners rental and elderly parents properties. Mileage 5k ish pa. Never let her down in almost 20 years.
Replacement must be a manual ( don’t ask) hatchback or small estate, A3 sized, sunroof, good build quality and reliable, hopefully built to last as long as the Lexus. She’s not impressed by friends stories of supposed German reliability, being anything but.
Budget not important. Recommendations please.
Last edited by: legacylad on Sun 13 Feb 22 at 20:53
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Already suggested.
She doesn’t want a Ford despite it being 100% the car for her ! She’s a car snob.
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www.new-car-discount.com/car/mazda/cx-30/hatchback/all/all
Wife's auntie has just got one in a deep pearl blue - looks very nice.
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Limited number of makes available? www.new-car-discount.com/
What about carwow? www.carwow.co.uk/new-car-deals
Same principle, it seems.
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>> Already suggested.
>> She doesn’t want a Ford despite it being 100% the car for her ! She’s
>> a car snob.
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To be fair, for driver involvement, a focus is never going to cut it afar a RWD, straight 6 powered Toyota/Lexus. It’ll have to be a BMW.
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>> BMW X2?
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She has an irrational dislike of German cars.
Good call though....
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I think the 2 is the nicest looking of BMWs small SAVs, but I’m sure they’ll fix that at the facelift, sorry, LCI ;)
Having just re-read the original post, it says it needs to be manual, hatch or small estate and A3 sized with good quality and reliability. If it wasn’t for the aversion to German, the obvious choice should, therefore, be an A3. If the badge prejudice is too high (the new A3 is actually made in Hungary) then how about it’s Spanish or Czek cousins. The new Leon is not a looker though, but the Scala looks better :)
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PeterS
I found her a choice of Mazda CX30s within a reasonable distance. Until Lygonos brought them to my attention I wasn’t aware of them...saw one yesterday in Teulada.
They appear to fulfil her criteria, although she wasn’t after an SUV. Hope she can get to at least look at them, although she’s pretty busy with other stuff going on at the moment.
Favourable reviews all round.
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Ooops…sorry LL - I missed that. That’s a jacked up Mazda 3 isn’t it? I hope they come in that lovely metallic red that Mazda do!
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>> I hope they come in that lovely metallic red that Mazda do!
Some body shops won't touch Soul Red / Soul Red because it's so hard to match, and it has a reputation for chipping easily. There is a FB group devoted to moaning about it.
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That’s shame…it’s such a nice colour. Peugeot had a similar colour back in the ‘90s, and our short lived Seat Ibiza in desire red wasn’t far off it either. But, if you don’t crash it the body shop issue goes away, and it can’t be worse for stone chips than the estoril blue of my last BMW!
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If all it needs is a bit of welding, why not get it done and let it soldier on for a few more years. I had an Altezza (which was the Toyota versons on the U.K. badged Lexus - straight 6, RWD) when we lived in Japan, and it was a lovely car to drive. Better than the BMW that replaced it when we came back to the U.K. Even then a focus was a poor substitute; in the 21st century the focus has gone backwards in driver focus, so keep the Lexus running would be my recommendation. Or, get as recent a 320i touring as funds permit, if driver focus is the objective. If not, a MB C something or other.
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She has zero interest in the driving dynamics....the antithesis of an enthusiastic driver.
Her partner has a larger estate car so it doesn’t need to be a large car...she thinking sub Lexus SportCross size as she only ever carries 2 people in the car. Uses his car if need be.
Current car is more battered than fish in my local chippy...dents and scrapes on virtually every panel, with increasing rust patches in several places. The alloys need yet another refurb. It’s never been kept in a garage and the rear accommodation resembles a skip.
I’m thinking the Mazda CX30, or even a Mazda 3 might be a good call. Thanks Lygonos that wasn’t on my radar.
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It sounds like she needs a pick up of some description..
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Lexus lS200 - Replacing a Lexus - Zero
