To balance the bad bits thread, here's a few good bits about my Focus CC3:
The handling is brilliant, roof up or down.
It is great fun with the roof down.
Economy for a fairly heavy car is pretty good - about 46mpg from a 2.0l turbo diesel.
Its got a fair bit of grunt.
It has some nice gadgets - heated seats, heated windscreen, auto lights, auto wipers, auto dimming rear view mirror.
And perhaps the most important, it has been 100 per cent reliable.
I use it more than once on most days and it has never failed to start or get me to where I am going.
But then, it is a Ford.
So what are the good bits about your car?
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57 Mondeo Titanuium X 2.5T.
There is lots which is good, here are the bits I like best, in no particular order:
Handling
Performance
Looks
Interior space (passenger and load)
Sound system
Most of the toys - keyless ignition and entry, inbuilt Satnav, Bluetooth - phone automatically connects when in proximity (but see bad bits thread), parking sensors (f & b), voice control (of radio, satnav etc) even though it's clumsy, aux socket to plug in iPod, heated seats, auto lights and wipers etc etc
Now I've used it, the sunroof (didn't see much point but gives nice ventilation)
Privacy glass
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07 Focus ST-2:
Handling, steering.
Ride.
Performance - turbo diesel type grunt from 1000rpm, F-15 type thrust from 4000rpm.
Brakes.
Seats.
Audio system though the voice control is pointless.
Bluetooth phone, brilliant, I didnt know I wanted it though it is now a must for the wife's new car. Auto connects with a number of different phones (max 6 I think).
Keyless entry / ignition.
Heated screen.
Xenon headlights.
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Alfa 156 GTA SW
The glorious sound.
The glorious looks.
Handling and performance.
The fact that it's practical, despite all the above.
That it's almost impossible for me to go back to a car-park and it not be the car I like most parked there.
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Nissan Almera 1.8SE Automatic
Made in England
Petrol engine
1800cc DOHC VVT engine with Duplex timing chain
Good car - had it 3 years now, which is a long time, for me!
Good on juice
Drives very well, new Fulkens have made a difference.
Might keep it forever, or to the end of time (my time!)
Last edited by: Dog on Sat 12 Jun 10 at 12:18
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Panda 1.1 Active Eco
Very well made for the price, nothing rattles or squeeks
Ingenius design on the rear parcel shelf, its just on hinges so no annoying straps etc.
Perfectly weighted and damped controls
Very roomy for its size
Lovely engine note when reved
Very well balance brakes, they don't snap at you like a modern car but when you need to stop it stops perfectly.
Comfortable driving posistion and seats.
Room for four adults.
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Mk 2 Mondeo Ghia X
leather seats (I love leather)
handling
comfort
looks
Dash is made of a decent quality soft plastic with a nice feel, unlike the Mk3 where the dash reminds me of a pencil eraser!
almost perfect feel and power to the brakes
Comfortable driving position and seats - 200+miles and you get out feeling fresh
aircon + sunroof
back seat can fold almost flat
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The lancer
Smooth and much quieter than the rest of its class.
Oh so simple, the mechanicals are so easy to see and get to.
comfortable
And I suspect, reliable.
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BMW 728i / 2000 (W)
+ Comfort. The silence inside at 80mph cannot be overrated. The excellent leather has only gotten better with age and the seats are superb to sit in. The back seats are possibly even marginally better than the fronts.
+ Interior Lighting. Superbly done, also the exterior door handle lights are a touch of class and the strong puddle lights are good in dark car parks.
+ Noise. The engine is silent below 2500 rpm but above 3500rpm the full length twin exhaust makes it sound like double the engine it is.
+ Brakes. Think the parts are interchangeable with a Boeing 747... (!)
+ Economy, 35mpg achievable
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BMW 323i Touring 98 R
- Engine. Never anything but silky smooth. Never feels like it's straining at whatever revs. Good economy considering the power. Average 28mpg to work which includes stop/start urban work, but longer journeys around 35-40mpg.
- Handling. Hardly any roll, steers beautifully and grips well. If you hit a greasy patch at speed, the slide is slow and easy to correct.
- Brakes. Very good standard brakes
- Reliability. Has never let me down in five and a half years of ownership, apart from battery which failed at home.
- Quality. Engine never seems to get dirty, and all the wiring and components are built to last.
- Headlights still on warning buzzer. Sounds just like the low fuel warning buzzer on the V8 Interceptor on Mad Max2!
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Xantia HDi 110 Estate
It only cost £3k, it's covered nearly 60k miles in 3 years and has needed virtually no repairs. It's comfortable, economical and plenty fast enough for me. It's nearly 10 years old and now worth <£1k so I don't worry about it using it as a builders van. It getting close to overataking the '88 BX TD I had for four years and becoming my best car...
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BMW 320d Touring Automatic (56-plate)
Lots of things that I could mention, but just the main highlights:
** Very flexible engine. Easy to drive.
** Excellent fuel economy for an automatic. Now getting 45-50 mpg.
** Interior quality of materials and smooth controls. (except indicators).
** Very quiet when cruising.
** Very effective heating and cooling systems.
** Extremely reliable.
** Excellent Dealer (for a change).
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S-Max TDCi Auto
- performance and economy given it is a very large and heavy seven seater. 34.3mpg for urban driving around Manchester (Very happy after 20.4mpg in the Outback!)
- The way all the 'extras' are so well integrated into the car, not just fired in with a shotgun like in Japanese cars of old (see comments above about high spec Fords).
- I love the front end styling - very shark looking, especially in a two tone champagne and silver with the skirts.
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>> Nissan Almera 1.8SE Automatic
>> Might keep it forever, or to the end of time (my time!)
>>
Only the good go young you Rough Collie! o:)
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07 Fiat Bravo Dynamic 1.9 Multijet
* 150bhp engine - cripes, a diesel with some top end!
* Dual-zone air-con - never had it before; works way better than I would have imagined
* ESP Hill-holder feature - again, never had it before: clever
* Blue & Me bluetooth system - voice-dialling recognises complicated names without difficulty, and automatically updates for new contacts in the paired phone
* Sleek shape - never had a car before where I actually liked its appearance as much
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'09 BMW 330d Touring 245PS
0-62mph in 6.2s, quicker than a Porsche Boxter S 30-50mph (I think - should verify this really)
45+ mpg, often tops 50mpg on a run
Used virtually no oil in 21K miles and doesn't want first service until 23K miles
Refined 6 cylinder engine note
So all in all a brilliant engine, too good to be true IMHO
Good brakes, ESP, Hill hold etc all useful, handles brilliantly and rides reasonably well on 'SE' spec tyres - wasn't too bad in the snow either.
Good climate control, braking cruise control and auto wipers that actually work (unlike my previous Audi). Stereo is acceptable too.
Last edited by: idle_chatterer on Mon 14 Jun 10 at 08:53
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>>Only the good go young you Rough Collie! o:)<<
Many a true word spoken in jest me ole grockel ;-}
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2002 Alfa 156 2.4JTD Veloce SW.
The fact it looks pretty and is so different to the run of the mill stuff I could have. Still frustrates the hell out of me at times though!
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Vectra C 06 1.8
* I Love the way it looks
* its comfortable
* it munches up motorway miles, a great cruiser
* apart from no satnav its well specced out, with lots of nice touches
* Despite "the designers being on a coffee break" comment from Jeremy 'top gear' Clarkson it actually has some really nice features that even on the speced up C4 we have, have not being included.
* Auto dimming rear and drivers door mirror - brilliant and a sore point with SWMBO as her C4 only does the Rear view mirror
* I love the part leather seats
Many Other things that I could spend all day listing.
Last edited by: Redviper on Mon 14 Jun 10 at 12:26
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Golf Mk6 1.4
- Comfy seats, no backache!
- Good stereo for an entry level car
- Well insulated at motorway speeds
- Nice looking dashboard and instruments - very easy on the eye!
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1600 Note Auto.
The whole of the back seat slides to give bigger boot or more footwell. Nice when just the two of you are going on yer holliers.
Ted
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'07 Merc E280CDI Sport Estate
The ease of driving, comfort and 'waftability' whether around town or hurtling down the autobahn at 3-digit speeds.
Very stable on the motorway.
Lovely smooth and torquey 6-cylinder engine.
Feels nice and solid.
Nice and roomy - boot of 695l, extending up to 1950l.
100% reliable and acceptably economical - 30mpg in urban use.
Nicely integrated stereo/sat-nav/iPod controls.
Rear wheel drive.
It's got a spare wheel!
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52 Golf GT TDI 130
- Performance / economy compromise that still amazes me after 18 mths of ownership. Enough grunt to be entertaining, but consistently returns well over 600 miles from a 55 litre tank.
- Despite 8 years and 103,000 miles it still cleans up like new inside and out.
- Unfailingly reliable. Had it 18 months, never broken down, missed a beat, or failed to start. Entire maintenance bill amounts to a couple of services, a set of rear pads, a CV gaiter and two front tyres. Uses about 300ml of oil between services and that's it.
- Lovely interior still looks and feels like something from the class above. Shame it rattles though (see bad bits)
- The coolest dash illumination ever ;-)
- Good spec with everything we need. Climate, ABS, ESP, electric windows/mirrors/sunroof, CD player.
- Costs virtually nothing to own. Great economy, low maintenance cost, low insurance cost, <10% depreciation in 18 months.
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99 Golf GTI 1.8T
- Lovely engine. Torquey, flexible, effortless, smooth and refined. Pulls from under 2k in top, revs cleanly to 6500 RPM at the other end.
- Surprisingly decent handling.
- Does over 40 mpg on a run.
- Nice, weighty steering.
- Virtually rattle free even at 135,000 miles.
- Fantastic Recaro seats and the same interior remarks apply as to the other Golf above. Elegant design with good quality materials. Same cool panel lighting too. :-)
- It was cheap! :-)
Last edited by: DP on Tue 15 Jun 10 at 11:41
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DP you've got the two engines they rate as the best to get in these cars.
Some folks have all the luck ;-)
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>> 52 Golf GT TDI 130
>> 99 Golf GTI 1.8T
Nice to see you back DP. So if you had to sell one of them, which one would you keep? By the way, does the TDI 130 come with Recaro seats?
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Hey chaps. Been away with work for a bit, and then flat out when I got back. The usual! :-)
The 130 doesn't have Recaros, although the seats are actually quite similar in design. Just a little squishier than the Recaros, and not quite as supportive. ISTRC you had to buy the 150 to get the "full GTI" spec (including the Recaros and "wood" trim).
With regard to which I'd keep, I'm swapping between the two at the moment and it's interesting to compare. Eliminating differences in age/condition between the two examples, and trying to keep it to actual differences between the two models, the diesel's handling compromise is it's biggest problem. I reckon the GTI would leave it for dead over a twisty road. It handles the bumps better, turns in sharper, grips harder, breaks away more progressively, gets its power down cleaner, and is much less prone to understeer than the diesel. It's interesting too that the ESP light on the diesel blinks fairly frequently (unless you turn it off! :-P), particularly in damp/wet conditions, yet ABS aside, the GTI doesn't have any form of driver aid (being a little older), not even traction control, and doesn't miss either. It has a far better basic setup than the diesel.
Engine wise though, I love that PD diesel. 310NM of torque at 1900 RPM in a 1200-ish kilo car makes for ridiculously effortless progress. There's an uphill slip road onto a NSL dual carriageway near work which you enter in 2nd off a tight roundabout, so no run-up is possible. The diesel will be at 60-65 at the top of that slip road without the throttle touching the floor, or the rev counter passing 3000 RPM at any point, and you get a lovely squeeze in the back as it does so. It feels unstoppable. That said, when I get back in the petrol, it seems almost electric motor quiet in comparison, and has none of the little vibes through the pedals and steering wheel rim that you get in the diesel. It's also nice when you're in the mood to be able to extend the engine, and enjoy the sustained pull of a petrol engine.
It's when you factor costs into it that the diesel's case becomes incredibly strong. Low VED, low depreciation, lower insurance, and a real world 15-20 mpg advantage. For similar on road performance. I'd probably keep the diesel. But I like both! :-)
Last edited by: DP on Tue 15 Jun 10 at 15:53
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Had the car just over 2 months now so a good time to think about likes and dislikes
So, the good bits -
smooth, quiet, fast, economical.
Comfortable, handles well.
Good set of gadgets, especially
Bluetooth connectivity for the mobile
USB socket to plug in usb key with music and radio downloads
Internet connectivity in the car
I even like the i-drive control interface to work the gadgets.
Overall, very pleased with the choice.
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"Had the car just over 2 months now so a good time to think about likes and dislikes"
And the car is a ?
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>> And the car is a ?
BMW 318D SE - sorry
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Your car - the good bits - smokie
