Vectra or Focus

[Zampa]

'She who must be obeyed' and me are looking at chaging our car, looking for a diesel, lowish insurance...spending about 5k or less

I would like a bit of power combined with comfort and a nice spec inside...a car thats safe and solid too, reliable, comfortable on the motorway on a 200 mile trip

She would like 'somthing' as long as its not red, white, blue, green, yellow or an estate...

Thoughts?

 

[Softus]

Vectra or Focus

Neither!

Or this one? (It's only a little bit red).

 

[Zampa]

Cheers Soft...

For an awful moment I thought there was a 2cv hding under that link!

I agree about the volvo..I like em wife isnt so keen but we have kept our options open and we are trying not to get tunnel vision on a certain car..only concern about a volvo is the high running costs..parts etc

We have a Saab 95 at the moment with 175 thousand on the clock and its still going well, however things are starting to go wrong and it wont last forever.

We have ruled out quite a few...which helps.

Im not too keen on the Focus.

I have always liked the Chrysler PT Cruiser (stop ****ing laughing!!!!) ..looks wise I think they are great...but after driving one in the states for a couple of weeks I was dissapointed with the performance...flat as a pancake.

I was considering a Subaru Impreza but I didnt fancy having me head shaved, an armful of Maori tribal markings, gold tooth..plus we dont own a pitbull and the wife isnt bleach blonde...so thats out of the window..

Not that im one for generalising.

 

[Zampa]

Went to look at a couple of Volvos today...beautiful in the front...nice big dash plenty of buttons and lights to play with..very comfortable too

Unfortunatly the back was awful...four inchs of leg room when the front seats are back all the way and the width of the boot opening is very smell too

Shame really..I tohught I'd landed this one

And the wife liked the colour...

 

[steveb1964]

vectra will be slighty bigger than the focus but they've always been plagued with problems and are more expensive to service/fix than fords

the focus is a very nice car especially the new model

 

[Softus]

four inchs of leg room when the front seats are back all the way and the width of the boot opening is very smell too

Which model was that Zampa?

And couldn't you just spray the boot opening with some carpet freshener?

 

[Zampa]

four inchs of leg room when the front seats are back all the way and the width of the boot opening is very smell too

Which model was that Zampa?

And couldn't you just spray the boot opening with some carpet freshener?

I wondered if anyone would spot the deliberate spelling mistake...just making sure you were paying attention..

We tried two models...both I think were S70's...but we are going back to the same dealer soon so i'll confirm...the other point I didnt mnetion was due to the high seats it also felt pretty clostro...clossta..clustrafobe...clustrafoobi....closed in.

A Skoda Superb however was totally different...a good foot, even with my seat back (sadly im too much of a style freak to buy one )

Next... a Toyota Avensis, the same price same milage as a Focus Ghia...but the Avensis will have the higher resale value in 5 years I reckon... bags of leg room in the Avensis and it was white..ideal when we are out dogging......

So..back to the drawing board for the time being...

 

[Zampa]

four inchs of leg room when the front seats are back all the way and the width of the boot opening is very smell too

Which model was that Zampa?

And couldn't you just spray the boot opening with some carpet freshener?

I wondered if anyone would spot the deliberate spelling mistake...just making sure you were paying attention..

We tried two models...both I think were S70's...but we are going back to the same dealer soon so i'll confirm...the other point I didnt mnetion was due to the high seats it also felt pretty clostro...clossta..clustrafobe...clustrafoobi....closed in.

A Skoda Superb however was totally different...a good foot, even with my seat back (sadly im too much of a style freak to buy one )

Next... a Toyota Avensis, the same price same milage as a Focus Ghia...but the Avensis will have the higher resale value in 5 years I reckon... bags of leg room in the Avensis and it was white..ideal when we are out dogging......

the focus is a very nice car especially the new model

Indeed..I prefer the Ghia's though..some Focus'es can look very bland..the new one is a stunning car unfortunatly we are on a budget...5-6k...which put the second hand lower milage Avensis of the radar..

So..back to the drawing board for the time being...

 

[Belle427]

passat 130 tdi? goes like **** and well equipped

 

[Zampa]

passat 130 tdi? goes like s**t and well equipped

Oh I agree...lovely car a fella in work has one...but they are up there with the Avensis when it comes to price

As a comparison..we could pick up a a 4-5 year old Rover 75 with approx 60-70k on the clock arounf the 5-6 grand mark

Similar story with a Vectra..

The Toyota...and Passats for the same money....all older and/or way over 100k on the clock.

Ok there is the arguement that those sort of miles is nothing on a diesel...best the rest of the car has done 100+k too...

Was tempted to have a schmooze around out local car auctions..along with the rest of the cuts throats and villians!...but the way I see it is if a car is worth 4 grand...why is it being sold for 2.5 in an auction?

 

[Stivino]

Because the guy that buys it for two and a half grand then goes on to sell it for four.

 

[Superspec]

What a 407 with the 136HDi engine. I've had one from new and it fantastic, brilliant handling (chassis dynamics are as good as a Mondeo), very comfortable, lots of toys, decent boot, 50+ to the gallon if a girl is driving 37 even when I'm driving (and I don't hang around.) Just had it remapped - £325 from Angel Tuning - 180ish bhp, 310ftlb torque, it flies and it hasn't affected the fuel economy.

You'd get one in your budget now, probably about 3.5 - 4 years old. The SE spec is a good one to get but if you can find an Executive they are FULLY loaded.

 

[Zampa]

Cheers for that...I must admit I was half tempted with a Peugeot and the wife likes a couple of Renaults...but they both have a high depeciation and poor reliability record according to Which magazine...electric being a constant problem it seems

I lady i worked with had a 307...3 months out of its warrenty the engine managment system packed up causing damage too...her main dealer wanted 5k!!!...to put it staight!

 

[Softus]

What a 407 with the 136HDi engine. I've had one from new and it fantastic, brilliant handling (chassis dynamics are as good as a Mondeo)

Have you driven a Mondeo? How did you conduct the objective comparison?

Just had it remapped - £325 from Angel Tuning - 180ish bhp, 310ftlb torque, it flies and it hasn't affected the fuel economy.

Of course it affects the fuel economy. But the claim that it doesn't is no surprise from someone who thinks Vista is an improvement on XP.

 

[Zampa]

Ive never driven one of them..any good?