went to local Audi showroom today

thomasross20

stickyfiddle said:

Tell her to get a bloody golf. Same car, better looking and 5k saving to spend on options!

Aren't Golfs quite small? Smaller than my Focus I think. A lot of these new cars are smaller - the new Focus, Honda Civic etc. I can currently fir my Blackstar 2x12 amp and guitars in my car but don't think I'd be able to do that in a new one!

thomasross20

The price of new Fords is increasing quite rapidly as well, IMO.

TTony

thomasross20 said:

You guys with your Audis, Mercs etc - you must be loaded lol!!!

In my case, just old, with no mortgage and no kids to support any more.

Axe_meister

Also what is the point of having a a saloon car. The boot is pretty impractical and 90% of the time reps don't have any passengers, driving response is often sluggish, they drink fuel. What's needed is an executive hatch.

richardhomer

thomasross20;407193" said:

stickyfiddle said:

Tell her to get a bloody golf. Same car, better looking and 5k saving to spend on options!

Aren't Golfs quite small? Smaller than my Focus I think. A lot of these new cars are smaller - the new Focus, Honda Civic etc. I can currently fir my Blackstar 2x12 amp and guitars in my car but don't think I'd be able to do that in a new one!

The Audi A3 shares its chasis with the Mk 7 Golf.

The latest Golf and Focus are pretty much the same size (the Golf's boot is slightly bigger than the Ford's).

My nephew has a Mark 7 Golf and it is easily as well engineered and finished as any Audi. Many reviews I've read rate it (and the Focus) as more refined than the A3. Or to put that another way - the Ford and the VW are more refined than the 'premium brand'....

thomasross20

I may have to check out Golfs again.

Oh God... two PRS, one Suhr, a Blackstar and a new car... no way lol...

stickyfiddle

thomasross20 said:

stickyfiddle said:

Tell her to get a bloody golf. Same car, better looking and 5k saving to spend on options!

Aren't Golfs quite small? Smaller than my Focus I think. A lot of these new cars are smaller - the new Focus, Honda Civic etc. I can currently fir my Blackstar 2x12 amp and guitars in my car but don't think I'd be able to do that in a new one!

Mine's bigger than my old Corsa!

I believe the new Golf is a smidge smaller on the outside than the old one but bigger on the inside. Google says the boot is 380l up from 350 on the old one (and the Focus is only 318), though not sure if that's with the boot floor lowered, which requires a space-saver spare. I can certainly get 4 adults and 2 big suitcases in mine though. It's very well packaged.

I'm sure it's not the perfect car for everyone, but it's a bloody good bit of kit. 

holnrew

thomasross20 said:

I may have to check out Golfs again.

Oh God... two PRS, one Suhr, a Blackstar and a new car... no way lol...

And you're calling other people loaded!

monquixote

Usually cars get bigger with each generation. 

A modern Polo is bigger than a MkI Golf for example.

musicegbdf

Actually the choice of a golf is a good one . Audi get the goodies first , but then sort out the bugs. VW get the two years later with all bugs fixed ...

Oh if only they gave us the 4 motion over here. I was caught in a very heavy rain shower last night on a motorway. It was that bad I was only doing 50 and no one came past me !

The Quattro felt so safe and planted to the road. Having had 4wd for 20 odd years don't want to give it up. Went to a landrover dealer yesterday to see if I could see the new Disco sport (freelander replacement).  But the dickhead dealership had all the customer parking spaced filled up with stock. It was peeing down , so just drove away. If they can't be arsed enough for their customers to be able to park then they aint getting my money ...

stickyfiddle

monquixote said:

Usually cars get bigger with each generation. 

A modern Polo is bigger than a MkI Golf for example.

Absolutely, but I think the manufacturers are realising they can't do that forever. Lots of the latest gens seem to be focusing on providing more space by packaging the whole thing better rather than just getting bigger. 

monquixote

I'd seriously avoid buying a Land Rover (other than a Defender).

A chap I know is involved with the fleet for the emergency services and he said they have had horrific problems with Land Rovers with the transmissions failing left right and centre. They apparently have a yard with half a dozen relatively new Landys which are completely fucked and uneconomical to repair. 

He mentioned a few 4x4s that had done considerably better including the Volvo 4x4 which he said was working out very well. Although of course the requirements of a paramedic may not be the same as someone commuting.

ICBM

stickyfiddle said:

Lots of the latest gens seem to be focusing on providing more space by packaging the whole thing better rather than just getting bigger. 

I still look at any other car than my Renault Grand Scenic and wonder why they have to be so big on the outside for such little usable room on the inside. It's smaller on the road - both in length and width - than my dad's Mercedes 300SL, but you can get up to seven people in it - five in real comfort with plenty of luggage space. I can get an entire Ampeg SVT stack - admittedly the 6x10" cab not the 8x10" - *in the boot*... not even folding the seats, and under the sliding cover. I know an MPV is not for everyone, but it really makes you realise how much of a waste of space anything else is.

If you think MPVs aren't cool, go and watch Get Shorty .

thomasross20

holnrew said:

thomasross20 said:

I may have to check out Golfs again.

Oh God... two PRS, one Suhr, a Blackstar and a new car... no way lol...

And you're calling other people loaded!

No kids (wont ever be, I reckon) and no mortgage... because I don't have one yet ;D

musicegbdf

monquixote said:

I'd seriously avoid buying a Land Rover (other than a Defender).

A chap I know is involved with the fleet for the emergency services and he said they have had horrific problems with Land Rovers with the transmissions failing left right and centre. They apparently have a yard with half a dozen relatively new Landys which are completely fucked and uneconomical to repair. 

He mentioned a few 4x4s that had done considerably better including the Volvo 4x4 which he said was working out very well. Although of course the requirements of a paramedic may not be the same as someone commuting.

Now that is interesting. My friend bought a brand new Rangerover Evoke and the gearbox failed after 6 weeks. They had to fit a new gearbox and told him "that's not happened before sir" mmm Glad it was raining... Ohh that BMW 4 series looks nice but out of my price range.
I can get a 180 HP A3 quattro for around 25K new. That's about my price point , right now "just looking" and decided to put it off till next year .

If VW did a Golf GTI 4 motion , that would be the car. The R is a bit to0 boy racer for me...

thomasross20

I'd always steer clear of rear-wheel drive as friends with that on BMWs have terrible problems steering in winter. I've only ever driven FWD. Never tried 4WD.

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

I'd always steer clear of rear-wheel drive as friends with that on BMWs have terrible problems steering in winter. I've only ever driven FWD. Never tried 4WD.

In snow like we had a couple of years ago here, my Renault FWD drove like a barge, my neighbour's RWD BMW was more or less undriveable, and my wife's Suzuki 4WD… drove perfectly normally. (Allowing for the greater stopping distance, which 4WD doesn't negate.) We now don't want to be without one 4WD car in the winter.

thomasross20

Sounds like maybe I should try one... given the winter we had a couple of years ago (I remember it was awful).

I'd love a bit of luxury in a car... but at the same time I can be a bit tight...

4WD aren't usually very economical though, right? I'm looking at 60+mpg...

thomasross20

4WD looks GREAT, though. But reckon it's not for me. Probably need to be diesel (I drive 35 miles to work and 35 miles back per day... currently spend £250 a month in fuel).

Iamnobody

I keep reading this thread title as Aldi...

Cars are a huge waste of money - in my mid-late thirties now and want nothing more than safety and economy and enough power to get out of trouble (see safety).

I'm not getting fuel economy on a 2.2 diesel auto - but I own my current steed outright so it costs me nothing more than fuel and ongoing maintenance.

How much do we all spend on fuel a month?

I reckon I spend around £250 and recover around £75-100 from my employer.