Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) pondering a new car

How about a nice Golf "R" estate they featured on PH yesterday, not ostentatious and a competent performer without being humungous. Golf R Estate
It won't impress the neighbours if that's what you're after though

Golf R is a great choice but in West Yorkshire* they are favourites of the villains and disappear from driveways (after breaking into the house first to get the keys) with alarming regularity...

If you live in a low crime area, one would definitely be on my list...

*maybe other areas too, I don’t know anything more than anecdotal and locally reported incidents

That's funny. I'd assumed that the most popular VW in Yorkshire would be the e-Up!

Very good

The Kodiak is an excellent machine, with details that even premium brands do not offer! For example the unbrlella holder in the door (if I lived in the UK I would love this detail), or the doors' edges rubber protectors poping out when you open the door (a true gentlemen gadget that should be way more frequent).

Good question!

I generally get the electrical range that the car offers: typically 34 miles in spring and autumn when I'm not heating or cooling the cabin, and 28-30 miles in summer and winter, depending on how how or cold it is, and whether it's the air con that's working hard or the heaters.

The overall figure was up around 68mpg after several lockdown months of short trips - then I did 650 motorway miles in a day and knocked it back to the low 50's. While there's normally charging at motorway services, a 30 minute pit stop only adds 8-10 miles range. So you end up driving mostly on petrol. High speed cruise mpg is pretty respectable because it's such a slippery shape: I've seen 70 mpg at 70 mph on a cool morning.

If I drive in 'leccy or comfort modes for an hour I empty the battery. In this country there's little chance of finding a charge point at your destination, so I end up driving home mostly on petrol. eg a run from Hove to Camber Sands last week - up in the 70-80mpg on the way there, and no charging at the hotel, so maybe 35mpg on the way home. Hence the relatively low overall mpg, compared to what's possible.

The fun fact is that if I go into Sport mode to play, which turns on and favours the petrol engine power and rear handling balance, I charge the battery at 1-2 miles per mile. Which makes me feel sort of virtuous when I calm down, slip back into comfort, and cruise.

Will

I have a 2014 Skoda Rapid, 2015 162KW VRS Octavia Wagon and 2016 Skoda Rapid Monte Carlo. All cars are 6 speed manual. Son drives the 2014 Skoda Rapid and apart from paying bills I hardly ever drive it, my wife likes the Rapid so when the 2016 one came up for sale the week after my Silvia was written off I grabbed it for her as I knew there would be times we all need a car. I prefer the Octavia so happy she wants to drive the newer Rapid

The Octavia has a lot of nice features other cars didn't seem to have. I love that the Adaptive Cruise Control keeps working at low speeds while I change gears. As someone who prefers manuals my view of the Octavia is as much technology as can be squashed in while still letting me drive the car as I like.

The only issue is all three cars had the water pump go but luckily all went while under warranty.

All three have been serviced by the local dealer since new and they have looked after me so plan to keep the cars even after the extended warranty runs out, just keep my fingers crossed nothing goes wrong. As the service manager said to me you could trade in to get new cars and still have warranty but you can't get those models in manual in Australia any more, also you are then spending a lot of money just to cover yourself for the what if something goes wrong. I am hoping for no issues for a few years and start replacing them with electric cars assuming all the nice options overseas start arriving here.

Howard, I think a gent of your standing has to be careful what car he is seen exiting from. I think you'll find the small and nimble a tad wearing after a while, as Peter has found with the smaller Merc.

The Golf R or GTI, as other have said, are excellent allrounders but also worthy of mention is the Audi S4 Avant. Very comfy, quick and happy to get it's skirts up if asked in all weathers!

So how good do know the Lotus Elise? Have you driven one over a longer period of time or owned an Elise to compare it to an S3? Vehicle weight, handling etc. are not comparable in my opinion.

I think that's the issue.

If you are looking at a Lotus you are at the far end of the spectrum, highly focused, all about handling, individual.
If you are looking at an S3 it is a solid, fast, practical tool but not really comparable to a Lotus (little is)

You need to pick out the real decision criteria and give them a degree of priority (well my technical mind does anyway!)

Mandatory
Dog in back, 2 people in front
Comfort for longer distances

Desirable
Responsive handling and fun to drive
Lighter and efficient

Preferable
Cost effective to run

It is a bit telling that there are so few cars being mentioned, perhaps we all consider the range these days a little underwhelming and all a bit samey.

On a positive note we could end up building our own Top Gear style Cool Wall. It would be interesting to see how the mind works for each of us.

Sounds like a chance for a fun thread.