Test drives and car choices

[Hobbit]

As some of you may remember from a previous thread I’ve been on a car hunt. The following is a list of those cases tested and my opinion of some of the cars.

The main criteria were 5 door, boot big enough to take a child’s buggy and some luggage when we get visitors over here to Spain. And if it’ll take a buggy it’ll take golf clubs, even if it means taking the driver out.

We’re of that age when it doesn’t have to satisfy the ‘boy racer’ image but equally we didn’t want to be in a hearse just yet. Fuel type, we were open minded to but I was conscious that very low mileage might cause the odd issue with a diesel particulate filter.

Ford Focus and the Vauxhall Astra were quickly dismissed as being bland and forgettable, with the VW Golf pretty much in the same category. However the Mazda 3 and the Peugeot 308 were in the running.

Seeing the Peugeot 3008 next to the 308 brought the SUV/Crossover types into the equation.

This led to test drives of the Renault Captur, Kadjar. The Peugeot 3008, Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai and the Mazda CX-5. Also tried the Citroen C4 Cactus but found the wind noise from the roof bars to be horrendous. Comfy car but no. And with 1 week to go till flying out to Spain to place the order the Sportage was first choice... lots of bells and whistles plus a 7 year warranty.

A late entrant to the list was a Kia Niro (hybrid), spotted being very nifty out on the motorway, and not even looked at in the showroom when looking at the Sportage. Not as big as the Sportage/Qashqai but bigger than the Nissan Juke. It’s an automatic but not the continuous variable drive that seems to spend a lot of time at high revs, clutch slipping. The Niro is a 6 speed, dual clutch affair, and very smooth.

And yes, the order is in for a Niro.

Just off out to hug a tree

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Quite liked them when I was looking around to replace my Barge.
Sadly the boot wasn’t big enough to get my clubs in, so it had to be dismissed.
Nice car though, enjoy it.

 

[TreeSeeker]

Automatics are the way to go, even if I don't like them! Did you take a look at the jags? I have to be honest, for a new price they are pretty strongly in the running, and a lovely drive Imo.

 

[PJ87]

took the civic down tescos this morning

weekly shop
baby event stocking up on nappies, wet wipes etc
and daughters buggy

all in the boot with room to spare

 

[Hobbit]

Automatics are the way to go, even if I don't like them! Did you take a look at the jags? I have to be honest, for a new price they are pretty strongly in the running, and a lovely drive Imo.

The e-pace is very nice but €7000 over budget.

 

[FuzzyDuck]

I'm looking to replace my Diesel Qashqai later in the year with something comparable. Two requirements:

- Petrol Hybrid
- Sunroof or panaromic roof

The second is my wife's requirement, she hates dingy car interiors. Love the Qashqai but Nissan don't seem to be in any hurry to introduce hybrids. My first thought was a Toyota, specifically the C-HR but it turns out they have no sunroof option. Someone mentioned the Kia Niro and it appears to tick all the boxes, specifically the top of the range Niro 4. I've got some quotes from CarWow and the best came through at £24,300 (if finance is taken) which represents a 13% discount.

 

[jim8flog]

When you say it has a dual clutch, do you mean that it is the one which is actually geared with auto gear and clutch changes.

My last car change I could either get a Peugeuot 3008 brand new or a one year old 308SW. The one year old 308 was chosen because it has a true auto gearbox and not one of the double clutch affairs as fitted to the 3008, based upon previous experience of that box in the Citroen I owned and was getting rid of because of the gearbox.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

When you say it has a dual clutch, do you mean that it is the one which is actually geared with auto gear and clutch changes.

My last car change I could either get a Peugeuot 3008 brand new or a one year old 308SW. The one year old 308 was chosen because it has a true auto gearbox and not one of the double clutch affairs as fitted to the 3008, based upon previous experience of that box in the Citroen I owned and was getting rid of because of the gearbox.

Yes it is like the VW DSG auto box, no torque converter.
As much as I like my VW DSG in the Transporter, I do like the slush box in my Mazdarati 3

 

[gmc40]

Automatics are the way to go, even if I don't like them! Did you take a look at the jags? I have to be honest, for a new price they are pretty strongly in the running, and a lovely drive Imo.

I'm getting a new company car next week and looked at Jags/Landrover. Great looking cars and ticked all the boxes but too many reports of reliability issues. One of my colleagues has had an XF for 18 months and is back and forward to them with issues on a regular basis.

After test driving a disco sport and e class I ended up going for the Merc.

Kia's are a good choice, plenty of car for the money, I had a sportage between 2011-13 and enjoyed owning it.

 

[azazel]

My wife's got her heart set on a Peugeot 5008 due to a combination of looks and, more importantly, space for the kids and dog.

Buying outright is out of the question but I'm having a devil of a time trying to decide between a personal lease and a PCP deal. Head is telling me lease but something's nagging away at me to go for PCP instead. The deals we've been quoted don't work out hugely different in terms of cost over the length of the deals, which is maybe why I'm leaning towards PCP as there's a chance we'd be able to trade in any equity for another new car at the end of the deal, whereas leasing doesn't really offer that opportunity.

 

[SaintHacker]

I'm looking to replace my Diesel Qashqai later in the year with something comparable. Two requirements:

- Petrol Hybrid
- Sunroof or panaromic roof

.

Check your insurance policy. Some of them specificaly exclude panoramic roofs, and as you can imagine they are not cheap to replace!

 

[Hacker Khan]

I'm looking to replace my Diesel Qashqai later in the year with something comparable. Two requirements:

- Petrol Hybrid
- Sunroof or panaromic roof

The second is my wife's requirement, she hates dingy car interiors. Love the Qashqai but Nissan don't seem to be in any hurry to introduce hybrids. My first thought was a Toyota, specifically the C-HR but it turns out they have no sunroof option. Someone mentioned the Kia Niro and it appears to tick all the boxes, specifically the top of the range Niro 4. I've got some quotes from CarWow and the best came through at £24,300 (if finance is taken) which represents a 13% discount.

I'd be a it careful about resale values on hybrids if that is something you need to take into account. Battery technology is increasing at a massive rate and in 3 or 4 years time a lot of the existing battery technology could be very out of date. Which may well impact the resale/trade in value.

 

[Hobbit]

I'd be a it careful about resale values on hybrids if that is something you need to take into account. Battery technology is increasing at a massive rate and in 3 or 4 years time a lot of the existing battery technology could be very out of date. Which may well impact the resale/trade in value.

Its a very good point HK. Recent breakthroughs in Li-ion technology in Australia certainly suggest that the battery banks will change in the coming years. I’m hoping that it’ll be a ‘plug and play’ change. Another thing to be aware of is the life of the battery banks and the cost to replace. I’ve seen a figure of £4K, lifed for 10 years.

I worked out that there is a saving of about £750 a year on fuel for the expected mileage. £7.5k over 10 years minus the replacement cost, if I keep the car beyond 10 years. Equally, selling the car with a limited battery life left will no doubt impact the resale value.

 

[BubbaP]

HK makes a good point, but it also worth recalling that the Prius went on sale worldwide 18 years ago, and manufactures like Volvo are saying no pure combustion vehicles from 2019.

Anyway look forward to your experience say 1 month in with the new motor.