Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Yeah first rain here is mayhem...freeways best avoided until it dries.

Skilled going off the brakes #dontbrakenavigate #brakeless

Apparently in down town Lima, rain from the sky hasn't touched the pavement since 1979, too much smog and coastal desert ftl. Concrete Pavement and roads are polished to a moderate shine from decades of traffic and dust, any kind of moisture like condensation you get on the mornings is enough to make it like a wetted ice rink

the smell makes me homesick

Petrichor

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You just won life.

Hahhaha.

Put a top box on it as well and take it to centre parcs.

Put a top box on it as well and take it to centre parcs.

LOL

Learn something new every day. Smelled great here yesterday after the storm in the morning.

I want:

-a 5 door hatchback
-Something relatively economical but also fast-ish (e.g. Golf GT TDI, Alfa JDTm)
-nothing too ordinary (Astra, Focus etc)
-something less than 10 years old and less than 90,000 miles
-to not spend much more than about £5k

Am I going to do any better than this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-BMW-1-SERIES-118d-SE-DIESEL-BIG-SPEC-12-MONTHS-WARRANTY-AVAILABLE-/191705745034?hash=item2ca28d868a:g:oRoAAOSw~bFWGTJW

Have a look through this list...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-desc&radius=1500&postcode=br29sd&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&price-to=5000&maximum-mileage=90000&body-type=Hatchback&zero-to-60=TO_8&quantity-of-doors=5

Some okay things in there like the A3. I like the Leon on the first page too...

Edit: this is a nice 1er too: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201610128681069?sort=price-desc&price-to=5000&zero-to-60=TO_8&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1500&quantity-of-doors=5&postcode=br29sd&maximum-mileage=90000&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&body-type=Hatchback&page=3

Pah, that's clearly an aftermarket add-on, the 911 has been engineered from the very beginning to have the ability to carry a couple of bicycles on the entertainingly named Roof Transport System.

I am a huge fan of whichever Porsche engineer or engineers established this requirement during the initial design meetings.

"Ve need somezing zat vill really appeal to zer man mit ein mid-life crisis."

Say what you like, they know their market.

I believe that there's an RTS for your Boxster as well.

With that RTS on the porka, can the roof go up? Or are you doomed to get wet once it's fitted?

Australia, but maybe still relevant. I recently purchased a 2011 audi A3 1.8 tfsi as a small family hatch. Didn't realise how cheap they are on the second hand market. Love depreciation! Anyway, the the thing still feels new, the s-tronic actually works well. And the engine is good. Comfortably fast enough for daily driving and will chirp the wheels on hard acceleration through the first 4 gears. Negatives are that it's a less engaging drive than I like, ie too refined and quiet and the panoramic glass roof means it's hard to impossible to fit roof racks for a bike.
For the same money I could have bought things like focus, golf, mazda 3 etc but I reckon this was a good buy. As for fuel economy, petrol bit I did get 760klms on a tank on a highway drive and get around 560 in urban driving.

Roof has to stay in whichever position it was in when you fitted the RTS

Ah, thought it would be too clever otherwise! I guess roof up would be better as I imagine wind noise with a bike on top would be ridiculous.

Spotted this MINT class 11 bug tonight, wish it wa slight enough for good pics.

But clean for my liking but maybe it's a fresh build...

Edit: I say class 11 but it looks like it could have an air cooled engine so I'm not sure.

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Thanks for that, it's helpful.

Audi has been vetoed so I think it's between a 1 Series and an Alfa 147. I could get a slightly newer version of the latter but then it is an Alfa.

what's wrong with an audi? it'll probably give you far less grief than an alfa. i'd go for the bimmer in that case.

Honda Civic has just come back into the mix.

Audi had just been flatly rejected. "They're estate agent cars. People that drive Audis have gelled hair."

I just sold my old civic. fantastic old beater, unkillable if you look after them. change of plan - Get a civic!

We have a newish civic, it's reasonably economical with a good kit list but not fast in any meaningful sense and I prefer driving my inlaws 15-yr-old Audi A4 estate for long runs.
Good luck finding a bike rack but you can fit one bike in the back without emptying the boot, as the seats fold up.