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

I see them every day here, gonna need something cheap to run tho'...

It's gonna be a Toyota, betcha... One of my gf's autistic students called it... "Get a black Toyota, Miss G!"

Mate, cheap to run? Get a ae101 or ae102 corolla hatch. Cheap and will go forever. Although speedo clusters can go there's heaps available from wreckers.
Can also fit a lot of stuff with seats folded down, OK to drive and completely anonymous.
The 1.6 is fine but the 1.8 has a better engine.

Should add, paint will be faded and I don't think they came in black but a few cans of paint from supercharged auto should fix that....

Presumably this guy's videos have come up before? https://youtu.be/0KLBGVClpX0

Yes, he spent around 7k on parts+labour (if he paid retail) on the Porsche to make that video, the Ohlins are meant to be extremely good and seemingly (due to the dual flow valve magic) give a better ride than (for e.g.) Bilstein B6, whilst also providing more damping when it's needed.

This really does sound like magic however- so I'd like to hear from someone else who has them.

I really like this guys videos - unlike a lot of car enthusiast channels, he doesn't come across as patronising or a giant man child.

^Agree, what comes across is his enthusiasm.

After much faffing around budget revision (20k -> 2k -> 8k) and doing about 50 insurance quotes I'm now considering a 2008-ish XF. Seems to be the best balance of power/comfort/toys/age/miles for the money. Not sure about petrol vs diesel yet - the petrol VED is eyewatering but diesel seems as if it might get a spanking as pollution science progresses.

Totally agreed - I really like his style. His Geneva car show review gave a good insight into the marketing side of the industry. I like how he doesn't talk to anyone in the whole video! https://youtu.be/AHP7oeYx-Lc

I wouldn't even consider the diesel with the imminent prospect of them being priced off the road or banned outright. And them just being nasty. Unfortunately most on the market are (ex-fleet) diesels.
A nice petrol engine, no turbos waiting to go wrong, and more likely to have a private buyer history, lower miles and decent history.

^ Having trawled the internets for Superb's and Passat's is that generally good advice for any car?

There's heaps of white superbs, diesel 170bhp, DSG, 4x4 around which gives me the feeling that they were the default fleet option 3 years ago and they're now more or less flooding the market

That's my thinking. Full (Jaguar) service history, under 60k miles and all the extras seems possible and so much nicer than the German equivalents.

If you live in London, £10/day for pre Jan 2016 diesel passenger vehicles negates the fuel savings.
If the inhabitants of the outer suburbs wake up to the threat of NOx and particulates,
we could see the ULEZ, (essentially), extended to the M25,
(I know there are administrations like Watford that are within the M25, but not part of the GLA).
However, Westminster seems reluctant to admit it has an air poluution problem, so is far away from (an expensive) trade-in program for aged diesels.

white superbs, diesel 170bhp, DSG, 4x4

That is an upmarket spec for fleet vehicles.
Perhaps they were aimed at company accountants,
and gave VAG valuable on-the-road data for the sturdiness of the drive train in their lesser marque?

Just passed one of these (an Isdera Imperator 108i) on the autoroute north of Milan. If it's not this very car (German plates, dark blue, tan interior) it's one just like it:

Huge rear tyres. I'm passengering in a Seat Leon, which is less exciting, but it's got better luggage space, probably better air-con, and with @Cycliste as the chauffeur it's a pretty wild ride...

That'll do... ;)

It's actually not.

The lease on a 4x4 DSG Tiguan is less than a 2WD manual because of the second hand desirability. Which is why Mrs Hefty got a 4x4 DSG Tiguan.

I won't get a Marshall stack in the back of one of these...

Volvo has ceased all research/development that pertains to Diesel engines.

Love them! Periscope rear view mirror is awesome.

Wow. Progressive.

For passenger cars I should probably add- electric HGV tractor units are probably a little way out at the moment.

Actually electric hgv make a lot of sense for the shorter haul. With battery weight and space less important than in passenger cars you may see them sooner.

So ...

Me and my wife had the children discussion at the weekend and it seems its "on"

I can't think of anything better than the Fiat Multipla

Any other suggestions

I wonder if they'll start offering more hybrid/petrol options in the UK imminently. Not that I'm in the market for it, but I was completely irrationally pissed off that you only have one engine option for the V90: D4 Auto.