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

should have bought that Suburu that was in the classifieds here...

I've got a '98 Forrester that I think we'll keep for tip runs and knocking about in, but it's agricultural inside and on 180k miles reliability issues starting to kick in (rad, clutch and battery in last 6 months) ... wouldn't take it on a long holiday

but a £6-7k one?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201710039919361?make=SKODA%26model=SUPERB%26utm_source=Email_a_Friend%26utm_medium=Email%26utm_campaign=Email_a_friend_car

rest on blow

Decent shout.

Don't touch the Mini 4x4 - had one as a hire car once - absolute dogshit.

It managed to take up loads of room on the outside and deliver a cramped cabin and fuck all boot. I had one of the diesels; the tank was tiny and the consumption was rubbish too (though to be expected when ragging a hire car...).

I fell out with blow a while ago.
It makes me want to do stupid things like buying BMW's.

get that auto with the extra then...

If you want a hand...or just drink coffee and criticize ;) can help.

Or https://www.hgvdirect.co.uk/steel-seal-head-gasket-repair-p-104962.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-reulNjj1gIVBLftCh2-fQ8FEAQYASABEgIsj_D_BwE or https://www.kseal.com/uk/

Oh @NurseHolliday can you recommend a place to work on a BMW mini in North East London.

Given that you want to do long road trips in France, despite you saying you didn't care about performance, France is huge and places are a long way away, and with a car full of people, pets and stuff you will need a reasonably sized and powerful engine - I'd say a 2 litre at least.
Driving hundreds of miles on the autoroute is made much easier if you can comfortably do it at 130 kph with nice low revs and low noise levels. And south of Paris you really can do that and then some for mile after mile after mile. We did hundreds of miles at over 160 kph.

Also the roads are full of Dutch and Belgian people in motorhomes and you need to be able to overtake them swiftly.

So apparently I can fit at least one of my motorcycles in the back of Discovery 4 just by folding the seats down. Never thought I'd say it but I'm highly tempted to acquire a 3 ton SUV. Will have to set about persuading Mrs Jung. 5 Litres, 8 cylinders, 4WD and made by brummies. What can possibly go wrong?

@hoops have you actually checked the load space of these mid size suv's? They tend to be a bit awkward and not that dog friendly. Higher tailgate, small rear window with large thick c-pillars etc.
If you are going to get one I don't think it matters what brand for that kind of car. They'll all be similarly uninspiring. Which is good as you won't get attached to it get annoyed everytime there's a new scratch

^ this.

you'll get more space in a Golf.

New Superb 2l TSi is v nice, otoh. And loads of space.

Just had a call with the chap who enquired about my Volvo, he's very interested.

This is of course because (right up until he called) I'd decided to keep the car.

@hoops Echoing some of the above sentiments, the missus and I went in search of cars and the ones she liked before we sat in/drove all of them were the yeti and the Juke.

We tried loads, including the lexus as well and she eventually settled on a golf which wasn't even on her shortlist.

The yeti just didn't feel a pleasant place to be. It felt agricultural without the agricultural bonuses. Took us about 15 mins to work out how to fold the seats and nearly took my fingers off. Which is the last thing you want when you wake up cold/camping etc.

She sat in the Kia, and promptly got out. Just didn't like it.

The lexus felt well cheap for what was essentially meant to be a semi lux car. She told the dealer this he was not amused.

Both the Nissan Juke and qashqai were the two that I hated from the outset but actually surprised me and I ended up quite liking the juke.

Sat in a golf on the way out begrudgingly and liked it. boot although less high was more usable. Much more comfortable and she felt she could see more out the back when parking which she couldn't in the yeti (and that was with parking sensors in the yeti, go figure). She also said the main reason she liked the golf was that it didn't feel like a huge car to drive even though length difference etc didn't have a lot in it.

tl;dr buy a golf.

Logical, sensible, well articulated. You change meng, you change...

tl;dr buy a golf.

So very often the answer. Or a Seat Leon if you don't want to pay the VW tax. I drove a Leon recently from Germany to Switzerland via Austria. The boot was big enough for two bikes and three large bags, with room to spare, and it was surprisingly good to drive. And unbelievably economical, with its 2 cylinder mode. I was impressed. By contrast, the Vauxhall Astra Turbo I drove two weeks later was an utter piece of miserable shit.

I still can't see the point of an SUV unless you're really desperate to sign up to the Yummy Mummy/Chelsea Tractor lifestyle and image. The interior space is nothing to write home about, they have the aerodynamics of bricks, they're heavy and the roll centre's too high so they either roll around like a ship in a storm or they've got unpleasantly firm jiggly suspension. If you really feel the need to sit a foot higher than the person in the car next to you, buy a car with a sunroof, a booster cushion and a pair of sunglasses.

Although I do like the Yeti, which in the special world which exists in my head isn't an SUV. I have very fond memories of hustling a 4x4 Yeti over the Nufnenpass to get to Geneva in time for a flight.

I've got the 2.0 TDi Yeti with the fancy bits and its grand; heated leather and the like...

But it's fucking titchy inside. Two kids and a dog and that's your limit. Buy a new Transit. They've got alloys and three cup holders...

Tomorrow I am going to trickle water into my carburettor in an attempt to tackle the running-on problem I am encountering when switching off the ignition. I saw Eric The Car Guy do it.

Ha, the missus basically wrote that. Fear not.

I don’t really know of a London based specialist unfortunately, the closest specialist I can recommend is probably 1320 in St Neots but it depends on what you want doing?

Golf estate/wagon thing? More space than hatch, lower opening tailgate. Essentially like the hatch to drive so still handles and stops like a car should. Go try one.

I sympathise.

Mrs Hefty wanted a Tiguan, because they look cool and aren't as long as an estate.

I carefully explained that they were space inefficient and width is more crucial to how easy is to park and manoeuvre than length. I suggested a Passat, or if she really couldn't face that then a Golf estate.

Needless to say, she considered my opinion, respected it and ignored it. We've got a Tiguan.

It's marginally more comfy that the two I suggested, but in every other way it's inferior. The boot is pretty poor given the footprint of the car.

She freely admits she doesn't care because she thinks it looks 'beefy'.

It's even white.

:(