I feel very strange being in this thread. It’s like visiting a far distant land where everything is unknown and peculiar.
In my very long life I have only owned a car for a total of two years. I’ve always lived in the inner city and have always had a bike. For holidays I just rent.
So now we’re moving to a small town and we’re going to need a car and, as a complete ignoramus, I have to be part of that decision.
On the advice of a lot of people, friends, family, taxi drivers etc, it looks like we’ll be going for something like a Toyota Camry hybrid. Obviously, a pure petrol driven car is unattractive, and probably a pure electric wouldn’t have the range we’d want.
This is in Oz, isn’t it? Toyotas are usually the no hassle option. How far are you likely to have to drive? You aren’t going to have to traverse the Nullarbor by any chance, are you?
No, I don’t think it does either, and for those that have and use spanners the wet belt is a huge red flag.
Regarding their ongoing plans, I’ve no idea to be honest. There seems to be consolidation occurring all over the market over the last 5-10 years or so. For example the Citroen C1, is the same as the Toyota Yaris (I think) and one or two other models out their too.
I always ask what do you need it to do? Is it purely commuting and getting some shopping, or are you going to travel huge distances or carry lots of stuff be that to the local tip or on holibobs.
I like vans. They do everything, and they are extremely comfortable these days, but I appreciate other people have other needs and even budget constraints.
The plug in hybrids might offer a bit of flexibility, but they may just be needlessly expensive and the range so low as to render them pointless. I’m guessing that a cheaper petrol car or a more expensive electric one will work for you.
I suppose that you will have to see what’s on offer in Oz. I’m not particularly enamoured by many modern cars, as they seem to be either impractical, expensive, hideous, or a remarkable combination of all three. I think that’s why that new Polo looks OK. It’s just a boring ordinary vehicle.
Try, it’s not a builders van, it’s a day van is the sell line.
Comfortable, elevated driving position. Heaps of room in the back. Think of it as a really big and elevated car. Full Aircon etc.
A friend of mine has a Transit Tourneo (sorry I don’t know what the Aussie equivalent would be). Basically a 8 seater Transit with windows all round. We drove overnight from Worcester to Heathrow. Not a huge distance but there were 4 of us and all of us had snowboarding gear for a trip to Europe. By far the most comfortable trip of that type I’ve ever done. I slept, I can never sleep in a car.
My partner is the same. My next car will be another van. Not her choice, I am fed up of trying to squeeze 2 dogs, 3 people, 2 bikes and bags into my Volvo V60 (estate) for a week away.
The Volvo is a wonderful car mind. The engine is superb and I would even consider transplanting that into my old van if I had the energy and time. The problem is it’s too small for us on far too many occasions.
A Camry is pretty big. Why not get a Prius? I still get 22 km per liter out of mine and it’s ten years old.
If fuel economy is important to you then I’d suggest looking at the latest Honda Vezel e:HEV hybrid. It might be called the HR-V where you are. It’s not a plug in. It has a 1.5 liter engine with two electric motors. You can get 24 km per liter even though it’s an SUV.
Camry is self charging, so no need to plug in.
I think it’s a bit big too. The alternative is a Corolla I guess. We’ll try both.
This will be a shared car. That’s why I have to find a compromise with the Missus.
Actually, with my history, any car will be a luxury, but we’re definitely keen on not being too beholden to the vagaries of the oil price.
I have 3 requirements when it comes to choosing a car. It must have an internal combustion engine, a gearstick and be roughly the same size as the Escorts, Astras and Leons I’ve always driven.
I accept I’m in a minority these days.
It is. Always heard good things about them, especially the earlier models. I don’t know so much about the current models.
Honda CRV is another one in that kind of area. Slightly bigger too I believe.
As an aside, how many of us notice old cars on the road nowadays?
Post 2005ish, it seems to be that you won’t see many cars from that 2005 to 2011 era, perhaps a little earlier. Cars seem to have become part of the throwaway culture and there aren’t many models that sparked the interest of enthusiasts and the like.
To my knowledge, you don’t see many appreciation / car clubs for cars post that early 2000’s era. For example the VW Golf. Huge following for them from the MK1 GTi through to the MK4. Then it seems to drop off, with the later models not really attracting the same following.
There are a few exceptions of course but even then the following is different. The VW transporter typifies this. The T4 had / has a hardcore following as do the earlier models. The T5 and later models then had different people buying them. They appealed to a wider audience and a greater spread of buyers and yet I don’t think you’ll see the same effort going into preserving and restoring T5’s as you do with the T4 and earlier models.
