|
Post by Hofmeister on Sept 6, 2016 21:13:23 GMT
Fiat make good small cars. Like the 128 3P for example. I You mean the old one? I had one. In some kind of bright blue. Really, really fun. Though as I recall mine had the weakest engine available. Yes, this one. Interesting blogg this t124.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14682
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 5:25:09 GMT
That's nice. There's a look of the Alfasud Ti about it and that's no bad thing..
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2016 9:10:46 GMT
Just a further update on the Punto. Son managed to scrape the whole side in our office car park in the summer, but no rust has appeared and the car sailed through the MoT. For the £500 paid, my decision not to buy something much more expensive has been justified. Occasionally the exhaust sounds a little raspy, but then quietens down. It remains a perky little car and has a comfortable ride, although the pedal position is slightly odd. My ankles ache slightly after some time driving it. Maybe its me.
As my son is on his gap year programme, I drive it about every ten days, mainly to the office 7.5 miles away which includes about four miles on a traffic free motorway, so it gets up to temperature nicely. This morning I drove it without using the heated rear window and it wasn't long on the motorway before the whole car was condensation free. It is funny driving a car without air conditioning. I have got so used to climate control and cars not misting up internally that it is a surprise to find myself having to play with the heater controls for the first few minutes in the morning, juggling between a clear screen and, warm feet and trying not to suffocate with the heat.
On the whole, I really like the car. It is almost the car that I could use for 99% of my journeys. Maybe I will take the plunge after the Merc and downsize now that Espadrille has a penchant for her Evoque.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2017 10:15:27 GMT
So nine months later, the car has been fettled by a bodyshop we found who for £600 repaired all the damage and fitted a new door. Car looks almost like new. Recently serviced and with two new tyres, it is ready for its new life with a student in Birmingham. Luckily the bus ride to and from uni from where #1 son is living is only £2 per day so no point driving, especially as he only goes in three times a week.
Whilst on the topic of tyres it is obvious that older tyres do not resist punctures as easily as new ones (and as someone with degree in polymer science and technology, that does not surprise me). Something to keep my eyes on with the Punto.
What has surprised me is the tyres pressures in my Merc. I checked them not that long ago (six weeks at most?) since when the main driving has been longer journeys. I thought the NSF was a bit low last week, so today I checked it and it was down to 26psi, 13 off the 39psi it would have been set to last time. I gave the others a quick check and the OSF was also down to 27psi. Odd?? The rears were pretty much spot on. Don't understand how the fronts are down so much unless at the MoT, ten days ago, the tester thought they were too high, didn't check the sticker inside the fuel flap and dropped them to what he thought was the correct figures. Seems unlikely though.
|
|
Avant
Full Member
Posts: 691
|
Post by Avant on Sept 24, 2017 17:17:46 GMT
Interesting question as to what you would downsize to after enjoying a six-cylinder Mercedes. The A-class isn't generally well reviewed, although you would have to try one and see if you liked it. If you want a small car with six cylinders, it's a BMW 1-series or nothing. If it were me it would be an Audi A3 with the 1.5 or 2.0 petrol engine. The 1.4 petrol in SWMBO's A1 is more economical than my diesel Volvo, but also has plenty of performnace (and it's only the 122 bhp version - the new 1.5, replacing the 1.4, comes with 150 bhp).
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,352
|
Post by WDB on Sept 24, 2017 17:45:46 GMT
Interesting question as to what you would downsize to after enjoying a six-cylinder Mercedes. A good four-cylinder turbo petrol ought not to be too much of a shock, if my BMW experience is any guide. I've been driving my BMW six again today, and while it has a more definable character than the four in the 530i, I wouldn't actually say it was more refined. Diesel against petrol, of course, but the 530i is very quiet - to the extent that when I checked its speed, it was routinely showing 10mph more than I'd thought. The HUD speed readout may come in very handy there. Not sure what it'd be called but there'll be a version of that engine in the 1, X1, 2 Tourer and 2 coupé if you wanted something small. The 220i coupé is a very nice little car.
|
|
Rob
Full Member
Posts: 2,721
|
Post by Rob on Sept 24, 2017 17:54:07 GMT
The VAG 1.4 turbo petrol came in 122PS and 150PS levels of tune. I've got the 150PS in the A3. The power and torque figures for the new 1.5 seem the same to me... and emissions for that matter. So maybe it's able to deliver closer to official CO2 emissions figures?
I notice one different though. The 1.4 was only available in some models with active cylinder technology and only for the 150PS version. The two 1.5 versions come with ACT and then for DSG cars they will disengage gearbox and coast. But whereas the 150PS will drop to idle (mine does that) the 122PS will actual switch off the engine for maximum savings.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2017 21:20:38 GMT
Funnily enough, if I downsize drastically, I would be moving away from the status brands and looking at the model that suited my needs best. If Espadrille was more forgiving, I could see a Skoda Yeti in the drive. If there is one thing I miss in the Mercedes it is the raised height of the Outback, S-Max or Captur simply for ease of access, especially in tight car parks and other awkward spaces.
|
|
Rob
Full Member
Posts: 2,721
|
Post by Rob on Sept 24, 2017 21:27:12 GMT
Or a Skoda Karoq which replaces the Yeti.
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,352
|
Post by WDB on Sept 24, 2017 21:33:10 GMT
But the Karoq (is that how to spell it? S'pose I could look it up) just looks like every other don't-care not-quite-SUV out there, the market sector spawned by the Qashqai. The Yeti was at least distinctive, to the point where I wondered whether we might have a bronze one, mainly because I liked the way it looked.
|
|
Avant
Full Member
Posts: 691
|
Post by Avant on Sept 24, 2017 23:42:40 GMT
The Karoq looks like a downsized Kodiaq, and the SEAT Ateca also looks like that - just as you say. For anyone in that market it could be worth waiting for the VW T-Roc - damn silly name but the pictures of the car suggest that it'll look different from other standard-issue SUVs.
|
|
|
Post by dixinormus on Sept 25, 2017 2:50:49 GMT
Who needs a T-Roc, when the Tiguan and Touran already exist?!
|
|
|
Post by Alanović on Sept 25, 2017 13:00:50 GMT
"Style" junkies.
|
|
Avant
Full Member
Posts: 691
|
Post by Avant on Sept 25, 2017 16:58:07 GMT
It should be quite a bit smaller - nearer 4 metres than 4.5.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2018 11:09:15 GMT
So the Punto has been with us about three years. Just serviced and MoT'd yesterday with a new exhaust fitted to the middle section; it drives better than it did when we drive it into the garage. Now on 22,000 miles in 14 years. 12,000 in the last three. It's been bashed around by children but has shrugged off the injuries with modest amounts of repair work and is very solid underneath I'm told. Roll on 2019...
|
|