Advice: Motor Decision

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Nick,

Personally if it was between the 2 I would go for the Volvo though tyre wear could be a problem with this one but having said that Volvo cars are extremely robust providing of course you buy one that has not been abused and serviced regularly.

No idea about the Fiats but here is some info for you.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/f ... tate-1995/

Whatever you decide hope it works out well.

Regards
Nigel

[Nigel H-J]

Two months ago I hired a Volvo V40 with all the extras, it had red lights on the wing mirrors that lit up when something was in your blind spot. A head up display on the windscreen that lit up red if you were too close to the car in front, a steering wheel shaker that resisted lane changes if you didn't indicate first. It had another head-up warning if the car thought there was a risk of a collision and I believe it was also capable of braking automatically if the risk became great enough.
The full beam headlights dipped automatically when a car came the other way and the wipers came on by themselves when it started raining. There were probably other automatic things for safety reasons that I didn't discover.

Hi Jon, with the Volvo V40 those mod cons are all extras and do not come as standard apart from the auto wipers but then you have to select it for it to work. The Volvos are very good cars, just go for the ones without the extras then you can actually get to drive and control it!!

Nigel.

[Garry Russell]

HI nick

I know little about cars, but I do know that generally Volvo's are a good bet.

I also learned a long time ago to avoid FIAT and have not come across anything to make me change my mind.

If it were my choice, I'd be straight onto the Volvo without a shadow of doubt.

Good luck
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[Jon.M]

Would you guys be as disparaging about the Citroen C8 or Peugeot 807? They're the same basic car as the Fiat Ulysses. On that reliability index site it has the same good rating as the Honda CRV that Ian is considering. I suspect that most of you are remembering the First In All Troubles cars of the seventies and eighties.

Hi Nigel,

I know that you can get the V40 without all the extras but my point was that Volvo believe in all that stuff. It's their thing to be solid and reliable and safe. If that's what you want your car to be that's great. If you also want a bit joie de vivre I'd look elsewhere.

The point I was trying to make to Nick is that conceptually the Volvo estate and Fiat/Peugeot/Citroen MPV are very different and the MPV may suit his needs and likes better.

By the way I don't own a Fiat at the moment i've got a VW.

Jon

[TSR2]

I'd definitely be as disparaging about the Peugeot and Citroen.

[Tako_Kichi]

My last car in the UK was a Citroen BX and I liked it. Prior to that I had driven a series of Renault cars (16, 5, 14 and Fuego) and liked every one of those too. As you can tell I had a preference for French cars for a number of years.

[Jon.M]

I'd definitely be as disparaging about the Peugeot and Citroen.

As you wish.

I've liked the Citroen's and Renaults I've had and they've been reliable as well. The only breakdowns I've had in recent years have been in Opels and Fords.
A friend has a Jag XK which has been expensively unreliable. He says he should have known better as he reckons an XJS he had years ago never ran on all twelve cylinders at the same time.

Jon

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Jon,

It was only a tongue in cheek reply from me, so hope I did not cause you any offence.

Whilst I appreciate and also commend car manufacturers for advances in road safety ABS - Electronic Stability Control - Intelligent Speed Assist - Automatic Braking - Forward Collision Avoidance Systems etc. etc. etc. (the list just goes on) I can't help thinking that it just takes away the ability for the need of the driver to actually drive the damned thing and I for one would not want all those features on my car (was going to say gizmos but no doubt someone would take offence at that description)

Maybe just me but when I first passed my driving test in the sixties I then underwent advanced driver training in High Performance - toe & heel braking correct road positioning reading the road layout i.e. corners - correct use of headlights at night whilst taking corners - understeer/oversteer in corners etc. After that it was further training and driving tests when in the RAF on various classes of vehicles and in all took 7 Ministry of Transport Driving Tests passing all first time, 3 of them were an hour and a half each on the road (HGV Class 3 - 2 and then 1) Many years later I did my Advanced Driving Test with the IAM passing first time, hour and a half with full voluntary running commentary. Out of the lot I would say the IAM test was the hardest.

I do not want anyone thinking that I am in any way boasting or trying to make an impression of some sort - no - If more people took to taking up further driving courses after their tests and improved their attitudes and awarness on the roads it would go a long way to improving road safety without actually having to put electronic giszmos in cars to protect motorists when they could do it themselves!!!

OK, so now I will get me coat.

Nigel.

[TSR2]

he reckons an XJS he had years ago never ran on all twelve cylinders at the same time.

Jon

Very true Jon, I've heard that before

[Jon.M]

Hi Nigel,

I'm afraid I did miss the tongue in cheek nature of your reply, but I wasn't offended.
I was a bit frustrated trying to walk a line between moaning about the intrusive features of the Volvo I had on hire whilst not appearing to be blasé about road safety. Cars today have many improvements making them safer than the ones we drove when we were young, which is a good thing. But like you I think we can concentrate too much on these safety features and not enough on the responsibility of the driver.
Mind you if I was to make a safety feature obligatory on new cars it would be that all car radios should include a bluetooth hands free system. I changed my cars stereo to include this; even though I don't make phone calls from my car, I can answer them without taking my hands off the wheel. The usual conversation would be for me to say that I can't speak now and I'll call back as soon as possible.

When I get nostalgic about the cars of my youth like the Mk1 Escorts it's best to remember that compared to today's cars they were uncomfortable, badly heated, and noisy as well as being a lot less capable. I remember teaching myself to drive the Escort in the snow. It was fun. Nowadays I couldn't drive the Golf without switching off the traction control and the law here makes it obligatory to carry snow chains during the winter.

I think we'll end up with cars that drive themselves to a destination that you specify and that the world will be a much safer but greyer place.

Jon

Hi Nick,

Sorry if I've hijacked your thread.
The majority opinion over your choice seems pretty clear, though I've had fun being provocative.