Heart Vs Head Vs Wallet!

ytareh

I never thought Id see the day but Im coming round to owning the 1 litre Toyota Aygo I bought new in Jan 2007 for three full years .I used be a real petrol head and change cars on a practically monthly basis in my younger years before marriage and the kids came along.Im 38 and do a 120-130km total daily commute ...usually take the back roads in the morning and motorway most of the way home to unwind but with a little of the twisty stuff near 'home'.(West Dublin-Midlands general route)
Now we all know car prices are on the floor eg Im amazed to see three Porsche Boxsters on donedeal for under 10k euro.It seems 50% depreciation in the first year -18 months has become the norm and a lot of nice motors that would have made no sense two years ago are now 'affordable'.Im very tempted by a Fiat Panda 100hp for example and there are again three under 10k available .I cant help feel though that this would in all but the pure driving sense be a step backwards from my Toyota Aygo .In fact its kinda along the lines of that recent AfterHours thread on gulity pleasures or people you fancy that you know you shouldnt .Im not sure if the Panda 100bhp or Suzuki Ignis (if only even they werent all yellow!) are more Bread Van like and 'skangery' but would love to have the use of either without having to park it outside my house at night LOL.
I guess if I was looking for tips/suggestions/advice Id say that I have 5k to spend with my Aygo but could go anywhere from 3 to 7.5k at a push .I SHOULD be getting 'good' mpg ...I get 52 mpg in the Aygo ...the Fiat is meant to do 43mpg .Id probably want at least 35mpg .I generally rate handling higher than speed but a Skoda Fabia vRS is tempting also .
Importing anything with high CO2 is a disaster now both from VRT and Motortax viewpoint right?Renault Twingo Sport 133 /Fiat 500 Abarth would all be nice but probably work out too dear .VW Golf GTi Mk5 REALLY nice but what sot of mpg would I be looking at ?40mpg if drove like a nun?Most of the other earlier marks would manage that .
Ive got 68k km up on the Aygo so guess Im doing 15k miles a year approx...Maybe I should forget about the fuel costs and buy a Boxster because it wont depreciate much below 6-8k euro ???!!!Road tax would be a killer though .Insurance seems to be under a grand for ANYTHING so probably not much of an issue.
Anyway thanks for reading and feel free to hijack thread and post lots of nice pics etc !Oh and links to actual cars for sale would be great .Anyway wanna buy an Aygo!?

fletch

ytareh wrote: »

I generally rate handling higher than speed but a Skoda Fabia vRS is tempting also .

Look elsewhere so...I own a Fabia vRS and they do not handle well.

ytareh

Are they really THAT bad ...I thought the basic Fabia was supposed to have good handling when released ...of course that diesel engine is bound to be HEAVY over the front wheels but I wouldnt have thought it was chronically bad ...does it just plough on or what ?Anything youve also driven that youd compare it with ...eg would it be as bad as a 93-98 Corsa ?

fletch

ytareh wrote: »

Are they really THAT bad ...I thought the basic Fabia was supposed to have good handling when released ...of course that diesel engine is bound to be HEAVY over the front wheels but I wouldnt have thought it was chronically bad ...does it just plough on or what ?Anything youve also driven that youd compare it with ...eg would it be as bad as a 93-98 Corsa ?

The weight really ruins the handling to be honest...standard the car pitches and dives under heavy acceleration and breaking....if you are buying one I'd budget for some decent coilovers....lowering springs just make the ride unbearable. I drove a 1.2 Fabia and it felt a lot nicer on the road as it was so light in comparison. In saying that, I see you do a lot of motorway miles and it's perfect for that type of driving.

fletch

The Panda 100hp is also meant to be pretty unforgiving. While I like the styling and I considered one as my next car, I don't think I could look beyond it being a Panda (and my mam owning one )

ytareh

Yeah 'bouncy' comes up a lot in reviews of the Panda 100hp's handling /ride.

ytareh

I read some people here raving about the Mazda 3 MPS it seems to be the ULTIMATE sleeper and not madly priced but probably a bit out of my league ...Maybe I should keep the Aygo for another three years and see what way the budget /fuel prices/private speed trap companies evolve...

PS Run it by me once again ...what way does VRT and motor tax work if I get a :

Jan 2006 built but unreg in Ireland car

Jan 2008 built but unreg in Ireland car

July 2008 built but unreg in Ireland car

And motor tax rates for these ?

Jan 2008 built and reg in Ireland car

July 2008 built and reg in Ireland car

"Old " or "New" taxation system will do fine ...

Biro

Keep the Aygo for your commute, use the 5k to buy an MX5. Sorted!! You'll have two reliable cars then, one for your daily run, the other for the fun runs!

Mr Benevolent

Biro wrote: »

Keep the Aygo for your commute, use the 5k to buy an MX5. Sorted!! You'll have two reliable cars then, one for your daily run, the other for the fun runs!

+1.

ytareh

Have done the MX5 (and Cappuccino which I preferred ) thing and have long since concluded that rear wheel drive(unless MAYBE something super or like a late 3 series)and wet irish roads are not happy bedfellows!At least not unless you are a SERIOUSLY good driver...
Dont think a third car in the driveway and its motor tax would be a runner either ...Of course I do realise that theres little to make you smile like putting the top down ...

Biro

Don't get too obsessed with motor tax. €500-odd a year is not a lot considering the depreciation you're taking when you trade your car in for another.

ytareh

OK I think I have narrowed this down bizarrely to between the Panda 100hp and the Mazda 3 MPS...yeah I know quite-different !!!!
I was once in a similar situation with a 1.9 205GTi and an Integra 1.8 Type R JDM .In the end I went for the 205 and was happy with my choice.I guess Im concerned that the Panda will bounce like a kangaroo over rough tarmac and speed humps and Im very concerned that the MPS will 'ate' petrol!!!I could live with 34-35mpg and I wouldnt be doing much over the limit if any most of the time .People think whats the difference between 30 or 35 mpg ...well for me its about 400 euro extra a year or about 850 more than the Panda or 1200 extra compared with my Aygo!Im not sure I could justify spending 100 EXTRA on petrol ...25 euro a week ...fiver a day ...Hmm doesnt sound so bad that way ...!
I AM aware that both the Panda and Mazda 3 (even the MPS) are frankly ugly cars ...my neighbour has a lovely nearly new Golf GTi and its looks sooo smart but I think Id be more interested in the driving experience.BUT Id guess high depreciation will be linked in with the dull looks of both .God forbid they ever retro actively make 2007 cars CO2 based with the MPS not that 860 a year on the 2.3 isnt a bitter enough pill to swallow!
Im also more than a bit worried that I will lose my licence in days particularly with the MPS .One of the last ,if not THE last performance cars I had was a 106GTi which I sold in terror within a week (at a tidy profit) it wasnt that I was afraid of the performance -it was that I WASNT!!!These private speed cameras cant be good news for the keen motorist .Maybe we're in the last 6 months of 'The Golden Age' before Big Brother finally wins-then again they arent going to be up in the Sally Gapat 730 am on a Sunday morning are they!?
Anybody who's driven or owned either got any info /tips...?Thanks.(and thanks for reading!)

ytareh

Got the Panda 100hp today ...

.I still cant believe that I have spent just under three full years with the new Aygo I bought in Jan 2007.It was a fun car for its class I got 52-54mpg with mixed but always out of town driving -I guess the long motorway stretches at 130kmh /82mph killed the mpg quite a bit. Autocar claimed 0-60 in 11.9 sec which seemed about right.
But I got restless and it was time for a change and here it is

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Fiat/Pa...t?channel=CARS

(Red 11k miles ,1 owner,)

Im sure I will be posting on here quite bit but heres a few initial impressions.

GOOD

Pracically everything !

Build quality is surprisingly good ,probably way better than Toyota Aygo in many areas.Door slam is more Toyota Yaris which is practically VW Golf standard solid ,heavy CLUNK , than Toyota Aygo which was more Citroen AX GT lightweight tinny 'clink'...

Performance is great ,handling likewise .Sport mode button makes big difference especially from low revs (pulls smoothly from 1500rpm in SIXTH!)
but does seem to use quite a bit of extra juice according to computer.
Seats ,'hatch' space and access all much better than Aygo.I suspect the 100hp will not be great on fuel...hope to get WELL into mid 40s but feell I may be disappointed...

Bluetooth radio-mobile phone chat through radio speakers ...wow Ive only ever known S Classes and 7 series to have this.

BAD

Turning Circle

HORRIBLE screeching from brakes at slow speed esp reversing...(known issue-cure?!)


Accelerator pedal sits 'too high' while brake pedal is too low -thus cant 'heel and toe' brake -I think the Centos were like this too....bit of a pain for keen drivers

It seems that filling the fuel tank to the very top takes AGES-whats with that?


OTHER OBSERVATIONS

My motor has the upgraded speaker set up so thats a nice surprise...

The 'bounce' /hard suspension is totally overhyped in my opinion so far...
not a big deal when compared with similar cars in its 'hot hatch ' class...

My motor seems to be a really nice example apart from scratching on all four alloys -more 'paint damage' than 'gouging'...paint seems to be very good -was a town car -practically no bonnet chips at all.

Has had three Fiat services despite not reaching 12k miles yet.

Nice to be able to use fuel consumpion meter in MPG