Were there any groundbreaking cars in the noughties?

Leonard Hofstadter

Well, what do you guys think?

I've been scratching my head to think of a single car in the last decade that really moved the game on.

I can think of three cars in the 90s that broke the rules and moved things on a huge amount (these are done in chronological order): the Mk1 Mondeo, a drivers airbag was a big deal in 1993 and of course it was renowned for its driving dynamics and it could do all the sensible stuff as well, the E39 5 series was so good that the two subsequent generations that came after it still are not as good as that car was, and of course the Mk1 Ford Focus was a really awesome car. That car showed, as the Mondeo five years earlier did, that it was possible to make a relatively inexpensive car that was still bloody good.

So, anyone want to nominate a car from the noughties that really rocked the point and make everything else seem distinctly second rate?

Guy:Incognito

captainspeed wrote: »

the Mk1 Mondeo, a drivers airbag was a big deal in 1993

Plenty of cars had airbags in 93 (and more than 1 at that) or am I missing something here?

Leonard Hofstadter

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Plenty of cars had airbags in 93 (and more than 1 at that) or am I missing something here?

It was the first mass market car to have it fitted as standard on all models. Back in 1993 only Volvo and the likes of the S-class, 7 series etc had airbags fitted.

ciano1

When did cars start to come with twin cup-holders??

Guy:Incognito

captainspeed wrote: »

It was the first mass market car to have it fitted as standard on all models. Back in 1993 only Volvo and the likes of the S-class, 7 series etc had airbags fitted.

Fair enough.

The oldest carI've owned was my 93 Renault safrane. That had driver and passenger airbags.

Annuv

Audi A2?

shogunpower

how this


is better than this



or this



is beyond me... no doubt the e39 was better than anything by its competitors by a mile, its still a stretch to call the newer models worse.

bop1977

Nissan cashcow? BMW MINI?

keithclancy

chiefwiggum

i cant see what a qaushqai brings to the table to be honest..99% of them are ony 2wd
what about the 206 cc(hate them) it brought small cheap(running costs) drop top driving to the masses?

chiefwiggum

Annuv wrote: »

Audi A2?

possibly with the 1.2 diesel lump in it

Leonard Hofstadter

Annuv wrote: »

Audi A2?

Actually, that was a groundbreaking car, but that was a nineties car:)!

It was so far ahead of its time. Even by today's standards it is very advanced. Fuel economy wasn't in vouge back then. And that is why it was a flop. People would pay for something like that now, especially if they brought out a 3 l/100 km version.

Guy:Incognito

chiefwiggum wrote: »

i cant see what a qaushqai brings to the table to be honest..99% of them are ony 2wd

100% of them will never go offroad so it hardly matters.:)

chiefwiggum

it mattered last december

chiefwiggum

boom boom 1000 posts.....sorry side note

carry on

Guy:Incognito

chiefwiggum wrote: »

it mattered last december

No moreso than any other car though. I doubt any of them were bought with snow in mind (possibly a few panicked and bought for that reason since though, but theres no accountign for the silly people )

Zonda999

keithclancy wrote: »

If that is what i think it is, that was around in the late nineties!

chiefwiggum

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

No moreso than any other car though. I doubt any of them were bought with snow in mind (possibly a few panicked and bought for that reason since though, but theres no accountign for the silly people )

yes but thats what im saying why(as suggested) would it be a groundbraking car when it does the same as every other 2wd car;)

chiefwiggum

and i cant believe we've all missed the buggati veyron....what has moved things on more???

squod

Mk2 RS focus hybrid. The first hybrid to drive the rear wheels with electric motors and the front wheels with a eco-boost turbo petrol motor. According to auto express anyway.

keithclancy

Zonda999 wrote: »

If that is what i think it is, that was around in the late nineties!

*tut* ... *sigh* ... thats thats the MkII .. *long sigh*

You can fit an extra dead body in the MkII.. everyone knows that ... also it generates an extra 300 PS when you paint the D and I Orange and Red:pac::pac::pac::pac:

Leonard Hofstadter

squod wrote: »

Mk2 RS focus hybrid. The first hybrid to drive the rear wheels with electric motors and the front wheels with a eco-boost turbo petrol motor. According to auto express anyway.

That will be exciting, but it will be a "10s" car!

I was half tempted to include the Lexus LS400 in my list of game changing cars (and it was a real revelation) but I think that came out in 1989!

I can think of several really good cars from the noughties, but I can't think of any 'ordinary' cars that were game changers in the noughties.

The Insignia was a massive leap forward but only because it replaced the Vectra, which was a heap of crap, and although it is better than a Mondeo, it's not a lot better. When the Mk1 Mondeo came along it p!ssed all over everything else out there. The Carina E and the 405 were considered to be good cars in 1992 but the Mondeo made them seem about 10 years out of date.

A Mk1 Focus could still be sold today and it would still be a good enough car. The Mk2 and Mk3 are better, but they weren't the massive leap forward the Mk1 was. The E39 could definitely be sold today and it would still be one of the best cars in the class, especially if they put the engine out of the 535d and the ZF eight speed automatic into it.

The new XJ is a revelation but the S-class is still an amazing car. It's a really good car but it didn't move things along if you know what I mean. Similarly with the XF.

Of course, the highlight of the last decade was the Veyron, but that's not exactly what I'd call an 'ordinary' car !

Just about the 90s, I reckon the airbagged Mondeo doesn't quite hold a candle to the stuff Honda did bringing VTEC to the road in the Civics, Integra and the Prelude. Looking back on the 00s maybe in years to come the electric hybrid stuff might be noteworthy depending on where the technology goes.

The 2.2 VTEC Prelude was awesome

The Focus seemed awesome to Ford lads as it replaced the Escort which was so so bad.

Well so many other manufacturers followed and now variable valve timing is common on bogo family cars. Don't need to make anyone look silly

ottostreet

Never thought I'd see the day where a 206cc would be nominated in a thread as being ground-breaking!

Joe 90

In the 90s the Elise. In 2000 the Exige. The later S2 versions of both gained a load of weight and junk like electric windows etc.

kermitpwee

The carina e was ahead of its time at launch, in 1.6 format it was the quickest, most economical and least polluting in its class due to its leanburn system. Very few mechanics at the time had any idea how they worked!

Joe 90

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Two lotus were the groundbreaking cars of the 90/00`s, in what possible way can you justify that claim?

Lotus has been building lightweight cars for a very long time and I dont see how the Exige or Elise is groundbreaking.

Well, their last new car was the FWD M100 so called Elan:).

Could be had with a fair bit of power but heavy, FWD not really a Lotus. I remember talking to a Lotus test driver when it was in production, he agreed that Chapman must have been rolling in his grave.

CharlieCroker

Don't think there's any actual CARS that were groundbreaking, more so technology such as:
Dsg gearboxes
Sat nav improvements
Safety tech like ebd, adaptive cruise, stability control
Hybrids
Small capacity diesels with the power that 2.0 litres had in the 90"s

squod

RoverJames wrote: »

Just about the 90s, I reckon the airbagged Mondeo doesn't quite hold a candle to the stuff Honda did bringing VTEC to the road in the Civics, Integra and the Prelude. Looking back on the 00s maybe in years to come the electric hybrid stuff might be noteworthy depending on where the technology goes.

The 2.2 VTEC Prelude was awesome

The Focus seemed awesome to Ford lads as it replaced the Escort which was so so bad.

All I can say is the civic saloon was a bucket compared to the equivalent Focus. Never driven the other two, wouldn't imagine they compare well to the 3 series of the same year.

squod

squod wrote: »

All I can say is the civic saloon was a bucket compared to the equivalent Focus. Never driven the other two, wouldn't imagine they compare well to the 3 series of the same year.

Well how about comparing a 1993 Civic saloon to a 1993 Escort saloon
Or a 1998 Civic against a 1998 Escort
Which is the bucket then?


A 1993 Prelude 2.2 VTEC wasn't in direct competition to a 3 series saloon but the Prelude would be a good match for a 325i if not a 328i of the same era. If you have never driven a 90s Prelude then you can't really appreciate how great they were, handling was and still is unreal.

Today I'd take a 1999 1.6 Civic saloon over a 1999 1.6 Focus and so too would most folk me thinks

Midnight_EG

The Honda Integra DC2 Type R was pretty groundbreaking to be fair...best handling FWD car of it's generation...maybe ever!

unkel

Alfa 156? Extraordinarily elegant lines, the hidden rear door handles making it look like a coupe and of course the first car with a common rail diesel engine. Saw a nice clean one a few days ago and it still looks fresh - 14 years after it was launched

As for the airbags, they were rare on bread and butter cars (like a Mondeo) in the early 90s. My Irish '94 BMW 530i V8 didn't have any :eek: I think the Fiesta was the first small car with standard airbags too at some point, so fair play to Ford for advancing safety

@RoverJames - contrary to popular belief, variable valve timing wasn't invented by Honda

Edit - oops read the title as 90s, not 00s

unkel

unkel wrote: »

@RoverJames - contrary to popular belief, variable valve timing wasn't invented by Honda

I know, I never claimed they invented it

Absurdum

I was expecting this thread to open with Veyrons and Enzos and what not, but a ****ing Mondeo??? :rolleyes:

Absurdum

Absurdum wrote: »

I was expecting this thread to open with Veyrons and Enzos and what not, but a ****ing Mondeo??? :rolleyes:

....... or the awesome Focus :pac:
(surely even the Ford lads wouldn't reckon the 1.4 ones were awesome :P

alias no.9

RoverJames wrote: »

I know, I never claimed they invented it

They weren't the first to commercialise it either.

Back to the OP, the Mk1 Mondeo was Fords response to the P10 Primera, which in turn was their facsimile of the Vectra A, launched in the late '80s. The Mondeo may have had airbags but the Vectra redefined the class. It's a pity all subsequent Vectras were pants.

As for the '00s, it's hard to think of a car that redefined it's segment or created a new one.

Those Vectras were great, the 2.0i were very decent, highly regarded by criminals in Ireland for fast getaways pre Impreza turbos being about.

Flyer1

I second the DC2 Integra Type R

No FWD that handles like it.

squod

RoverJames wrote: »

Today I'd take a 1999 1.6 Civic saloon over a 1999 1.6 Focus and so too would most folk me thinks

God no.

Absurdum

RoverJames wrote: »

Those Vectras were great, the 2.0i were very decent, highly regarded by criminals in Ireland for fast getaways pre Impreza turbos being about.

There's a strong argument that the original Impreza turbo was a groundbreaking car in the nineties, taking the WRC to the road with Mitsubishi.

David09

RoverJames wrote: »

....... or the awesome Focus :pac:
(surely even the Ford lads wouldn't reckon the 1.4 ones were awesome :P

I drive a 1.4 mk1 focus and highly regard it. What it lacks in speed is made up for in handling and driving qualities.

For 90's cars I'd suggest Opel/Vauxhall Calibra.

For 00's I'd suggest the VW pd tdi golf, for setting the benchmark in diesel power and refinement.

Absurdum

Absurdum wrote: »

There's a strong argument that the original Impreza turbo was a groundbreaking car in the nineties, taking the WRC to the road with Mitsubishi.

Very true, I was going to mention it but I'm almost sure they had a similar early Legacy in the late 80s for sale.

MetzgerMeister

I think the Mazda RX-8 was of importance. From it's release in 2003, it's been the only mass-produced rotary engined car in the world.

colm_mcm

Tata nano?

alias no.9

David09 wrote: »

I drive a 1.4 mk1 focus and highly regard it. What it lacks in speed is made up for in handling and driving qualities.

For 90's cars I'd suggest Opel/Vauxhall Calibra.

For 00's I'd suggest the VW pd tdi golf, for setting the benchmark in diesel power and refinement.

The Calibra dates back to the '80s and Pumpe Duse was outclassed by Common Rail, even before it was launched.

but43r

einheisserschre wrote: »

I think the Mazda RX-8 was of importance. From it's release in 2003, it's been the only mass-produced rotary engined car in the world.

What about Mazda RX-3 and RX-7???

kev1.3s

but43r wrote: »

What about Mazda RX-3 and RX-7???

Well you could argue that the rx7 went out of production in 2002!

bazz26

David09 wrote: »

I drive a 1.4 mk1 focus and highly regard it. What it lacks in speed is made up for in handling and driving qualities.

For 90's cars I'd suggest Opel/Vauxhall Calibra.

For 00's I'd suggest the VW pd tdi golf, for setting the benchmark in diesel power and refinement.

The TDi was around since 1992, all it got in the early noughties was PD injection when everyone else were turning to common rail. By then it wasn't that refined and power was delivered in a very narrow rev range. It changed diesels in the 1990s but a decade later not so.

CharlieCroker

Groundbreaking, no but I think the car that defines the noughties is the SUV.
X5
Rangerover
Landcruiser
Merc ML
Audi Q7

These all came to prominence in the 00's. Celtic tiger, excess living etc.

Gallus

Honda Insight has to be up there,