Everyone seems to want a 1 litre car !

shawnee

Have been talking to a few people who are considering changing their cars. Most are not into cars as such, but the buzz word seems to be a 1 litre. Even those who have families are talking about them. Its either that or the cheaper tax new cars, which are too expensive for many. Anyone else notice this. :rolleyes:

biko

Not really but it makes sense.

Anan1

Not me, from what i've seen the cut-off point for most people is still 2.0.

CiniO

I noticed when I moved to Ireland, that small cars with small engines, keep their price - which pretty much indicates that there is a market for them.

F.E. in year 2000 brand new Vectra 2.0 was way more expensive then brand new Corsa 1.0.
Now, when both cars are over 10 years old, probably Corsa would be worth more than Vectra.

That was really strarnge for me, as in my home country, usually the bigger, better performance, and more comfortable car, the bigger the price.
Usually the price of 10year old Vectra would be twice as much as 10 year old corsa.

Max Power1

Also diesel rather than petrol is another trend recently.

Hate to see the repair bills in a few years for DMF/DPF/Turbo etc failures on diesels being used for short trips only and doing 5k miles a year!

Lurching

I dont, im sticking with my 3L turbo thanks.

CiniO

Anan1 wrote: »

Not me, from what i've seen the cut-off point for most people is still 2.0.

Because above 2.0 motor tax starts to raise tremendously.

ronan45

is there a huge saving between say a 1 litre Petrol car and a 1.4 liter petrol car doing the same journey per week?

Max Power1

Anan1 wrote: »

Not me, from what i've seen the cut-off point for most people is still 2.0.

Id disagree with you there Anan and say that its either 1.4 or 1.6 now amongst the general car buying public.

I mean look at the worrying trends towards 1.4 and even worse 1.2 saloons!

Anan1

Max Power1 wrote: »

Id disagree with you there Anan and say that its either 1.4 or 1.6 now amongst the general car buying public.

I mean look at the worrying trends towards 1.4 and even worse 1.2 saloons!

TBH, it's a very hard one to prove either way.:)

CiniO wrote: »

I noticed when I moved to Ireland, that small cars with small engines, keep their price - which pretty much indicates that there is a market for them.

F.E. in year 2000 brand new Vectra 2.0 was way more expensive then brand new Corsa 1.0.
Now, when both cars are over 10 years old, probably Corsa would be worth more than Vectra.

That was really strarnge for me, as in my home country, usually the bigger, better performance, and more comfortable car, the bigger the price.
Usually the price of 10year old Vectra would be twice as much as 10 year old corsa.

I think the main reason for this is insurance - older cars tend to be sought after by younger drivers, who are limited by insurance to smaller engines.

Staplor

Not really, have seen an increase in people going below 2 litres, 1.8, 1.6 yes, but not all looking for as low as 1 litre cars.

daddydick

Absolutely no way I could drive a 1L car...i'd have no problem paying extra road tax and extra fuel for the sake of my sanity!

ottostreet

I started driving a 1.3 as a runaround...it's just about tolerable. I definitely wouldn't WANT one. Smallest engine size to feel comfortable on the road for me is about 1.8-2.0.

Cionád

Interesting to see engine size being equated to power.

I've got a 2L, it is slower than than a 1L Yaris, waaaaay slower.

Satanta

Cionád wrote: »

Interesting to see engine size being equated to power.

I've got a 2L, it is slower than than a 1L Yaris, waaaaay slower.

a 2ltr what?

Cionád

Satanta wrote: »

a 2ltr what?

Almera diesel

STForSale

jjhone076 wrote: »

I want to buy a new car and I like the look of the 1 series.

I had the same idea until I drove one!

cullen5998

1 litre is so small, the cars with these engines were never designed to be going on motorways at 120kmph or rural back roads. They feel too flimsy

Our man in Havana

cullen5998 wrote: »

1 litre is so small, the cars with these engines were never designed to be going on motorways at 120kmph or rural back roads. They feel too flimsy

Nonsense.

Eoin

ottostreet wrote: »

I started driving a 1.3 as a runaround...it's just about tolerable. I definitely wouldn't WANT one. Smallest engine size to feel comfortable on the road for me is about 1.8-2.0.

What type of driving? I'd have absolutely no problems with a nippy 1.4 hatchback or something similar if my commuting was mostly urban.

BigEejit

my wife had a 1L jap import micra several years ago and when going into Cork city centre it was brilliant, fitted into all those narrow or short parking spaces that a family car wouldn't have a hope fitting into. And because it was a jap import it was not bog spec, air-conditioning, all electrics

Would I drive long distance (>150km's) in it? not a hope, it was small, noisier than my car and just didnt have the power to overtake easily or make it up any sort of gradient without dropping gears.

My W124 was a 2.5 diesel and I reckon it was slower than a Yaris.

Back to the OP, haven't noticed the trend myself, I don't know anyone who is changing their car really. Although a buddy has a 1995 Golf GTi 16v that's seen better days so he bought a 1997 golf gti 16v on Sunday night.

shawnee

Just noticing sold cars on donedeal and the 1 litres are selling while the others are very slow :rolleyes:

bonzodog2

I remember when the Yaris was introduced, its 1L engine supposedly had more power than the old 1.6 OHV Carina.

Joe 90

It's 1300ccs as standard but I'm sure you could have it with 1 litre.


440kgs, so would make sense:)

fletch

Cionád wrote: »

Interesting to see engine size being equated to power.

I've got a 2L, it is slower than than a 1L Yaris, waaaaay slower.

Yes and I've bought a 1.4 and what is way quicker than most normally aspirated 2ltrs

unkel

Cionád wrote: »

Almera diesel

That's the slowest 2 litre...




... in the wurld

Seweryn

unkel wrote: »

That's the slowest 2 litre...

... in the wurld

I would say that a W123 200D Automatic is slower .

EPM

Seweryn wrote: »

I would say that a W123 200D Automatic is slower .

Not as slow as the 2.3d Serena though:D;):p

Danbo!

cullen5998 wrote: »

1 litre is so small, the cars with these engines were never designed to be going on motorways at 120kmph or rural back roads. They feel too flimsy

I dunno, my missus has a 1ltr yaris thats 12 years old but low mileage and in good nick. Its not the most comfortable car in terms of interior, but it handles itself fine above 120 on a motorway and grand on back roads.

murphthesmurf

I've just bought a 1 litre, though not through choice. Bought it because of the shocking road tax prices here. Thanks to the Green party I expect.
My last car in the UK was a vectra 2.6 v6 sri, how I miss it
Previous to that a seat toledo 2.5 v5
Ba573rd road tax :mad:
Gone from 170bhp to 50bhp

Eoin

cullen5998 wrote: »

1 litre is so small, the cars with these engines were never designed to be going on motorways at 120kmph or rural back roads. They feel too flimsy

Whatever about the motorway driving, I've no idea what link there would be between engine size and a car's ability on back roads. That's just down to an individual car's handling. In fact, in a lot of cases I'd rather a hatchback than a big barge of a car for that type of driving.

_Conrad_

EPM wrote: »

Not as slow as the 2.3d Serena though:D;):p

they just shouldn't be allowed... horrible horrible things. as van fine but they're still slow and gutless. a serena of that generation must be one of the most soul destroying methods of transportation in existance. There's a 1.6 petrol too which must be even worse, still stupidly slow with terrible fuel economy hauling that big van body around

shedweller

I want a 1 litre car too, 1L/100k:



edit: Sorry, i couldn't resist!

Matt Simis

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Nonsense.

Danbo! wrote: »

I dunno, my missus has a 1ltr yaris thats 12 years old but low mileage and in good nick. Its not the most comfortable car in terms of interior, but it handles itself fine above 120 on a motorway and grand on back roads.

Ive been in a 1.4 Octavia and 1.0 Micra recently. Neither handled themselves well over 100kph, neither could overtake in a manner I would consider remotely safe and both felt like they were made from Tin foil.

I do a long long rural to urban commute every morning. I do occasionally see these cars and no, they are not handling the trip well at all. They are superb Urban cars yes, but to think they are good at high speed rural back roads or motorway cruising... come on. :rolleyes:

While some of those doomed to drive such complete sh**e would like to think what they have is "normal" and "fine", they are not. cullen5998 maybe a bit blunt, but he is correct in the majority of cases.

Cuddlesworth

Only time a small engine cars get annoying is at 70-100kph when you want to overtake. Or when you hit or get hit by another much more heavy car/suv/van etc. For city driving they are perfect, cheap and easy to maintain.

bijapos

1 litre cars are selling well on donedeal.ie and elsewhere because they represent cheap motoring. They are usually older cars costing a couple of grand at the most. The buyer cannot/doesnt want to buy a new/ish car costing €15k + and is probably also looking to minimise daily running costs such as low economy, low tax, cheap insurance etc.

There is a big market out for those people, some are young and will invariably move onto something bigger, others don't care about image etc and need a daily runaround and for other people it's all they can afford. Either way its a fairly competitive market category and that why they are so popular.

gigawatt

up to a year ago I had always driven 1.4, 1.6 and up to 2 litre cars. My favorite to drive was the bmw 318i. now I have a 95 jap import automatic micra. I downgraded as I'm now a student and cant afford the higher road tax and insurance that goes with bigger newer cars. It means I can still afford a car while I'm studying. I agree that they are rubbish for overtaking and on gradients. I think a lot of people are in similar situations to me and just want a reliable car on the go that they can afford to run. I'd rather have my tin can car than no car!

Akrasia

_Conrad_ wrote: »

they just shouldn't be allowed... horrible horrible things. as van fine but they're still slow and gutless. a serena of that generation must be one of the most soul destroying methods of transportation in existance. There's a 1.6 petrol too which must be even worse, still stupidly slow with terrible fuel economy hauling that big van body around

I used to drive a 1.6 Serena
It was supposed to be a 7 seater, but with 7 people in the car, it couldn't get up hills.

Eric Cartman

Lurching wrote: »

I dont, im sticking with my 3L turbo thanks.

its a joy the 1 litre brigade will never know

alastair

I've been driving a 1 litre for a few years. It's pretty long in the tooth, probably lost a few hp over the years, has the aerodynamics of a brick, but I love it. My driving is essentially urban, but it journeys Dublin to Belfast fairly regularly. I'm going to put a stop to using it on the motorway and use my 2 litre classic once it's fully sorted. The 1 litre will get to 120km if the road's sloping the right way and the the wind's favourable, but tbh it's far from ideal for that sort of use.

For the city though - you don't need anything bigger.

omega man

murphthesmurf wrote: »

I've just bought a 1 litre, though not through choice. Bought it because of the shocking road tax prices here. Thanks to the Green party I expect.
My last car in the UK was a vectra 2.6 v6 sri, how I miss it
Previous to that a seat toledo 2.5 v5
Ba573rd road tax :mad:
Gone from 170bhp to 50bhp

Painful man :eek: I once brought a car back to the garage after driving it down the road because i thought there was something wrong with it. Turns out it was fine, it was a 1L corsa replacement car during a service

murphthesmurf

murphthesmurf wrote: »

I've just bought a 1 litre, ...........Gone from 170bhp to 50bhp

If you could have stretched to tax a 1.6 you'd have picked up something decent ish powerwise, what 1.0 did you get?

billyboy01

I can't wait for the new Yaris coming in late 2011, and the hybrid model coming in Jan 2012, well in the UK at the moment! I read that its new petrol engines are twice as efficient as the current engines. With the new models giving 3.8L/100km and 99g/CO2 tax rates!

So yes 1-1.3 litre cars are the way to go!

Eric Cartman

billyboy01 wrote: »

I can't wait for the new Yaris coming in late 2011, and the hybrid model coming in Jan 2012, well in the UK at the moment! I read that its new petrol engines are twice as efficient as the current engines. With the new models giving 3.8L/100km and 99g/CO2 tax rates!

So yes 1-1.3 litre cars are the way to go!

fuel efficiency is not the only factor in what makes a car good or bad. if petrol was cheap and road tax was free everyone who could afford to would roll round in 5 litre V8 / V12 beasts because deep down aside from all the costs everyone knows that a 1 litre car just isnt a good drive.

your 1 litre cars may suit the city but it doesnt suit long journeys , my 3 litre truck is great for long journeys and in the city (if you dont mind the fuel price) but I only go in to the city to make money so it weighs up

billyboy01

Eric Cartman wrote: »

fuel efficiency is not the only factor in what makes a car good or bad. if petrol was cheap and road tax was free everyone who could afford to would roll round in 5 litre V8 / V12 beasts because deep down aside from all the costs everyone knows that a 1 litre car just isnt a good drive.

your 1 litre cars may suit the city but it doesnt suit long journeys , my 3 litre truck is great for long journeys and in the city (if you dont mind the fuel price) but I only go in to the city to make money so it weighs up

Yes, but most of us slave units, Oh I mean consumer workers live in the real World where affordable running costs rather then luxury is the priority especially here with our penal car taxes! For most a car is for transport not a lifestyle or status option!

langdang

billyboy01 wrote: »

I can't wait for the new Yaris coming in late 2011, and the hybrid model coming in Jan 2012, well in the UK at the moment! I read that its new petrol engines are twice as efficient as the current engines. With the new models giving 3.8L/100km and 99g/CO2 tax rates!

So yes 1-1.3 litre cars are the way to go!

You're entitled to your own opinions and aspirations but man....

billyboy01

langdang wrote: »

You're entitled to your own opinions and aspirations but man....

Yes I would love a 5L V12 sportscar or a monster of a 4WD, But the car seems to be the latest target for taxation, and with fuel prices on a upwards only path! I would prefer to spend my ever lowering cash in my pocket on other things rather then pay extra tax and duties!

But if your loaded, by all means go for it!

The Real B-man

Motorway Speeds in a 1ltr you feel the car screaming at 4.5k Revs Painful and added with a few mates on board not a great driving experience but i started out with one and it was great on petrol tax and most important insurance althow im still being screwed on a 1.2 :rolleyes:

ottostreet

billyboy01 wrote: »

Yes I would love a 5L V12 sportscar or a monster of a 4WD, But the car seems to be the latest target for taxation, and with fuel prices on a upwards only path! I would prefer to spend my ever lowering cash in my pocket on other things rather then pay extra tax and duties!

But if your loaded, by all means go for it!

You don't really have to be loaded to avoid being excited about a Yaris.

billyboy01

ottostreet wrote: »

You don't really have to be loaded to avoid being excited about a Yaris.

True, but it helps! For people how generally dont do more then 15km a year and just use a car for A to B transport. Cars with engines of 998cc to 1298cc is the best option for the pocket!