First car ideas - suggestions?

[homeforsummer]

They are supposed to be pretty nice. Something tells me Jondot might not be the sort who "rags" a car though

 

[forza2.0]

They are supposed to be pretty nice. Something tells me Jondot might not be the sort who "rags" a car though

99% of youngsters do when they first driving. Only thing I drive with my foot down all the time now is the company car, but thats because its slow, and im not paying for the fuel.

So what spec mondeo you going for? I wonder what the non sporty ones drive like.

 

[Famine]

Heh, had the same thought... Yeah, I would love a Mondeo. My only concern is...

[Fuel]

That. Or rather, it will. But it's worth it. I think the mk3s have slightly more economical petrols too, as well as a nice 2.0 diesel.

On long journeys, a bigger, more powerful engine uses less fuel than a smaller, weedier one. I'd say a 1.8 Mondeo would be no worse, combined, than an Endura-engined Fiesta. Hell, the ST220 still returns a combined 28mpg and that's a 3 litre...

Been ragging a mondeo ST lately with the V6 and its alright. Not as fast as I thought it would be, perhaps due to it being progressively fast. Handling is alright though.

Which ST? The ST24 is no quicker than the Probe/Cougar, the ST200 is quick but thirsty, the ST TDCi is a waste of time and space and the ST220 is bonkers.

 

[Jondot]

Mondeo would be a good choice. Not my personal cup of tea, I'd be going for the Bora with your criteria, but I do like Fords so can't really fault that choice.

Ooh just one thing while I think about it, on the comfort thing, I've personally always found Ford seats (Fiestas, Escorts, Mondeos, Focii) a little uncomfortable on longer journeys (including my car) and so has my dad. We're both short-ish (5'9" and 5'6" respectively) so I think the driving position might not be best suited for a certain height of person. Under-thigh support is definitely a bit lacking.

Obviously it's not a hideous glaring problem (otherwise I wouldn't have had my Fiesta as long as I have) but it might be worth considering if you're my sort of height and planning on lots of longish journeys.

I've always found the Mondeo's seats really comfy. Then again, the last time I sat in one I was a lot shorter, so who knows. That was a mk1 Verona (mmm... velour) though, not a mk3.

They are supposed to be pretty nice. Something tells me Jondot might not be the sort who "rags" a car though

You know me so well

99% of youngsters do when they first driving. Only thing I drive with my foot down all the time now is the company car, but thats because its slow, and im not paying for the fuel.

So what spec mondeo you going for? I wonder what the non sporty ones drive like.

I dunno where you plucked that percentage from, but I'm not particularly inclined to do that. I mean sure, I'm no slow coach, but I'm not the sort to thrash anything either. I'd rather have a nice wafty ride, thank you very much.

Spec? Well if it's a mk1/2 it'd be the 1.8 petrol in whatever specification. Probably the Zetec.

On long journeys, a bigger, more powerful engine uses less fuel than a smaller, weedier one. I'd say a 1.8 Mondeo would be no worse, combined, than an Endura-engined Fiesta. Hell, the ST220 still returns a combined 28mpg and that's a 3 litre...



Which ST? The ST24 is no quicker than the Probe/Cougar, the ST200 is quick but thirsty, the ST TDCi is a waste of time and space and the ST220 is bonkers.

That sort of surprises me. Although I suspect, based on the fact that I'll mainly be doing town driving, the Fiesta would still come out cheaper. Having said that, they're more expensive in the first place, strangely. Presumably when people spend under £2,000 on a car, they're usually after something small and cheap to run, rather than the seemingly ridiculous option of a 1.8 Mondeo (therefore demand is higher for a Fiesta). Who knows.

 

[forza2.0]

On long journeys, a bigger, more powerful engine uses less fuel than a smaller, weedier one. I'd say a 1.8 Mondeo would be no worse, combined, than an Endura-engined Fiesta. Hell, the ST220 still returns a combined 28mpg and that's a 3 litre...



Which ST? The ST24 is no quicker than the Probe/Cougar, the ST200 is quick but thirsty, the ST TDCi is a waste of time and space and the ST220 is bonkers.

I dont actually know whether it is the ST24 or ST200. Googled both for pics and they both look the same. Any way of telling such as MY?

 

[Famine]

ST200 is almost always Imperial Blue

If I recall right, the ST24 has 4 spoke alloys, whereas the ST200 has multispoke (20?). Other than that... Dunno

 

[forza2.0]

Well granted it isnt that fast and doesnt have multi spokes it must be the ST24. Got a bargain one with 60k on the clock for under a grand and just having had new tyres and a service I suppose we cant complain.

 

[homeforsummer]

99% of youngsters do when they first driving.

What a load of piffle. Myself and all my friends are all into our cars, and none of us "rag" them. There's a difference between driving quickly occasionally and driving like a prat all the time. To me, "ragging" is the latter group.

 

[forza2.0]

What a load of piffle. Myself and all my friends are all into our cars, and none of us "rag" them. There's a difference between driving quickly occasionally and driving like a prat all the time. To me, "ragging" is the latter group.

when i say rag I mean quick driving. And driving quickly doesnt mean your driving like a prat. And youngsters are more likely to drive like a prat than older people, and from what I gather you dont exactly fall into the youngster bracket.

 

[ExigeEvan]

What a load of piffle. Myself and all my friends are all into our cars, and none of us "rag" them. There's a difference between driving quickly occasionally and driving like a prat all the time. To me, "ragging" is the latter group.

Oh come on, you never did a little tyre screetching at the traffic lights? Never reved it up to near the redline?

 

[homeforsummer]

when i say rag I mean quick driving. And driving quickly doesnt mean your driving like a prat. And youngsters are more likely to drive like a prat than older people, and from what I gather you dont exactly fall into the youngster bracket.

I'm 23... not quite ready for my pension yet

When I hear the word "ragging" to me it always conjures up imagery of someone giving the car a constant thrashing with no mechanical sympathy at all, and no let up regardless of road conditions.

Oh come on, you never did a little tyre screetching at the traffic lights? Never reved it up to near the redline?

I've done both those things (though I'm at a loss to describe my redline as I have no rev counter... though my car needs thrashing to make quick progress onto motorways and out of junctions onto main roads as I've only got 60bhp to play with) but I also take pride in driving smoothly, with minimal inputs, in the right gear for the best/most economical progress and knowing when to use the car's torque rather than it's limited power.

Ragging implies none of those things, just simply going as fast as possible everywhere with little thought for smooth driving or economy.

There's a time and place for going quickly, and "all the time, everywhere" isn't it

 

[homeforsummer]

If you were interested in that Polo Jon, it's been relisted for £200 less than before now


Click

God bless cars that few people like...

 

[forza2.0]

I wouldnt pay 1400 for that thing.

 

[Jondot]

Tempting... but I'm not in a position to buy just yet. That and I prefer the wonderfully mundane Mondeo, which is cheaper

I'm really just tossing around ideas at this point. Thanks for the update, though.