- 3,241
- Desert Island
- GTP_DAN_
Hello GTP'ers,
As you know by now, I'm a regular member of this community and that is mostly due to my passion for cars and of course Gran Turismo,
strangely though, at the age of 22 I do not own a car yet and there are some reasons backing up this fact:
1 - I have free access to dad's and bro's machines, always backing up my little nocturne adventures.
2 - I always worked at the crowded metropolis of São Paulo, and then used and abused of the metropolitan transportation network, saving some bucks and getting home quickly and safely.
3 - Money was never an issue (considering the overall life standards around here) and since I didn't really need a car, I never ever thought of buying one.
But that was true until the last week.
I just got promoted, which means some new work to do and less spare time to enjoy, the only problem is though: I must cross the city, visiting the customers and having meetings with my team, which is spread through two sites by the way, one quite far from the other. So, a proper daily driver is demanded. 
Right, here's my overall profile, 2006 is the oldest year-model feasible to me, I need fuel economy ( which means a 1.6 liter-four is the biggest engine I'm going to get ), decent reliability, acceptable comfort and the necessary array of equipments needed in a car: Decent air-conditioning, power assisted steering, a stereo, electric windows, and a functioning alarm system integrated with remote locking of the doors and windows. Not much eh?
As a final note, I drive since I'm 16, so I've experienced many vehicles through the years.
Budget: In the whereabouts of R$35000($20700 / 15100 Euros), would pay a little bit more for extra comfort and more... stylish looks.
Here are my current proposals:
2008 VW Gol Power 1.6 : 32 - 34k R$
Driven: Yeah, a quite nice car, reasonably comfy and light on it's feet, can carry 4 adults with decent comfort and is very agile through the traffic. Reliable, has ridiculous running costs but the insurance is more expensive than the Polo's.
I like this car, looks quite good and it's lovably to live with. The gearing is perfectly matched to the engine, which is a 1.6 liter-four(99hp), very economical and quite torquey.
2008 VW Polo Sportline 1.6 : 30 - 36k R$
Driven: Only a few times, it's more comfy and better finished than the Gol. Smooth gearbox and better ride quality.
I'm almost sold on this one, found one with 25000kms with leather upholstery, and very nice alloys.
2008 Fiat Punto ELX 1.4 : 30 - 36k R$
Driven: Only test-driven once, lacks low-end torque and the fuel economy isn't impressive as you would expect. Styling-wise is the best of the four cars, the interior is actually quite good and has the Blue and me system, Ipod connectivity and some more gizmos to make it stand out from the VWs.
Not sure on this one, the cabin noise is terrible at 140km/h on the highway as I've already experienced from a brief trip as passenger in a Punto. But for city commute, it's good enough.
2006-2008 Chevrolet Montana Sport 1.8 : 26 - 30k R$
( This is the Corsa small pickup truck variation )
Driven: Hell yeah. This is the most torquey and fast of the four cars, the engine produces around 110hp, but as this is a little truck it's lighter and firmer, funnier to drive.
On the downside, the ride quality is firmier, but rather too much firm for long city trips, the rear visibility is almost inexistent due to the tall rear and it's not exactly a pretty car.
On the upside, I can tow light stuff, even a small motorbike (which I would want to buy as soon as possible), there's leather on the interior and I would only have to put half the effort to clean the interior
.Not the most reasonable choice, but still attractive to me. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other possibilities include Astra, Palio, Fiesta, Stilo, Golf, 206 and pretty much everything on the mentioned price range and built after 2006, I would like to point out that running costs are a factor I'm taking into account, but it does not exclude some more expensive cars. Suggestions are welcomed.
Anyway, Impressions on these cars? Which one would you recommend? I'm aware that the Polo and Punto are more known and likely to be driven by the average GTP'er.
Cheers,
Dan_
As you know by now, I'm a regular member of this community and that is mostly due to my passion for cars and of course Gran Turismo,
strangely though, at the age of 22 I do not own a car yet and there are some reasons backing up this fact:1 - I have free access to dad's and bro's machines, always backing up my little nocturne adventures.
2 - I always worked at the crowded metropolis of São Paulo, and then used and abused of the metropolitan transportation network, saving some bucks and getting home quickly and safely.
3 - Money was never an issue (considering the overall life standards around here) and since I didn't really need a car, I never ever thought of buying one.
But that was true until the last week.
I just got promoted, which means some new work to do and less spare time to enjoy, the only problem is though: I must cross the city, visiting the customers and having meetings with my team, which is spread through two sites by the way, one quite far from the other. So, a proper daily driver is demanded. Right, here's my overall profile, 2006 is the oldest year-model feasible to me, I need fuel economy ( which means a 1.6 liter-four is the biggest engine I'm going to get ), decent reliability, acceptable comfort and the necessary array of equipments needed in a car: Decent air-conditioning, power assisted steering, a stereo, electric windows, and a functioning alarm system integrated with remote locking of the doors and windows. Not much eh?
As a final note, I drive since I'm 16, so I've experienced many vehicles through the years.
Budget: In the whereabouts of R$35000($20700 / 15100 Euros), would pay a little bit more for extra comfort and more... stylish looks.
Here are my current proposals:
2008 VW Gol Power 1.6 : 32 - 34k R$
Driven: Yeah, a quite nice car, reasonably comfy and light on it's feet, can carry 4 adults with decent comfort and is very agile through the traffic. Reliable, has ridiculous running costs but the insurance is more expensive than the Polo's.
I like this car, looks quite good and it's lovably to live with. The gearing is perfectly matched to the engine, which is a 1.6 liter-four(99hp), very economical and quite torquey.
2008 VW Polo Sportline 1.6 : 30 - 36k R$
Driven: Only a few times, it's more comfy and better finished than the Gol. Smooth gearbox and better ride quality.
I'm almost sold on this one, found one with 25000kms with leather upholstery, and very nice alloys.
2008 Fiat Punto ELX 1.4 : 30 - 36k R$
Driven: Only test-driven once, lacks low-end torque and the fuel economy isn't impressive as you would expect. Styling-wise is the best of the four cars, the interior is actually quite good and has the Blue and me system, Ipod connectivity and some more gizmos to make it stand out from the VWs.
Not sure on this one, the cabin noise is terrible at 140km/h on the highway as I've already experienced from a brief trip as passenger in a Punto. But for city commute, it's good enough.
2006-2008 Chevrolet Montana Sport 1.8 : 26 - 30k R$
( This is the Corsa small pickup truck variation )
Driven: Hell yeah.
This is the most torquey and fast of the four cars, the engine produces around 110hp, but as this is a little truck it's lighter and firmer, funnier to drive.On the downside, the ride quality is firmier, but rather too much firm for long city trips, the rear visibility is almost inexistent due to the tall rear and it's not exactly a pretty car.
On the upside, I can tow light stuff, even a small motorbike (which I would want to buy as soon as possible), there's leather on the interior and I would only have to put half the effort to clean the interior
.Not the most reasonable choice, but still attractive to me. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other possibilities include Astra, Palio, Fiesta, Stilo, Golf, 206 and pretty much everything on the mentioned price range and built after 2006, I would like to point out that running costs are a factor I'm taking into account, but it does not exclude some more expensive cars. Suggestions are welcomed.
Anyway, Impressions on these cars? Which one would you recommend? I'm aware that the Polo and Punto are more known and likely to be driven by the average GTP'er.
Cheers,
Dan_
