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Small cars are for the poor and the desperate, regardless of what this nanny spin doctor state has persuaded you otherwise...
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Small cars are for the poor and the desperate
And those confident enough in themselves not to need to demonstrate it through the size of their car.
Fiat say otherwise with the Panda 100hp , and will continue to do up to and beyond the 500 Abarth. I drive small cars by choice for the ease of city parking and driving, the nippy handling and the ability to nail them up to their limits whilst still remaining on the right side of the law - ask the GTI driver who found a 1.3 Micra hanging off his tail all the way along 8 miles of twist B road a few weeks back as punishment for a dumb and speedy overtaking move in a small village ;) I also don't see the point of dragging 4ft of boot around on my daily travels for no good reason.
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The small and desperate comment is so wide of the mark it's untrue.
Here are some small cars that are worthwhile for the driving pleasure they offer
Lupo GTI
Panda 100hp
205GTi
106GTi
Mini Cooper (original)
Fiat 500
and many more. Anyone who doesn't recognise that a relatively low powered, low weight car can't offer big fun and be the best choice for some circumstances is either stupid or trolling.........
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Small cars are for the poor and the desperate
And those of us who don't have other "size" issues to make up for ;-)
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At the risk of being terribly, terribly un-PC, I reckon that the reason why Citroen C3s are so popular with women 'of a certain age' is that they have a huge 'H' box, making it look like they are steering an old aircraft when changing from 2nd to 3rd, 'cos they struggle with tight gear changes for some reason.
Both my missus and my dear old ma have C3's and my missus would never touch my car becuase she's scared stiff of
a. Parking it
b. Choosing the wrong gear.
I have a sneaky suspicion that Citroen deliberately made the gearbox for the C3 with such people in mind - and, if they did, then they did a very good 'know your target market' research job.
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'Small cars are for the poor and the desperate'
OK, I'll bite.
I love small, light cars for their pure driving pleasure, they're no good for taking the family on holiday, but they're great as a second car if you're rich enough!
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'Small cars are for the poor and the desperate' OK I'll bite. I love small light cars for their pure driving pleasure
I guess there is some boy racer appeal in driving a Fiat Panda with body kit around like a go-kart, but surely an M3 would be more fun (not to mention civilised, for anyone that's over the age of about 19).
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I guess there is some boy racer appeal in driving a Fiat Panda with body kit around like a go-kart but surely an M3 would be more fun (not to mention civilised for anyone that's over the age of about 19).
I found a 106 Rallye to be much more fun than an M3, easier to chuck around at moderate speeds and you can use more of the road with a narrower car. Modern small cars aren't as rough as they were 10 or 20 years ago so as long as there's enough power to make motorways relaxing they're not that bad in terms of noise.
Anyone who thinks a fun car has to be big or fast is short of experience IMHO
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I enjoy driving small cars round town. Used a fiat cinqi thingy a few times a couple of years ago for a few short urban journeys and it was more fun nipping through gaps in traffic that larger motors wouldn't fit through.
I really wouldn't want to do all of the 30k miles a year that I do in anything much smaller than a Mondeo though
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I read often, only post occasionally
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I like some big cars and I like some small cars - all depends on the car.
My sister has a Suzuki Swift and its a great little car to zip about it. Pretty comfortable and very responsive. The smaller mass gives small cars some advantage in terms of handling response. I wouldn't want to go further than about 50 miles in it though.
In the past I have owned S-class and 7-series - great on the open road, but a real pain when you want to drive a couple of miles to the shops and park up.
If I were commuting into a city everyday then I would definitely choose a small car.
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Some small cars are fabulous but I don't seek them out. Got a tall enthusiast friend who likes small cars though.
I note that HJ likes the warm Peugeot 207 but I don't really like the look of it myself. Not that that has ever put me off a car.
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It seems odd that small cars provoke such a reaction because the reality is that they're getting bigger all the time. Each time a model is replaced, the newer version is a little larger than its predecessor. This means that the 207 is bigger than the old 306 and the current Polo is bigger than the original Golf.
When I were a lad in the 70s, a Ford Cortina would be regarded as a medium/large car, and fine for reps and families. My memory may be faulty but even when I was ten it seemed quite cramped to the son of a Maxi owner, and I don't believe it had any more space than a modern supermini.
I had a 207 as a courtesy car for several weeks and liked it a lot. Apart from seeming very solidly built, it didn't feel small.
Why is the C3 popular? I've only ever been a passenger in one but I really liked the seating position and the fact that it seemed taller than comparable small cars.
Does anyone really debate whether to buy an M3 or a Panda? You buy the Panda through economic necessity, because it's more practical for your purposes, or because even if you have more money, you can't justify spending it. I've just looked up the price of a new M3. I probably could raise that much cash if I really wanted to, although it would involve slaughtering rather than raiding the piggy bank. I'll stick to my four-year-old Fabia for now as I have better uses for my money.
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Maybe I'm a bit claustrophobic, but I do find small cars a bit cramped. That's why I have a Berlingo. Panda, 207, M3 - all pretty cramped really. :-)
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I've got very fond memories of driving my dad's Fiat 126. On the down side, it was very, very slow, full of rust, noisy and tiny inside (.........and constant abuse caused me to seize the engine.) But on the plus side, you could drive it flat out most of the time and it was a great challenge to keep up the momentum. 'Drifting' it through bends was a great joy. There's something to be said for getting the most out of a small slow car. I seem to recall that James Hunt used to drive around town in an Austin A35 van.
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I had a Smart 4-2 Brabus when all my driving was in town, and it was excellent fun as well as being only slightly more difficult than a bicycle to park. But on the open road it was too bouncy.
There is actually fun to be had in driving a relatively low powered (usually small) car - you have to think, anticipate, time your gear changes just right, set yourself up for bends properly, etc. to make progress. Anyone can drive, say, a 5-series fast (sticking to speed limits) without really thinking about it.
Wasn't it James Hunt who said his favourite car was a little old Austin A35 estate, for precisely these reasons? IIRC, at the time he had a Merc S-class up on bricks in his drive.
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Some people never drive long distances but small cars are hard work over 50 miles or so, even on main roads.
I drove our Jazz from Chester to Nottingham and back - 160 mile round trip (A50) and was worn out when I got back. It's just too bouncy and lively - it reacts to every external influence, and getting back up to speed after roundabouts etc is an effort.
But around town, it's perfect (well, apart from the ride).
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I think there's alot to be said for a smallish car with the largest engine option. Makes for very "squirtable" driving. I once remember 18 years or so ago alot of fun driving a Citroen AX 1.4 (and in those days an AX was a really light car unlike today's superminis) around and up the Pyranees - it was fantastic fun on tight twisting roads - a larger car with lower ground clearance would have literally not fitted in or managed to bounce thru the potholes. We even had one of those mad situations in Girona where we were driving down a pedestrian street with high walls to get to a hotel and had to pull the mirrors in to clear the windowsills.. It was such a blast being in such an adjustable and light car with enough of a turn of speed without being able to get into real trouble.
What you don't generally get with smaller cars is that feeling of isolation from the road which you do get from a Mondeo upwards - where u see the road undulating and with pot holes but are effectively insulated from the bumps, vibration and the noise.
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I drive my Yaris diesel in town and enjoy easy parking, 57mpg and comfort.
I drive it on motorways and enjoy cruising at 70mph (cough) and 68mpg.
I enjoy £35 RFL.
The airconditioning and sunroof work very well and if I wanted I could wear a hat : there is that much headspace. Takes 5 - with rear seat pushed back.
Agreed it's not brilliant over speed humps.. but what is..?
But hey drive your big cars.. someone has to pay Gordon for the priviledge. It's just not me....:-)
madf
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I used to have a Fiat Uno and whenever the electrics weren't playing up was the most fun to have with your clothes on. It begged to be driven using the throttle as an on / off switch and handled like nothing else since my original mini.
Tiny little car, great big fun.
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On the other hand, I have had a Corsa 1.2 Twinport SXI as a courtesy car for the last week. Fun it is NOT. A woefully undergeared top cog makes motorway driving a real chore. Reasonably nippy and chuckable at lower speeds, though.
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Most modern cars are too heavy for their size and strangled by emissions regulations. The most fun I've had was in a Pug 205 1.6 GTi but there will never be another car like that now. I always prefered the 1.6 to the slightly more powerful 1.9, the latter in comparison seemed a little 'front heavy', although compared to almost anything else in its day it was a treat.
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A woefully undergeared top cog
That's true - even the Jazz (reasonable torque) is doing the best part of 4000rpm at normal motoway speed. I guess madf's diesel Yaris should be better in that respect.
Big engined small cars are of course fun, but I've found them tough to sell - the sort of person that usually wants them can't afford the insurance and it's otherwise a very limited market. They also tend to gravitate towards the price of the smaller engined versions so you lose mor money.
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I think small cars have their place - it depends what you want from a car really.
I do love my Fiat for its easy of parking and an easily attainable 54mpg. Its also great for zipping round town and it feels nimble and perky after my mums Hyundai Coupe which is in itself a good car.
On the otherhand, the boot is small and I miss that 'planted' feeling a large car has on the M-way.
Finances rule right now though hence my dilemma about wanted a bigger car but wanting it to be reasonable to run.
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Big engined small cars are of course fun but I've found them tough to sell - the sort of person that usually wants them can't afford the insurance and it's otherwise a very limited market. They also tend to gravitate towards the price of the smaller engined versions so you lose mor money.
That's true on larger cars too. A 04 520i, new price £25,832 is now worth £15,500.
Same plate 545i, which cost £41,907 new, is now worth just £21,000
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>Bill Payer
yaris diesel geared to 70mph and around 3,000rpm.
madf
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Some people never drive long distances but small cars are hard work over 50 miles or so even on main roads.
True to a point but two of the most comfortable cars I've driven over any distance were the Pug 104 & 205.
Drove the 104 from Uxbridge to Pen y Pas YH one July evening c. 1985 and arrived fresh as a daisy for a weekend assault on the Welsh 3000's.
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True to a point but two of the most comfortable cars I've driven over any distance were the Pug 104
Ahh, the dear old Pug 104!
I had a very early 4-door (i.e. no hatch) 104 in my youth and I too have happy memories of driving it long distances - 2 journeys from Hemel Hempstead to Dartmouth and to South Wales stand out. Somehow less was more!
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