I've had the 'pleasure' of one of these for a few days while the Migraine was having some work done under warranty, and have found little to like about it
The interior is very basic - do you wonder what happened to all the cheap 'silver' plastic when Tandy went out of business and stopped selling 'Realistic' brand hi-fi - well I can tell you
At 6 months old and 5600 miles,, the courtesy light switch has already failed, and it already has more creaks and groans than Methusaleh's grandad. I've lost count of the number of times I've checked the luggage space trying to find out where all the noise was coming from, without success. The sound like a tin can rolling on the floor did,
however, prove to be caused by a tin can rolling on the floor
The very thick A-pillars create significant blind spots, don't even bother to try and find the nearside kerb on tight corners, and the passenger door window runner near the quarterlight obscures the part of the door mirror.
Performance is non-existent, especially given that the Migraine 1.5 diesel is 20% more economical over the same journeys. An indicated 75 on the motorway is 3500 rpm in fifth, and becomes very tiring even on my 25 mile trip to work. I keep looking for another 2 gears to change up through
I've come to the conclusion that the only function of cars like this is for Renault dealers to use as courtesy cars, so when you get your own car back, it benefits by comparison !
Now....
it was supplied with the screenwash reservoir completely empty.
If I fill it up, and leave a half empty bottle of screenwash on the passenger seat, how much would it be fair to charge the dealer ;-)
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A fiver for the screenwash and half an hour's labour (what's your daily freelance rate borasport? Never mind, say half an hour=£115.83 plus VAT).
That ought to cover it in a way a main dealer will understand, don't you think? Obviously you don't want to upset them by undercharging.
Edited by Lud on 30/05/2008 at 17:30
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I can only agree with you about the driving experience. I got given a Modus as a rental car. I drove it 8km, turned around and drove it back. Quite the most horrible thing I've driven for a long time, awkward driving position, gutless engine, nasty steering, uncomfortable seats and a jarring ride. A Fiesta is miles better.
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Modus is ugly too.
Always had a soft spot for ugly cars. Perhaps the Modus has hidden depths and undiscovered virtues?
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As it happens, I quite like the strange, ugly look but agree with borasport that the radio looks like an own brand shocker: silver and reminiscent of a cheap boom-box.
When I pointed this out to the salesman at my local Renault dealer (in a fairly jokey sort of way) he looked at me as though I was behaving rather badly.
I'm afriad I didn't make matters any better by pointing to a Twingo and suggesting (again as a joke) that Clarkson might call it a "homosexual car". He failed to smile and said that he had a Twingo as his company car.
I drove the Modus but have to say that if it does have hidden depths, they're very successfully hidden. As for undiscovered virtues? How much time does anyone have?
Edited by Optimist on 30/05/2008 at 18:00
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The more people say about it the more I fancy one. I really like that silver boom-box finish, especially when it gets a bit worn here and there and shows the excrement-coloured cheapo plastic beneath. It would brighten the interior of a car up no end to have a decent expanse of that on the facia. Bling bling, ooh yeah.
I imagine these devices are obtainable practically free?
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also, the cloth appears to be out of that grey material that Postmen's uniforms were made of in the days of the Royal Mail
(and my school uniform, come to that)
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Bagpuss, what did you say?
The thought of taking a rental car back and saying "No - I don't like this one - please give me something else" would never have occurred to me - unless, of course, the car was faulty. (I did once turn down a rental car in the USA on the grounds of the large crack across the windscreen. They didn't bat an eyelid and gave me something else.)
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I didn't realise how different the driving position was until I got back into my own car and found difficulty in finding the pedals !
as for value, Lud, according to the insurance document I signed, it was insured for £10,000
I opted not to charge them for the screenwash, as they forgot the £10 a day insurance charge ;-)
I also noticed, when filling the screenwash, that the engine was a 1.4 16 valve. Theres something amiss when a 1.4 16v in a small car produces poor economy and poor performance - must be the weight of all the airbags
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Call it six at big hire-co discount, that's still not free.
Something wrong with it perhaps? Not unknown on new cars or hire cars, or unloved main-dealer hacks. Quite a small subtle fault can rob a small subtle modern car of its true potential.
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I have taken rental cars back. Sometimes becuase there was a fault and sometimes simply because the car was a pig to drive. Sometimes of course you get a cracker and want to hold it close to your heart after you drop the keys off, but very rarely! I can think of a large Chrysler in about 1979, but nothing else springs to mind.
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