I notice the Saturday Honest John spread had been reduced to a single page. Does this mean people are getting bored of HJs constant recommendations of the Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz in this column?
Andrew
Regards
Andrew
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and nasty 4 pot VAG diesels
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At the risk of damning it with faint praise - it is the highlight of the DT motoring section, which now sucks so badly behind The Times it's embarrassing!
Incidentally was the Kia 4x4 that Clarkson summed up as "woeful" any relation to the Kia 4x4 that HJ reckons will "win them new friends?" - I think we should be told.
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Fergus - I think you have made your point. Time to change the record, perhaps...
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MB - maybe one of us should differentiate our sign in name?
I am the one who occasionally adds the following signature:
.*.* HJ Backroomers - ADD your photo albums at:
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/shoebox.msnw *.
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What is so bad about them? And what is the alternative?
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What's wrong with recommending these two cars? One is a clear class leader and the other in a class of its own.
Andy
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The DT's muttering section is (with the honourable exception of HJ's bit) or appears ro be written for non mutterers..
madf
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I must say, I am actually a fan of this column, and am disappointed that the size has been reduced. It was just my observation that HJ always seems to recommend the same cars, whatever the requirements! Some of the questions people ask is a joke though.
Andrew
Regards
Andrew
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Incidentally was the Kia 4x4 that Clarkson summed up as "woeful" any relation to the Kia 4x4 that HJ reckons will "win them new friends?" - I think we should be told.
Clarkson is a rich man with corresponding tastes. He can't understand that for most of us the way we buy a car is along the lines of "Well it is ugly, and the performance is not special, but I do need that feature, and the price is right, oh well, it'll do the job." That is the advantage of HJ's recommendations. He is not rich. Errm, well, ...
Yes the DT motoring bit is pathetic bar HJ and an occasional interesting article. And it no longer has Ripley tearing apart some poor soul naive enough to write to him.
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I agree that the motoring section without Ripley and Rutherford or their equivalent leaves only HJ as readable copy and even he has been halved in this week's issue.
I hope they haven't halved his fee else Mark (RBLS) will land up with only one ploughman's per year in future!
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Used to look foward to motoring telegraph. Now quite boring. Same thing with the magazine. Used to do some interesting articles. Still do at times, but far too few now. Advertising seems to take over. Am going to change for a while.
Regards to all.
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Big feature on the back page, tiz a well thought out proposition , only they forgot to mention the awful ride the car gives when going over anything bigger than a paperclip.
Remember my test drive, the salesman couldn't speak when we went over afew successive bumps.
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Big feature on the back page, tiz a well thought out proposition , only they forgot to mention the awful ride the car gives when going over anything bigger than a paperclip. Remember my test drive, the salesman couldn't speak when we went over afew successive bumps.
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Agree 100%, we bought one!.
Just never noticed how bad it realy was on the test drive until we drove it on the country roads where we live.
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So did we (or she), but as mentioned on a previous thread, it was delivered damaged and I got a full refund, and I feel, out of Jail!
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Out of interest Davo, had a quick look but could'nt find that thread.
We are hanging on to the slender hope that if we make enough noise Honda Uk might help out with curing the suspension on ours when the modified models hit the road.
Words of advice, as I mentioned in an earlier thread, **never** carry eggs in the boot!!!.
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Not much more to say other than it was a powerwash hose that had whipped up against the passenger door and left a 1" mark. What infuriated me was their ambivolence toward the whole thing, not offering any compensation at all, so I quoted the relevant SOG act rejecting the vehicle and after a bit of argy bargy got a full refund. They said that had they resprayed it I would be none the wiser which is true, but they didn't and I am so that is that. Still have my Accord serviced there, still not replaced her car either, as we now do mega mileages at the week-ends am glad I never carried on with it.
Good luck with yours.
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A4 1.9TDi - a good car ruined.
A6 1.9TDi - a very good car ruined
The 4 pot PDi engine?
Noisy, vibrates like mad, sluggish below 2000 revs and maxiumum noise and vibration set to kick in at 2001.
Over-hyped, unreliable adn very unpopular with the guys on our fleet who have to drive Golfs.
ALternatives? Not the PSA 4 pot, just as noisy and even more vibration. Ford TDCi, fairly quiet but too many snags.
Real alternatives? A good turbo petrol.
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Fergus, I personally feel quite reassured by the rumble of a diesel engine and find them very smooth to drive. Disagree with your dislike of VW TDi engines. If you want a quiet car then obviously don't bother with diesels but bear in mind that quietness is not everyone else's priority.
Splodgeface
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I could drive the PSA HDI engine all day, even better than the PSA 1.4 TU petrol, which has amazing torque at low revs for a small petrol engine.
Ben
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Speaking as someone who contributed to the "old" DT Motoring section and owns a VW 4-pot diesel car (SEAT Toledo) which I like for its driving ability, looks and economy, my views are:
HJ's column is the only worthwhile read in that section now. Sure, he recommends the Yaris and Jazz a lot, but they are the answers to many of the questions he gets.
Like much of the DT now, you're only likely to get a gig if you're a TV or other celeb.
HJ's column is sometimes bigger than last Sat's one page - the space given is more likely to do with advertising revenue (reduction) which creates the editorial space or lack of.
And yes, whereas until the revamp, DT Motoring led the way, the Sunday Times section seems preferable now.
Still, as they say, what goes round comes around - I hope!
RB
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We stopped reading the ST when they started charging for it on the Net. Big rip-off.
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I have just driven 150 motorway miles in a Golf 130 Pdi. I have a stinking headache and the vibration was appalling. I have to take the wretched thing back tomorrow. It isn't even very economical and it's simply too loud to go over 70. Just like every other Golf diesel I have ever had the misfortune to drive in fact.
Nuff said, if you spend a lot of time in the car then quiet and serene is a very high priority as is good seats.
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Got to say I've had a different experience with my VAG TDis. I've driven my 4cyl Seat Leon TDi 110 back to back with my BMW 5 Series 6cyl, and although the BMW sounds a little smoother at idle than the Seat, it's the Seat which is quieter at cruising speed - the difference is even more noticeable at speeds up to 80 (which I rarely exceed nowadays). Can't comment as much on the Passat (with the same engine as the Leon) as I haven't driven it that much yet, but so far it has certainly felt quite smooth and pleasant, although from the outside it seems slightly louder than the Seat.
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