Whats the most underrated car? Regular readers will know my thoughts about the Xsara.
Ben
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seat leon, no doubt. excellent diesels, excellent go faster versions and a very well equipped 'base' model with a list price under £10k. hold their value quite well too.
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Skoda Octavia. Same as above, only bigger! ;-)
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The Golf. Didn't it spawn both of the above?
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Well yes, but it's not exactly underrated, is it? It's a good car, and everyone knows it's a good car, as opposed to the Leon and Octavia, which not so many people know about...
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I'll add my 2p for the Skoda Fabia - head and shoulders above everything else in the price/size bracket, IMHO.
And from times of yore, the Citroen ZX still takes some beating. Always in the shadow of the 306 but for the life of me, I can't see why.
Lee.
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The Honda Accord. Won What Car? Family Car of the year in 2000, superb build quality, excellent reliability, better than average residuals, fantastic engine. Overall, a very good car. So why do very few people actually buy them? How many people have actually driven one?
Andy
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Mk I Polo.
When all my mates were trying to get Mini 1275 GTs and Fiesta Supersports, I settled for one of these (1979 vintage). It's still going strong (had 98k on it when I sold it in 1989) and was simplicity itself to work on, yet gave excellent economy and often left my Mini/Fiesta driving mates standing.
Makes me grin just thinking about it!
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I've got one, 2.0LS saloon, and love it, but, would not agree with residuals, people don't buy them so much as they look fairly dull apart from the front angle. Engine is good but others are equal now. I now need a diesel so am wondering which to buy, the Honda Civic does not appeal.
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The Honda Accord. Won What Car? Family Car of the year in 2000, superb build quality, excellent reliability, better than average residuals, fantastic engine. Overall, a very good car. So why do very few people actually buy them? How many people have actually driven one? Andy
Could have fooled me, my 1998 model lost 4 grand in a year (bought at 11 months old for £13k, traded for £9k (which was above book) at 24 months old), had to go back about seven times for various niggly faults in the time I had it and was no better or worse than any other decent modern car in terms of overall build quality, engine etc.
It's still sat on the dealer's forecourt 6 weeks after I traded it, and the dealer informed me the other day that not one person had asked about it.
I nominate the Seat Ibiza Cupra for an underrated car award, as it's basically a VW Polo (arguably the best small car in the world) with an Audi TT engine, and you can get a good one for less than £10K with more than a year's warranty left on it.
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I'e driven one. Good performance and very competent at getting you from A to B but not much in the way of driving excitement.
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I am a former ZX 1.4i owner - great handling, fun to drive - but more downsides to upsides - poor performance (left standing by 1.2 Novas), 27 MPG, lightweight build makes it slide all over in the wet (as I found out one night when I went skidding off the road, smashing it to bits).
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And from times of yore, the Citroen ZX still takes some beating.
I wholeheartedly agree Lee - What other production car could manage to return to it's base elements in 12 months! Impressive :)
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Not driven them but always thought that some of the bigger Hyundais probably are better than impressions might give. What about the Kia Magentis.
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Rover 75, comfortable, smooth, well-built journey shrinkers. Why aren't they all over the place?
Darcy.
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Rover 75 - they look like an old man's car - for most people image is very important.
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Darcy,
I think we'll have to keep the Rover 75 a secret from the youngsters a little longer. Don't want them pushing the prices up with extra demand!
MM
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Rover 75 - no need to keep it a secret, no-one under 65 is likely to want one.
There must be a place for retro-styling though.
What was it Clarkson called it - a Werther's Original on wheels?
Does the same apply to the S-Type? Perhaps one of the Broomers's can tell us what age the typical S-Type buyer tends to be.
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MkIII Cortina.
Loved it. I'd still have it now if it hadn't got rather broken.
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I had a MkII and a Mk III. Preferred the Mk II but both were fun - or were the roads less hairy in those days?
Terry
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I def. preferred the MkIII, although I had a bit of fun in a MkI also.
I think our expectations were lower, our speeds were lower, there was less traffic, and being young and foolish we didn\'t know what we were doing half the time anyway.
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In the inimitable words of Budweiser - true, how true!
:o)
Terry
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Aaaah - The first car of my father's that I remember was a 2.0L pea green MkIII Cortina. Had twin choke webers and when that second one opened up the change in the car's character was amazing.
Sadly Mark, I think fighting the rust may have caused a nervous breakdown long ago had your car not been "broken"!
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Rover 75.
Sorry but the words out, I'm 31 and I've got my eyes on a very nice 2.5L Club SE.
Still the only non-German car to win the German Golden Steering Wheel not to mention the 30 or so other awards it's won.
Old man's car? Yeah whatever. What with all the diesel car owners on here isn't that a case of those living in glasshouses shouldn't throw stones?
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The main difference between a 25 year-old and a 30 year-old is the phrase "Yeah, whatever" when it comes to questions of image.
Chris (34)
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Just got back from the dentist (he must earn more than David Beckham) and sat reading the obligatory motor car magazine, I think it was Autocar and a man was writing in there of his Rover 75.
To quote him in all his years of motoring and different cars nothing has compared to his Rover 75.
The finest engine and gearbox ever built and the perfection and detail of the interior suggested that the interior designer deserves a knighthood.
His absolute praise almost made me feel like going round to the Rover dealer in town but then remembered they had been demoted to a Unipart only place in the last round of cuts.
Rover seem to have got it right at last.
alvin
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Sorry but the words out, I'm 31 and I've got my eyes on a very nice 2.5L Club SE.
3500S
I had a Rover 75 2.5 Club all last week as a hire car from Budget. Once I had gotten use to it I think it was quite good actually. All that nice walnut very plush! It was an auto and I found the auto-box a bit slow on the uptake in economy mode but in sports mode it was a different matter, quite a satisying engine noise at full throttle. It was quick to accelerate and quite fun to drive, unfortunately it tended to wallow a little around bends and would benefit from stiffer suspension, but in a straight line it was quick if a little heavy on petrol, but I put that down to my heavy right foot! Very comfortable on the long drive down the M5 to J25 where I got off and headed for Weymouth. All in all I was quite pleasantly surprised and cannot now understand all the bad vibes regarding this car. I think people should actually drive a car before they dis it outright. I still don't like all that chrome though.
So go for it 3500S if you fancy one I don't think you will be dissapointed.
Anyway what the hell does JC know - big self-opinionated wally!!
Cheers
VD5D.
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The best car I had was a Mazda MX-3. Great fun to drive, decent MPG, good looks, and a surprisingly long and spacious boot - I could fit my mountain bike in there without any problems.
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I've always thought the Freelander was a great car
;-)
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How about the most recent Mondeo? Doesnt this share a platform with a few other cars?
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>>Whats the most underrated car?
If you are buying from a dealer its usually the car your trading in ;-)
My list:
Porsche 968
Vauxhall Carlton 3.0.GSi 24v
Alfa Romeo 155 (1995 on)
Alfa Romeo 166
Fiesta XR2 Mk 2 (84-89)
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Wouldn't call the 968 underrated. Have you seen the prices??
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The 968 was underrated when new, hence not many sold, but is now highly rated, hence the prices.
The 968 and 993 were both produced when Porsche sales were at a historic low hence so ones are like gold dust now. 968 total production was under 13000 units and probably only about 6000 of those are in Europe.
Likewise, good, late 993's are now worth more than early 996's.
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Bizarrely enough I always thought the original Nissan Almera was very underrated. A friend's father purchased one of the first in the country back in 1995, and it was actually really good to drive. Looks like a dog's dinner though, but a real quantum leap over the Sunny it replaced.
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Got to be the Mondeo, the only thing holding it back is the badge and the snobs who won't buy one because of it.
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"Mondeo - the only thing holding it back is the badge"
I don't think so. What the Mondeo could do with is some Halo effect from a fire breather to give it's image at a bit of pep. Where's the Mondeo Cosworth, or Lotus Mondeo?
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Just on the Mondeo - depreciation looks like a killer to me. Also there seems to be some questions about build quality.
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Mondeo Cosworth A.K.A. Mondeo ST220. :)
Blue
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I don't think you can call a car that sells in such quantity 'underrated'. Under-appreciated, maybe, but then I think that people who get vehicles as a perk should be given a choice of van...
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TR7 (convertible)
CS
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I'll second Dave the Taxi Driver on the Skoda Octavia, only bought as a cheap long commute car but has far exceeded expectations, its very comfortable, quiet, economical, suprisingly fun to drive and nothing has gone wrong!!!
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Again, from days of yore:
Renault 21 Turbo
Looked like a boxy saloon, went like stink, handled better than anything on the road at that time for three times its cost.
Loved it!
Rob
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austin wedge princess.preferably in racing brown.ive had 5 of these.(not all brown)v reliable strong and an ideal window cleaning workhorse.still miss not having one!(ok iknow its sad but i like orphan cars!)
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Austin Maxi (After 1970, didn't like THAT cable gear change business, first fitted)
Montego diesel estates,Countryman by far best package.
Maestro diesel van, mine in particular,306,000 miles & counting.
And I'm not being sarcastic, either!
Mark
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Hillman Avenger. Mechanically bulletproof (I seem to recall that the engine designer was also responsible for the Aston Martin V8 engine, but perhaps I just imagined it), smoother ride and better handling in showroom trim than its 70s rivals (Escort, Marina), but unloved then and forgotten now. I bought an S-reg one in the late 1980s and as student transport it was unbeatable.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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OK, confession time.
"My name is Kevin, and I too was addicted to Cortinas..."
My first car was a 1600E given to me by mum and dad as a bribe to give up bikes. It had metallic silver paintwork (silver mink ?), that started to peel off the roof not long after I got it.
Dad's friend bought an ex-works MKI Lotus Cortina for a trip to IoM TT. We broke top gear on open day and cursed the competition clutch all way there and back.
For a few months, dad had a MKIII 2.0 GT in a luminous dayglo green colour (can't remember what Ford called this colour). Mum and I loved this car but he hated it.
The first car I bought with my own cash was a 'MKIII Cortina 3.0 GT Big-Six' while we were living in Namibia.
The Big-Six was replaced by a 5.0L Granada Ghia after a late night head-on with a Kudu, but soon swapped again for a MKIV Cortina 3.0S.
Last Cortina owned was one of the first Cortina Interceptors ever built. AFAIK, the Interceptors were only built and sold in SA.
Wait ! Don't go... ! I'll fetch the photo's !
Kevin...
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Thinking back, one of my favorite cars was a Ford Zodiac (j reg)
3 Litre. Amazing comfort and performance, shame about the fuel consumption!!!!
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If we are talking oldies can I put in a word for the Dolomite Sprint. I am well aware of the cylinder head problems but if care was taken they could be avoided. performance for its day was amazing and mine could wipe the floor with most things.
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And IIRC the engine won a design award for having a well-shaped combustion chamber like a twin-cam set up using a single cam and operating the other valve using a rocker arm.
One of my then colleagues in 1977 had a bright yellow one with a black everflex roof. I fair drooled over it, and it was the fastest thing in (and out of) the car park. It made mincemeat of another colleagues Triumph 2.5PI and my Fiat 128 Rallye was left in the weeds.
This was when God were a lad ...
Darcy.
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Silver Fox & Saluki Bronze, bothlooked good for 5 minutes, before failing lacquer.
Think the green was Spring Green, your talking 1975 N - P reg.
We had a 2000E auto with Webasto sun roof, this WAS a nice car.
Mark
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Vansboy, you amaze me!
Silver Fox it was, and I'd totally forgotten about the Saluki Bronze!
The green MKIII was an N-reg, so you're probably right about that too.
Kevin...
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Vauxhall Omega... scrumptious, silent but solid and a smooth as a babies botty! What's more it has a boot to fit a 3 bedroom semi inside, great seats, lots of gadgets, its rear wheel drive, doesn't get broken into every night and you can pick them up for peanuts!
Simon
_____________________________________
SVPworld (incorporating PSRworld)
www.svpworld.com
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NSU Ro80, especially if you follow the logic that the Japanese perfected an idea someone else pioneered.
Style and technology ahead of its time.
In the same vein, the Jensen Interceptor FF.
Not forgetting, of course, the Morris Oxford...Farina styling, loads of space, and rolling acres of bonnet concealing a throbbing 1622cc engine. What could be better?
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