SWMBO is due to change her Pug 206 Motability car in September. We've had fun and games deciding what to go for next. She really wanted something with a boot and the options were rather limited. In the end it came down to a Ford Focus saloon or a Nissan Almera saloon.
The Almera turned out to be a better bet than the Focus, but why have I, SWMBO or anyone else I know, not seen a single Almera saloon on the road?
The Almera saloon to my mind looks far more elegant than the hatchback. No doubt as soon as her's arrives, we'll notice millions of them, but where are they all hiding at the moment?
Curiously yours,
CM
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The Almera saloon to my mind looks far more elegant than the hatchback.
Small saloons simply don't sell in the UK, with the exception of the Orion. Witness the Vauxhall Belmont as an example of how NOT to do it. Ditto the Nova saloon and VW Derby (polo avec boot)
Dunno why, but there you go.
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Is it me or did there always seem to be more rusty Belmonts on the road than Astras?
Going back to my original point, the Almera felt the same size as an MG ZS/Rover 45. The two year old demonstrator (a hatchback sadly, and was an automatic by necessity) sounded brand new compared to the rattly and squeaky '04 reg MG ZR my Mum picked up last month. I'm looking forward to SWMBO taking delivery of the Almera in September.
Changing the subject slightly, Mum's ZR is fitted with ABS. It has front brake discs and drums on the rear. OK, so the benefit of ABS is not having the front wheels lock under heavy braking but drums at the back? Didn't they go out with the Ark? Having driven it a few times now I'm not at all confident with the feel of the brakes. You hit them and stop after a while, but there's no "FEEL". It's difficult to explain, but I suppose it's just that I don't get a warm fuzzy feeling of the pads rubbing against the discs (at the front only obviously) through the soles of my shoes.
Please feel free to question my sanity!
All the best,
CM
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The Almera saloon to my mind looks far more elegant than the hatchback.
Agreed, tho that wouldn't be hard! (Actually, the saloon is quite pretty, but I can't bring myself to like the hatch)
No doubt as soon as her's arrives, we'll notice millions of them, but where are they all hiding at the moment?
If you look on autotrader (link to the left), you'll see lots of hatches for sale, but v few saloons. That rather confirms what NoDosh says about them being unpopular.
That should, in theory, make them a good s/h buy, but the sellers all seem to be looking for more for them than the very heavily discounted new Almeras. (The Almera 1.5S 5dr at £8000 from www.new-car-discount.com looks like an excellent buy if you want a hatch -- a reliable mid-size car for the cost of a Fiesta)
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I had an Almera Saloon as a hire car whilst in Ireland. Decent car, but for a 1.5 it felt underpowered and the interior didn't seem much different to the Nissans of the 80s. I had a Focus at the time (hatchback) and the Focus was a much better car to drive, but the saloon Focus does appear to have a very high boot.
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