Of course, the ideal would be to have a range of cars available to you - a small car (microcar even) for round town work, a larger model for more general use and a big motor for holidays and moving stuff around...
Aha!
But where that isn't possible and your needs dictate the availability of a larger vehicle, say, at weekends...?
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Slightly off topic but I passed a dodgem car going up the M5 north of Bristol last night.
It was perhaps just slightly larger than a standard fairground dodgem but was the same shape even down to the "brush" around the skirt. Driver wore a crash helmet and because of the bodywork, no wheels or any of the mechanical bits could be seen.
Does anyone have any info on this "Small hatch"? (perhaps it was a hovercraft!!)
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Aha, it must be a Smart. They look like fairground dodgems!
Roger in Spain
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Oh NoDosh, I think I love you!
I'm all for small cars... but Micras?!?! I thought this was a forum populated by people who know about cars!
In a perfect world, I'd have a small zippy car for town driving, and a Hummer for on the motorway. Lets just see a lorry try to wipe me out in one of those!
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Oh NoDosh, I think I love you!
[embarrassed mode]Er, blimey, that's a bit unexpected! I known I'm short and drive a reasonably nice car but I'm not really "Googly-eyes" Hammond material. Still, very nice of you all the same.[/embarrassed mode]
::: tugs at collar :::
Er....
::: sidles to door :::
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but I'm not really "Googly-eyes" Hammond material. ::: tugs at collar ::: Er.... ::: sidles to door :::
hey, come back here you! gissa photo and let us decide for ourselves ;-)
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Sorry, gotta dash, I've got to get my daughter off to bed.
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Well obviously I meant it in a 'comical great uncle' kind of way!!
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Well obviously I meant it in a 'comical great uncle' kind of way!!
Oooh yeah, does wonders for a chaps ego, that one. Cheers PG.
:op
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Excuse me ?? He looks like David Brent and drives a tractor - now if you wanted the tall, blond, unshaven guy with the impressive car you'd stand more chance of avoiding disappointment.
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>>now if you wanted the tall, blond, unshaven guywith the impressive car you'd stand more chance of avoiding >>disappointment.
Now if you could just tell me who that is...!
(HJ a new revenue generating service for you - the BackRoom matchmaking service!)
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(HJ a new revenue generating service for you - the BackRoom matchmaking service!)
At the moment it seems to be more a case of trying to pimp out his moderators! :D
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now if you wanted the tall, blond, unshaven guy with the impressive car you'd stand more chance of avoiding disappointment.
But Mark, whilst I appreciate you may have been blonde once, these days it's more a fetching shade of scalp with the odd diversionary stubbly patch.....
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that spiky stuff still covers more than 50% so I still class myself as "haired".
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Instead, in this less-than-perfect world you have a eurobox that frequently tries to kill you... ;)
Besides Micras are great, so ner - they're so fantastic simply because you don't *have* to know about cars to get the best out of them, which makes them very attractive to new/older/nervous/low mileage drivers. However, if you are a bit tasty behind the wheel you can throw them around city centre roads to within a hair's-breadth of insanity and come out grinning ear-to-ear :)
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Besides Micras are great, so ner - they're so fantastic simply because you don't *have* to know about cars to get the best out of them, which makes them very attractive to new/older/nervous/low mileage drivers.
Not sure I fit your categories, but I think that's exactly why I like them: they do the job reliably and without fuss, and with no hint of visual aggression. Kindof everything a BMW isn'!
For anyone who wants excitement or image or anything from a car, I can see why they rate pretty low, but if you want to avoid those things, they seem near-perfect. YMMV :)
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But where that isn't possible and your needs dictate the availability of a larger vehicle, say, at weekends...?
I'd hire a car and sit back happily thinking of all those thousands I'd saved on my funky little Yaris over something bigger... :)
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Hes just jealous that my original post on Kens 4x4 ban reached 150+.
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Girls, girls that's enough cat fighting!
Roger in Spain
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I'm going to do an unusual thing and say something actually on topic.
Tiny little hatchbacks - well, cheaper to run, and supposedly easier to park. And, like the handbag theory, I think you expand your luggage according to the size of your boot.
Big estates - Diesels - no more expensive to run, and if you're rubbish at parking anyway it really doesn't make a difference what you are trying to park - take it from one who knows. Loads and loads of room for luggage - but does that mean we'll pack a load of unnecessaries just because we can?
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HF, that comparison caught my eye -- I defended the little Micra, but my last car (before an arsonist sent me from 4wheels to nowheels) was a fairly big diesel estate.
Luggage definitely expanded to fill the space available, and it's been a useful exercise learning to carry only what I actually need! But I do find that size makes a difference to my parking success: I do ok in a weensy little car, but I have less success as it gets bigger. When I get to driving a Transit van, I need people to guide me and yell!
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I dont like small cars.
Becuase of the 'Oh, must have something small' people who exist in their thousands, the concept of supply and demand pushes used prices for poverty spec shoeboxes up, whilst reducing the prices for fully loaded properly sized car.
So, I was able to get a fully loaded, properly sized car with a decently sized engine for the same moeny as an equivilent aged small car with windup windows and no air conditioning, let alone cruise control and a heated leather interior :)
As for parking - provided you get the hang of it, it really isnt that much more difficult than parking the Skoda Felicia I once drove around in. It's also 100 times nicer to drive.
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Yay! Three rousing cheers for Mr Rodgers.
I've always chuckled at these people who insist on a teeny-weeny 3 year old car with no home comforts (cos it's cheap to run, innit) when for the same or less you can get a larger, more comfortable car with all the bits that make driving in the UK today that little bit more tolerable. Like acceleration, for starters.
A friend of Mrs No Dosh is currently looking to spend around £1000 on a car that will need to get her around rural Dorset through all weathers and conditions (her chap is a shepherd - and we now have a full freezer, thank you Tom).
After looking at the umpteenth fiesta/nova/micra on its 18th owner, all of them new drivers or, er, advanced in their life experience, I finally persuaded her to look at Astra/Escort/306 for the same or less money.
Ooooh, she can get a 2 or 3 owner example with 1/3rd less miles, a sunroof and room for a couple of hay bales! Cheap to run, parts and repair a doddle. Rural Dorset is awash with 306 and ZX diesels, most of them second cars on a farm so looked after in every aspect except the cosmetic. 'sgreat!
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Tiny little hatchbacks have their place, just not on my drive.
They are frequently more uncomfortable than larger cars, the ride is not as good, they are noisier, and they frequently can not provide enough driver room for my frame. My driving patterns freqently means I have to travel 400 miles a day, move 4 people in comfort, 4 people dog and luggage for holiday, stuff from the diy or garden centre, stuff to the tip, etc etc.
A small hatchback wont cut it for those trips.
Having said that, for trips down the bookies, for the 5 mile daily commute, or a quick blast down a country lane they are fine. I would need to hire a bigger car a lot tho.
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Certainly true at my end of the market, ND. I never cease to be amazed that you have to pay as much for an early 80's Polo (poverty spec doesn't describe it) with 12 monhts MOT as you do for a fully loaded early 90's Audi 100 (provided you don't want the estate) with fewer miles on the clock.
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A tiny hatch was a great companion for a Hilux pickup for doing the shopping. On the Motorway, though...
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I like small cars - when I had one it gave me something to aspire to..
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I think the general point coming across here is that you get what best suits you needs and budget. I was able to spend over £5k on a car so a 2-year old Yaris was about the best I could get for the money at the time as well as being ideally suited to what driving I do. Had I been commuting or regularly travelling longer distances I'd either have gone for the 1.3 or something Corolla-sized. Had I only had £1k to spend I'd have bought the best car for that price taking insurance and reliability in to account more than size.
I agree older small cars tend to be over priced which almost forces people in to larger cars than they really need. The argument on kit seems to vary from model to model - I'm happy enough with what my Yaris GLS has but the basic one is very sparse.
The main thing I find is that they can be very surprising at times. For example, I can get an 8' length of wood in my Yaris but my mother can't in her Saab 900. The Yaris is more comfortable than any car I've driven but then it's newer so it probably should be.
I very occasionally miss the luggage capacity of my old Tipo. I don't miss much else about it as the Yaris beats it hands-down. (And yes, I know a Tipo hardly counts as big, but compared to a Yaris....)
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NoWheels I've never tried driving a Transit - although I'd like to.
But hey, we do the best we can with the equipment we have, huh?
As for the handbag thing - well it's good to have a laugh - but to be totally honest, no-one here has ever made me feel inferior for being female! I honestly think we are very fortunate here, and that we get really good treatment which maybe other sites wouldn't give.
That is probably why you and I come back here. I like your posts, your comments. Maybe you can be controversial, I dunno, but I still like what you write.
So, I hope you keep it up. I come when I can - hope you do too.
HF
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