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Mon 15 Jun 2015 12:41

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - skidpan

As you will possibly remember the wife has been a very happy Kia Ceed SW CRDi owner for nearly 5 years. Last October she "inherited" my dads 7 1/2 year old Nissan Micra when he gave up driving. Since then we have been coping with 4 cars in the household reasonably well but space is tight and about to get tighter (loosing a garage and carport in house move) so something had to go.

Selling Caterham is not an option.

Selling Seat Leon was not sensible, only 2 years old, still on service plan and 3 years warraty left and £30 VED.

Ceed is almost 5 years old and has only done 5,500 miles in the last 12 months which is not good for a diesel with a DPF. We have tried to do regular long runs but it is inevitable it will bite us eventually. £110 VED.

Micra is 7 1/2 years old and whilst low mileage (26,000) and in excellent condition its inevitable it will want money spending soon. £130 VED adds to our expenses.

So we decided to sell the Ceed and Micra and buy one car that suits the Mrs requirements, the mother and father can get into OK, is petrol (preferably with a turbo), low VED and has cruise and A/C.

After some scanning of the mags and Web we narrowed it down to the Venga 1.4, Polo 1.2 TSi, the Fabia 1.2 TSi, the Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost and the Nissan Note DIG-S. Got some broker prices ready for negotiating at which point the Note looked good with some great deals but since we both love the Seat Leon 1.4 TSi we still thought the VAG pairing with the 1.2 TSi were in pole position.

But first we headed to the local Kia showroom to look at the Venga since they had provided great service whilst we had owned the Ceed. Decent enough motor but the front seat was way too high for mum so end of that one. The good thing was the dealer who made us an excellent offer for the Ceed which after a bit of thinking we took. One car gone.

Then we headed off to the VW showroom and tried the Polo. Lovely interior and the space was OK for mum and dad (just). But compared to our 1.4 TSi it was very slow, no noticable turbo boost at all. After the drive the Micra felt quick.

Called at Nissan next and tried a Note with the 1.2 DIG-S engine. Loads of space (perfect for mum and dad), nicely trimmed, very well equipped and it went pretty well but it has to be said with the relatively high gearing there is not much acceleration in 5th gear, easily solved, use one of the others. £0 VED and £199 3 year service plan made the Mrs happy as did the fact they were doing "loyaty" deals for existing Nissan owners. Made the Micra feel old and slow.

Off to Skoda. Despite all the press remarks about space it definitely nore difficult to get into and out of the back than the Polo, the Mrs could not reach the hatch handle without jumping into the air and grabbing it and the interior looked like it had been made form left over wheelie bins (we looked at the SE). Did not bother driving it.

Off to Ford and the Fiesta. Rear space was way too tight and problems with the rear hatch for the Mrs again. The front seats were hard to the point of being uncomfortable but that was only in the showroom, may have been OK on the road. This was the Titanium model. Ignored by salesmen so we left without driving.

Back to Nissan. Double checked that Mrs could close rear hatck OK and asked for some figures, promised that we would get call next day.

Rang us back and the figures were surprising, less than brokers but problem was they could not find a car in the colour and spec we wanted and to get the deal cars have to be registered before end of June. Looked and found an Acenta Premium but wanted another £900 which since the basic Acenta had all we needed I was not prepared to pay. After some phone calls we agreed at £400 extra (including free service plan) which since it has climate and a sliding rear bench both of which either the Ceed or Micra had and we like we found acceptable. Forget other items like auto lights and wipers, sat nav, fog lights etc all which we can live without.

So in the end we got the Acenta Premium for less than the best broker deal for the basic Acenta but it did take some negotiation.

Should be with us next week, just got to sell the Micra.

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Mon 15 Jun 2015 14:53

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - 72 dudes

Sounds like you had great fun the last few days and an excellent result too.

Surprised at your findings re the 1.2TSi Polo. Sure it wasn't a normally aspirated 1.0? I've driven a 2011 Golf with the 1.2 TSi (85) engine and it motored along quite nicely if you used the gears.

Any reason you didn't try your own car's little brother, the Ibiza?

I think the Note is up there with the best, although I think you'd have been impressed with the way the Fiesta drove - no good if the seats/space are no good for you though.

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Mon 15 Jun 2015 15:04

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - skidpan

Sounds like you had great fun the last few days and an excellent result too

Would not call it great fun but worth the effort

Sure it wasn't a normally aspirated 1.0?

Absolutely positive. We asked the same question and the sales manager confirmed it was a 1.2 TSi 90 PS.

I've driven a 2011 Golf with the 1.2 TSi (85) engine and it motored along quite nicely if you used the gears

I floored it in 3rd at about 40 mph and it barely woke up.

Any reason you didn't try your own car's little brother, the Ibiza?

The Ibiza is still based on the old platform unlike the Polo and Fabia and even when the revised model arrives later this year its only getting a new interior. We tried the old model a few years ago, the steering adjuster lever hit the wifes knee every time she used the clutch, not a great feature. On the cars based on the new platform this has changed but not the Ibiza, shame since there were some great prices and specs.

Bottom line is we got the car with the best spec, the biggest interior, the biggest boot, free servicing and the lowest price.

And the wife likes it.

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Tue 16 Jun 2015 10:25

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - Engineer Andy

Must be a very small turbo in that 1.2 to only get 85-90bhp, given that many other VAG cars with the 1.2 TSi have 105bhp - almost as if it was a normally-aspirated version or the old-style de-rated engines VAG used to be famed for in the 1980s and 90s. Many normally-aspirated engines around the 1.2/1.3 litre mark have an output of around 75-90bhp nowadays.

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Tue 16 Jun 2015 11:22

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - skidpan

Must be a very small turbo in that 1.2 to only get 85-90bhp, given that many other VAG cars with the 1.2 TSi have 105bhp

Its actually a supercharger and its 99 PS.

Reading the blurb they used a supercharger because its easier to decouple at low speed than a turbo. Once decoupled the engine runs N/A on the Miller cycle. Open the throttle and the supercharger joins in and the engine runs on the Otto cycle. Apparantly the Mazda Xerxedos worked like this some years ago.

The upside is it give very good emmisions which is the whole purpose of the car. The downside is the peak torque comes in much higher than a VAG turbo.

But on the road it drove fine with no step between cycle changes and once the supercharger is blowing and you have a few revs on the clock it picks up very nicely. The engine is very quiet but with some throttle you do get a faint 3 cylinder rumble as the revs pick up and coupled with a bit of supercharger whine it appears to have real character. There is no kick in the back, its just a progressive increase in speed, a bit like the Supercharged Mini Cooper S. At a 70 mph cruise (about 2700 rpm) its all but silent.

We do not expect to get anywhere near the official mpg claims, 65 approx combined. Mid 40's and we will be happy and that is exactly what Honest John Real MPG suggests.

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Wed 17 Jun 2015 00:24

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - Avant

In comparing supermini-sized cars it's easy to forget the Nissan Note - but it sounds just what you need. It seems to have shrunk compared with the previous version - presumably to avoid a clash with the Juke.

The Polo would be better with the 1.2 TSI 110 bhp engine - but according to the What Car tables you have to have the SEL trim which is too expensive for a supermini. That engine can be had more cheaply in the Fabia - but as you say that didn't suit you for other reasons. It sounds like a very stupid piece of design if a short person can't reach up to close the tailgate.

Thanks for sharing the car-buying exercise with us Skidpan - very useful to anyone looking at this sze of car.

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Wed 17 Jun 2015 01:55

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - daveyK_UK

The new Note is becoming a real bargain as Nissan are offering big discounts.

My friend who is a senior technician runs a new shape 1.2 accenta premium for his wife.

He agrees with me the old shape Note was better in some ways but the new one is still a fine car.

One tip is to purchase from a scrap yard a spacesaver from the old shape Note, the old and new shape Notes use the same wheel hub size.

Nissan sells an after market kit which is dearer than ordering the spare wheel (space saver) witht he car when new, it costs around £200 (£95 option when new) and includes a new piece of trim for the boot - you simply remove the plastic trim that holds the tin of gunk and insert the new plastic trim.

Alternativly, you can still fit a full size spare wheel in the wheel well if you remove the plastic trim - some owners on the nissan note forum have put down sound deadening material as the trim is no longer in place.

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Wed 17 Jun 2015 09:51

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - skidpan

The new Note is becoming a real bargain as Nissan are offering big discounts

The discount is good but gets better if you take out the PCP and then there are customer loyalty bonus' as well.

He agrees with me the old shape Note was better in some ways but the new one is still a fine car

The old shape was taller but other than that very similar dimensions. One just across the street from us, starting to look dated now IMHO but it was introduced in 2004 so its every right too.

Alternativly, you can still fit a full size spare wheel in the wheel well if you remove the plastic trim - some owners on the nissan note forum have put down sound deadening material as the trim is no longer in place.

Plans already in place. £32 for a wheel and about £35 for a ditchfinder tyre if I have to buy new but hopefully a bargain will crop up.

What has suprised us is the fact that externally its actually bigger than the Mk3 Golf we had for 7 years. Shows how cars have grown in the past 20 years.

Edited by skidpan on 17/06/2015 at 09:52

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Wed 17 Jun 2015 10:38

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - Andrew-T

Shows how cars have grown in the past 20 years.

I doubt that anyone is surprised by one more piece of evidence. One only has to recall (if old enough) what an original Polo or Astra looked like. One downside is that the standard size of integral garage hasn't changed for decades, which may be partly why no-one keeps a car in one any more - except for me, with a 205. My 207 won't go in unless I were to remove the freezer.

I suppose those changing their cars usually look for something a bit bigger, but part of the reason may be a need to contain more 'safety' - crumple zones, airbags etc. - plus all those in-car gizmos no-one really needs.

Incidentally, referring to the last Note, my daughter had one for a while and found the seats impossibly uncomfortable.

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Wed 17 Jun 2015 13:35

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - galileo

Shows how cars have grown in the past 20 years.

I doubt that anyone is surprised by one more piece of evidence. One only has to recall (if old enough) what an original Polo or Astra looked like. One downside is that the standard size of integral garage hasn't changed for decades, which may be partly why no-one keeps a car in one any more - except for me, with a 205.

I suppose those changing their cars usually look for something a bit bigger, but part of the reason may be a need to contain more 'safety' - crumple zones, airbags etc. - plus all those in-car gizmos no-one really needs.

The worst consequence is the increase in weight which results from all these features - not just crumple zones, but electric windows, aircon, ABS, multiple speakers, heavier seats and headrests etc.

Wife's 2005 Yaris weighs as much as my 1962 Zephyr 6 did.

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Wed 17 Jun 2015 10:42

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - slkfanboy

Think VW have been sleeping while others have been developing engines or maybe your only meant to by the 1.4? Fords 1.0t 125 gives older style 1.6l engines a run for thier money. Definately one to drive.

Sadly ford seam to be way off with seats, it has to be said festia/focus seat are not the best.

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Wed 24 Jun 2015 16:04

Swapped the wifes car (cars) - skidpan

DO NOT CLICK ON THE ABOVE LINK

(Thanks - post hidden.)

Edited by Avant on 24/06/2015 at 16:06

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