Hello,
This is my first post, so bear with me if I have posted this in the wrong area.
I'm looking to trade in my Seat Ibiza 1.9tdi Sport PD 130. I bought this car when it was 2 years old and I have owned it for the past three years. It has been a troublesome car and has cost me a lot of money during my period of ownership. In fact the experience has left me certain that I will never choose to own a Seat again, which is sad, because they are nice cars.
My problem is, I recently [over]stretched myself to buy a house and haven't got a great deal of cash to spend on a replacement car.
My priorities are reliability, low and predicatable motoring costs. I also want to stick with diesel because I love the relaxed driving experience they offer (I've got lots of hills near me and used to get sick of having to change down all the time in my old Honda Accord 1.8VTEC).
My wife has had a Kia Picanto for the past two years and has enjoyed faultless reliability and the car is far more refined than my mothers 1.0 current shape Toyota Yaris.
So, has anybody got any opinions on the Rio 1.5 CRDi? Honest John seems to rate them, and I've got a deal on the table to buy a brand new car from a main dealer for £7,995.
Given my situation, do you think there is an alternative car that would better suit my needs?
Thanks
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 09/11/2007 at 21:30
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Have a look at owners reviews on parkers and what car, but it seems the main flaws other than slightly cheap looking trim are real life mpg figures much less than those quoted and some early reviews stated the suspension doesn't like long stretches of "rougher" roads and fades. Whether this last issue has been addressed in more recent cars. I'm not sure.
However there is a long warranty, so best idea is to give one a long test drive (maybe arrange to have one for the day?).
Most alternatives will be nearly new models, maybe a year old Skoda Fabia might be worth a look?
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 09/11/2007 at 21:30
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2007/57 Rio 1.5 diesel 1660miles £6999 here:
tinyurl.com/ynojh5
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 09/11/2007 at 21:31
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Go for it i say.
Fair price, full warranty, ticks all your boxes, and yes i'm all in favour of brand new diesel, you'll know some berk hasn't misfuelled it and then offloaded quickly.
Have you checked to see if the Hyundai equivalent has a better warranty, thats about all i can suggest.
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sounds cheap to me if, you like the way it drives and all the bits stay where they should then go for it,after all whats the alternative? well i cant think of one?
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Sounds good to me, especially if you have a dealer nearby, and you have knowledge of them through the Picanto ownership.
If you want an alternative to compare against, how about a Fiat Panda?
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Thanks for all your responses.
Saltrampen - I've checked out the user reviews. The MPG issue that some owners have winged about is probably because the engine hasn't run in (my friends tdi Passat clocked over 10k before it returned anything like decent mpg). The uneven tyre wear issue is a bit of a worry though.
Nickdm - whilst the Panda gets good reviews, it's not got a torquey diesel engine on offer, and also, I am growing rather fond of the Rio's completely bland styling!
I went along to a local dealer this morning as I had arranged a test drive. The car I got was a base spec 1.5crdi. Honest John's review refers to the car's ability to provide fairly rapid progress. Well, this car was anything but rapid! It felt smooth, solid and safe and yet it just seemed sluggish. When I returned to the dealer, he said that something had gone wrong with that particular car and found me another one to drive!
This next car really was rapid and to be honest, in day to day town driving it felt just as quick as the 130 BHP Ibiza TDI I own. It didn't corner as well, but it always felt safe. In What Car they state that the Rio suffers from vague steering; I would completely disagree with this. Additionally, the ride quality was excellent - it soaks up pot holes and speed bumps and doesn't transmit the bumps and judders to the cabin. In fact, the ride really was comfortable.
Seats are comfy too, but the dash is very cheap looking.
All in all I was very impressed with the car, although I do have some concerns that the turbo appears to have broken on a 07 reg car with only 4k on the clock. I've had a quick google and I can't see anything to suggest this is a common fault.
I'll let you know if I decide to buy.
Thanks again for your comments.
Edited by LeSwan on 13/11/2007 at 22:27
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Well, I placed my order today.
I feel that I've got a good deal and at least now my motoring costs for the next three years should be very predictable and very low.
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dont forget the review once yove got it :-)
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