318d Sport 143 5dr Hatchback

Almost....but not quite

Recently parted with this car after 13 months and 11000 miles of ownership. Very comfortable and spacious interior, decent sized boot albeit the sloping tailgate does render it less practical than an estate car on occasions. Routine running costs were very reasonable, ride and handling were both good, motorway cruising a breeze. Looks not to everybody's taste, my car attracted some fairly negative comments from friends but I liked it. Downsides.....the manual gearbox was often stiff, performance was decent but nothing spectacular but the worst aspect was engine refinement. Compared to my previous Mazda CX5 the engine was positively agricultural on start up and under acceleration, well below the standards expected from a premium brand. Ultimately it was an 'unlucky car' for me, hit twice by other drivers, a first puncture for 20 years (be warned, run flats cannot be repaired £198 to replace) and an expensive repair when a loose stone shattered a front fog lamp (£210!)
HJ has it absolutely right on this one, if considering this car get at least a 320d and with an auto box. The C Class I have replaced this car with is in an altogether different class (if you will excuse the pun)

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