1.6 Life semi-auto

Good concept but not faultless

So far, after 24k, miles I have had none of the faults mentioned by others, touch wood !
I bought the car as it ticked more boxes than anything else that I looked at, and as an end-of-line model I got it for a good price.
I needed at least a semi-auto due to arthritis and the high seat height made entering and exiting quite easy. The seats are comfortable and the rear ones give a good choice of options.
The near vertical hatch makes for a practical load carrier, for its size, and the dog travels happily in the back.
The semi-auto gearbox, which can be used as a clutchless manual takes a bit of getting used to before smooth changes become the norm rather than the exception, but once mastered is very good to use, and has the advantage that in practice it drives like a manual, that is, it is solidly linked between the engine and the roadwheels, giving engine braking and no frantic revving on acceleration as you get with a fluid drive.
There is one drastic fault with the body design, which I have found to be inexcusable and potentially very dangerous. There is very restricted vision on both forward facing quarters due to the shallow slope of the "A" pillar necessitating it to be quite thick, for structural strength, coupled with it having a bracing pillar onto which the door closes.
All told, this produces a large block of steel and plastic which renders invisible the opposite carriageway on right-hand bends, and close-proximity vehicles at cross roads and Tee-junctions.
I very nearly wiped out two other road users, on separate occasions before I realised the extent of the problem. To be safe I now have to perform some interesting acrobatics at junctions in order to get an unobstructed view of oncoming traffic, which really renders the car unsafe to anyone not aware of the scale of the problem.
Fuel consumption is nothing to write home about. I drive quite economically but only get 40 - 41 mpg. Considering that I used to run a 1.8 petrol Cavalier, nearly 20 years ago, and got the same consumption from a much bigger and heavier car, it makes one wonder what the design teams have been doing for the last couple of decades !!!
Because of the visibility problem my wife, who is a competent driver, will only use it under protest, and she learned to drive on big a Volvo, and has towed horseboxes, but she feels decidedly unsafe in this car simply because she cannot see whats coming unless it is straight ahead.

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