Modern Cars - Hmm I Cant Find One I Like

[Red diesel]

Is it me or are modern cars having crap visability - its a joke, my brother used to have a Lexus LS 400 and the visability was fine - you could see the boot lid easily and the bonnet and stuff. Yet i can't do this on modern cars that are smaller then an LS 400. Having a hatchback addresses the issue slightly but not as well as id like.

Citroen Berlingos would be excellent if the scrooges at Citroen bothered to fit seat hieght adjustment - a missed opportunity by Citroen - caus id have one if they fitted seat hieght adjustment - in fact in fairness to Citroen the visability from a Berlingo without seat hieght adjustment is as good as many other cars with seat adjustment with the seat as high as it would go. Still not as good as id like it though - Renault Kangoo is the same, Focus is tolerable but still id want better. Sat into a Scenic - rearward visability was very good - but the MPV bonnet means you can just see the top of the bonnet - so thats no good.

Then theres reliability - the diesels are a disaster - 2,100 euro bills at 70 or 80 000 miles - sorry but that won't do - it would be as easy to just bite the bullet and have the expensive timing belt changes done on an LS 400 - at least youd have a 4 litre V8 and leather and toys to ease the pain of paying the bill. A very reputable garage man who weve dealt with before (the same guy that sold us the Corolla diesel weve got now) who knows his stuff - recommended avoiding the 1.4 d4d Corolla diesels - hes been caught out with some that his sold on - he actually reckons the petrol ones are better - and appearently he only sells the D4Ds if he gets them as trade ins - (in other words when he has no option but to take them in to win the sale of the car the D4Ds been part exed againsed). They drink a lot of oil appearently - although in fairness he may well just have a downer on them on account of having been caught out with ones his sold.

They are a lot safer in a crash - i will give you that - but what about the accidents you can avoid with the visability of the older ones (the older ones have far superior visability)

All comments welcome especially if your aware of modern cars that have excellent visability all round - Fusions actually very good - but most of the newer ones over here have privacy glass on the rear windows - and theyre slower then the equivlent fiestas (another car thats not bad visability wise). Also if you know anything more about the reliability issues on D4D 1.4 Corollas

Thanks for listening to the rant

Red diesel

[Karma Supra]

My main issue with modern cars is that unless you are going to spend lots, they are all wrong wheel drive, they don't seem as well built either... everything is built to the accounts spec, everything has that "mass production feel" to it. -unless again you want to spend lots...

As for visibility.... most decent cars now have parking sensors anyway ;) I have no idea where my boot ends....

Still modern drivers can't drive anyway.... so they'll all be written off soon and we'll be onto the next batch... unfortunately, as you said, they ar emuch safer, so natural selection can't help make the roads a safer place.

[Leeky]

The only things that have improved over the years are supercars and british cars.

The new Lambos will run rings around the old one, same goes for Astons. Jags are now built way better than ever before.

But otherwise everything else is going downhill.

Toyota/Lexus dont build their cars as well as they used to. Same goes for BMW/Audi/Mercedes....

The penny pinching accountants rule the roost it seems.

[Bibbs]

Tighter emissions and harder Encap tests, combined with the publics demand for more airbags, side impact protection and a large number of eletronic aids, means that cars are becoming more jelly mould looking, heavier and less involved for the driver.

But there are a few exceptions out there.

[Red diesel]

I am aware that you can have parking sensors fitted to cars - however - call me old fashioned - but i like to look out the back and actually see where im reversing into. The bonnet issue is not major until you want to reverse into a parking space and want to avoid swinging out too much - being able to see the bonnet makes parking easier as does being able to see out the back window when reversing. Of course its possible to do without looking out the back window - if you were reversing a transit van for instance youd have to reverse it using the mirrors - but while thats okay with a transit due to the nature of the vehicle - i cant understand why it was possible to make cars with good visibility 10 to 15 years ago but not now. Yeah i know im coming across as a fusspot - but if i have a car with good visibility - like the fusion and fiestas mentioned earlier - im making sacrifices in other areas - the 1.4 diesels in Fiestas are not powerful enough - and most irish petrol fiestas have low profile tyres which mean a firmer ride. Fusions meanwhile mostly seem to come with privacy glass on the rear windows of the later models - which i wouldn't want - easier to see out with normal glass - especially - they are also heavier then a fiesta so are not as quick.

As Karma Supra quite rightly says modern cars feel mass produced - i also say they are on the boring side - it says something about modern cars that i was getting excited about Berlingos and Fusions as solutions to the poor visibility problem. Modern cars are compromised in my view - theres a 1999 Corolla diesel sat outside in the yard - the older 2.0 indirect injection type - which is not going to be sold on - the new car will be an addition - which is pleasing - caus daft as it sounds - id have it over any modern car ive been in/driven - theres just something about it - i actually like old school diesels - don't drive hard - and enjoy the cars ability to get around the place with hardly any throttle. Theres something about a high mileage car - don't ask me what it is but its almost as if the high miles gives the car some charactor. I like the way it looks (i actually like the round headlights - unlike most people) and its nicely trimmed inside - grey interiors aren't everyones cup of tea - but i find them bright inside compared to the black interiors on many modern cars - also the car itself is airy inside with good visibility all round - and has an excellent interior layout from a driving point of view (ergonomically excellent with well laid out controls and a good pedal size and layout with a decent foot rest) it also has decent seats. The main downsides are - legroom is not great in the back but its acceptable for what the car is used for - being a non turbo - it could have done with more power for overtaking - but i don't drive hard anyway. Also its a saloon and saloon corollas at that time didn't have folding rear seats. A sunroof would have been nice too - Irish spec cars didn't have as nice a spec as UK cars so no Sunroof. However it does have ABS which was unusual for a car of its type at the time.

Red diesel

[Bizarra]

My Daughter has a Hyundai Coupe [don't blame me ]

Nice enough car to drive, but I cannot see front or rear when manouvering :(

I can't bear to get rid of my own baby but I'd love a good Sera B)

[Sico2]

Tighter emissions and harder Encap tests, combined with the publics demand for more airbags, side impact protection and a large number of eletronic aids, means that cars are becoming more jelly mould looking, heavier and less involved for the driver.

But there are a few exceptions out there.

You said it. My little ladybug Yaris weighs 1583kg! I'd say that's crazy!

[Karma Supra]

!Removed! hell, are you sure that is right? -It's more than my M3!

[Bibbs]

!Removed! hell, are you sure that is right? -It's more than my M3!

And when the Hilux is 1800-ish kg ..

But that is like the VW Golf, it's been deliberaty getting larger.

So that the people who were 18 and bought a mk1 (the smallest VW of the time), then needed a bigger car when older and bought a m2 Golf .. and so on.

There are loads of peeps who have had "Golfs" all their life, but now the latest Golf is huge (as they are in their 40/50s and need a bigger family car) and there are the Polo and Fox (I think) that are smaller.

[Leeky]

Yep totally.

Aygo isnt far off the size of the original Yaris. The Yaris is now the size of the old Corolla. The Auris is taller and wider than the mk1 Avensis (probably as long too in 5 door guise). The mk3 Avensis im sure is about the same size as the last Camry before it was dropped.

My Fav has got to be the Bini. Have you ever seen a Bini parked next to the original Mini? its HUGE!

I saw a Bini parked next to a mk2 Vauxhall Astra the other day and it made the astra look tiny!

[Bibbs]

The new Bini Clubman has a longer wheelbase that the origional Land Rover (I heard).

[Sico2]

!Removed! hell, are you sure that is right? -It's more than my M3!

Whoops.. that was the gross weight. Kerb i 1080kg. (apparently including average 75kg of the driver's weight)