Show us your courtesy car...

[Kev_Mc]

Bit quiet on the forum, so may as well post this...

My 9-5 is in to look at the Check Engine light that came on the other day. Got a courtesy car booked and fully expected to get an old 9-3 or 9-5. However, I was very surprised to get this:



VW Up 1.0 - 13 reg with only 270 miles on the clock. Very basic inside, though has all the essentials. I was surprised how nippy it felt. Don't think it is that quick, though you can't miss the racket the 3 cylinder engine makes, which probably makes it feel quicker than it is. For a brand new car I didn't expect the engine to be so noisy - don't think there's much sound proofing, so you can hear other noises changing gear too. The engine is tiny, and the battery is even tichier. It's meant to do 62.8mpg but you wouldn't think so with the speed the petrol guage went down on the way back from the garage this morning!

Having said all that, I think it's a fun little car. Just squeeze 4 adults in, though it's a struggle getting in and out of the back (as I discovered when having a play).

Would rather have had an old 9-5, but it's nice to try something new I suppose..

[jmblack]

My sister lives city centre so had a look at the Skoda equivalent. She really liked it and said it was fun but decided the engine was just too weedy and noisy.

[mikeloadsasaabs]

You didn't really mention how it drove, except that it felt nippy. The reports I've seen seem to say that it feels like a larger car in terms of ride comfort. Any thoughts on that?

[welshwizard]

I had the same when the Golf was being fixed..it was ok, but noisy

When I take DE to Ian Allan they usually give me the best demo they have, or the Sales Manager's car...fine when it was a Saab dealer but now it's Subaru I got the Impreza on steroids in a sort of tangerine colour - highly embarrasssing - even after telling them I would have been happy with any old 9-5 round the back....

[Geoff1951]

Hi Kev, just a minor point, you have to show respect to the manufacturers when they choose car names so they don't get upset - its not an "Up", it's an "up!". Lower case first letter and don't forget the exclamation mark. Pretentious or what?
I remember when Mazda launched the Mazda6. Car magazine refused to run it as one phrase, throughout they called it the Mazda 6.
A bit like the positioning of the 3 and 5 in the names 9-3 and 9-5.
And the Kia C'eed.


I need to get out more.

[sgould]

I was taught never to use "up" on and engineering drawing.  If you turn the drawing around "up" reads "dn" and can confuse when used in conjunction with stairs and ramps.

But if you rolled your VW "up" onto it's roof the name would still work..........

[dw]

The Suburu could have been fun. I was once given a Suburu as a courtesy car by a SAAB Suburu garage.
I did not have any knowledge of what the vehicle was but I soon learnt what it could do when I needed to overtake some traffic on the M3 (in the snow as well) it was great.

[Kev_Mc]

You didn't really mention how it drove, except that it felt nippy. The reports I've seen seem to say that it feels like a larger car in terms of ride comfort. Any thoughts on that?

I suppose it does drive like a bigger car when you're on the move. I've no experience of city cars (or whatever this is - micro car?) but it was comfortable enough and held it's own at motorway speeds. Certainly felt quicker than my wife's 1.4 Seat Leon. It rode generally well over bumps apart from speed bumps where I felt like I'd got some air as the wheelbase is so short.

Nice car for what it is, but stuff like the Dacia Sandero and new Mitsubishi Mirage are cheaper.

[Geoff1951]

Nice car for what it is, but stuff like the Dacia Sandero and new Mitsubishi Mirage are cheaper.

Heck, that Mirage is a plain car. Totally indistinguishable from all the other far east tin boxes. IMHO.

And to come from the company that gave us the Galant.
(well, at least this version of he Galant) -

[Kev_Mc]

I wish you could still get the Galants. Always liked those. The Legnums were tasty IMHO.

They still do the Galant for the USA, just not available here.

[Geoff1951]

Yes, the Australian versions turned slightly ugly though, I was disappointed to see when I was last out there about 8 years back.

[Kev_Mc]

Time to resurrect an old thread

My old 9-3 is in for some work - got one of these as a courtesy car today:



Not driven a 9000 for years so it's good to get back in the drivers seat. This one has done 180k but the engine still feels strong. I think this is a 2.0 LPT (2.0 ECO Power). Certainly more spritely than my old 2.0i 9-3.

[Kev_Mc]

Courtesy car today:



Last time I drove an NG900 it was a 2.3 and it was virtually new - long time ago! This one drives a lot better than it looks. Sunroof doesn't work though!