The car thread 2.

[CMcK]

I went from a six speed manual to a seven speed DSG and don't regret it. I'll probably never buy another manual now.

[Yakumo]

I went from a six speed manual to a seven speed DSG and don't regret it. I'll probably never buy another manual now.

Hmm, interesting. Can I ask, do you ever miss that gear shifting feeling though? I mean, doesn't you left hand now feel unused?

That is awful, buy a proper car (or spend money on the one you've got?).

in what way? The fact that it's a hybrid or as in design? I've driven a few electric cars over the last year and they really do pull when you put your foot down. I don't really want to spend money on the car I now own. I mean, I really like it but it's time to move on to something a bit more modern

[CMcK]

The good thing about the DSG box is it leaves your hands free to worry about the steering. When I go for a back road blast the box goes into S which doesn't change up until you hit the rev limiter. It's weird at first because it feels like you are changing gear with the throttle effectively but it soon becomes second nature.

My old Boxster had a slick precise gear change and slotting it home well felt great. But I would say it does get in the road when you are on charge.

And driving in auto mode is ideal when you are pottering about in traffic. Even overtakes are fine in auto. I tend to put gear lever over to sequential shift, make the pass then pop it back over to auto so it sorts out the up shifts for me after the maneuver.

[charlesr]

I switch between a manual Impreza and a 300bhp legacy automatic all the time. The legacy has tiptronic lever and steering wheel mounted buttons for gear change - I prefer the steering wheel mounted buttons. Sport mode and ECO. I town, the automatic is bliss. On the open road, with the buttons and in sport mode, it's pretty much the same as having a manual but without the clutch effort.

No idea why you think 2006 is old. My impreza is 2000 (139k) and the legacy is 2004 (75k)

Also, what's all this money saving nonsense. If you are an ECO warrior, get a fuel economic car (the prius is NOT a fuel economic car - it averages 48mpg which is franky rubbish). If you want to save money, just keep the Impreza. I keep mine because it's a lovely car to drive.

And let's go back to that fuel economy figure. 48mpg. Is that supposed to be progress? Lucy's old 1991 Honda CRX Mk2 did 40mpg. So in 22 years, an extra 8mpg is meant to be progress? Bloody ridiculous. The prius is a petrol car, so it immediately fails compared to diesel. If you want ECO, how about a Clio dCI 90. Which does almost 90mpg. 90!! Other options: Kia Rio 1.1 CRDi (90mpg). Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi Econetic (85mpg), Peugeot 208 1.4 e-HDi 70 EGC (83)

[Yakumo]

Good to hear about the auto gearboxes such as the DSG and the Tiptronic. I have driven a 2011 Impreza with a tiptronic box. That had an arcade like gear shifter to shift up and down which was really fun since it was just like playing an arcade game

I'm no Eco nut, I just don't want to be spending **** loads on fuel since I do a 50 mile round trip every day to work. It does add up　by the end of the month. The sad part about living in Japan is that all the cars you mentioned are either not officially released here or cost stupid money because they are European. Like I said, I'd love a Fiesta ST but that isn't going to happen living over here. I could get a much better car for the money they want for that here There are some very Eco cars available in Japan but they're all "Kei" cars meaning ****ty box type cars with 3 cylinder engines that have next to no grunt.

No idea why you think 2006 is old. My Impreza is 2000 (139k) and the legacy is 2004 (75k)

Maybe because I've been driving it every day 2 hours at a time for the last 7 years I guess I want a change although, as mentioned I do love the way it drives and it does feel tight as it was in 2006. The insides and outside still look new too since I look after it but deep down I think I want to change. It doesn't help that I have the oldest car in the work's parking lot either I'm stuck in a country that doesn't seem to want cars older than 10 years unless it's a classic.

Thanks for the opinions guys. I'm happy to hear you are not having regrets with good auto gear boxes so that's a plus point since Japanese can't really drive manuals too well so 80% of cars here are sold as autos! I'll have about 15'000 pounds to spend on a car so I'm going to see what I can find for that sort of cash. I won't be buying brand new but ex-display to save about 5 grand of the asking price

[CMcK]

What about a GT86 or BRZ? Surely a bit cheaper for one of them in Japan.

I would have suggested the Honda S660 bit looks like its a wee while away yet.

[EvilBoris]

Another DSG fan here, my car is due to be changed in March, gonna go for it again.

[charlesr]

What about a GT86 or BRZ? Surely a bit cheaper for one of them in Japan.

I would have suggested the Honda S660 bit looks like its a wee while away yet.

If Forza is anything to go by, you'll be drifting like a pro around the local roundabouts within minutes of purchase in a BRZ

[Yakumo]

What about a GT86 or BRZ? Surely a bit cheaper for one of them in Japan.

I would have suggested the Honda S660 bit looks like its a wee while away yet.

BRZ would be cool. A used one cost about 15000 pounds but the tax and insurance is what will put a damper on that. Japan's car tax and MOT system are bloody stupid and designed to screw you out of money. The older the car the more it cost too even though the car would be in perfect order. If I bought that then my wife would have to sell her car which she's fine in doing BUT then she's have to drive the BRZ which I would not like. You see, to her a car is just a machine. She'd treat it like ****. After a month it would be covered in scratches inside and out, have bits of food or drink spilt on to the seats and my kids footprints all over the back seat. I couldn't stand that. I'd rather have a lesser clean car while she drives her own **** box

[Colin]

I sold the Z4 i bought before I'd even used the first tank of fuel that came in it. Unbelievably I made a tiny profit on it. I still have my Saab for the mundane stuff, but now have this for the fun driving......



Lotus Evora S, without a doubt the most exciting car to drive I've ever owned.

[Yakumo]

Man, nice set of wheels. I wish I had money to spend on a cool sports car and still have another car for work. actually, I probably do but the insurance, road tax and bloody MOT bills are what stop me

[charlesr]

Very cool ikolin / colobo!

[Colin]

Cheers guys. Had an absolute riot with it in the wet today, it can get a little tail happy when pushing on in the rain, but it's just so easy to pull it back in to line. Just a fantastic piece of kit, you'd never believe it was immaculately clean only yesterday though......

[Brad]

Let's say I was having a midlife crisis and wanted something a bit cooler than Focus with 120k on the clock. What should I look at? Would consider 2 seater even. Oh and 20k ish to spend maybe. I only do about 5k a year.

[Colin]

What do you need to use it for? Brand new only or used?