Classic British Flight Sim

ianhind wrote: not too big but still big enough to bring home DIY or gardening purchases, and of course economical.

Ian, here's the answer...

http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/Fusion

My parents drive one and I used to borrow it whenever I needed to transport something bulky. I was always surprised - it's spacious and clever enough to stow away Ikea goods but fits in every parking lot. Choose the 90 hp diesel engine and you'll enjoy sufficient power at maximum efficiency.

Cheers,

Nick

Here's another answer, Ian. Which?Car Guide. Customer satisfaction survey.

53,000 Which? members complete a survey about their cars every year and the results are presented independently and without advertising. Here are the top 5 superminis - according to their owners.

1. Honda Jazz 2002-2008, 90% (reliability 5 stars)
2. Daihatsu Sirion 2005-2010, 89.1% (reliability 5 stars -2008 then 3 stars 2008-)
3. Toyota Yaris 1999-2005, 88.4% (reliability 5 stars)
4. Toyota iQ 2008-, 87.6% (reliability 5 stars)
5. Hyundai ii10 2008-, 87.5% (reliability 3 stars)
6. Honda Jazz 2008-,87.2% (reliability 5 stars)
7. Skoda Fabia Estate 2007-, 86.5% (reliability 4 stars)
8. Skoda Fabia saloon 2007-, 86% (reliability 3 stars)
9.Fiat 500 2008-, 84.4% (reliability 2 stars)
10. Mini Clubman 2007-, 84% (reliability 2 stars)

I'd go for a Honda Jazz if I could get my bike in the back. But I can't so I've got a Mazda 3!

Ian

WhisperJet wrote:

ianhind wrote: not too big but still big enough to bring home DIY or gardening purchases, and of course economical.

Ian, here's the answer...

http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/Fusion

My parents drive one and I used to borrow it whenever I needed to transport something bulky. I was always surprised - it's spacious and clever enough to stow away Ikea goods but fits in every parking lot. Choose the 90 hp diesel engine and you'll enjoy sufficient power at maximum efficiency.

Cheers,

Nick

Kind of threw me for a loop when I clicked your link and it didn't look like this:http://www.ford.com/cars/fusion/2013/

Then I remembered it's the Mondeo on the other side of the pond. It makes me giggle every time I hear the Ford folks say they don't see how the grill looks like it was plucked from an Aston Martin.

Ian & Nick

Thanks for those ideas. Some of those tick my boxes but SWMBO is going to think of them as boring and boxy. Hence the reason she drives a Tigra when a Corae would have done the job

Drove a Yaris on holiday and liked it even if it was a bit small. The Fabia could do with a bit more style but seems practical. Fords... - all the motoring journalists seem to rate their handling but from my experience with the Mondeo that meant uncomfortable ride. I don't whizz round country lanes at 70mph requiring positive steering and extreme handling. All I want is a comfortable ride on a motorway. I can see us getting something stupid and hiring vans for the bulky stuff

I must admit, I went to the Toyota showroom with one of the girls from work a few weeks back as they were trying to tell her that her 55 plate Yaris was at death door and she should by an Aygo. I found it horible on the inside, the same hard plastic dash I had in my B reg Nova some 17 years ago, although to be fair they had changed the colour from '80's brown mud to a charcoal. She then asked to see the latest Yaris, which was too expensive for her, but she wanted to compare her current car with the latest one of the same model. Again, excessive use of the same hard plastic, making it feel like a cheap '90s Christmas toy, but without the DIY self adhesive stickers

from what I've seen, the finish in the Honda or Skoda is of a much higher standard.

On Breakfast TV, the other day, there was a piece about MOT test statistics identifying which cars might be built to a higher/lower standard than others. So in the spirit of confusing poor Ian completely, I've tracked down the relevant website and tables

The tables show every car in the UK that was subjected to it's first MOT test in the last year so we're talking about 3 year old 2008 models and the percentage mark shown is the number that passed. Of course so much data causes huge anomalies which is why there are two tables. The 'all cars' table is headed by Rolls Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis because they have a very small sample size and cover a low mileage. The 'mainstream' table is more useful because it only includes models with a sample size of 1000+. I don't know what it proves, but the position of the models in this table roughly corresponds to the Which? findings (by the which finder general?)

http://good-garage-guide.honestjohn.co. ... first-mot/

Ian