Am I Going Crazy?

brightonbimmer said:
brightonbimmer wrote: ↑Tue Dec 12, 2017 9:48 pm
here it is
David
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Fishy Dave, I think we've just been trumped! :rofl:

Great car "brightonbimmer". :thumbsup:
 
I figured I'd give an update on this..
4C would be an amazing idea.. however splashing over 40k on finance when trying to get a house, not sure the O/H will approve or would it be very sensible :rofl:

But, I managed to take a 595 Turismo for a drive (not the spec that I wanted) but it was 160bhp and oddly enough I was pleasantly surprised as it was a lot better than I first expected!!

I shall list the good / bad points of what I thought:

Good:
  • Pretty quick
    Decent brakes
    Decent Spec (obviously depends on individual cars)
    Ride wasn't as firm as everyone makes out (no more than my Coupe on B12's)
    Great sound for a 4 pot
    Positive steering - though too light when in "normal mode"
    Quite rare
    Looks good IMO
    Interior looks good / feels pleasant to be in
    Bags of "Character" and got lots of smiles from passer-by's
    Very "boosty" loved to rev and the boost kept building all the way up to red-line

Bad:
  • Fairly expensive when compared with competition of similar age / mileage
    Interiors are very "plasticky" on things like door cards and dash
    No height adjustability for the front seats
    Steering column only has up and down - not reach adjustments
    Driving position feels like driving a bar stool
    Inputs are very light (throttle, clutch and steering) although steering gets heavier in Sport
    Clutch has little to no "Feel"
    Gear shift is very "Rubbery" and only 5 forward gear ratios
    Could be a little quicker - 200hp should see it right
    Tiny on the road

I have done quite a lot of reading on owners forums etc, it seems there is a big market for modifications on these, 190hp is easily obtained just with a remap.
There are a few owners that have spent a bit of cash on them, getting up to around 250-260HP which is mental in something that weighs in just over a tonne!!

Plus a lot of owners have said apart from frequent servicing.. there is hardly anything that goes wrong with them, which for what it basically a FIAT is pretty incredible :o

I'm still undecided what to do though, I do like the Fiesta ST's but there is one on every street corner, plus they are rife for being stolen at the minute.

I have had a look at the like of a RenaultSport Clio's and whilst they seem like a hoot to drive.. the insides are absolutely nasty with grey / black plastics everywhere!

Other than that.. I keep piling on the mileage on my Coupe.. which fundamentally is going to start costing me a fortune soon enough as its over 120k miles now.

Anyone else have suggestions - like I say, needs to be somewhat cheaper to run (small hatch territory)
 
Hi Dan

I test drive a 595 a couple of years ago and the bucket seats as you say are mounted far too high which ruled it out for me. Why not try a standard essesse version with a Momza exhaust? Might be more comfortable.

Friend of mine had the Renault Clio 200 with cup pack. It was a total misery as a passenger, boomy exhaust and the hardest ride of any car I have been in. And it would be just as thirsty as your coupe. When you were up it, it was great and the breaks were awesome but the rest of the time it was total shite.

Are you not interested al all in the latest Cooper S?
I know they are ubiquitous but there is a reason for that, but that also means you have plenty to choose from. If you do look in to them I would highly recommend the adaptive dampers, they work brilliantly and give you the best of both worlds. And I know it’s not for everyone but I love the interior, it’s a truly fun and special place to be, and the driving position is excellent. Also you will get 40mpg combined pretty easily.

Any way, have fun looking!
 
Havard said:
I wouldn't have a Fiat given to me. Build quality and reliability are terrible. I always steer clear of Italian and French cars and generally I spend very little on repairs. 5 cars at home, 4 German and one Korean. Japanese cars will also keep you out of trouble in the main. There are obviously exceptions but play the percentage game.

H.
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It’s strange isn’t it about perceptions of cars

I’ve had several fiats over the years from a 127 comfort .. ok that was a dog

And then three puntos .. all completely faultless and really good cars

I now have a 500 which is almost 3 years old now and again has been totally spot on

Andy
 
earthdweller said:
Havard said:
I wouldn't have a Fiat given to me. Build quality and reliability are terrible. I always steer clear of Italian and French cars and generally I spend very little on repairs. 5 cars at home, 4 German and one Korean. Japanese cars will also keep you out of trouble in the main. There are obviously exceptions but play the percentage game.

H.
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It’s strange isn’t it about perceptions of cars

I’ve had several fiats over the years from a 127 comfort .. ok that was a dog

And then three puntos .. all completely faultless and really good cars

I now have a 500 which is almost 3 years old now and again has been totally spot on

Andy
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Very strange. Girls have them at work, family have had them and all have had numerous problems, especially when it has come to electrics etc.

Mate of mine used to have a Panda when we were younger and it was never on the road for more than a couple of weeks at a time.

Either way, I am not taking any chances.

H.
 
I had a 2001 1.2 8v Punto at Uni and used to thrash the hell out of it. It handled better than a mk3 fiesta and a mk4 Astra and never broke. I took it from 52000 to 123000 and never broke a thing. I think it’s like u say a percentage game.
 
Truth said:
I had a 2001 1.2 8v Punto at Uni and used to thrash the hell out of it. It handled better than a mk3 fiesta and a mk4 Astra and never broke. I took it from 52000 to 123000 and never broke a thing. I think it’s like u say a percentage game.
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That doesn't sound like the percentage game, putting 71K miles on a so called unreliable car.... :?

I may change my mind and get one at this rate.

H.
 
I ment that I had a good one/lucky one. Like u say French cars and Italian ones usually aren’t reliable. I had a 205 rallye and it was in the garage every other week. Loved the car but god was it crap!
 
Havard said:
Truth said:
I had a 2001 1.2 8v Punto at Uni and used to thrash the hell out of it. It handled better than a mk3 fiesta and a mk4 Astra and never broke. I took it from 52000 to 123000 and never broke a thing. I think it’s like u say a percentage game.
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound like the percentage game, putting 71K miles on a so called unreliable car.... :?

I may change my mind and get one at this rate.

H.
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Worst car we’ve ever had by a considerable margin was a 53 plate Passat which my wife got as a company car

Absolute dog of a car .. left her stranded four or five times and was never out of the garage

Replaced at 3 years old by a Peugeot 407 which, apart from constantly blowing headlight bulbs did over 100k faultlessly

And apparently VW make the best cars !

Andy
 
Truth said:
I had a 2001 1.2 8v Punto at Uni and used to thrash the hell out of it. It handled better than a mk3 fiesta and a mk4 Astra and never broke. I took it from 52000 to 123000 and never broke a thing. I think it’s like u say a percentage game.
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We had three puntos ..

First was an ex rental car a 55S then two pre reg 85SX ones

The wife commuted round the M25 from Essex to middx every day and put about 60k on each of them before we swopped them

As I say never an issue with any of them . Yes sure they were cheap cars with cheap plastics but nowt broke
 
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