Retirement car

[Zero Gravitas]

At the risk of being boring, I’ve driven Superb and Octavia estates as both company and personal cars for a few years now and simply wouldn’t look at anything else in terms of practicality and sheer value for money.

 

My current Octavia 1.6 diesel has averaged a real 61.2 mpg over the 34000 miles I’ve driven it so far, road tax is zero and it’s comfortable and well-equipped.

 

I do like the idea of the Scout, being a tiny bit higher for Mrs. Gravitas’ ease of getting in and out, but can’t justify changing at the moment. As things stand, I’m hoping this Octavia will be the last internal combustion powered vehicle I buy - and by the time I come to change it there will be a proper electric Octavia equivalent.

[jjb1970]

Isn’t a Mazda 6 a Mondeo clone?

Ford sold their Mazda shareholding and I think the Mazda 6 platform was developed by Mazda. That said the Mondeo is a superb car.

['CHARD]

Cards on the table, I am most probably going to purchase a demonstrator mileage ex-dealer VRS Estate, my last foray into edgy madness for my daily driver.  Tending towards the diesel, but not sure of the choice between manual and semi-auto paddle shift DSG, I need to see for myself what this means for the driving style in reality.

 

It was a 17-plate VRS estate that really caught my eye in the summer; proper old school naughtiness, decent price, good pedigree and perfectly acceptable spec.

[Zomboid]

The Ford/ Mazda partnership ended a while back. The current 6 is nothing to do with Ford, AFAIK.

 

Anecdotally I've had good experiences with VW group cars. Skoda are a good brand for a lot of people, being sensibly priced and generally equipped with the stuff you need, but less of the frivolities that you can live without. The first car I bought for myself was a 2000 poverty spec Fabia, and I'd certainly own another Skoda. Later on I had another VW in drag, in the form of a 2008 Seat Leon (with the 200hp engine from the Golf GTI of the time and the DSG gearbox with paddles), which was great fun, but I didn't drive past the many petrol stations.

[Fat Controller]

Living in a village where the Post Office sold a selection of 100th birthday cards, I'd like to make a few observations about the features one should expect in a retirement car:-

It should have 'GTi' or similar on the boot/tailgate.

A speed limiter should cut in at 25mph, regardless of weather, road or traffic conditions.

All lights must be switched on when the vehicle is moving, except in fog or falling snow.

Brakes are applied automatically whenever a vehicle approaches in the opposite direction.

Seriously, though, having conveyed mother in our car until her 95th year, I would recommend a vehicle with a minimal sill, as it makes access and egress much easier. I would also suggest as large a boot/ luggage space as possible, to accommodate walking frames, wheelchairs etc. We found the original Picasso design fitted the bill perfectly.

[rockershovel]

At the risk of being boring, I’ve driven Superb and Octavia estates as both company and personal cars for a few years now and simply wouldn’t look at anything else in terms of practicality and sheer value for money.

My current Octavia 1.6 diesel has averaged a real 61.2 mpg over the 34000 miles I’ve driven it so far, road tax is zero and it’s comfortable and well-equipped.

I do like the idea of the Scout, being a tiny bit higher for Mrs. Gravitas’ ease of getting in and out, but can’t justify changing at the moment. As things stand, I’m hoping this Octavia will be the last internal combustion powered vehicle I buy - and by the time I come to change it there will be a proper electric Octavia equivalent.

I don’t find the slightly higher ride height of the Scout is noticeable. Fuel consumption overall, mostly motorways and A roads, some towing has averaged low 50s over 22,000 miles.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

I have had 2 Volvo V70 during the last 16 years. Both great cars, comfortable and reliable; both purchased second hand. They have a lot going for them (especially shifting layouts around, as well as useful things like fridges, furniture etc), but both are/were petrol, and with large engines, fuel economy isn't the best. Personally, I only do about 4-5 thousand miles a year (infrequent use, but almost always at least 40 miles minimum), so isn't an issue for me.

 

One thing I found with petrol vs diesel (at least with the Volvo), the tax is considerably higher for the petrol (about £250 a year more), but the actual cost of the diesel car itself (same age, same spec) was anything up to £4,000 more...in some ways I guess due to this difference in tax.

 

One of our club members has the Octavia estate and loves it. It is a nice car, but I just felt a little bit underwhelmed. For me, the build quality in the Volvo was better.

[Kris]

Cards on the table, I am most probably going to purchase a demonstrator mileage ex-dealer VRS Estate, my last foray into edgy madness for my daily driver.  Tending towards the diesel, but not sure of the choice between manual and semi-auto paddle shift DSG, I need to see for myself what this means for the driving style in reality.

 

It was a 17-plate VRS estate that really caught my eye in the summer; proper old school naughtiness, decent price, good pedigree and perfectly acceptable spec.

 

I tried the diesel before buying the petrol, I found the diesel very slow in comparison. 

[Pandora]

Forget all they carefully scripted propaganda  about "German Engineering" you will read  in the motoring "copy-in-exchange -for-adverts"  comics.

 

Research forums on subjects as VW group DSG/Tiptronics gearbox failures,  diesel DPF and EGR valve failures   or the dieselgate scandal.

 

Go for the Japanese badge for true reliability.  for example the  Honda Jazz.

 

The entire motor manufacturing industry  use Toyota as the benchmark for success,  go with the leaders not the also rans

Edited December 30, 2018 by Pandora

['CHARD]

Ever tried transporting a four piece rock band and its equipment in a Honda Jiz? 

 

I'll happily stick with the scene-tax that comes (alongside the aftermarket, the fun, cameraderie and kudos) with owning and running a VW Transporter.  There's not a single Japanese-badged light van that comes close (in fact the other marques collectively, even of European vans, don't come close).  Check the newsagents if you don't believe me.  Anyway, this is the season of good will, so each to their own, of course! 

[peter220950]

I have the Superb estate, after 200k in 7 years in the Octavia saloon with similar mechanicals. I bought second hand 13k on the clock, two years old, for about half the cost of new, and have put 45k on in 3 years.

The car is huge, and a really comfortable mile muncher, I went back to an automatic, and the dsg box is great in traffic. It seems to average about 45mpg, with none too careful driving, (diesel). Can't fault it, apart from needing to find big car parking spaces! So another vote for the Superb, the other indicator of its reliability and utility is the amount of them used as taxis.

[81C]

I'll still prefer my old Transit van compared to some of the above mention junk.

[Jol Wilkinson]

Forget all they carefully scripted propaganda  about "German Engineering" you will read  in the motoring "copy-in-exchange -for-adverts"  comics.

 

Research forums on subjects as VW group DSG/Tiptronics gearbox failures,  diesel DPF and EGR valve failures   or the dieselgate scandal.

 

Go for the Japanese badge for true reliability.  for example the  Honda Jazz.

 

The entire motor manufacturing industry  use Toyota as the benchmark for success,  go with the leaders not the also rans

The Japanese reliability thing is something of a myth, having been started by Datsun's TV advertising campaigns in the UK. Their claims for low warranty costs were based on avoiding paying for warranty claims. Some Japanese brands also had very comprehensive service schedules which replaced wear items as a matter of course, hence minimising failures. The AA statistics showed that in excess of 97%of breakdowns in the last decade of the 2000's (when I last had regular access to the data) were down to "owner responsibility", resulting from poor servicing and maintenance. Comprehensive service schedules minimise that.

 

I found it bemusing that when the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 first appeared on the J D Powers list they were ranked in that order. Strange for cars to the same design and manufactured in the same factory, so possibly owners' preconditioned views had an impact.. A look at the latest JDP survey makes interesting reading and reinforces my belief that peoples opinions about their cars are heavily subjective and not not to be totally relied upon. Something else to consider is that owners views of their cars is also influenced by their local dealers performance when it comes to servicing, etc. so visiting those who deal in the brands you are think of considering may be worthwhile.

 

https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2018-uk-vehicle-dependability-study

 

Going back to the OP, identify what you need from a car, space, economy, running costs, etc. put together a shortlist and choose from that. There will be invariably subjectivity in your final decision,  but at least you should get the main requirements correct.

[rockershovel]

I’ve had a long and successful series of Land Cruisers since the late 1970s, and if it weren’t for cost and their progressive mutation into high-spec luxury cars I’d have another. That, or a Mitsubishi Shogun. But cost applies, along with muddy boots and grubby overalls, toolboxes and bike parts, so no...

 

My wife had a Toyota Carina for 13 years and 120,000 miles and loved it.

 

But somehow, I can’t get excited about the present range. Perhaps the forthcoming “new” Corolla?

[Zomboid]

Forget all they carefully scripted propaganda about "German Engineering" you will read in the motoring "copy-in-exchange -for-adverts" comics.

 

Research forums on subjects as VW group DSG/Tiptronics gearbox failures, diesel DPF and EGR valve failures or the dieselgate scandal.

 

Go for the Japanese badge for true reliability. for example the Honda Jazz.

 

The entire motor manufacturing industry use Toyota as the benchmark for success, go with the leaders not the also rans

The thing with forums is that they are self selecting and therefore not a reliable indicator of the population in general.

 

I'd say that if you want a reliable car that will last forever (above other considerations), look at what the minicabbers are driving. It won't usually be a premium brand, but you won't see anything with questionable reliability lasting long in that sector. I see a lot of Skodas and Toyotas as minicabs on my travels, but that's anecdotal as well.

[jjb1970]

I have to admit that my experience of VAG cars isn't positive.

 

Audi A6 - the positives are that it is a superbly refined and comfortable cruiser. I have it in S Line trim and even on the S Line suspension (usually the kiss of death for ride comfort in an Audi) it is very comfortable and wafts along serenely. Excellent comfortable seats. I have the 2.0TDi 190, in the A6 the engine is a distant whisper but I think that says a lot more about the efforts made by Audi to suppress engine noise and vibration as I've driven VW Golf's with the same engine and it is like having a (noisy) bucket of spanners in front of you). Very well equipped (inc. adaptive LED lights with auto high beam, electric seats with memory for the driver, heated seat heaters, 4 zone climate, satnav, a pretty decent stereo etc), heaps of space and a cavernous boot. It is the sort of car that just eats endless miles in great comfort. The engine gives it good pace, not really fast but sufficient and it never feels short of poke, the DSG gear box gives creamy smooth gear shifts. All so good, however to have had a battery die after a year, to have the gear box destruct after not much more (in both cases the dealers answer was that they'd "had a bad batch of batteries/gear boxes from the factory") is disappointing to say the least, the infotainment system is prone to freezing and there are several annoying rattles and squeaks of the sort that I wouldn't expect from a car brand that sells largely on the quality of its interiors.

 

VW Golf 1.4TSI sport - very practical and sweet handling family hatchback. Pretty well equipped in sport trim, the 1.4TSI engine with cylinder deactivation is lively and gives it good performance. DSG gear box very smooth. The adaptive cruise control is a really great feature. However its had several electrical gremlins, the cruise control sensor is very exposed and when a bit of carp was kicked up by a car in front and hit the sensor it cost me almost £500 for a new bracket and recalibration. The engine has been in for attention a couple of times with random fault light issues, OK they fix it just by resetting the ECU but that's not much comfort now it is out of warranty. Fuel figures are woeful compared to claimed economy, probably the biggest discrepancy of any car I've owned (by contrast I found Subaru's very close to claimed figures, OK the claimed figures weren't very good but at least they delivered what was claimed for economy). And again, as with the Audi the cabin isn't aging well with all sorts of rattles and squeaks which is a bit disappointing when one of its selling points relative to rivals is claimed superior cabin quality.

 

There is also an issue with the DSG gear box, once under way it is probably the best gearbox I've ever used however in both cars it has a tendency to snatch when pulling off. In fairness to Audi they've dealt with the various issues very well and I'm very happy with the dealer service, in the case of the Golf if I had anything good to say about the dealer service I'd say it.

 

By comparison my last car was a Citroen DS5 with a trick hybrid power train it was rock solid mechanically and electrically throughout my time with it and the cabin trim was very tight and rattle free. The automated gearbox wasn't the best but I got used to it, ride was a bit harsh but the cabin was tremendous and really put a smile on my face.

One bit of advice about diesel, expect a major surge in prices from about middle of next year.

[jjb1970]

For sensibleness I think the Korean car builders have occupied the space once held by the Japanese brands, offering very solid, sensible, dependable cars that do what it says on the tin. And both Hyundai and Kia seem to have mastered the dark art of making nice cabins, something which the Japanese brands struggled with. Subaru cars are brilliant but they almost seem to take a perverse pride in having naff cabin trim. I looked at Lexus when I got the Audi and although I suspect if I'd bought a Lexus the quality would have been much better than my Audi the cabins just said "nothing special". My wife looked at some Toyota cross over a few weeks ago, it was a very stylish car on the outside with a very rakish coupe look but the inside was weird as some bits of trim felt properly high end premium but other bits of trim were absolutely awful. However the Korean's seem to be doing all the good things of the Japanese car builders and also offering very European like cabin quality, first class warranties too. I know a few people that have moved out of various pricey Euro brands (inc. MB and Audi) into Korean cars and haven't looked back.

Edited December 30, 2018 by jjb1970

[Tony_S]

One of the advantages for the OP would be that he currently has a Skoda and presumably is content with the local dealership/ service arrangements. I did my usual checklist a few cars ago and various Skoda cars scored highly. However at that time the local dealer didn’t seem very interested. The Skoda dealers locally now look better.

Retirement car can mean different things perhaps. My wife’s comment last time was “now we are both retired get something we can drive to Austria”. I did and we did.

[Jol Wilkinson]

For sensibleness I think the Korean car builders have occupied the space once held by the Japanese brands, offering very solid, sensible, dependable cars that do what it says on the tin. And both Hyundai and Kia seem to have mastered the dark art of making nice cabins, something which the Japanese brands struggled with. Subaru cars are brilliant but they almost seem to take a perverse pride in having naff cabin trim. I looked at Lexus when I got the Audi and although I suspect if I'd bought a Lexus the quality would have been much better than my Audi the cabins just said "nothing special". My wife looked at some Toyota cross over a few weeks ago, it was a very stylish car on the outside with a very rakish coupe look but the inside was weird as some bits of trim felt properly high end premium but other bits of trim were absolutely awful. However the Korean's seem to be doing all the good things of the Japanese car builders and also offering very European like cabin quality, first class warranties too. I know a few people that have moved out of various pricey Euro brands (inc. MB and Audi) into Korean cars and haven't looked back.

Anecdotal, as are all these posts really, but a friend has a KIA MPV which he regards as a poor thing compared to his Peugeot 806 of distant memory.

 

One thing we should remember is that peoples views and opinions are often based upon pre-conceived expectations. That may be one reason why the European premium brands are often criticised, whereas Dacia, Kia, etc. are better regarded as they aren't expected to be so good. One thing also largely overlooked in this thread are the intangible benefits available with some brands. No need to use indicators on BMWs, irrelevance of speed limits for Audi's, allowed use of multiple parking spaces for Range Rovers, and non applicability of  parking laws for most "high end" cars..

[RANGERS]

Wouldn't say there are no bad cars nowadays, but you'll have to look very hard to find one

 

Up until four years ago, I drove 50-60k miles a year so cars didn't last too long. Have had all of the VW Group's mainstream cars (No Bentleys, Bugattis or Lambos sadly!) and several Vauxhalls, Fords and Volvos with a BMW half way along the line. Only the VW cars carried the miles well, the Volvos came close but were thirsty and expensive to run (tyres and servicing as well as fuel). The Fords and Vauxhalls were a mixed bunch and by the time the 100k came up, were showing the miles. They would have gone on to do many more but felt like 'old' cars. The BMW was a disaster, a 'Friday afternoon' job which the dealers were either disinterested in or just completely incapable of resolving.

 

The Skodas are a sound bet, they're well engineered and well screwed together, they might lack some of the finesse of the more upmarket ranges but they do last well and do pretty much what they say on the tin. Only short periods with Japanese cars has given me anything to go by on those but they do have an enviable reputation for reliability, the price to pay for that is styling akin to a 'Transformer'!

[Vistisen]

Wouldn't say there are no bad cars nowadays, but you'll have to look very hard to find one

 

<SNIP>. Only short periods with Japanese cars has given me anything to go by on those but they do have an enviable reputation for reliability, the price to pay for that is styling akin to a 'Transformer'!

 really ? https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi6rJD0osjfAhVPJ1AKHZfPBeEQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=%2Furl%3Fsa%3Di%26source%3Dimages%26cd%3D%26ved%3D%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.carsguide.com.au%252Fcar-reviews%252Fmazda-6-atenza-sedan-2016-review-road-test-47086%26psig%3DAOvVaw3M9fOrOsaqRywNkNoRil48%26ust%3D1546283949233624&psig=AOvVaw3M9fOrOsaqRywNkNoRil48&ust=1546283949233624

[jjb1970]

Anecdotal, as are all these posts really, but a friend has a KIA MPV which he regards as a poor thing compared to his Peugeot 806 of distant memory.

 

One thing we should remember is that peoples views and opinions are often based upon pre-conceived expectations. That may be one reason why the European premium brands are often criticised, whereas Dacia, Kia, etc. are better regarded as they aren't expected to be so good. One thing also largely overlooked in this thread are the intangible benefits available with some brands. No need to use indicators on BMWs, irrelevance of speed limits for Audi's, allowed use of multiple parking spaces for Range Rovers, and non applicability of parking laws for most "high end" cars..

The expectation argument is often used to explain away poor CSI scores of many expensive cars. The problem with that is that if a car is sold as a premium quality product with a price to match then it is entirely reasonable to expect a high quality product. The other problem is that it is not just rattling trim, in my case a car bought new about 18 months ago from a manufacturer whose major selling point is quality has been off the road twice, once for a new gearbox, and been to the dealer twice for service while I waited. That's pretty rubbish regardless of who made the car.

[TheSignalEngineer]

When I was on my last few years at work I used to get about a dozen different cars on short hires during a year plus a few on holidays to my son's place. Most of the hire companies were using bottom of range Far East models which were basically rubbish. Personally the best cars I had were a VW for reliability and an original Picasso for accessibility but as that got older it became unreliable. Worst things I had were a 1980s Orion and a 1990s Peugeot, although my son has just scrapped one of those after over 200k.

My present car is an Octavia Estate which has been running for over 6 years with no problems. Best car I go in at the moment is my daughter's Passat. She previously had an Octavia Scout. Basic but strong, an old oak tree fell on it one day and they all got out without a scratch.

Edited December 30, 2018 by TheSignalEngineer

[tigerburnie]

I asked myself the same question 4 years ago, local mechanics suggested the car I bought as having better "mechanics". I wanted petrol not diesel and not too low as I need to get in and out of it without folding myself in half(so the TVR Cerbera was out of the window) I have done 60k miles and still like it, its roomy, got heated front seats, no irritating sat nav and has reasonable mpg. Mitsubishi ASX was my choice.

[MJI]

A few years ago I used to run big Vauxhalls and did some high mileage,

 

VERY comfortable, pretty reliable, and handled pretty well.

 

Police loved them as well.

 

Killed off by GM killing the platform (was shared with Holdens)