4 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

My sister in law has just 3 weeks ago taken delivery of a new car and unless she wanted just the smallest base model in the Toyota range (just 3) all the rest of the wide range of cars, all feature electric in some format, something which she did not want.

What is wrong with having a small amount of electrification to improve fuel efficiency?

It still refuels the same and drives the same.

Sounds more like poorly informed and not bothering to understand the technology.

I honestly don't see any reason wanting pure ICE brand new vehicles these days.

Yet the starter motor is acceptable?

At the weekend I went looking at other cars that may be easier for me to get into and out of and I looked at some large SUV type cars such as Volvo XC70 and XC90, Mazda CX60 and even Kodiaq although looking at them they appear to be massive in reality they have less interior space than the Superb and the boot space is also less (to keep it under the luggage cover).

These cars all seem as mentioned above to be huge and impressive, but that is all blot in the body panels, thick doors high ground clearance, high bonnets etc.

All the VW Caddy's on the second market all appear to be converted to include a ramp for wheelchair access, and the space between the front and 2nd row of seats is restricted.

1 hour ago, Ootohere said:

@Graham Butcher What did she opt for in the 3 weeks timeline, and was there a reason a new one was required in such a short timeline?

What was the issue with getting a Hybrid which i assume was petrol and did not come with a plug?

In the end she went with a Yaris Cross hybrid, and you are correct, it is not a plug in one either. the only pure ICE that she get was a little Aygo which even though the Yaris is not space demon (her old car was also a Yaris) the Aygo was woefully inadequate for her and she lives on her own so does not need a massive car, most of the time it is only her and my other half in the car.

I think you are trying to read in between the lines in what I wrote, she has been looking to replace her 10 year old car for some time, and the only cars she has either had has Ford Fiesta and a Toyota Yaris, which was her best car to date and so wanted to get another Toyota. When I mentioned the 3 weeks, it was if go back and read it again, saying that 3 weeks ago, she took delivery of the new car, so it was not a rushed event, far from it. Out of all the Toyota lineup, only the Aygo and Yaris was within her budget and the other models are various forms of hybrid or full electric anyway.

Edited 13 June, 202513 Jun by Graham Butcher

Horses for courses really

I do not get in or out a Yaris, Clio, Capture, Dacia, or others easily or have room. yet i do in a Fabia, Swift, MINI, Corsa & various KIA or Hyundai including the Picanto which is the smallest of these.

28 minutes ago, Graham Butcher said:

All the VW Caddy's on the second market all appear to be converted to include a ramp for wheelchair access, and the space between the front and 2nd row of seats is restricted.

Not sure where you are looking but I'm seeing heaps on Autotrader without wheelchair ramps.

And not sure what you mean about the space between the front and 2nd row seats being restricted - it's more or less the same as many other cars.

I would encourage you to go and check them out, a seriously underrated car in my opinion at least as far as space is concerned and there's a PHEV coming out with a range of about 75 miles (already available on the Ford equivalent) but still petrol and diesel available if you won't touch anything with any form of electric propulsion.

I’m sold on them. I just can’t bring myself to spend luxury car money on one.

That’s because my car buying brain is trapped in the 2010’s.

I think the price is such, due to a few factors. Mostly the added expense of everything being on a chip or backed by a chip. I don’t need my mirror to angle down when reversing, or the camera etc. yes it’s handy, I don’t need it. It’s priced into the car. The actual cost of the car, metal and bits is not that different to an older car, it’s all the gubbins. Most of which we’d be happy without if we didn’t have it we’d manage. Although adaptive cruise control is really nice… so I’ll have that please ;)

19 minutes ago, Dieselgate said:

Not sure where you are looking but I'm seeing heaps on Autotrader without wheelchair ramps.

And not sure what you mean about the space between the front and 2nd row seats being restricted - it's more or less the same as many other cars.

I would encourage you to go and check them out, a seriously underrated car in my opinion at least as far as space is concerned and there's a PHEV coming out with a range of about 75 miles (already available on the Ford equivalent) but still petrol and diesel available if you won't touch anything with any form of electric propulsion.

I will be checking them out in person, but I have Autotrader set on a radius of 100miles from my location and I want a diesel auto and in fact many of those listed make zero reference to the presence of a ramp etc and is only discoverable when flicking through the photos. The photos also show the front seats close to the steering wheel so the drivers seat is too far forward for me, and the space behind it would be seriously eroded when I put the seat in a suitable position for me.

Like I said I will looking around for these in person where I can god try this out personally to make sure that I don't discard it without checking.

Adaptive cruise is very nice indeed.

There are many that are now below lux tax threshold. I think only 3 models of sister cars from VAG? The ID 3, Born and Elroq. ID2 is coming soon™.

I currently quite like the idea of BYD Dolphin Surf (an even smaller model to Dolphin). My wife quite like the look of red Nissan Micra. (for our "small" car, Leaf replacement).

Also got to remember there's fiscal drag at play here. £40k today was £26k back in 2010.

15 minutes ago, Graham Butcher said:

I will be checking them out in person, but I have Autotrader set on a radius of 100miles from my location and I want a diesel auto and in fact many of those listed make zero reference to the presence of a ramp etc and is only discoverable when flicking through the photos. The photos also show the front seats close to the steering wheel so the drivers seat is too far forward for me, and the space behind it would be seriously eroded when I put the seat in a suitable position for me.

Like I said I will looking around for these in person where I can god try this out personally to make sure that I don't discard it without checking.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Diesel&homeDeliveryAdverts=include&make=Volkswagen&model=Caddy%20Maxi&postcode=CM11HT&price-to=25000&radius=100&seats_values=7&sort=relevance&transmission=Automatic

There's a few fairly close you could have a look at - pretty sure none of these are wheelchair vans - they all have 7 seats at any rate.

2 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

At the weekend I went looking at other cars that may be easier for me to get into and out of and I looked at some large SUV type cars such as Volvo XC70 and XC90, Mazda CX60 and even Kodiaq although looking at them they appear to be massive in reality they have less interior space than the Superb and the boot space is also less (to keep it under the luggage cover).

These cars all seem as mentioned above to be huge and impressive, but that is all blot in the body panels, thick doors high ground clearance, high bonnets etc.

The only "electric car" I've been in was a Kia Niro full electric, and its interior proved tight enough that someone 5'10" could not sit behind themself, partly due to a lack of any foot space under the front seats.

I'd suggest that this made it utterly unsuitable for its bought purpose as an ambulance transport vehicle.

Edited 13 June, 202513 Jun by Paws4Thot

The Kia Niro is not a small car either, I expect that some of that may well be down to the fact a of the Asians are reasonably compact them selves, British men are an average of 5ft 10" and the Asians are average is around the 5ft 6" apparently, which would help explain why the Mazda CX60 was so cramped inside which was the complete opposite of the cars external appearance would suggest.

Cross overs, Small SUV a like, they are just taller hatch backs.

There was a reason and still is a reason Airport Transporters, Wedding / Funeral Cars, bigger passenger cars are like a Skoda Superb, Audi,s, Mercedes / BMW, Volvo, Jaguars saloon (Flip back sometimes) Was Granada,s.

In Aberdeen, Dundee and elsewhere maybe a Tesla.

Edited 13 June, 202513 Jun by Ootohere

Hmm, Jags are also deceptive, they are actually far smaller then you would think. I have both driven and been a passenger in a Jag XJ6 and there is bugger all rear legroom unless in a LWB model, very few of them, and the costs of ownership are sky high.

Edited 13 June, 202513 Jun by Graham Butcher

@Graham Butcher & they get Stretched, like others get.

As you well know very well having been a long time driver and observant.

Daimler,s.

Now we have VIP Minibuses / People Carriers, Converted LCV,s, ICE or BEV.

Now we have so many huge things around like RR LR,s, Kia,s, Volvo,s Mercs, Audi,s, BMWs,etc etc.

Seats and not boot space with many.

So how much is a Skoda Superb these days, cash money?

Bargains. & available.

Edited 13 June, 202513 Jun by Ootohere

7 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

That maybe, but Fabia is still a small car, in fact it's more like a 2 seater with space for 2 tods in baby seats.

Come on Graham, I just used the fact I know 2 people who have purchased brand new petrol engined Fabias this year to illustrate such powered vehicles can still be bought. If they wanted bigger they could have bought Octavia’s or another larger model with petrol or diesel engines.

29 minutes ago, classic said:

Come on Graham, I just used the fact I know 2 people who have purchased brand new petrol engined Fabias this year to illustrate such powered vehicles can still be bought. If they wanted bigger they could have bought Octavia’s or another larger model with petrol or diesel engines.

Correct, but as those cars are designed to fit / suit the average family, like I said earlier, who are considerable smaller in height to me and my family who are some 6" taller than average. I already have one of the largest cars (Skoda Superb) if not the largest car without entering the real premium sector, in price, insurance, tax and running costs. The reason I'm looking around now is that I think its time to get something that is easier to get into and out of as I'm not as mobile as I once was and I'm suffering from a very painful right knee and muscles in the lower leg as well.

People will buy whatever suits them, assuming that they have the required readies so all the RR's and Bentleys, Audi A8's etc are not either going to be within my budget and will be just as difficult for me to ingress and egress as my current car. I need something in a similar interior size but with a much higher seating position, so I can sort of step in and out of rather than having to crouch down.

Rent / Lease in many many a case. Under the business.

But yes there are cash buyers, i see then speccing cars @ BMW. Under 30, buying for brothers or sisters, not one the same as their uncle has. They are not interested in discussing finance.

I doubt renting / leasing is open to me at my age. Most hire companies will not touch me with a barge pole and even credit is extremely difficult to get, even some credit cards, as the only source of income is my pension.

To be honest it’s all the tech touch screen crap and lane assist etc that I don’t like on new cars. I got a 2022 Superb 1.5 se estate last year (also well over 6ft myself!) specifically to get the newest low mileage car I could afford with the minimum driver aid equipment. My intention is to keep it long term.

Edited 13 June, 202513 Jun by classic

The Kia Niro is about similar size to Nissan Leaf. Packaged better with bigger usable boot, but styled to look more SUV so looks bigger.

https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/nissan-leaf-2010-5-door-hatchback-vs-kia-niro-2021-suv-ev/

When we were car shopping in 2022, Kia EV6 had long back order, so Kia dealership asked us to consider Niro. Wife immediately says it's Leaf sized, not big enough for long trips.

30 minutes ago, classic said:

To be honest it’s all the tech touch screen crap and lane assist etc that I don’t like on new cars. I got a 2022 Superb 1.5 se estate last year (also well over 6ft myself!) specifically to get the newest low mileage car I could afford with the minimum driver aid equipment. My intention is to keep it long term.

Agreed with with the touch screen stuff and also many of the other gadgets, its just more s*** to go wrong. I too was thinking along similar lines, hence why I decided to buy my old company car when I retired intending to keep as long as possible but that all changed 2 years ago when it was written off by someone doing a U turn right in front of me.

Now the one I got to replace it with is drinking oil and it looks like the DMF has gone now, so that and my knee is making me think about get rid of it and into something easier for me.

I’m not that keen on suv type vehicles but it is a fact as you get older they are definitely easier to get in and out of.

To keep on topic of ev the Skoda Enyaq is the most comfortable and easy to get out of car I have ever driven. I absolutely love the Superb, but they are low.

Engine wise, I know many disagree, but I wouldn’t touch a euro 6 tdi from any manufacturer with a barge pole.

4 hours ago, classic said:

I’m not that keen on suv type vehicles but it is a fact as you get older they are definitely easier to get in and out of.

To keep on topic of ev the Skoda Enyaq is the most comfortable and easy to get out of car I have ever driven. I absolutely love the Superb, but they are low.

Engine wise, I know many disagree, but I wouldn’t touch a euro 6 tdi from any manufacturer with a barge pole.

What is the issue you have with the Euro 6 TDI?

They have to eat their own **** and it doesn’t them any good. EGR, DPFs, regens which in my opinion are insane - how is burning extra fuel to turn soot into ash a good thing regarding reducing emissions ? If it isn’t successful it will keep trying on other journeys, washing oil off the bores and even diluting the oil with fuel.

And just in case there isn’t enough to go wrong there’s the ad blue system….

The truth about EVs 🙂

The only thing he mentions I slightly disagree with is 'losing range due to pre-heating' The same is true of ICE vehicles, if you run your engine to to preheat / defrost your ICE car you are losing range and quite a bit of it too. Also, if the car is plugged in to the charger you lose no range as it draws from the grid to heat the car.

Edited 16 June, 202516 Jun by Luckypants