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Thing is we all have very different opinions and tastes in cars My personal love of the W202 merc is based on owning a great one for seven years, having owned over 400 cars in 36 years its the only car I kept for more than a year So I will always have one in my small collection I won’t comment on cars I don’t like , it’s not the modus operandi on this great forum But I like this thread all the same , what a boring world it would be if we all liked the same thing!
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Last Edit: Feb 1, 2020 18:24:36 GMT by Mercdan68
Fraud owners club member 2003 W211 Mercedes E class 1989 Sierra sapphire 1998 ex bt fiesta van
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I would also go with a mk3 Astra, having owned mine 10 years I can say it has been the most reliable car I've owned. The Vectra B's I've had on the other hand...
Ford wise, well I would have said mk1 Focus, but then I bought an 07 mk3 Mondeo ST TDCi, now I got unlucky and bought a dog needing work, but now the work is done it's a cracking car, decent turn of speed, decent MPG, well specced and dare I say good looking? I've not driven a Ford newer than mine, but looks wise I'm not keen on anything newer.
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Another vote for the Astra MK3, nice to drive, cheap as chips to service and reliable regardless of the colour, pink or not!
Other Vauxhalls were the Cavalier Mk3 again capable of starship mileage, Carlton Mk3 and Senator B models all capable of racking up mega miles for not much money
It all went wrong with the Vectra B & Omega B, dire modes of transport
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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The MK2 Cavalier was superb. It was 'light' and nimble and sprightly to fast. It was comfortable and spacious and had good visibility. They all looked good too. Ditto the MK1 Astra ( my favourite ) and the MK2. I owned a MK1 Astra 1300s estate and a MK2 Cav 2.0 SRI saloon. The Cav was the best of the past cars I have owned.
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Last Edit: Feb 1, 2020 23:07:14 GMT by Rob M
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,925
Club RR Member Number: 174
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It's based on experience, but not "performance" as such just general "is it good at doing the basics of a car stuff" I.e. Does it drive reasonably Is it reliable Is it easy/cheap to diagnose/fix issues Will it stand abuse I don't think you can judge it on performance as in pretty much all cases the last decent car a manufacturer made would be whatever their current models are. As much as I dislike driving newer stuff on a like for like basis compared to a similar level older model they're bloody quick and the cornering speeds with all the electronic stuff activated are way beyond what you'd manage in years gone by. However they're delicate and issues are common and expensive to fix. Mk3 Astra (and Mk3 Cav but the Astra continued for a couple more years iirc) were the last competent Vauxhall's at just doing basic car stuff. The models that superseded them were better to drive and imo looked better, but rubbish in every other way, especially reliability. The Mk1 Focus was the same. The Mk6 Fiesta was in for a possible shout but they're nowhere near as reliable and have some common and expensive issues. Also the Mk3 Mondeo but they have a host of issues. Great cars when they're working though, probably up there with the most surprising cars I've ever driven when you start throwing them about. VAG Group I'd go pre PD B5 Passat 1.9 TDi because I have too much fun at work listening to people's stories about their super reliable PD engines that turn out to be like triggers broom with cams and heads lol.
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I'll hold my hands up here and concede I was wrong here on the Astra. You clearly know what you're talking about if you've owned one.
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Another marque I should mention is Nissan. I bought a k11 Micra before I knew anything about the links between BMC and Nissan, simply because I needed a cheap car. I grew to like it so much I bought another. These were both facelift cars, I drove a pre-facelift but it was a 5dr and I wanted a 3dr. What I noticed about the prefacelift was how utterly basic and mini-like it was, it felt so much older to drive than the facelift cars, really solid and they have an almost legendary reputation for reliability. I can remember when they were new, I thought they looked strange with their bubble styling, but time has sorted them right out. I always had visions of café-racering one, but it will probably never happen. I vote the prefacelift micra because it came before nissans cars got stuffed full of electric this-and-that, it is simply a basic, and very good car. I was looking for a pic of a standard one, but this is good enough Then I found this and couldn't not.
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