what's the most refined/comfortable/quietest small family car? French?

cyclonebri1

Testdrive a Megane diesel, good ride, very quiet, well specd and very economical. Good value on the year you are looking at now the later models around.

You will of course get a different answer from everyone who replies, which is why you need to try them as advised, after all you will have to live with your choice;);)

ailuro2

I didn't appreciate how nice our 03 Mondeo is until we got our second car, a Peugot 206. It's night and day on comfort and noise.

You really need to try them out for yourself though.

dada44

I've tried out a lot of cars this week (and this year). I'll be posting all my brief thoughts on each car soon.

would be great to continue to hear ppl's thoughts and experiences on this..

q. does anyone know what affect tire size has on comfort and noise?

Lemonade_Pockets

dada44 wrote: »

I've tried out a lot of cars this week (and this year). I'll be posting all my brief thoughts on each car soon.

would be great to continue to hear ppl's thoughts and experiences on this..

q. does anyone know what affect tire size has on comfort and noise?

Generally the bigger the tyre the more noise you get. IMO Profile rather than overall size tends to make more difference to the comfort, however bigger wheels tend to have lower profile tyres so i guess they often go hand in hand. Get something with big side walls (i.e. not a tyre that looks like its been painted on)

On a separate note if you do happen to go for a rover 75 which i agree is very comfortable. Try get the 2.0 diesel as its a (very good) BMW engine as well as having cheaper running costs.

fatbelly

The Rover 75 scored very highly for ride and comfort in the latest JD Power survey. If that is what is important to you, and you can cope with the size (it's not a small family car), then give it a go. You will probably find a late model diesel for around 5k

cyclonebri1

dada44 wrote: »

I've tried out a lot of cars this week (and this year). I'll be posting all my brief thoughts on each car soon.

would be great to continue to hear ppl's thoughts and experiences on this..

q. does anyone know what affect tire size has on comfort and noise?

As a general rule low profile tyres give a much harder ride due to the lack of flex in the sidewalls.
Some cars use wider but higher profiles to allow the tyre to become part of the suspension. Taken to the limit is a formula 1 car where the tyres provides almost all the suspension system;)

dada44

ok, here are reviews of some cars I've test driven this year, primarily driven testing comfort and ride (how smooth it is).

Renault Clio (57 reg, 1.6 privelage) - supposedly one of the leaders in its class, but very thin sheet metal used in its frame, so meant a very firm and hard ride. if you like sporty handling, you may enjoy this, but i got tired of all the bumps. It was relatively pretty quiet for its class, but not really that quiet compared to bigger cars.

Toyota Prius (55) - this was a fun car to drive! it was very spongy, which meant it felt like it was floating on the road. You hardly felt any bumps. The steering wasn't so firm, but I didn't really care. It was pretty quiet around town too, because of the hybrid technology. However, there seemed to be quite a lot of road noise - other prius members have complained about this in their forum. Now I'm not sure if this is simply because there is reduced engine noise compared to other cars, making the road noise seem louder, or whether it was actually louder. Car also gave off a funky smell coming from the battery compartment, which put me off it really. If you look at the forums, ppl complain of this too. Can't be too good for your health.

VW Golf IV (x reg, 1.6) - NICE car. Refined and comfortable. Most reviewers are looking for cheap thrills, so call this car's handling too weak, but I think it's great. Gave me a lot of problems though (I owned it). And kept on breaking down.

VW Golf V (56 reg, 1.6) - As the reviews say, a comfortable, impressively quiet car, but very firm. Unnecessarily so. Put me off it.

VW Golf VI (09) - I like the suspension on this. Just right. However, ppl keep on saying how refined it is and quiet. I don't really think so. Or maybe I just expect too much. It's pretty good, but it aint 5 star. Maybe 4. I test drove the 1.4 tsi.

Renault Megane (56, 1.6)- Another Renault that is so flimsily made from thin sheet metal. It's supposedly meant to be a comfortable ride, but I could feel all the bumps on the road. Not impressed!!

Peugeot 307 (56, 1.6 S) - Drives like a toy car. Fun Ride, seemed pretty comfortable (although i'd probably need another ride). A Lot of engine noise, surprisingly so. Weak engine.

Ford Focus (56, Ghia 1.6) - All the reviews rave about this car. It's pretty comfortable and absorbs most potholes, but there's this huge section in between the two front seats which steals a lot of legroom. Bad design. Otherwise this car wouldn't be so bad. Ghia model seats are a bit too soft.

Rover 75 (03, 1.8) - some ppl on this forum hark on and on about this car. Took it for a test drive recently. Firstly, it's a very HEAVY car. And for the 1.8 engine, you will feel like you're struggling sometimes. I could also feel the engine vibrating from my seat. However, really quiet!! I like a lot for this reason. And the ride seemed to absorb most potholes, but only because of it's humungous weight. Which makes it pretty uncomfortable for town driving and bendy roads. I imagine it would be nice on a motorway.

BMW E46 3 Series (04, 318i SE)- very quiet. nice, sharp ride. But again, a very heavy car and you can feel this weight with the 318i.

BMW E90 3 Series (55, 318i SE) - very quiet, really nice seats. I like it a lot. But i do not like feeling all the bumps in the road. Apparently, this is largely due to the run flat tires, which can be replaces. a lot of complaints about this (esp on top gears website). Come on BMW, get ur act together!

Vauxhall Astra (56, 1.6 Club) - I liked this car. I would never have gone for a vauxhall, ever. but this car is... nice. Not as firm as the VW, and more legroom than the focus. It is probably a tad on the firm side, but this is the closest thing that matches the VW Golf MK 4 for comfort. I drove the 1.6 engine, which was nice. Leaves a pleasant feeling in my tummy.

I wonder if the 15 inch tyres on the Life model, compared to the 16 inch alloys on Club, make much of a difference?

Citroen C4 (56) - reviewers say how quiet and comfortable the ride is. I think the engine I test drove was rather out of it, because it was drony and loud. the salesman said it needed a service, so maybe it would have been quieter. It is TOO FIRM. Definately not so comfortable!

Honda Accord (56) - too firm. not that quiet either

Toyota Avensis (55) - too firm. noisier than it should be.

Audi A3 (56, 2.0l diesel) - way too much road noise. Audi!?! It's like they didn't soundproof at all. Comfortable ride and handling though, very nice mix.

Mercedez-Benz C180 saloon - (51) - hm.. nice but bland ride. don't like the layout of the buttons. Feels a bit heavy, but lighter than the bmw. Feels larger though. Probably a good all rounder. Can't decide between this and the E46. I'd probably go for this because of the lighter weight. However, the automatic gearbox on this really stinks.

I get the impression that most of these car makers, are making their cars firmer to ride, because of bored thrill seeking reviewers. Perhaps it's just me, but I'd imagine most ppl looking for saloon cars, or comfortable cars, are happy with a "spongy" handling like the Golf MK IV or Toyota Prius, not to say they are spongy in my opinion.

FINAL VERDICT:

I think I am happy on the Vauxhall Astra. I never thought I'd be saying this.
Plus, the idea of driving around, what in my mind is a police car, is :eek:.

Other cars I would like to test drive longer: BMW 3 Series E46. If this car didn't feel so heavy, I think it would be perfect. and if i could afford it, the 3 series E90 without run flats.

I would like to have a go on the Renault Laguna (though something tells me this will be flimsy with thin sheet metal like all the other Renaults), or the Citroen C5 (would *love* to try out the famous suspension on this.)

Also.. Seat Leon. I like the interior a lot. I wonder if it as good as it seems.. particularly with VW's input.

hope this was helpful. let me know if there's anything u'd like to know these cars.

Lemonade_Pockets

Rover 75 (03, 1.8) - some ppl on this forum hark on and on about this car. Took it for a test drive recently. Firstly, it's a very HEAVY car. And for the 1.8 engine, you will feel like you're struggling sometimes. I could also feel the engine vibrating from my seat. However, really quiet!! I like a lot for this reason. And the ride seemed to absorb most potholes, but only because of it's humungous weight. Which makes it pretty uncomfortable for town driving and bendy roads. I imagine it would be nice on a motorway.

Thats cos you picked the crapest engine for performance and reliability, see my previous post!

goldspanners

dada44 wrote: »

or the Citroen C5 (would *love* to try out the famous suspension on this.)

i think this is the perfect car for you to be honest, you don't seem to interested in how the car goes round bends just how it glides over potholes. these c5 handle like boats.

the only other car i can remember that handled great and was really comfortable to drive was an old mercedes benz 500 sec, super comfy,fast and fairly agile for a heavy lump. but cost a fortune to run and even second hand spares were very costly.

dada44

thanks goldenspanners. would you count the 1st generation pre-2004 citroen c5 in this category aswell? that's the only one on autotrader that is near me..