Vauxhall to end lifetime warranty

darkmatter101

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I've driven both actually.

The Yaris was uninspiring to drive, more so than the Corsa, and personally I thought it handled quite heavily for its size.

I liked the Jazz a lot but sadly it was out of my budget, we can't all be spaffing cash on things BMWs and Audis

HBS x

What generation Yaris was it? I found the first gen (99-05) to be very nippy and fun to drive but with the the second generation (06-12) for some reason Toyota decided to make it less exciting to drive and more refined. As for the current generation, I think Toyota has come back to its Yaris roots and make it more 'nippy' again

heartbreak_star

darkmatter101 wrote: »

What generation Yaris was it? I found the first gen (99-05) to be very nippy and fun to drive but with the the second generation (06-12) for some reason Toyota decided to make it less exciting to drive and more refined. As for the current generation, I think Toyota has come back to its Yaris roots and make it more 'nippy' again

It was a 53 reg I believe, this was 3 years ago. Each to their own, my friend has one of that age and adores it, my mum's friend hated hers and PX'ed it ASAP

HBS x

OddballJamie

darkmatter101 wrote: »

I wouldn't say Golf is really a far comparison because they are more expensive to buy than the Focus and Astra.

The Astra competes with the likes of Megane, Hyundai i30, Kia Creed,Megane, C3, Fiat Bravo etc while the Golf probably competes more so with the Civic, Alfa romeo giulietta, Volvo C30, Mazda3 etc as they're in similar price brackets.

Don't think any of them compete with the four seater, three door C30. Volvo stopped making it two years ago.

Strange you don't consider the Golf, Astra and Focus to be rivals, maybe you should write into all the car mags that group test them together and put them right.

Captaincodpiece

OddballJamie wrote: »

Don't think any of them compete with the four seater, three door C30. Volvo stopped making it two years ago.

Strange you don't consider the Golf, Astra and Focus to be rivals, maybe you should write into all the car mags that group test them together and put them right.

I'd even go as far as to say A3 is in the same class as the Astra.

OddballJamie

Captaincodpiece wrote: »

I'd even go as far as to say A3 is in the same class as the Astra.

Poking the beehive?

heartbreak_star

Captaincodpiece wrote: »

I'd even go as far as to say A3 is in the same class as the Astra.

Having managed to read the appalling excuse for a novel that is Fifty Shades of Grey, the Audi A3 will always be the "Submissive Special" to me.

HBS x

ACG

darkmatter101 wrote: »

Lol is this meant to be a joke? Astra a decent car? Maybe in a land of flying pigs it is. Thank goodness Vauxhall decided to end their life time warranty scheme, they probably realised they were losing money since Vauxhall cars are so terribly unreliable and in need of constant repairs.

The Vauxhall cars that I have driven (all were rented in my last job):

• 2013 Vauxhall Corsa petrol either 1.2 or 1.4 manual: Literally felt like a cardboard box. Numb steering. Poor driving dynamics, I think the rear had a simple torsion beam setup.

• 2012 Vauxhall Meriva petrol manual: Worse than the Corsa and painfully slow. But to be fair I was carrying 3 other passengers. Handling was noticeably worse than the Corsa, but maybe because it sits much higher. Terrible car.

• 2011 Vuaxhall Insignia diesel manual: Best Vauxhall I have driven and surprisingly quick for its size and weight. Refined and smooth but the steering felt a little too numb. 1st gear was bad but I think this is a common characteristic with diesels in general. Nonetheless a pretty decent car but not as good as its competition.

• 2012 Vauxhall Astra diesel auto: Felt like somewhere in between the Corsa and Insigia (well duh!) but literally felt like the middle ground between the 2 from every angle possible. It's not good at anything, but neither was it that bad at anything. Auto took a little time to pick up and it wasn't as fast than you'd think considering its a 2 or 2.2 litre diesel. Still felt a little cardboard boxy but not as much as the Corsa and by judging from the way it drove, I think the suspension setup is quite basic, i.e. torsion beam.

• 2003 Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 petrol manual: Positively the WORSE car I have ever driven. Even slower than the Meriva but VERY thirty, diabolical handling and steering feel and the interior was just a bland place to be in.

One common thing amongst all Vauxhalls is the numb steering feel. You just don't get any tactile feedback from the tyres and road like you do with the German cars. Overall they feel like pretty cheap cars, but to be fair they are priced accordingly. The Insignia isn't that bad of a car at all, and a pretty good attempt by Vauxhall. That said if I had to choose between a Insigia or an Accord or Avensis I'd choose the latter 2 choices every time.

What has your driving experience got to do with the reliability of a car?

Either a car breaks down and falls to pieces a lot or it doesnt.

My first car was a corsa, I bought it at 4 years old and kept it until it was 8 years old - it got me from manchesterto swindon, manchester to northampton, manchester to leicester a few times, the obligatory pass your test blackpool run - not once let me down.

Infact, theonly time I had to call out green flag was when I went to a village 5-10 miles away. When I got in the car the lights were going on and off. The bloke from green flag unhooked the battery put it back on and jobs a good'en. Theoretically I could have driven it, but probably not the safest looking like a little airplane flashing all over.

My mate has an astra and before that a corsa - his corsa was about 12 years old before things started going on it and he knows full well the person before him ragged it all over the place.

You might not like the drive, but mechanically my (albeit limited) experiences of vauxhalls are that they seem to do alright.

heartbreak_star

Incidentally, please describe "numb steering"? Again I can't really see a problem as long as, y'know, turn wheel and car goes that way?

EDIT: Just spotted there's a weird description earlier. Can't say I'd be wanting tactile feedback from my tyres. Surely that would mean I am under them.

And yes, I may be a little thorny because my Corsa was great and I miss it. But many of my friends have Astras and love them - the only big breakdown I know of is when a gearbox went. I've been told on some cars if you drive hard it's like the gearbox is made of cheese. Solution - drive sensible!

HBS x

uknick

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Incidentally, please describe "numb steering"? Again I can't really see a problem as long as, y'know, turn wheel and car goes that way?

EDIT: Just spotted there's a weird description earlier. Can't say I'd be wanting tactile feedback from my tyres. Surely that would mean I am under them.

And yes, I may be a little thorny because my Corsa was great and I miss it. But many of my friends have Astras and love them - the only big breakdown I know of is when a gearbox went. I've been told on some cars if you drive hard it's like the gearbox is made of cheese. Solution - drive sensible!

HBS x

In some cars when you turn the wheel you can feel the tyres turn. It helps to let you know exactly where they are pointing.


EDIT: Just saw your edit. If you drive a car with feedback it can be a more rewarding drive. I used to joke the difference between my partner's Avensis and my car was that if I lost control in slippery conditions at least I would know where my wheels were pointing when I crashed into the tree


But, I think the topic of handling feel takes this thread off topic.

heartbreak_star

uknick wrote: »

In some cars when you turn the wheel you can feel the tyres turn. It helps to let you know exactly where they are pointing.

I have learned something today

HBS x