Goodbye Saloons and Estates

[GSS]

I'm with you 100% on that Fika. As my late father used to say, "The more you have on a car, the more there is to go wrong."

[Moose Test]

Originally Posted by GSS

As my late father used to say, "The more you have on a car, the more there is to go wrong."

As did mine. However, I also remember that family outings/holidays in the Herald, and later the Allegro, involved needing to carry spare water, fan belts, set of points etc. and many a visit from the AA man. :-)

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Fika

I'm beginning to understand now (I am slow) why there is an obsession with the older vehicles, because at least you can wrench away at them without breaking the bank or needing some hacked/pricey computer setup.

If you have the right mindset, modern vehicles are just as easy to work with as older vehicles. I remember a mechanic I used to work with berating the early electronic ignition systems on Ford CVH engines as witchcraft...

The difference is now you follow a flowchart and then replace a module, or perform a software update. There's no opening anything up and repairing it any more...... unless you are a complete elctrophile and enjoy de-solering diodes etc.

[Moose Test]

Originally Posted by Fika

-Bloody giant touch screen instead of buttons but you're penalised for operating a phone while driving

Hear! hear!, absolutely that.

I cannot believe that this has become accepted. I've test driven a couple of Gen 2 XC90s and it ridiculous how far down one needs to drill into menus to access some basic functions, and all whilst we're (rightly) supposed to have eyes front and centre.

I understand the economics of "soft" interfaces, which are easily reconfigured between models/variants/revisions but this seems to be a big compromise on safety. I note that whilst very large and sophisticated glass cockpits have become the norm on airliners for the same reasons, actual functional inputs are retained on physical controls that pilots can and do train muscle memory for.

[Ulrikas PA]

My 480 had a (wonky) trip computer and an ECU. That was about it.

My Impreza Turbo has a switch to make the clock to brighter. And an (uprated) ECU.

It makes me happy.

[Tannaton]

It's funny how some manufacturers have faired better than others.

Ford dropped the Mundano a while back, Vauxhall dropped the Insignia late last year and I just read VW have quietly dropped the Passat saloon but kept the estate for now as well as the Farteon. But there's still 3 and 5 series BMW saloons and Audi A4 and A6, Merc A,C,E & S class and you can still get Jaguar XE and XF saloons, I thought they'd tapped those on the head pre-covid but I saw two brand new ones on a transporter last week......

[GrahamBrown1]

It’s just a massive shame

[Pidgeonpost]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

I'm starting to warm to the idea of electric. By electric, I mean points and a condenser....

Give me simplicity and reliability over unreliable 'sophistication' any day of the week. I'm beginning to wonder about changing our 15 year old V70, but which way do you jump? My budget won't stretch to anything that will have a manufacturer's warranty (well, maybe a Honda 90), so do I go for a later V70 the latest of which will still be around 7 years old with more gadgetry, or a V60 which has both good and bad reports on here? Could be seriously tempted by an older V70 that's been cherished...

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Pidgeonpost

Give me simplicity and reliability over unreliable 'sophistication' any day of the week. I'm beginning to wonder about changing our 15 year old V70, but which way do you jump? My budget won't stretch to anything that will have a manufacturer's warranty (well, maybe a Honda 90), so do I go for a later V70 the latest of which will still be around 7 years old with more gadgetry, or a V60 which has both good and bad reports on here? Could be seriously tempted by an older V70 that's been cherished...

Well there is a question.

In my experience, the P3 platform is slightly more robust and reliable than the P2 but the P2 is easier to fix... The problem is now even the youngest P2 V70 will be 16 years old now (XC90 9 years old) so if you're going to keep it a while I would look at the P3. I think sensus models have slightly more reliable electronics.

I hate to admit is but my 2015 XC60 with 153k on it has been and continues to be more reliable than my 2011 XC90 with 130k on it. Neither of them have ever come close to letting me down, but the XC60 has had a drivers seat heating pad and two springs - that's it.

[baggy798]

Originally Posted by Fika

I'm beginning to understand now (I am slow) why there is an obsession with the older vehicles, because at least you can wrench away at them without breaking the bank or needing some hacked/pricey computer setup.

They were also sold in decent colours.



vs



£95,000 and bland boring colours? Cars for NPCs.

I've just noticed the thing at the top of the windscreen makes it look like a taxi! 😂