What made you choose your car?

[Chancer]

So why are you driving your present car? What made you choose the one you have? Was it a wise choice, or should you have gone for something else? And what other cars did you consider, if any?

In my case I drive a Nissan Almeara, a bland, boring car lookwise I admit. But it serves me well, and has never let me down, so it certainly scores on reliability. It also offers a smooth and comfortable drive, and fulfils all my space requirements. The only major gripe I would have is that I could do with a good bit more power from the engine.


[This message has been edited by Chancer (edited 18 April 2000).]

[Phil]

As everyone knows, I drive a Honda Prelude 2.2i. I picked this car because I had been driving a Rover 620i.
I wanted a bit of speed and fun in the car, hence the reason I have the car now. The prelude is great for driving around country roads, but now that I'm back in town working, I'm looking to buy a slower and more comfortable car.

I'm now going for a Alfa 156 1.8

[Astraman]

At present I'm driving an Opel Astra 1.4xe.
The main reason I got it is that I love the way it looks.I know alot of people find Opels very boringly designed but I do like the Astra.At the time I was buying I test drove the Focus & the Golf and found them both very dead in comparison to the Astra.Its very nippy for a 1.4.I find it very reliable also + it gives a very smooth ride as the suspension appears lower than alot of makes to the ground.The only bad things I can say about it is that its an expensive car to buy + somewhat heavy on juice only doing 39mpg.I used to drive a deisel car so I got quite a shock when switching to petrol.
I would never buy a petrol car if they made deisel cars cheaper & with smaller engines as engine size in deisel cars really pushes up tax & insurance.

[Paul]

I chose a Clio becuase it's smooth quiet and comfortable. Far more so than other cars in it's class.
It's also got good safety features.

[Justin]

I bought my Boxster because I wanted something thirsty (17mpg) with room for me and my sunglasses case which is fast but no use for bank jobs (unlike a BMW 325i I had once which was quite useful for that purpose) and because it made a lot more sense than buying madpunt.com shares. And you only live once, after all http://www.eforecourt.com/UBB/bounce.gif

[Tony]

The free blue and white key fob. What more can I say?

[Eirik]

I chose my car because I wanted a medium-sized car with good interior space and comfort, a car with good crash protection, air bags, ABS etc, and with high degree of reliability (now there's a joke). I also wanted enough power for safe overtaking and automatic tranny. Air condition also was high on my priority list. And it wouldn't hurt if it looked good.

In the end, I was down to choosing between a Volvo 940 and the late-model Scorpio. Since the Scorpio had the biggest engine (2.9) and all the equipment I wanted and the whole family loved the looks (honest!) and the car offered the best interior comfort/space, that's what we decided on. Unfortunately, the car has been nothing but trouble (typical Ford). The car is 4 years old and already the brake discs (all 4) are so badly rusted, they break up completely. (The discs on my 1971 Volvo 164 looked new compared to these crappy items). Electronics are a mess, gearbox went south as did the alternator (£450!). And now the bushings are going as well, plus the body rusts.

This is my final Ford period! I don't know what my next car will be. I'd like it to be a little larger, if possible, as the car isn't bigger than necessary. I've looked at the Hyundai XG30, Nissan Maxima 3.0, Audi A6 and A8 and Toyota Camry, but also a few US cars (Lincoln, Oldsmobile and Buick). But I don't look seriously, because I plan to keep this car for at least 5 more years. I've already sunk so much money into it, there are not much left to go badly wrong. And I must admit the car is a dream to drive - when it works ;)

[Tony]

Actually a lot of the unmarked fast(ish) cop cars here in Ireland are Scorpio's, but I wonder why? Surely they couldn't be as fast as say an M5?

[Eirik]

The Scorpio 2.9 12-valver does 130mph in test reports, the 2.9 24-valver 140mph.

[This message has been edited by Eirik (edited 20 April 2000).]

[SpyCamera]

I bought my BMW 540i, because I wanted something with a bit of style, but with a bit of hidden grunt. I mean with 286 bhp who's complaining. :D