Dare I ask for car advice

HAL9000

ewal said:

One of the few consensus areas on this forum when it comes to cars, is the noisiness of the CVT gearbox.

Almost tempted to go and test drive it and see just how annoying it is!

My own car is a Civic CVT. Gearbox is great - as @steveledzep has already said (regarding his Lexus) it is very smooth and never gets too noisy. However every CVT Toyota I've driven has been unpleasantly noisy and really not very nice to drive. I guess the problem isn't with CVT itself but with how different manufacturers utilise it, and with how the software manages the ratios. Toyota has got it wrong, and Honda (and, by the sound of it, Lexus) has got it right. 

steveledzep

That's odd because Lexus is part of the Toyota organisation.

joneve

steveledzep said:

That's odd because Lexus is part of the Toyota organisation.

HAL9000 said:

ewal said:

One of the few consensus areas on this forum when it comes to cars, is the noisiness of the CVT gearbox.

Almost tempted to go and test drive it and see just how annoying it is!

My own car is a Civic CVT. Gearbox is great - as @steveledzep has already said (regarding his Lexus) it is very smooth and never gets too noisy. However every CVT Toyota I've driven has been unpleasantly noisy and really not very nice to drive. I guess the problem isn't with CVT itself but with how different manufacturers utilise it, and with how the software manages the ratios. Toyota has got it wrong, and Honda (and, by the sound of it, Lexus) has got it right. 

Exactly the same experience for me. I've had two NX's, both of which were smooth as silk. 

The Yaris I drive for work is noisy, unresponsive and all around unpleasant. 

I can only assume that Lexus spend the rest of the budget refining the gear box and engines and the ratios? I should probably just ask my dad. 

celentium

I haven't looked at the Ceed but we've just sold our Sportage that we had from new. If you test drive the Golf, the quality should stand out in comparison. 

sweepy

My Toyota CH-R has a CVT box, it does take a little getting used to but the lift and coast function saves a fortune if you drive slightly behind the power curve.

boogieman

joneve said:

steveledzep said:

That's odd because Lexus is part of the Toyota organisation.

HAL9000 said:

ewal said:

One of the few consensus areas on this forum when it comes to cars, is the noisiness of the CVT gearbox.

Almost tempted to go and test drive it and see just how annoying it is!

My own car is a Civic CVT. Gearbox is great - as @steveledzep has already said (regarding his Lexus) it is very smooth and never gets too noisy. However every CVT Toyota I've driven has been unpleasantly noisy and really not very nice to drive. I guess the problem isn't with CVT itself but with how different manufacturers utilise it, and with how the software manages the ratios. Toyota has got it wrong, and Honda (and, by the sound of it, Lexus) has got it right. 

Exactly the same experience for me. I've had two NX's, both of which were smooth as silk. 

The Yaris I drive for work is noisy, unresponsive and all around unpleasant. 

I can only assume that Lexus spend the rest of the budget refining the gear box and engines and the ratios? I should probably just ask my dad. 

The Lexus probably has a load more sound insulation too. 

viz

Haych said:

Zoolooter said:

Just buy an older 6 cylinder BMW. Everything else is just hog wash.

^ This!  The auto gearboxes are awesome and when you wind that straight six up it'll make you grin ear to ear.

I once changed the automatic gearbox on my 535 E28 shape and lost a couple of the ball bearings on my pea-gravel driveway. Didn’t seem to make any difference


- if anything it was even faster in reverse than before. Great car. 

Zoolooter

viz said:

Haych said:

Zoolooter said:

Just buy an older 6 cylinder BMW. Everything else is just hog wash.

^ This!  The auto gearboxes are awesome and when you wind that straight six up it'll make you grin ear to ear.

I once changed the automatic gearbox on my 535 E28 shape and lost a couple of the ball bearings on my pea-gravel driveway. Didn’t seem to make any difference - if anything it was even faster in reverse than before. Great car. 

Like Shaggy and Scooby or Fred and Ginger,  their auto and flat six is a dynamic, yet silky duo that should never be separated.

ewal

Finally got to check out the Ceed - it's been sold. It wasn't meant to be...

strtdv

"refining the ratios" on a CVT is purely software as it's a CVT, you can have whatever ratio within the working range you want.

From my personal experience as well as what I've heard, Toyota CVTs are excellent in their hybrids and not great elsewhere. I rented a terrible CVT Auris but the Lexus CT200h (which I believe is essentially a Prius underneath) was excellent

steveledzep

ewal said:

Finally got to check out the Ceed - it's been sold. It wasn't meant to be...

If you find a car that's "right",  someone else will be considering it "right" too.  You need to move quickly.

ewal

Yeah I know. It wasn't meant to be. I needed a bit of time to think about options and find a few cars to compare it to. Now that I've done that, I'll be ready to move quickly when something else comes up.

ewal

Thread revival... I decided to put buying a new car on hold because other of other financial priorities, however my hand has now been forced as an unattended van rolled in to my car and it has been declared a write off. So I've got a courtesy car for next 7 days in which time I need to get something.

I had been looking at estates because I regularly carry my son's mountain bike in the back and because of our camping trips - there appears to be quite a few Passats on the market in my area at the moment, so that's an obvious candidate.

I hadn't as yet thought about small and mid sized SUV's because the boot capacities quoted don't compare with estates. However what are folks thoughts on these in practice? Is the space decent with the back seats down? There's a Kia Niro and Sportage up the road in Dundee which I might go and check out, but interested in people's first hand experience.

octatonic

ewal said:

Thread revival... I decided to put buying a new car on hold because other of other financial priorities, however my hand has now been forced as an unattended van rolled in to my car and it has been declared a write off. So I've got a courtesy car for next 7 days in which time I need to get something.

I had been looking at estates because I regularly carry my son's mountain bike in the back and because of our camping trips - there appears to be quite a few Passats on the market in my area at the moment, so that's an obvious candidate.

I hadn't as yet thought about small and mid sized SUV's because the boot capacities quoted don't compare with estates. However what are folks thoughts on these in practice? Is the space decent with the back seats down? There's a Kia Niro and Sportage up the road in Dundee which I might go and check out, but interested in people's first hand experience.

How much space do you really need, and how much do you want to spend?
I could fit a full drum kit in a 1 series BMW with room for the missus and an overnight bag.

I've gone for a mid-sized SUV which I get in a couple of weeks the I am back in the UK.
It wasn't the boot size that decided it, it was being up a bit higher, more comfort and a nice engine that swung it for me.

Also resale, estates are currently less popular than SUV types.
Get the right spec and you can be somewhat immune, but the desirable spec is a bit up in the air right now- are diesels out of fashion or are they not? I hear different views.

Snap

@octatonic I think diesels are still the engine of choice for bigger 4x4s here. I think we are in a bit of a hiatus when it comes to cars and engines right now. I'm looking to change, but there aren't enough good hybrids or all electrics to tempt me right now. Also the chargin network isn't good enough.

If I could, I'd change my current big 4x4 diesel for a hybrid, a proper self charging one (like the Porsche), not a crappy plug in every night effort like the (IMO) rubbish range rover hybrid. That is one pointless car.

octatonic

Snap said:

@octatonic I think diesels are still the engine of choice for bigger 4x4s here. I think we are in a bit of a hiatus when it comes to cars and engines right now. I'm looking to change, but there aren't enough good hybrids or all electrics to tempt me right now. Also the chargin network isn't good enough.

If I could, I'd change my current big 4x4 diesel for a hybrid, a proper self charging one (like the Porsche), not a crappy plug in every night effort like the (IMO) rubbish range rover hybrid. That is one pointless car.

You're right- I think most people still opt for diesels for 4x4's but it is interesting though that Porsche have completely dropped diesel from their range.
I guess it still depends on mileage too- if you are doing 50+ motorway miles. day then diesel is still the sensible choice, but if not then petrol might still be better?

hywelg

ewal said:

Thread revival... I decided to put buying a new car on hold because other of other financial priorities, however my hand has now been forced as an unattended van rolled in to my car and it has been declared a write off. So I've got a courtesy car for next 7 days in which time I need to get something.

I had been looking at estates because I regularly carry my son's mountain bike in the back and because of our camping trips - there appears to be quite a few Passats on the market in my area at the moment, so that's an obvious candidate.

I hadn't as yet thought about small and mid sized SUV's because the boot capacities quoted don't compare with estates. However what are folks thoughts on these in practice? Is the space decent with the back seats down? There's a Kia Niro and Sportage up the road in Dundee which I might go and check out, but interested in people's first hand experience.

I bought a VW Caddy Maxi Life when my old Galaxy got written off. Huge inside with the seats out, which for me is most of the time as I use it for work, bikes can stand up inside, I can get all my windsurfing gear inside without the need to use the roofrack. . 150PS engine is great and very economical 62mpg coming back from Herefordshire last w/e.

Unfortunately they are blessed with some of the VW 'cool' tax that T5/6's have . Overpriced and hold their value too well for whats effectively a posh van. I needed to get a Euro6 engine as at the time there was a lot of talk about Nottingham imposing a Emmisions zone. It never came to pass so I could have spent less and got an older one.

Snap

octatonic said:

Snap said:

@octatonic I think diesels are still the engine of choice for bigger 4x4s here. I think we are in a bit of a hiatus when it comes to cars and engines right now. I'm looking to change, but there aren't enough good hybrids or all electrics to tempt me right now. Also the chargin network isn't good enough.

If I could, I'd change my current big 4x4 diesel for a hybrid, a proper self charging one (like the Porsche), not a crappy plug in every night effort like the (IMO) rubbish range rover hybrid. That is one pointless car.

You're right- I think most people still opt for diesels for 4x4's but it is interesting though that Porsche have completely dropped diesel from their range.
I guess it still depends on mileage too- if you are doing 50+ motorway miles. day then diesel is still the sensible choice, but if not then petrol might still be better?

Current car is an X6 M50D. I love it. Fast as you like, great to drive etc etc. I am after something similar, but ideal world hybrid. All electric right now, there isn't enough that I like. Either they are too small, too slow, too low a range, or a bit dull.

I like the Cayenne Coupe, they do a hybrid, and that engine is very good, clever tech. Just don't know if its' too small a car.

Panamera hybrid is neat too, but it's expensive.

Mileage about 10k a year. Not likely to go up either.

Petrol is a very real option, but I like the idea of hybrid. They just are expensive though. Tbh I will keep this one a bit longer. Nothing wrong with it, 3 years old, 34k on clock. Seems a bit of a pointless thing to do, change car.

octatonic

Snap said:

octatonic said:

Snap said:

@octatonic I think diesels are still the engine of choice for bigger 4x4s here. I think we are in a bit of a hiatus when it comes to cars and engines right now. I'm looking to change, but there aren't enough good hybrids or all electrics to tempt me right now. Also the chargin network isn't good enough.

If I could, I'd change my current big 4x4 diesel for a hybrid, a proper self charging one (like the Porsche), not a crappy plug in every night effort like the (IMO) rubbish range rover hybrid. That is one pointless car.

You're right- I think most people still opt for diesels for 4x4's but it is interesting though that Porsche have completely dropped diesel from their range.
I guess it still depends on mileage too- if you are doing 50+ motorway miles. day then diesel is still the sensible choice, but if not then petrol might still be better?

Current car is an X6 M50D. I love it. Fast as you like, great to drive etc etc. I am after something similar, but ideal world hybrid. All electric right now, there isn't enough that I like. Either they are too small, too slow, too low a range, or a bit dull.

I like the Cayenne Coupe, they do a hybrid, and that engine is very good, clever tech. Just don't know if its' too small a car.

Panamera hybrid is neat too, but it's expensive.

Mileage about 10k a year. Not likely to go up either.

Petrol is a very real option, but I like the idea of hybrid. They just are expensive though. Tbh I will keep this one a bit longer. Nothing wrong with it, 3 years old, 34k on clock. Seems a bit of a pointless thing to do, change car.

Very nice.
I don't need anything that big as it is just myself and Mrs Oct.
I went for a Macan S, but looked at the X3 M40i.
Residuals better with the Porsche though.

RaymondLin

I was behinh a Macan S yesterday, looks lovely.