The Car thread

[Tommy G]

13 minutes ago, tom27111 said:

 

Horrendous interiors on the Renault 5. I'm not sure why anyone would do that. The Alpine version is nice.

 

The New Micra is coming out in the next few weeks, basically the same car, looks pretty good. Hoping the inside isn't as garish as the Renault.

 

I'm really hoping Nissan do a Nismo version that rivals the Alpine one, but they probably won't.

This sounds like a Nissan plug to me 

 

You can't compare a micra to the legendary Renault 5 - I think they probably focused on the outside and the fact it was such an iconic car, and left the inside as meh. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

13 minutes ago, Greg2607 said:

still loving our BMW i4.  It's got all the bells and whistles we would ever need, feels premium AND has decent range as well.   Only gripe is rear leg space............ Conversely, I've got a new job at work as a secondment, which comes with a company car.  As it's only a secondment, I've had to take a reallocation vehicle and I have a 2023 Hyundai Kona.... which is absolutely Pony. Awful car. 

Is the Kona a petrol one? I was given a brand new Bayon as a courtesy car when my Ioniq 5 went in for some work.

 

It absolutely blows my mind that to buy the Bayon new would cost about the same as the used price of my 2 year old car. There is no reason on earth why anyone would choose the new car if they'd driven them both

[FoxesDeb]

3 hours ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Went to look at a Tuscon like every man and his dog at the weekend. They were fine. Then got pulled into the Renault garage by a friend that worked there and he showed us their Austral, basically the same kind of thing. In base trim it was a bit pants but they had a lovely Alpine edition in matte grey. Probably going to test drive it.

 

Was surprised at the sheer amount of models Renault had and some of them looked really smart. The Rafale Apline edition in particular but I would suspect the deprecation of that would be savage. 

We have a 2025 Renault Captur full hybrid and we love it. We looked initially at the Austral but in the end decided just didn't need anything quite that big so replaced our 2014 diesel Captur with a new one, but from what I remember they were almost identical. 

 

My husband wanted the Alpine but we settled for the Techno with every added extra except the panoramic sunroof, it ended up cheaper but better spec'd, at least for us in Spain. 

 

 

 

 

[tom27111]

4 hours ago, Tommy G said:

This sounds like a Nissan plug to me 

 

You can't compare a micra to the legendary Renault 5 - I think they probably focused on the outside and the fact it was such an iconic car, and left the inside as meh. 

 

The Micra and the Renault 5 are literally the same car, made in the same factory, with the same chassis, underpinnings, batteries and motors.

 

You'd be crazy to buy either of them, EV depreciation is off the charts.

 

[lcfcsnow]

Always had a manual petrol car but fancy an automatic petrol hybrid maybe, seem to recall Tom advising against them a while ago in this thread though? Might have been electrics, can’t remember which specifically

[Tommy G]

2 hours ago, tom27111 said:

 

The Micra and the Renault 5 are literally the same car, made in the same factory, with the same chassis, underpinnings, batteries and motors.

 

You'd be crazy to buy either of them, EV depreciation is off the charts.

 

I was just pointing out it looks cool, agreed I wouldn’t buy either or any EV for that matter, only got one as it’s a company car. 

[The Bear]

My mate has a Kia EV, but I can't remember which number. Either a 4 or 5. It's quite nice inside but no different comfort wise to any other wannabe SUV, except it has two big horizontal screens along the dashboard for the infotainment and system info. Drives really nice though. 

[Jattdogg]

Not sure about there but over this side of the Atlantic , several car owners of electric hyundai/kids have had issues with damaged batteries not covered under warranty (ie maybe ran over some debris on a road like a box,  kids, garbage etc) and then been told they need a new entire battery for $50000  to $60000 CAD which costs the same or more as the bleeding car lol.

 

Just do your homework before committing to any EV to understand the downsides as well as upsides. Like you would for any vehicle.

Edited 29 April 2025 by Jattdogg

[simFox]

On 26/04/2025 at 22:05, Tommy G said:

I’ve you looked at the iX? 

I love seeing old cars on the road. 

[dsr-burnley]

On 30/04/2025 at 00:46, Jattdogg said:

Not sure about there but over this side of the Atlantic , several car owners of electric hyundai/kids have had issues with damaged batteries not covered under warranty (ie maybe ran over some debris on a road like a box,  kids, garbage etc) and then been told they need a new entire battery for $50000  to $60000 CAD which costs the same or more as the bleeding car lol.

 

Just do your homework before committing to any EV to understand the downsides as well as upsides. Like you would for any vehicle.

Don't worry, our roads are perfectly smooth with no possible hazards.  

[Jon the Hat]

iX3 pickup on Thursday!  Excited.  Its quite the jump from 2010 LR discovery 4 and even 2018 Discovery Sport.  Fed up with things that breakdown.

[The Hitman]

Interesting how this luxury car tax affects the electric car market that already seems to be suffering. 
 

I didn’t realise it was already a thing on ICE cars. 
 

It’s around £600 per year on cars over £40k which to me is extremely excessive. £40k on a car isn’t as ‘luxury car’ as it used to be, especially on electrics where a big part of the cost is the battery. 

Also new cars are a lot more accessible nowadays with salary sacrifice schemes meaning people can make big tax savings on cars. 

[tom27111]

36 minutes ago, The Hitman said:

Interesting how this luxury car tax affects the electric car market that already seems to be suffering. 
 

I didn’t realise it was already a thing on ICE cars. 
 

It’s around £600 per year on cars over £40k which to me is extremely excessive. £40k on a car isn’t as ‘luxury car’ as it used to be, especially on electrics where a big part of the cost is the battery. 

Also new cars are a lot more accessible nowadays with salary sacrifice schemes meaning people can make big tax savings on cars. 

 

The main problem is that the £40,000 figure was introduced in 2017 and hasn't been reviewed since then.

 

40k doesn't get you a lot nowadays, but the government are adamant on keeping a £2000 stealth tax that isn't fit for purpose and punishes your average Joe for buying a normal family car.

 

I have this conversation with customers every single day. While a Qashqai or an X-Trail is a lovely car, it certainly isn't classed as luxury.

 

Neither is a Kia Sportage or a Peugeot 5008, but you'll pay the premium £425 every year.

 

 

[The Hitman]

2 hours ago, tom27111 said:

 

The main problem is that the £40,000 figure was introduced in 2017 and hasn't been reviewed since then.

 

40k doesn't get you a lot nowadays, but the government are adamant on keeping a £2000 stealth tax that isn't fit for purpose and punishes your average Joe for buying a normal family car.

 

I have this conversation with customers every single day. While a Qashqai or an X-Trail is a lovely car, it certainly isn't classed as luxury.

 

Neither is a Kia Sportage or a Peugeot 5008, but you'll pay the premium £425 every year.

 

 

I’ve dodged the £425 bullet by a couple of months but will still have the £190(ish?) annual tax that I wasn’t aware of when I ordered my car. It will definitely make me put more thought into choosing my next car. 
 

If only they upped all these thresholds in line with the council tax rises eh?!

Edited 8 May 2025 by The Hitman

[JonnyBoy]

21 hours ago, The Hitman said:

Interesting how this luxury car tax affects the electric car market that already seems to be suffering. 
 

I didn’t realise it was already a thing on ICE cars. 
 

It’s around £600 per year on cars over £40k which to me is extremely excessive. £40k on a car isn’t as ‘luxury car’ as it used to be, especially on electrics where a big part of the cost is the battery. 

Also new cars are a lot more accessible nowadays with salary sacrifice schemes meaning people can make big tax savings on cars. 

thats why it is best to lease them as they cover the £600 tax 

[Dreadnought]

3 hours ago, JonnyBoy said:

thats why it is best to lease them as they cover the £600 tax 

Yes but it is added to your price. Everytime the RFL increases, so do your monthly payments. 
 

I’m far from against leasing as I run a car finance company but just making you aware that you still pay it one way or another. 👍

 

The ONLY way to run an EV is leasing just in case anyone has any crazy ideas about buying one!!! 

[tom27111]

15 minutes ago, Dreadnought said:

The ONLY way to run an EV is leasing just in case anyone has any crazy ideas about buying one!!! 

Or buy one a year old with 40% off the list price!

 

 

[Dreadnought]

13 hours ago, tom27111 said:

Or buy one a year old with 40% off the list price!

 

 

Or even a couple of months old for similar! 

[ElusiveEd]

Can anyone help here?

 

I had my windscreen replaced on Thursday due to a large chip in it. 

Collected the car and drove it the 25 miles home and all is good.

 

Friday morning I go to head out and the battery is completely dead.

 

The windscreen company said they had calibrated and reset various things connected to modern cars and their windscreens but could something they have done caused the battery to die overnight or is it just a coincidence?

 

Used a jump start booster device to fire it up today and have driven it fine but am kinda expecting it to have died again by the morning.

 

Any advice or opinions?

 

Cheers.

[HighPeakFox]

14 hours ago, ElusiveEd said:

Can anyone help here?

 

I had my windscreen replaced on Thursday due to a large chip in it. 

Collected the car and drove it the 25 miles home and all is good.

 

Friday morning I go to head out and the battery is completely dead.

 

The windscreen company said they had calibrated and reset various things connected to modern cars and their windscreens but could something they have done caused the battery to die overnight or is it just a coincidence?

 

Used a jump start booster device to fire it up today and have driven it fine but am kinda expecting it to have died again by the morning.

 

Any advice or opinions?

 

Cheers.

Sometimes, car batteries die. Do you know how old it is? 

[ElusiveEd]

1 hour ago, HighPeakFox said:

Sometimes, car batteries die. Do you know how old it is? 

Can't be any older than 2020 but I have worse things to worry about now. 

 

It started fine this morning (after using a jump start device yesterday evening and taking it for a good drive to charge the battery) but I hit a muntjack deer at 70mph on the A43.

Badly smashed the front in and pierced the radiator.

 

Been rescued and brought home by the RAC but it never rains.....etc! 

[fox_favourite]

8 minutes ago, ElusiveEd said:

Can't be any older than 2020 but I have worse things to worry about now. 

 

It started fine this morning (after using a jump start device yesterday evening and taking it for a good drive to charge the battery) but I hit a muntjack deer at 70mph on the A43.

Badly smashed the front in and pierced the radiator.

 

Been rescued and brought home by the RAC but it never rains.....etc! 

Well, that escalated quickly!

 

You okay, though?

[ElusiveEd]

1 minute ago, fox_favourite said:

Well, that escalated quickly!

 

You okay, though?

Yeah, I'm Ok thanks. 

 

Was a bit shook up when it happened, calmed down as waiting for the RAC but when he came he told me about tyre marks he'd seen on the road near to a deer in 3 pieces. 

 

He showed me on the way home.

 

Wow, I was lucky but it seemed all over in 2 seconds and I don't really have any recollection of the collision other than seeing it then being further down the road. 

 

 

[HighPeakFox]

2 hours ago, ElusiveEd said:

Can't be any older than 2020 but I have worse things to worry about now. 

 

It started fine this morning (after using a jump start device yesterday evening and taking it for a good drive to charge the battery) but I hit a muntjack deer at 70mph on the A43.

Badly smashed the front in and pierced the radiator.

 

Been rescued and brought home by the RAC but it never rains.....etc! 

Wow, I am so sorry. Take care.

[Kopic]

I'm in a temporary role at work where I travel the country to different sites, and am provided with a rental for the period I'm away. I'm using this as an opportunity to test new cars for when I replace mine. I've always bought old second hand cars for cash, so I've never driven such new cars before, it's quite nice and exciting to find out what I will have next. So far I had a 2024 toyota corolla hybrid estate for a few months, really nice car, quite quick and economical but it just looks too much like an uber. I dont think I've ever seen one that isn't a taxi and that is a bit off putting for some reason. I then spent a week in a citroen c4 and it was genuinely the worst car I've ever driven (and some of my personal cars have been rough!). 24 plate petrol, 8k miles, sounded like a rough diesel, the steering wheel wasn't straight when going forward, the heads up display was shite (I've never driven with one before and found it very distracting). It was very slow aswell, whilst absolutely drinking fuel.

 

I pick up my next one on Monday and am hoping for something decent. So far in this period people have a Cupra, a volvo, a mini, a ford and there's a couple qashqais floating around. Hope i get something decent. Please not another bloody citroen.