What kind of car / vehicle do you drive?

[Harrison]

I currently drive a Peugeot 406 Executive Turbo (petrol). I've owned it since it was 2 years old, for the past 7 years, so it is now getting on a bit at 9 years old, but it is still in perfect condition. I modified it a bit just after purchase with a stainless exhaust, green stuff air intake kit and chipped, taking it from 150BHP to 197BHP (according to the rolling road test), and I've enjoyed driving it the whole time.

It did need some work doing on it recently as it's now done 120K miles, but then most cars need a bit of work when they have done that many miles. It needed a new exhaust manifold gasket and last year a new radiator (as a tree branch punctured the bottom of it), but other than that it's been very reliable and a great car.

And it's my second Peugeot. Before that I owned a 405 GRi for 7 years and that lasted well too, just clocking up 140K before I part exchanged it.

Before I bought the 406 I wanted a 406 3L V6 coupé, but I worked out that the insurance would have been nearly £600 a year more than the Exec Turbo Saloon I ended up buying and the performance difference was only 0.5 sec quicker to 60MPH so nothing really, and the fuel consumption on the V6 would have been a lot worse.

But now I'm considering my next car which I hope to buy next year, and it will be another Peugeot (as I like the make). A 407 coupé 3 litre GT, or maybe the 2.7 V6 Diesel as the performance between the 3L petrol and the 2.7 Diesel is 205BHP compared to 210BHP so there is nothing between them really, except for the fuel economy from the Diesel which is much better. But I need to test drive the Diesel first to see how nicely it drives before I make the decision. The other benefit of course will be that I won't get stung by the huge rise in car tax next year for larger petrol engined cars.

But if I could choose any car it would also be the same as you, a Mercedes SL500, as I love that car and have done since it was launched. There is a Mercedes garage right next to where I work in my evening job and they have a load of coupés parked out the front and they just look so nice. I have to slow down when driving by every day just to admire them.

Although the CL600 also looks great and is very fast. But at £107K a little out of my price range! But if I'm really dreaming I would buy an Aston Martin or a Bugatti Veyron.

[AlexJ]

But now I'm considering my next car which I hope to buy next year, and it will be another Peugeot (as I like the make). A 407 coupé 3 litre GT, or maybe the 2.7 V6 Diesel as the performance between the 3L petrol and the 2.7 Diesel is 205BHP compared to 210BHP so there is nothing between them really, except for the fuel economy from the Diesel which is much better. But I need to test drive the Diesel first to see how nicely it drives before I make the decision. The other benefit of course will be that I won't get stung by the huge rise in car tax next year for larger petrol engined cars.

Also the 2.7 HDi engine can be remapped to give 250BHP.

[Demon Cleaner]

I have a VW Golf IV V5 2.3 since 2½ years now, a real fuel eater.

[J T]

I have a VW Golf IV V5 2.3 since 2½ years now, a real fuel eater.

A friend had one of these, great car it was, pulled very well. He chopped it in for an R32 (not the new shape, but the lovely previous shape) and that was ace. In fact, I was going to buy the V5 from him but at the time couldn't really afford the insurance on top of buying the car, running costs etc. Now he drives a volvo diesel estate.... very exciting

And another chance for me to post up my pics if I can find them

We have a Focus ST - it's a fair brute of a car, but a bit more refined than you may think, it doesn't have to be thrashed everywhere and the engine (2.5 litre 5 cyl turbo) is nice and torquey for just skulling around in traffic in 2nd/3rd, or motorway cruising. But give it some welly and it hustles. It's not the fastest car in the world but it always puts a grin on my face and leaves most everyday cars behind. Also very comfy and spacious, got most of the toys you'd want, and massive boot to, er, boot. I'm hugely pleased with it, but that's not to say it isn't without it's faults (rattles at times, poor A/C control, large blind spot, annoyingly hard headrests to give a few niggles)

Not actually our one - ours has a double silver strip along the bottom with the 'ST' logo.




My one, but a crappy pic:



We also have Ford Racing Puma 398 (out of 500). It's low, very stiff and dreadful low speed manouvrability.... and I love it. Superb grip and handling and looks brill too. And it's got a bit of a bad boy, yet tastefully done exhaust that pops and crackles like crazy. Only a 1.7 but it's 150 BHP, it's no slouch but isn't tarmac shreddingly powerful.




As for dream cars, well, there are too many to choose from. I love the exotica. A friend is getting a Gallardo soon, I hope to get a ride in that thing (it was his Audi RS4 that got trashed, I mentioned it somewhere else a few weeks back).

[Harrison]

...but that's not to say it isn't without it's faults (rattles at times, poor A/C control, large blind spot, annoyingly hard headrests to give a few niggles)

I noticed quite a large blind spot in the Fords I used to get a hire cars for work. The worst has the Mondeo, and it also had a horrible distortion effect at the corners of the windscreen which meant your field of view was missing at the very edge. I discovered this one day when stopped at a pedestrian crossing and I couldn't actually see the people crossing the road unless I moved my head back and looked out of the drivers door window. That was a bad design flaw.

Ford have always been pretty good at creating sporty versions of their normal models. I used to love driving the Mondeo ST24 I often got from the hire company. That had some good acceleration. But I wasn't impressed by the interior. Very plasticy and it sometimes rattled and vibrated as you mention your Focus does. I've always been left with the impression that in the past few years Ford have made a big improvement in the actual build quality of their cars externally, but they are still not so great on the inside. One thing I really hate is the Focus dashboard. It looks so ugly with pointless wasted space such as that big space to the left of the main dials that end in a triangle. Such a shame as the exterior and engines are pretty good these days.

[Teho]

Mine's a '96 Citroën Xantia 1.9TD estate. It's a pure workhorse, me needing the space for the tools I need to have with me. And needing the diesel's good ability to pull heavy loads, as I pull hangers quite frequently. And that diesels are usually more economic than petrol engines, as I drive pretty long distances for work and so have high fuel expenses.

It performs well in all those regards, and is a very comfortable drive so I'm pretty happy with it.

[FOL]

Well mines a mitsubushi Space Wagon, 15 years old, mint condition and 45k on the clock. Had to get something as I have a wife and 2 kids, . Awesome car.

[Harrison]

Also the 2.7 HDi engine can be remapped to give 250BHP.

Really! Looks like I will be buying the 2.7 HDi version then.

[Tomski]

I own 2 NC30's, one of which is roadworthy.
Formerly a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting owner. Hopefully I won't have to sell up, as I'm starting Uni in september as a 'mature' student.

[Harrison]

What are you going to be studying at University?