joshwaller (baboba)

Practical and as close to £1k as possible, contenders are below, with the most likely purchase at the top... due to engines, size, safety, isofix, price etc. Ford Mondeo 2.0 2001+ 145bhp from around £900 (in poor condition) Skoda Octavia VRS (ideally estate) from around £1500? (more likely £2k) other engines are poor, for example 100bhp 1.6l, or 115bhp 2.0l - why so little power from a 2 litre engine? and why did they replace the 125bhp 1.8litre engine with a 115bhp 2.0litre engine? (1.8l 2000 reg estate is available for around £1k) Seat Toledo 2.3l V5 (150ish bhp) - but saloon :( from around £1300 (autotrader) V5 engine not available in the Seat Leon (hatchback version) VW Bora (aka boring) 2.3l V5 - cheap? may as well get nicer Toledo (better spec / handling). Or perhaps VW Golf Mark IV with 2.3l V5 if it's cheap enough? MG ZT-T 2.5litre 190bhp estate £2k (too far away from budget and potential head gasket issues?) Rover 75 2.0l V6 150bhp estate £1750 (ditto)

Old cars are now rediculously cheap, years ago (1996 / 1997 to be more specific) I remember seeing the new Ford Ka, and thinking, one day I want to own one of them, and now they're £500 in autotrader. Same goes for the Ford Focus, years ago I remember saying, "When the Ford Focus only costs £1k then you just buy one of them every year, what more could you need from a car?", and now they're around £1k (the Zetec engine always had a nice growl, and the seats were comfortable enough for sleep). In a few years the new (BMW) MINI will be a similar price (you can get them for less than £4k now). It makes me think, why not just buy a different car every six months to experience driving these once great cars... here are some I'd like to drive: Rover 75 - £1k will now buy you one of these spacious, comfortable, retro / stylish looking cars. V6? V8? MG ZT-T? (although admittedly these cost more) Rover SD1 - available as a V8 but getting rare now so good SD1s will cost sign...

It's not often you get the live out computuer games in real life, but this weekend, the computer game became real as I was able to drive the Mazda Demio from Gran Turismo on the Playsation in real life! It's surprisingly similar to the computer game - it has four wheels, an engine, and moves like other cars, except, just like the computer game, it doesn't want to go there quickly, nor does it want to go round corners at any speed. The Demio features some things in abundance, namely reliability, space, and practicality.

Long story short - Easyjet flights back to Gatwick cancelled - no alternative other than driving to Calais (via Belgium) to get a ferry back. Then hire a car to get back to Gatwick (although a train would have been possible). From this I have deduced the following about these new cars: Vauxhall Vectra - despite it's "family car" size, there is not really comfortable space to carry 3 people in the back. Long journeys (2 hours +) are uncomfortable, and rear headroom is poor on the hatcback. The head rests are uncomfortable and in the wrong place for attempted sleep, and the window ledges are too high so that you can't rest your arms on them. Ford Focus (08 model) - space in the back is plentiful for 2 people. Seats are comfortable enough for sleep on the motorway. However interior feels very cheap, poor quality plastics, manual winding windows even on Zetec model. Noise in the back in excessively loud on motorways. * Mini pictured above is the Mini I've recently b...

Even though all the old Rovers still haven't sold meaning you can get a bargain british built "new" car, Nanjing's MG Rover's have started rolling off the production line in China using the same equipement from Birmingham. Cars they are making are the MG7 (Rover 75) shown above, and the MG-TF sports coupe. (Nanjing bought MG Rover, but not the Rover name). Link (austin-rover), Link (bbc news), Link (autoblog with comments)

Well, I've refurbished two alloy wheels , and had the second one fitted today, so thought it would be best to get the car cleaned, so here are some photos . If you think this Dodge Ram is somewhat on the large size for British roads, then wait till you see the next picture... They're turned a GMC Topkick into a stretched limo! It's about 1.5x wider than your average UK car, has 6 wheels, and the standard engine appears to be an 8.1 litre v8!!

Team "Mr Sharkey" - we'll be taking part in the 1400 mile rally from Calais to Rome in September! Car suggestions welcome - it has to cost £100 or less - and be an M reg or older. This site: usedcarreview could be a good resource (written by the chap who invented the term " bangernomics ")