The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Built in eastern Europe I think.

SRSport

Still, better than German though.

robby

definately better than French

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Agree.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

This^^^

IIRC they started out with a Corsa VRX and something else too, but eliminated both early on. (handling I think)

Badger sti

Vrs all day long, a light, tight chassis and a lovely engine.......

cobra_mark

Bought my wife one, she loves it, totally agree with you

Garirox

VRS!!! Prob the best all round car I've ever had, gives the best of both worlds great fun and the turbo / low down torque can be very addictive but easily managed 60+mpg when driven normally, in my eyes no competition!

lozgti1

Loved our diesel vrs.No oil painting but jeez....New one is as ugly as sin.ack.

Complete Skoda lover here.Ace cars but New fabia makes my eyes water

bonesetter

iTrader: (9)

Thread Resurrection

How was your time with your Swift - looking at getting into one?

robby

Lasted less than 2 months
Very revvy but no torque, interior made from cheap plastics which developed lots of rattles back on the yorkshire roads, boot small

tbh i was dissapointed with the performance when i'd had it a few days and started to play, i know it didn't have a turbo but for its hot hatch looks it was a let down. If you want a cheap to run car with sporty looks and aren't bothered about hot hatch performance then they are good cars.

Had a few cars since and now have a Fiesta ST2 which is nippy

bonesetter

iTrader: (9)

Oh dear. That's rained on the parade

You don't see many negatives said about this car. We are coming from a Scooby background though. Perhaps that sets the bar higher?

I've not been in one yet, but I'll watch out for those points you mention

Yeah, your Fiesta looks the part (is it the 180bhp one?) - quite a lot more dosh though?

robby

The Swift is a nice car - it's just not a hot hatch which is what i was looking for, depending where and how you drive you might be able to live with it?
I'm not sure what the prices are like these days but for what i paid i expected better quality (i know Jap cars don't use VAG quality interiors), the standard spec was quite good and it was comfy

The Fiesta is the 180bhp (197bhp on overboost) - nippy and does 35mpg around town (oh and £186Fc insurance which is less than any other car i've ever owned - weird) - got this on a 2 year lease at £169 a month which i did to stop myself changing cars every 2-3 months, should save quite a bit during this period as i was losing between £1000 - £2500 on each car when i traded in

robby

interior of Swift





and i'm still with a Suzuki

bonesetter

iTrader: (9)

The Mk1's I'm looking at start at ~£2.5K

3 and a bit gets a decent low miler, so it's not big bucks. It's a town run around I'm after for when the Scooby's are parked up

Dirk Diggler 75

Skoda all day for me ...

bonesetter

iTrader: (9)

I owned a VRS diesel...

Overall it was dull

Quite a bit went wrong too, including the Turbo, for the second time

pflowers

Swift all the way - cracking little car, not the quickest but great fun and very well built.

The VRS is ugly, unreliable and torque steers like crazy so even though it's quick on paper it's very hard to get the power down.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Clio 182 or an older Fiesta ST in that sort of price bracket £3k buys a decent one, I recon both are a little more up your street with a tad more power.

Liking the new fezza at £169 a month, is that all in?

Matteeboy

I like the Swift; I had one as a loan car and was impressed. Like a French hatch for handling but properly screwed together.

Any vRS owner (especially Octavias) seems to think they've bought a Ariel Atom; they think their mildly warmed up hatch is super special; I see them being driven very aggressively all the time. Really puts me off them all.

The only Skoda I'd get is the Yeti.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Lol sounds like some Impreza and BMW owners.

Matteeboy

Only WRXs and four pot diesel BMWs...

robby

The £169 is for a ST2 - i pay £175pm which includes the style pack (red calipers, tinted rear windows, illuminated sills, grey alloys) and also GAP insurance.
I have to pay for servicing (£120 for 1st service and can hand it back after 18 months so no need for 2nd), insurance is £186 and tax is paid by lease company

This is a 6x24 lease which means £1070 up front and 24 months at £169 - the contract says a min of 18 months, i'm not sure if i can buy it at the end of the term but doubt i would as i'd probably get another new car on lease again

I use Rivervale leasing (based in bristol but free delivery to anywhere in UK)

Matteeboy

That's bargain motoring for such an accomplished car. Too firm for us but still a great car.

robby

yep not too bad - approx £5k over 2 years which is basically the depreciation on a new car

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

What milage are you allowed? and what's it like on fuel?

Still a fair amount of cash to say goodbye too, but I suppose it's offset by the new car factor, I'm still undecided as to whether or not it's for me though.

robby

Well this is the first time i've leased a car but for me it's going to save a fortune as i usually change every 3 months or so (sometimes after a few weeks) as i get bored quickly - with a lease car i'm stuck with it which for me is going to be difficult but worthwhile.

I have it on a 10k a year contract but you can get it on a 20k but you pay more (not sure how much that was?) - i only do 5-6k as i have a bike for the nice days and drive a van for work - if i go over the 10k limit it's just over 6 pence a mile at the end of the contract so £60 per 1000 miles which isn't bad

It's showing 34-36mpg on my 8 mile commute (30-40mph roads) which is letting it warm up for 4-5 miles then having a little play, a lot better than the Astra VXR, Corsa VXR, ED30 GTi, etc i've had which averaged around 23mpg so i'm happy with that.
Having to pay no road tax (lease co pays this), manufacturer warranty and only 1 service a year makes it cheap to live with and paying the extra £5 a month for GAP insurance i don't have o worry if it's written off or stolen as i wont have to find the difference between what the insurance would pay out and what the lease co say they want repaying

This is the lease company i use - http://www.rivervaleleasing.co.uk/car-leasing/personal - just select the make and model to see the prices

P1Fanatic

I made the same observation to the wife during a 500 mile round trip over Xmas. Literally every car that was tanking 100+ no matter what the weather, was an Octavia vRS.

fpan

iTrader: (11)

It's not too bad of a deal considering you can drive a new car but does that include all your costs (deposit, monthly installments, 2 services, insurance), basically all costs one has to pay over a 2-yr period apart from tax and petrol?

I'd like to know what it costs if one does 20k per year and if e.g. the tyres need replacing who pays for this, you or the leasing company?

lozgti1

I love them! Its nice to be a bit different (says he with a black bmw 318d)

Prefer one over a golf gti...although basically the same car...

Glad they have improved the Fabias looks though.Mk 2 was horrible