revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Fords don’t do it for me, in ‘87 I bought an ex demo corolla GT coupe, but they’re a fortune now too if you can find one.I replaced it with an ‘89 309 gti I kept for 11 years

My Uncle had a Mk2 RS2000, that was lovely.
My Mum then had an XR3i which was OK but the XR4i she had afterwards (with the V6 Essex lump and RWD) was a fantastic looking motor.

My ex BT mk5 Transit was good, comfiest seat I've ever known in a vehicle.

MingtheMerciless wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:13 am My Uncle had a Mk2 RS2000, that was lovely.
My Mum then had an XR3i which was OK but the XR4i she had afterwards (with the V6 Essex lump and RWD) was a fantastic looking motor.

XR4i has the Cologne engine, not the Essex

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 3:57 pm

MingtheMerciless wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:13 am My Uncle had a Mk2 RS2000, that was lovely.
My Mum then had an XR3i which was OK but the XR4i she had afterwards (with the V6 Essex lump and RWD) was a fantastic looking motor.

XR4i has the Cologne engine, not the Essex

oh that's me told.......

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 3:57 pm

MingtheMerciless wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:13 am My Uncle had a Mk2 RS2000, that was lovely.
My Mum then had an XR3i which was OK but the XR4i she had afterwards (with the V6 Essex lump and RWD) was a fantastic looking motor.

XR4i has the Cologne engine, not the Essex

Sounds gay...

It's being reported they're binning off the Fiesta next year. They've already canned the Mondeo and the Focus. I know it's the way things are going, but I will miss hatch backs and saloons. Big 4x4 things are just so well...big.

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 4:52 pm It's being reported they're binning off the Fiesta next year. They've already canned the Mondeo and the Focus. I know it's the way things are going, but I will miss hatch backs and saloons. Big 4x4 things are just so well...big.

They are huge!! I just want a little hatchback type car for me and the option to take a few passengers. Sort of looked at Minis and then the other I parked next to a mini (in the HOOOGE Subaru Levorg I'm currently using) and honestly, the Mini didn't seem that much smaller!!!

Madness!!

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 4:52 pm It's being reported they're binning off the Fiesta next year. They've already canned the Mondeo and the Focus. I know it's the way things are going, but I will miss hatch backs and saloons. Big 4x4 things are just so well...big.

I look at most of them and think 'so small', not much choice left in large family cars with many of the large looking SUVs lacking interior space.

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 4:52 pm It's being reported they're binning off the Fiesta next year. They've already canned the Mondeo and the Focus. I know it's the way things are going, but I will miss hatch backs and saloons. Big 4x4 things are just so well...big.

Focus finishes in 2025.

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 4:52 pm It's being reported they're binning off the Fiesta next year. They've already canned the Mondeo and the Focus. I know it's the way things are going, but I will miss hatch backs and saloons. Big 4x4 things are just so well...big.

Sad to hear that. The Focus I had was an excellent workhorse until someone decided to drive into it and write it off. And I've always quite fancied a Mondeo estate. I can't help thinking that fashion is cyclical and at some point people will get bored with galumphing great ugly SUVs.

SUVs just aren't as good a platform for a nice driving car. High and heavy is the opposite of what you want/need. The fact the drive nicely is in spite of their design, not because of.

Fortunately for me, it's much easier to make a saloon efficient than an SUV, so industry pressures will probably force SUVs out and saloons back eventually.

Plus, bathtub driving position is infinitely better than sitting on the bog IMO.

mangocrazy wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 6:49 pm

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 4:52 pm It's being reported they're binning off the Fiesta next year. They've already canned the Mondeo and the Focus. I know it's the way things are going, but I will miss hatch backs and saloons. Big 4x4 things are just so well...big.

Sad to hear that. The Focus I had was an excellent workhorse until someone decided to drive into it and write it off. And I've always quite fancied a Mondeo estate. I can't help thinking that fashion is cyclical and at some point people will get bored with galumphing great ugly SUVs.

The other day I parked the mighty Duster next to a newish Range Rover. It was huge. Much higher than ours.

Bet it's never been up a volcano either

I'm a dying breed, if it's got more than two doors/seats I'm not interested.

Although I think Suzuki made an 'SUV' in the 90's aimed directly at me

As I understand it, SUVs exist due to a loophole in the legislation. If they were forced to conform to saloon construction, use and pedestrian safety standards they would be legislated out of existence.

KungFooBob wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 7:02 pm I'm a dying breed, if it's got more than two doors/seats I'm not interested.

I had a 2-door, 2-seat Ford.

(Escort van ).

mangocrazy wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 8:14 pm As I understand it, SUVs exist due to a loophole in the legislation. If they were forced to conform to saloon construction, use and pedestrian safety standards they would be legislated out of existence.

Maybe in the US, but in Europe they're often, or even usually, built on the same platforms as the saloons. The original BMW X5 was actually quite closely related to the M5.

Modern (European) SUVs are stiffer and stronger than saloons of 10 years ago.

They exist cause that's what people buy!

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 8:29 pm

mangocrazy wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 8:14 pm As I understand it, SUVs exist due to a loophole in the legislation. If they were forced to conform to saloon construction, use and pedestrian safety standards they would be legislated out of existence.

Maybe in the US, but in Europe they're often, or even usually, built on the same platforms as the saloons. The original BMW X5 was actually quite closely related to the M5.

Modern (European) SUVs are stiffer and stronger than saloons of 10 years ago.

They exist cause that's what people buy!

OK, take your word for that, but Shirley any SUV will do far more damage to an errant pedestrian than a saloon will, almost entirely due to the frontal area and mass of metal that they come into contact with. ISTR that there was legislation in force for saloons to minimise pedestrian injuries and SUVs were largely exempt from that.

Again - maybe in the US, but not as far as I'm aware in Europe. From a legal point of view they're just cars, AFAIK, but this is not my area of the biz.

To a large extent you'd actually be better of getting whacked by an SUV anyway. Getting hit by something large and flat fronted is better for you, which is why cars have steadily been getting larger and flat front-ier. Pretty much the worst thing to get hit by is a low riding sports car with pop up headlights.

Sure an SUV weighs more, but that doesn't really matter from a ped's POV, you're either getting hit by something which weighs 10 times what you do or 20!

Mine and the wife's car both have special safety equipment to help save pedestrians because the bonnets are lower than the regs require.

My SL has pop up rear bonnet hinges that lift the rear of the bonnet to reduce the impact of the pedestrian on the on the windscreen and her V40 has a pedestrian airbag that inflates in the scuttle.

SUV bonnets are much higher so they don't need any of that. Makes no sense, to me. Surely hitting a sloping windscreen is better than the flat front of a faux 4x4?