On Sun, 16 Sep 2018 22:27:07 +0100, T i m wrote:

On Sun, 16 Sep 2018 19:29:57 +0100, Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp Esq
wrote:

snip

Simplicity and reliability. Exactly!

I have a Mazda 3 now, the biggest pile of junk I have ever driven
apart from my previous Mazda 3.

LOL!

The only saving grace is that the fuel consumption is amazing,
otherwise I could find nothing whatsoever that is positive about the
heap.

It's funny. It was a mate 'giving' me his old Rover 218SD (for 100
quid) that meant I had to get rid of the Sierra and went from 25 to
~50 mpg. At the time that made a big difference to the cost of our
motoring. I'd never had or wanted a Rover ... or a hatchback but the
Rover slowly won itself over as it was still pretty capacious (with
the back seats folded down) and cost next to nothing to keep running
in the 7 years we had it (eventually getting £160 back scrap). ;-)

I think what made it 'good' was that it was basically a Honda Concerto
with a Peugeot engine. ;-)


The worst thing about it is the electronic handbrake. It does not
always disengage and there is one point on the way home, a roundabout
on a hill where I have had the odd near miss through it.

The girl opposite has a newish big Pug and one of her biggest
complaints is the electric handbrake. I wonder if they will stop
fitting them? The answer to a question no one asked?

I rent quite a few cars in Ireland and one that I will never ask for
again was a Dacia [I think that was the name].

The handbrake was bloody useless, I couldn't get it to work properly,
but fortunately the roads were quiet.

I met a Site manager in the UK with one and got talking. It seems that
an "upgrade" is available for a fee. The upgrade is a lever and cables
:-)

Oddly enough out of all the cars I rent, the ones I always seem to
have some niggling problem with are Renaults. I dont think I had one
that didn't have some minor irritation. I avoid the things now. I was
never offered a Mazda either I wonder why ;-)

AB