Hunt for Red Octavia
The new car quest continues, with apologies to Messrs Connery & Baldwin. If that means nothing to you then ask Mr Filmstalker, he'll put you in the picture.
We had a short-list of cars, and having flicked through What Car? magazine we added some that were never considered, and took some off. All in all we have not changed the requirements of the car, nor the idea of the level of comfort and trim level it should have, and nor have we compromised on fuel economy or the amount of gunk that comes out of the exhaust, but we have changed the ideas about what the car we'd buy will be.
With the smallest passenger in tow we had a look at a few one weekend. The first ones being the Qashqai + 2 and the Grand Scenic. Both of these have the additional 2 seats in the boot space, so he loved sitting in them. Which made it difficult looking at cars without them, as he wanted to "sit in the back seats".
The movers and shakers so far are listed here with only the main reason for consideration, not a comprehensive list of reasons at all!
Volvo V50 / V70. The old saying about Volvos being indestructible lives on even if they are just Fords now. They look good enough on paper, but the V70 is out on price, the V50 is a Focus Estate with a Volvo badge and a hefty extra price tag. Current verdict: Mutton and lamb.
Nissan Qashqai. Back on the agenda, the fuel economy has improved with the next generation of engines, so what was a certain no based only on fuel has now become a "possibility". Current verdict: The hokey-cokey car.
New Scenic. Not really considered at first, we had the first Scenic when it was still part of the Megane family. It has improved, but the engines are sluggish for the size. Behind the Nissan for now. Current verdict: An improved old friend, but have we grown too far apart?
Honda CRV. Cost. You are having a giraffe. Current verdict: Chubby Brown.
Toyota RAV4. This has gone butch over the years, and the new model is biggest and best. It is superb, it looks to tick all the right boxes. Fuel fine, CO2 fine, NCAP ratings fine. Price? Hmm, what was an affordable car has entered the "might as well buy another Beamer" bracket. It was very hard to rule it out, but I'm not saddling us with debt we can't afford to service just to have one. Current verdict: The one that got away. Gutted.
Skoda Yeti or Octavia. Yeti: New, funky name, how about the car? Brochure request never arrived, a visit to the showroom was a disaster - the salesman tried to get us to sit down THREE times while he printed an Octavia brochure. Why can't we look at the two cars? And what did he talk about? How many cars he had waiting to be picked up compared to his colleagues. Not interested. I want to see the inside of the cars, see what safety features they have, see if they have enough power points. "Take a seat...". Yeti: Ruled out, boot too small and oddly shaped, and top of the range has a cheap flimsy parcel shelf, not befitting the £22K price tag. Octavia: Was wery high on the list of possibilities. Acres of boot space (it has been likened to an aircraft carrier's deck) but lacking in the power socket department, safety feature department (who has ABS and ESP as an "option" these days?), and certainly didn't gel with sales. Maybe it was just the ciggie breath. Now ruled out on trim and safety alone, but sales....Current verdict: Has stopped smoking.
Peugeot xxx SW. I'm no fan of Peugeots, probably down to the boy racers in the past going for the old 205s. But, I'm open on it. However, the dealer had neither a brochure or a car for the 30-whatever it-is-now, but had 2 207s in. Still open, but need to see it. Passed the new 3008 outside, wow! Hmm, now then.... Current verdict: Invisibility cloak works well!
Seat Altea XL. Never considered at first, saw it in What Car?, sent for the brochure (never arrived), tried to call in twice (2nd time lucky). Ticks the right boxes, cheap, fully kitted, MOTS is almost in love with it straight away. From rank outsider catapulted to top of the leader board. The salesman was with us a good 45 minutes, gelled with us, and never suggested a drive or valuation of a trade-in. No pushing, just answering. Current verdict: Take a seat.
Sadly, the Hunt for Red Octavia is at an end. Like Ramius, we have defected.
