HFS's car thread | Fleet update

I really don't know at the moment. The biggest problem is because I'm not finding driving itself that enjoyable, there seems little point getting anything that's designed to be sporty. One of the other limiting factors is, I think, that whatever I eventually get needs to makes sense monetarily. Something that costs a lot to fuel, or to insure, or to maintain, isn't going to convince me to drive it more often.

I get your drift. This might be OT, but I noticed that Catchpole is an avid cyclists and actually writes for some cycling magazine (can't remember which one off the top of my head). Just curious if you partake as well. As a life long motorhead, I find it refreshing to get on 2 me-powered wheels pretty often...it's a real anxiety crusher. I often wish I could find a car that I love as much as I love my bike. Because I certainly don't love my Porsche as much. :lol:
 
I get your drift. This might be OT, but I noticed that Catchpole is an avid cyclists and actually writes for some cycling magazine (can't remember which one off the top of my head).
"I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode! I think it was called, 'The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down'..."

The mag is, predictably, called "Cyclist" :lol:
Just curious if you partake as well. As a life long motorhead, I find it refreshing to get on 2 me-powered wheels pretty often...it's a real anxiety crusher. I often wish I could find a car that I love as much as I love my bike. Because I certainly don't love my Porsche as much. :lol:
Never really got into cycling. I'm more a walking/hiking type when I want to not drive, the problem with that being I'm about as far from mountains and decent scenery as it's possible to get in this country!
 
"I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode! I think it was called, 'The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down'..."

The mag is, predictably, called "Cyclist" :lol:

Never really got into cycling. I'm more a walking/hiking type when I want to not drive, the problem with that being I'm about as far from mountains and decent scenery as it's possible to get in this country!

It was on the tip of my tongue!

That's the issue with cycling I suppose. I don't think I would be interested if I still lived in north Texas because there just isn't much to see on a bike. My bicycle commute just happens to take me over that one red bridge people seem fond of, whatever it's called. :lol:
 
Something completely different is the plan, but something like that has a few problems.

Firstly, there just aren't that many around here. Secondly, because of their scarcity, people charge way more for them than they're objectively worth (2002 V6 for nine grand, anyone?). Thirdly, I'm almost certain it wouldn't fit in my garage.

And fourthly, I can't bring myself to be quite that hypocritical to drive around in a large pickup even though I bang on about minimising environmental impact. I don't dislike certain trucks or other big vehicles, but I have a bit too much of a social and environmental conscience to drive one on a regular basis...

Understood. I guess my suggestion was a bit extreme to the other end of the spectrum. I was recently driving one as a rental for a couple of weeks while my car was in the repair shop, and it's amusing in its own way in how you sit above everything else and the sense that you can and you will drive over anything and everything to reach your destination. Its size was absolutely hilarious; and really, the new ones are actually quite good as daily drivers. Coming out of that and getting into my cars, they felt absolutely diminutive. Nevertheless, perhaps something a size down from American full size would fit UK roads better.

If I remember correctly, you enjoyed the Toyota Tacoma that you drove out here in the US?
 
Understood. I guess my suggestion was a bit extreme to the other end of the spectrum.
No worries. And sorry if I came across as a bit terse/rude, I just read my post back and it might have seemed that way but it wasn't my intention!
If I remember correctly, you enjoyed the Toyota Tacoma that you drove out here in the US?
Yeah, that was fun.

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A Taco's still massive by UK standards but it felt just right out there. Nice thing to cruise about in for a few weeks. Mainly for the novelty I think, given it's a kind of vehicle we don't really get over here.

One of the reasons I'm not rushing into anything though is because I change my mind so frequently on what I think I want. I don't mean generally, and my feelings from a few pages back still stand, but my tastes are so broad that I'd have to think about something quite hard before going through with it.

It struck me just now that a few weeks ago I was certain I wanted an old W201 Merc 190, yet here I am a few weeks down the line and I'd almost forgotten the things exist. At the moment I'm on a Honda Prelude mission (and also noticed how cheap CR-Zs have got), and inevitably after saying I'm not interested in Subarus, have spent the last two weeks watching rallying videos and now quite fancy a bugeye, or even a Legacy as those seem quite affordable... but give it a week and that'll all probably change again.
 
One of the reasons I'm not rushing into anything though is because I change my mind so frequently on what I think I want. I don't mean generally, and my feelings from a few pages back still stand, but my tastes are so broad that I'd have to think about something quite hard before going through with it.

It struck me just now that a few weeks ago I was certain I wanted an old W201 Merc 190, yet here I am a few weeks down the line and I'd almost forgotten the things exist. At the moment I'm on a Honda Prelude mission (and also noticed how cheap CR-Zs have got), and inevitably after saying I'm not interested in Subarus, have spent the last two weeks watching rallying videos and now quite fancy a bugeye, or even a Legacy as those seem quite affordable... but give it a week and that'll all probably change again.

Sounds very similar to me when I was trying to find a replacement for the Panda! I was looking at everything, from a Twingo RS to a Lexus IS200. One thing I always came back to was the Abarth though, no matter how many phases I went through. Maybe you've got something you always end up coming back to as well?
 
Maybe you've got something you always end up coming back to as well?
Nothing I can afford :lol: The Prelude is one if I'm honest (it's on the list virtually every time I consider another car). Some kind of Alfa is usually there too - GTV, 156. Beyond those we're into more expensive territory. Integra, Cayman, Elise. In a way I'm glad I don't have a bit more money though as I'm even more paralysed by choice in the £10k-£15k bracket than I am in the sub-£5k...
 
Nothing I can afford :lol: The Prelude is one if I'm honest (it's on the list virtually every time I consider another car). Some kind of Alfa is usually there too - GTV, 156. Beyond those we're into more expensive territory. Integra, Cayman, Elise. In a way I'm glad I don't have a bit more money though as I'm even more paralysed by choice in the £10k-£15k bracket than I am in the sub-£5k...

Story of my life...
 
It struck me just now that a few weeks ago I was certain I wanted an old W201 Merc 190, yet here I am a few weeks down the line and I'd almost forgotten the things exist. At the moment I'm on a Honda Prelude mission (and also noticed how cheap CR-Zs have got), and inevitably after saying I'm not interested in Subarus, have spent the last two weeks watching rallying videos and now quite fancy a bugeye, or even a Legacy as those seem quite affordable... but give it a week and that'll all probably change again.

Sounds like flipping cars just to break even would be a nice side hobby for you. Imagine you could've had a Benz, a Preluse and WRX with blown head gaskets all in a month or two :cool:
 
Sounds like flipping cars just to break even would be a nice side hobby for you. Imagine you could've had a Benz, a Preluse and WRX with blown head gaskets all in a month or two :cool:
Perhaps if I had the space to work on stuff, but sadly that's not the case. Current automotive needs are largely dictated by me having a single garage and no street parking.
 
You flip them so you only keep one car at the time. Only idiots like me keep them for years.. If you are good at it you even flip the WRX before the head gaskets blow. Btw I concur, bugeyes are rad.
 
Why break the photo-taking habit of a lifetime?

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First drive of the year. Got a fairly solid plan for what needs doing on it over the next few months, and I think I might actually take the plunge on some of the more expensive work mentioned a while back too.

Or I might just... y'know, drive it. Still been dithering on that big road trip in it. All it really needs is a week off and minimal planning. I'm my own worst enemy with that kind of thing so just need to get over my inclination for feeling like I need to join the dots in a particular order before I do the next thing.
 
Best laid plans

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Actually that title's probably inaccurate because it's not like I plan anything. But I sure didn't think on January 2nd when I last posted in here that six months later I'd have done precisely none of the things with this car that I was intending to do, for obvious reasons.

The pic above is actually a few months out of date now. Think I took it before lockdown etc. Now on just over 114k miles. Which, for reference, means I've done just over 3000 miles in just over three years. For reference, I averaged about 2200 miles per year in the Roadster. I'm apparently really bad at using my cars, but I guess it's a side-effect of the job.

If there's any upside I guess it's that it's not costing a great deal to run. And because it's parked in my garage it's unaffected by whatever weather is going on. Still mull selling it now and then because it gets so little use, but then also what would be the point given whatever I replace it with (and I don't think I can do without my own car) would probably get equally little use. Also, it takes me about ten minutes into going for a drive before I wonder why I'd sell it anyway.

Do I still plan a road trip? Yes, if by "plan" you mean "wait for the world to get its crap together so I can actually plan something". Would love to take it to the Alps but the current situation basically makes any kind of planning impossible, and people from the UK aren't exactly welcome in other countries at the moment. Can't even really take it around the UK due to hotels and restaurants mostly being closed. Day trips at a maximum, right now.
 
Would you need ear-defenders for a Europe trip? Isn’t it really noisy on the motorway?
 
Would you need ear-defenders for a Europe trip? Isn’t it really noisy on the motorway?
It's not "quiet" but it's far from being unbearable. Does about 3500rpm at 70 which sounds like a lot when over-geared modern stuff is doing 1500rpm, but is still fairly comfortable for a car that revs up to 7k. If I were to rank it I'd say something like...

(Quiet) R-R Wraith-----S-Class----------Rover 75----Typical modern car----Typical modern hot hatch----Insight-----------Rallye----MX-5 (roof up)-------------------MX-5 (roof down)----------------------------------------------------------Caterham Seven (LOUD)

You'd not get much value from listening to music in it (though the stereo's crap anyway so I'm not sure why you'd bother) but it's more than possible to hold a conversation at motorway speeds without raising your voice, and having done a few ~100 mile trips in it it's really no more tiring on a motorway than most other stuff.
 
New daily

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So it's err... been a busy few months.

At the end of July I was made redundant due to *gestures around*. I quickly got back on my feet again as a freelancer, but it made my car situation quite interesting. Having been in the fortunate position for around six years of having brand new cars at my disposal for daily duties, my Peugeot was suddenly pressed into action as a proper, use-it-everyday car rather than weekend toy.

And actually, it did great. I've put around 2000 miles on it in the last couple of months. It's easy to treat a weekend car with kid gloves and assume it's not up to regular use, but ultimately it's still a hatchback from the 1990s and it was designed to be used. It's been fun using it properly, but with winter fast approaching and the yearly menace of salted roads I really wanted to find something else to use every day.

The search took me several places, not least because I also wanted something that would be cheap to run but not completely dull. And then someone I know mentioned a friend was giving away a Toyota Paseo, and would I perhaps be interested?

I was. Insurance, tax, and a charity donation later, I picked up the car above for the princely sum of zero pounds and zero pence, and will be driving it at least over winter, and if it turns out to be decent, perhaps longer. It needs new tyres and an alignment (something I do with every car I buy) and a service, but otherwise, it'll keep the miles and the salt off the Peugeot, and should prove a touch more comfortable and a tad more economical too.

Feels kinda good to have another Japanese car again too. I've had Mazdas and a Honda now but this is the first Toyota...
 
Apparently I've still been busy because I felt like I made the post above about a week ago, and it's already been a month.

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Pleased with how things are going anyway. Just filled the car up for the fourth time since buying a couple of months ago so it's clearly getting decent use, though part of that is that with a 45-litre tank I seem to be filling it up every 250 miles on average. That's a bit frustrating, but the good news is it's doing mpg comfortably in the 40s, and the most recent tank, which was almost all ~65mph motorway driving (the speed partly dictated by deliberately trying to use less fuel, and partly because above that it starts to wobble thanks to poorly balanced tyres) was a touch over 50mpg.

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A few days after buying the car I went to take a few photos that would essentially serve as "before" images for its gradual transformation into something slightly less rough-looking. One of the most surprising things about the car is that when new, someone ticked the box for what I think was actually dealer-fit leather trim, which I've never seen in another Paseo despite considering buying them multiple times over the years.

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As you can tell, the leather has seen better days. Weirdly, the front seats are in decent shape but are dirty and discoloured, whereas the rear seats are the "proper" colour but seem to have suffered more condition-wise, with a few rips. I want to bring all of it back as much as I can because otherwise the interior's in great shape and is, as far as I can tell, rattle-free. Sadly the original mats are past recovering so I may have to replace those somehow...
 
As you can tell, the leather has seen better days. Weirdly, the front seats are in decent shape but are dirty and discoloured, whereas the rear seats are the "proper" colour but seem to have suffered more condition-wise, with a few rips. I want to bring all of it back as much as I can because otherwise the interior's in great shape and is, as far as I can tell, rattle-free. Sadly the original mats are past recovering so I may have to replace those somehow...

Easy! JDM mats ;)
 
SVX
Easy! JDM mats ;)
Haha, I wonder who could source me some?...

I actually considered it but at the same time this car is supposed to be very much minimal cost, particularly as I have... something else coming, when I'm able to pick it up. I'd throw a set of JDM-style checkerboard mats in there but the car's silver/light leather combo is actually a bit weird for finding things that match aesthetically, so may try and find something more similar to the light green/teal that I assume the originals were, or maybe even just black or grey to keep things simple.
 
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Haha, I wonder who could source me some?...

I actually considered it but at the same time this car is supposed to be very much minimal cost, particularly as I have... something else coming, when I'm able to pick it up. I'd throw a set of JDM-style checkerboard mats in there but the car's silver/light leather combo is actually a bit weird for finding things that match aesthetically, so may try and find something more similar to the light green/teal that I assume the originals were, or maybe even just black or grey to keep things simple.

In seriousness, have always really liked these. No idea what they are like to drive but seems to have a decent driving position like the Sera I drove. I imagine would be better with the less weight and manual as well.
 
SVX
In seriousness, have always really liked these. No idea what they are like to drive but seems to have a decent driving position like the Sera I drove. I imagine would be better with the less weight and manual as well.

I drove a Paseo on and off for 15 years. I hated it. Fair play to the Toyota engineering for taking everything we threw at it, it performed above and beyond, but a nice drive it was not. An unfortunate mix of raspy, floaty, jerky and bouncy - in my most humble of opinions. I've never driven a Sera, but gull-wing doors trump anything the Paseo has.

It was worse than the Rover 214 that went before it, and the 220 we nearly bought instead... even more frustratingly, it was selected over a second gen MR2, basically because insurance. The dealer (Nick Whale) had a Paseo Galliano at the same time, which was even worse looking - we bought the Si. Shortly thereafter I started buying heavy old BMW's, which were entirely more satisfying, direct, and confidence inspiring... but less reliable. The Paseo longevity meant that I drove it from my late teens into my mid thirties, and it saw off perhaps 4 or 5 of my own cars.
 
SVX
In seriousness, have always really liked these. No idea what they are like to drive but seems to have a decent driving position like the Sera I drove. I imagine would be better with the less weight and manual as well.
I drove a Paseo on and off for 15 years. I hated it. Fair play to the Toyota engineering for taking everything we threw at it, it performed above and beyond, but a nice drive it was not. An unfortunate mix of raspy, floaty, jerky and bouncy - in my most humble of opinions. I've never driven a Sera, but gull-wing doors trump anything the Paseo has.
Matski's fairly close to the mark I think, though I far from hate the car myself. But then it's not my only car and it's serving a very basic purpose for me which is low-cost transport.

The chassis seems neat enough and there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but it's certainly set up on the slightly soft side. I actually find the ride pretty good compared to what I'm used to, and that's maybe helped by the fact the thing doesn't rattle so it feels like the suspension's doing its job.

Not driven it "hard" yet though that's mainly because the tyres and alignment are pretty hopeless - the other day accelerating fairly gently out of a tight roundabout it actually started to oversteer - but it doesn't immediately strike me as a car that'll be anything more than competent. The steering is pretty light, more than I'd expect for a car like this. Again it's reasonably precise and there's probably more feedback than you'd get from a modern supermini, but probably a fair bit less than something like a Puma would've given back in the day.

Engine-wise it's nothing special at all. The Paseo's 5E-FE is in a lower state of tune than the Sera (89bhp vs 104bhp) so I imagine a Sera feels more enthusiastic, but for a small-capacity 16v four, it's pretty unenthusiastic to rev. Again, that actually suits me kinda perfectly because I just want the thing to work and be economical and not coerce me into driving quickly, but I'd not drive one for "fun". The gearshift's pretty good though - typical Japanese car stuff, decent throw, quick, accurate, positive.

But yeah, all that said, it's pretty ideal for what I need right now. I didn't buy it for fun (I mean I didn't buy it, but you know what I mean) so it doesn't matter that it's not great in that area, but actually the good ride, light steering, engine that's better at low revs etc is spot-on for how I'm driving it. And it feels built to last too.

Also, it wouldn't put me off a Sera. The Sera's absolutely a car about its styling and gimmicks, and even if it's just as nice to cruise around slowly in as the Paseo is then it'd be perfectly judged. I'm very much about finding cars that do specific things very well rather than attempting to compromise to meet every single need, and the Sera sells me on the look alone. The fact it'd probably be super easy to run because it's just a Paseo underneath is just a bonus for that kind of car.
 
I love cars like these, not performance related but just interesting in their own right due to how rare they are on UK roads. Although I'm already a Toyota fan so maybe I'm biased. The front seats look like they would come up fairly nicely with a deep clean and potentially a re-dye, the rest looks in really good shape!
 
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I love cars like these, not performance related but just interesting in their own right due to how rare they are on UK roads. Although I'm already a Toyota fan so maybe I'm biased. The front seats look like they would come up fairly nicely with a deep clean and potentially a re-dye, the rest looks in really good shape!
If you've got any product suggestions, I'm all ears :)

Meanwhile, there's a familiar-looking car on the cover of this month's TG mag...

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If you've got any product suggestions, I'm all ears :)

I've always used Gliptone products for leather, their Liquid Leather cleaner is super thick and worked wonders on the cream interior on my RX8. They're expensive but you get what you pay for. They sell dye kits too if you're feeling brave!

EDIT: They also have a useful advice center for things like cleaning, repairing, even re-colouring. I once went to an event where one of their technicians repaired a white seat using cleaner and dye in minutes and it looked incredible
 
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If you've got any product suggestions, I'm all ears :)

Meanwhile, there's a familiar-looking car on the cover of this month's TG mag...



In years past, would Top Gear ever have featured so many non-new cars on their cover? I don't ever recall it. Sure seems like the sentiment going forward these days is that all the good cars have already been made. This is obviously hyperbole...but it's hard not to see it a little.

By the way, what happened to Modern Classics magazine? It disappeared a while ago from my local newstand and I dearly miss it.
 
In years past, would Top Gear ever have featured so many non-new cars on their cover? I don't ever recall it. Sure seems like the sentiment going forward these days is that all the good cars have already been made. This is obviously hyperbole...but it's hard not to see it a little.
Top Gear have been doing used car issues for quite a while now - usually only once a year though. The last few have had Chris Harris dressed up like an east-end geezer on the cover so this one's a little more racy!
By the way, what happened to Modern Classics magazine? It disappeared a while ago from my local newstand and I dearly miss it.
Dead. Few months back. Another victim of Covid. One of the contributors is setting up what looks like a high-brow, subscription-only equivalent though, so I'll keep you up to date on that.
 
106, L50, FD3S

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Passed the thousand-mile mark in the Paseo in the past month or so (for me, not the car - it's now north of 88k miles). Glad it's around - after spending a good amount of time dailying the Peugeot, the Toyota feels so much easier-going. Part of that's the car, because it rides better, it's quieter and it feels more spacious, but part of it is me, because it's not a particularly quick car but I also don't feel inclined to drive it quickly, so I tend to drive it in quite a relaxed fashion. I've not really had that with a car since I owned the Insight, and in a lot of ways this car reminds me of the Honda. Small, light, direct but not overly engaging to drive, no real compulsion to rev out the engine, nice gearshift, and... silver paintwork.

A few months ago though, an opportunity came up to own a car I'd almost given up on. Because of everything going on in the world it's taken me a while to actually collect it, and it's made things tricky because I was already at capacity with storage space so I've had to put the Peugeot into storage while I figure out what to do with it.

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Yes, that is what you think it is...
 
106, L50, FD3S


Passed the thousand-mile mark in the Paseo in the past month or so (for me, not the car - it's now north of 88k miles). Glad it's around - after spending a good amount of time dailying the Peugeot, the Toyota feels so much easier-going. Part of that's the car, because it rides better, it's quieter and it feels more spacious, but part of it is me, because it's not a particularly quick car but I also don't feel inclined to drive it quickly, so I tend to drive it in quite a relaxed fashion. I've not really had that with a car since I owned the Insight, and in a lot of ways this car reminds me of the Honda. Small, light, direct but not overly engaging to drive, no real compulsion to rev out the engine, nice gearshift, and... silver paintwork.

A few months ago though, an opportunity came up to own a car I'd almost given up on. Because of everything going on in the world it's taken me a while to actually collect it, and it's made things tricky because I was already at capacity with storage space so I've had to put the Peugeot into storage while I figure out what to do with it.


Yes, that is what you think it is...

:drool: You bagged one of the big 5 JDM legends. 👍👍
 
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