New family cars due, but what to get?

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Post by addo »

Hillman Minx? Gutless, crap handling, tepid styling.

Although I presume you meant more contemporary?
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Re: New family cars due, but what to get?

Post by trooper30 »

Never had a minx but had a Hilman Imp way back when, took me 3 hours to change the engine in it:-D

Lots of great info there fellas! The Signum is out as I drove one last night and to my horror it has the same Seats that have been in all Vauxhalls for 20 years now, the ones made of lave rock and pig iron that send your arse to sleep and make your back stiff, and that was in the Elite model. So Vauxhall is out, Ford has nothing really to offer, did stop and pause over a Mazda 6, but am now looking into a Citroen C4 HDi Exclusive, i figure a 1.6hdi should do the job in a car that size, and can get an 07 plate in budget.
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Re: New family cars due, but what to get?

Post by CitroJim »

trooper30 wrote: Seats that have been in all Vauxhalls for 20 years now, the ones made of lave rock and pig iron that send your arse to sleep and make your back stiff
That's the best description of Poxhall seats I've ever heard :lol: :lol: Spot-on too :twisted: The fabric looks like it came from old mattresses...

I like the C4 a lot.. If it had proper Citroen suspension it would be a worthy successor to the Xantia. Good call there Owen :-D
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Re: New family cars due, but what to get?

Post by RichardW »

C4 is a good motor - my parents had one for 4 years - it's hardly a family car though, the boot is pretty small!
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Re: New family cars due, but what to get?

Post by Citroenmad »

Ive almost bought a C4 on two occasions now, came so very close. Very nice cars, I do like those. Not massively spacious but then they are not big cars. Possibly similar room to a Xantia actually, if a tad smaller. They are well equipped, refined, and have a few nice gadgets. I like the fixed centre steering wheel and all have cruise control.

The 1.6HDi 110 is a good and fairly lively performer, however if you can live with the 92bhp version then you also live with £30 a year road tax.

Quite tempted by a 2.0HDi VTS Coupe to replace our C5 SX, though the 1.6HDi makes so much more sense as its only in group 4 insurance, better MPG and lower tax. They are also more available.
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Re: New family cars due, but what to get?

Post by R9UKE »

We have a 2005 1.6 HDi 110 VTR+ Coupé in the family. It's a great car reliability wise but the build quality is disappointing - and that's coming from a Mégane driver. Fuel consumption is great, performance is excellent if you're into diesels and gadgets are aplenty.

Problems: Crappy flick key remote just fell apart one day. Two recalls, one was for a faulty boot switch which opened the boot EVERY time the car was unlocked. The odd "check anti-pollution system" message which disappears after a while.
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Re: New family cars due, but what to get?

Post by trooper30 »

Well have definatly decided on a C4 110 hdi, but wondered about the trim level and the comfort factor so its gonne be a 1.6 hdi VTR or the SX am ust not sure which to get, have seen a few VTR Plus models but just cant decide which to go for. Would really like a 1.6hdi Exclusive but there like hens teeth! Got an insurance quote and to my amazement a 2006 Hdi VTR is £55 less that our current Xantia, which may be coming up for sale. Anyways will keep trawling the net for the right motor in the mean time :-D
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Re: New family cars due, but what to get?

Post by Citroenmad »

A good choice with the C4 110 1.6HDi 8-)

Spec wise, I always buy purely on condition, obviously you dont want the basic LX with no air con (oddly enough it has cruise control) but any other spec is well equipped.

Something you might want to consider if running costs are a priority, the Exclusive and VTR+ models have bigger wheels and therefore much more expensive tyres than the 205/55/16 tyres on the SX versions. I would buy the SX if it was me, though the interio is a little light. I think VTR was only available on the earlier C4s in Coupe models and was effectively the same as the 5 doors SX spec. The VTR+ was available in 5 door and coupe.

Ive driven a few 1.6 HDi 110 Coupes now, I do like them, not quite as interesting/enjoyable to drive as I would have hoped but they are nice. I can see one joining our fleet in the new year, probably a 1.6HDi too. There is a very good forum dedicated to the C4, might be worth a look on there to gather info on what problems you need to be looking out for.
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