R9UKE's French Car Blog...

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 03 Mar 2011, 20:40

Following on from your comments about the 2.0DCI only being fitted to Megane nosed Lagunas, don't suppose like the MK2 Xantia they can be retrofitted with the earlier nose?

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 03 Mar 2011, 20:44

I would think so yep, wings look to be the same, so bumper, lights and bonnet to change. May well be changes behind the skin, possibly in an aid to increase safety for pedestrians as Renault like that kind of thing.

Rear is also a bit different too, lights, bumper etc.

The face lifted LagII isnt a bad looking car, not quite as good as the earlier car, but its not bad. Id say it would be worthwhile living with the new face rather than swapping. It should be doable though.

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 03 Mar 2011, 20:59

Some real bargains to be had in the Phase2 Laguna II with the 2.0DCi engine it would seem:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Value for money!

Or a current shape range topper:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Its good to know there is another big French hatchback with a decent (we think) diesel engine apart from the C5. If i didn't like the C5 as much as i do, id of been tempted by one of those IIs.

R9UKE · Post by **R9UKE** » 03 Mar 2011, 21:44

Xac wrote:Following on from your comments about the 2.0DCI only being fitted to Megane nosed Lagunas, don't suppose like the MK2 Xantia they can be retrofitted with the earlier nose?

You could be on to something there! I don't know of any attempts to do so, but I don't see why not, the shape of the car is still exactly the same at the front. Interesting....

Chris, the Laguna was averaging 35 MPG before the figures decided to reset themselves. That was mostly motorway, so it's not much better than the Meg. This 1.6 needs to work hard to pull the Laguna around, whereas the 2.0 has to work very little in the small Mégane. Not enough difference in it at all, I'll gladly sacrifice 2-3 MPG again

That new Laguna Initiale is exactly what I'll be after in a few years... beautiful. But I can beat you on those Laguna II facelifts. We had an 06 reg Privilege model come in as a trade in with the 2.0 petrol engine. Sat nav, half leather, but pretty tatty. I remember the rubbing strip missing from the drivers door, sat nav control had fallen through into the centre console and it had really grubby seats. All could have been sorted relatively easily and it sold for £1800 with 60,000 miles!

I don't know what it is about autos Chris, but I know that every main car from now on will be one. There's just something so satisfying about letting the car do all the work. Slip it into D, one hand on the wheel and I can drink my coffee with the other - perfection!

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 03 Mar 2011, 22:01

Oh, so there is little different in MPG then, I expected that really. 35MPG is fairly low. Our 2.0 Xm auto would do around that figure. Might as well go for a 2.0 Laguna auto then Luke!

I thought that Laguna III would appeal to you! Though its a diesel and a manual ... Can you get the 2.0DCI in the new shape with an auto box? I know you cant in the Lag II.

Hmm but thats a petrol Laguna, which should be cheaper than a half decent 2.0DCi. Still though, pocket money for such a car.

Every car an auto! Really?

I get used to them and enjoy the fact it does change gear, but on the whole i prefer manuals. Operating the car is what driving is all about, having it do the gears is one step towards letting it drive for you! Ok, so a small step but i never want self driving cars. I know i like the auto lights and wipers, as they are a great feature and only take away the working of a switch - plus they can be turned off. Auto wipers are brilliant, set them to auto on a long drive and no matter what weather you go through the wipers will be perfect. All too often with normal wipers the speed isnt quite right for the rain.

Drinking and driving hey! Im not a big coffee drinker, i usually have a bottle of water to hand in my car, thats about it!

Which brings its own problems ... The C5s drinks holder doesnt do bottles well. Every time i brake to stop my bottle falls over, hits the suspension button and the car goes into low

I now keep bottles in the back of the passenger seat, much easier!

For coffee though, the C5s cupholder is fine and its even better at holding hot chocolate

R9UKE · Post by **R9UKE** » 03 Mar 2011, 22:53

Exactly! There are really no advantages to this 1.6. Not that I can see anyway. But then I got thinking at how difficult a V6 Laguna would be to run. This is a car that costs £82 to fill, yet the 1.6 is doing 35 MPG at best. Realistically, the 3.0 version would cost me just under £100 a week to run if I drove it full time!

Yes the 2.0 dCi can be had with the auto gearbox, in both 150 and 175 BHP variants. Could be a very nice combination indeed, I'd love a drive in one.

Glad to see you love auto wipers as much as I do. I used to love when my C5 shut it's sunroof after activating the wipers as well - so clever

You should be thankful that you have a cupholder at all; I didn't in my C5 as the sat nav controls sat in their place. It was OK though, it was an auto! Don't know what I'd do in an Exclusive SE manual!

I have a bit of a Starbucks addiction so cupholders are actually a big part of the car for me - that sounds so Amercian, sorry! The Mégane's are good for coffee cups but no good for bottles, like your C5. They sit at the base of the centre console, and a few times I've reached for the bottle and acccidently pressed the STOP button at a set of traffic lights as they end up slumping and resting against the dash.

From my experience, the french are pretty bad at fitting cupholders - my Clio didn't have any and in the Vel Satis, they pop out above the glove box on the other side of the car! So lets be thankful for our half decent ones

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 03 Mar 2011, 23:02

What does your 'buy to keep' list include?

Out of interest, is the Fuego on your to buy list?

£100 a week is a fair bit for fuel alone! £100 would give me around 850 or so miles in my C5, maybe a bit more. I can easily live with that, but what would the Laguna do on £100?

Yes, that might suit you well, a 2.0 DCi Auto, economical, good torque and an auto.

Ive not had a C5 with a sunroof, but the windows do shut when it rains, which is nice! So long as the wiper blades are good and the screen is not greasy then the wipers work totally stop on.

AH, but the C5 does have quite good cup holders in the rear seat armrest, which can be accessed from the front without problems.

You wont find a cupholder in an XM either, im a bit lost in there fro drink holders. The door bins are too small (water bottles usually go in the C5s door pockets) and no easy place elsewhere. No where for cups, but you can stash a bottle in the back of the front seats.

A starbucks addiction, nice!

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 03 Mar 2011, 23:35

The back of the meg nosed Laguna II doesn't look that bad.
Hmm, this is opening some good options for when we run out of Xantias

Buy another Laguna Privilege and fit the decent nose to it.
Awesome

Don't get me wrong, the meg nose looks right on the megane II, I used to have one, and the improvement with the keyless entry and not needing to insert the card into the centre console was great, but it wasn't as good as the Laguna (although the extra oomph of the higher HP engine was lovely).
As for autos, and give up that heavenly 6th gear? Nah, not on your nelly

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 03 Mar 2011, 23:41

Might be worth having a search around for any info on the 2.0DCi before you get your hopes up Xac.

Do they all have the FAP filter?

6th gear is nice, really reduce the engine speed and so increase refinement and economy, excellent!

R9UKE · Post by **R9UKE** » 04 Mar 2011, 11:26

My buy to keep list... composed mostly of rubbish that nobody else in the world finds appealing! I'd love an A-D reg Ford Escort, an L reg Ford Mondeo. Also stuff like Mrs Buckets Rover 213, a Renault 25, and a Citroen CX.

Once I have space to store I'll be dangerous. A Fuego... never, EVER seen one on the road, let alone been in one so no, it's not on the list. Would be too hard to find as well, can't imagine there's too many left that didn't ironically burn themselves out.

I'd imagine the Laguna V6 would do around 320-350 miles to a tank. You might remember a thread I posted about that Laguna V6 vs C5 V6. I could swap my 1.6 Laguna for that V6, but I think that might be a bit stupid, seeing as I can't drive it

Xac, 6th gear in my petrol Meg only brings the revs down by about 400 rpm from 5th. Great though, as it can sit in 6th at 30 MPH quite comfortably. The Vel Satis brought the revs down by a lot more though, it would be doing 70 MPH at just over 2,000 rpm.

Just looking out the window at the Laguna II... man that's one good looking car.

Not sure about the FAP filter, I don't take much interest in the diesels

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 04 Mar 2011, 18:34

R9UKE wrote:... composed mostly of rubbish that nobody else in the world finds appealing!

Well I agree with you

I was following a Xreg 1981 Ford Escrot earlier, what a load of old tat! Was actually a clean example but why anyone would want to own such a mundane car is unfortunate! Even later Escorts are pretty woeful things.

I thought we put you off the old Rover box? Where is the appeal there?

L-reg Mondeo, well, if you can find one which still has its own wheel arches then i don't mind those too much. Im sure ive had a Mondeo talk with you before, i used to really be into them! Most other Fords too actually, until i actually started to know something about cars and drive a few Fords, which did put me off!

I had the loan of a P reg Escort last year from a garage i sometimes use. What a load of old rubbish! Where Fords get their handling reputation from ive no idea, barely stayed on the road! Drove a 1.4 Focus a month or so back, that was awful too. Some 04 Mondeos, less than impressive - dont seem to wear life well.

The 25 and CX i can understand, but the rest, hmm

Ive seen one Fuego, I used to quite like the look of them, but looking at pictures now and they just look ugly. A rare thing now though.

Id stick with the 1.6 16v in that case, at least your able to admire its looks AND drive it! Things are working on it too, which is always a bonus ...

My C5 does about 2050rpm at 70mph, which does make it extremely refined and economical at high speeds, but with a good amount of pull without changing down.

Ive been looking at the Laguna II on the roads recently, most look quite tatty but there are some nice ones. Saw what looked like a high spec one the other day, immaculate condition and with a 2.0 16v engine. Nice!

You should Luke, diesels are great! Performance is there when you need it, you dont have to think about getting the revs up. Economy is excellent even if you drive it harsh and the refinement is brilliant as they are so low reving. Not to mention the easy performance increase through a remap.

Post by **myglaren** » 04 Mar 2011, 18:46

Citroenmad wrote:
R9UKE wrote:... composed mostly of rubbish that nobody else in the world finds appealing!

I was following a Xreg 1981 Ford Escrot earlier, what a load of old tat! Was actually a clean example but why anyone would want to own such a mundane car is unfortunate! Even later Escorts are pretty woeful things.

Well, when Escorts first appeared on the market - or at least shortly thereafter, I hired a brand new one to drive around visiting old friends before departing this septic orb.

I was very impressed with it. Had been used to driving a quite new Austin Cambridge, which was fine but the Escort was comparatively taught and very responsive if not quite as quick flat out.

On the other hand I had no Citroen experience to compare it to - that came later.

Much later.

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 04 Mar 2011, 18:52

That is true, a very opinionated post from me there. I mean very very very few people like the cars i do - Xms etc, so there will be people who are really into older Fords and Escorts in particular.

robert_e_smart · Post by **robert_e_smart** » 04 Mar 2011, 18:55

You wont find a cupholder in an XM either, im a bit lost in there fro drink holders.

Get a series 1 and you can rest cups on the speedo binnacle!

Luke, stop talking about Fords.

The Granada Scorpio hatch and the Scorpio are the only ones to have.

I'm surprised the Scroprio isn't on your list.

R9UKE · Post by **R9UKE** » 04 Mar 2011, 23:29

Haha Robert, Ford made a good car once upon a time. That Mondeo was revolutionary when it appeared. The Scorpio was an odd looking car, too ugly. I'd like a Granada 2.8i Ghia

These cars were the essence of the 90s Britain that I grew up in. Used to love walking to school as a happy little 6 year old spotting this type of rubbish

MyGlaren you've just reminded me... I want an Austin Maestro. For the pure "why on earth did people buy these" factor. Awful, awful cars, but with a certain appeal.

God you guys are going to crucify me, go ahead!!