Introduction:
Being in the process of terminating smoking,
thus being in some kind of 'trinity-matrix' of coma,
virulent aggression,
and profound constipation,
he went with his wife to assist in talking with car salesmen and test driving small cars.
He was fascinated by the not-working self-inking stamp in the Nissan salesman's office and so took it apart and basically covered the desktop and his hands in powdered smudges of black indelible ink. The salesman was courteous enough, and terrified enough by the man's aggressive demeanour, to say "Thanks for that" without audible sarcasm.
Car Parameters:
- 4 Door.
- Automatic.
- Under $20,000 new.
Honda Jazz
Basic 2015 model.
Fundamentally: like driving around in a nice glass house with lots of head room and people room and luggage space. Quiet. A bit rolly but OK through the roundabouts at speed.
1500cc normally aspirated petrol piston engine.
6 Month services $400 each.
Price estimate, after haggling etc, between $18,000-$19,000.
Alloy Wheels.
General impression:
Worth $16,000. Good for short or long drives. Ample comfort. Great inside space. Good resale.
Nissan Micra
Basic 2015 model.
Fundamentally: A good car to drive if you live in a shopping centre car park and never go anywhere else. Brilliant turning circle. Uncomfortable and Noisy on the road.
1.0 litre 2 cylinder petrol engine.
Steel wheels.
Price estimate after haggling etc: from starting price $16,000 (hahaha). Would haggle down to $14,000.
General impression: worth $7,000. Not good resale. Not good.
Skoda Fabio
Limited Edition 2015 model.
Price: $18,000.
Fundamentally: A very good fast strong Volkswagen Polo with a magnificent DSG gear box and a very sprightly 1.2 turbo charged engine. Comfort similar to the Volvo. Limited headroom.
Needs RON 95 petrol.
Annual services, $350 each.
Alloy Wheels.
General Impression: A very good car, but limited space inside. Dodgy resale value. New, well worth $16,000.
Contenders are:
1: Honda Jazz
2: Skoda Fabio
(Nissan Micra - not in the race).
Next:
We will try out a 4dr auto Hyundai i.20/i.30 but it seems as though the Honda Jazz may prevail.White colour.
As for 'him' trading in the Volvo C30S coupe one day, the main contender would be the Skoda Yeti 4x4, or the Yeti 4x2 with full length glass roof. Black. The 4x2 has the same 1.2 turbo charged donk and DSG gearing as the Skoda Fabio. The 4x4 has a good VW 2.0 litre turbo diesel engine and pretty good off road capacity.
Rationale: Because the Yetis are simply the best passenger vehicles ever made on earth, whether people like how they look or not. His other choice would be the Nissan D22 Dual cab ute...an excellent big tough blokey car with all the great features of a 4WD utility that he would never remotely need or use....but it would feel tough and blokey. These would all work out around $30,000 or $28,000 post haggling. The Nissan D22 would be practical if he was a stone mason. That's a good strong car with a good 2.5 turbo diesel common rail donk and a reasonably good 5 speed manual gear box. A kind of 20th Century work horse.
