The upcoming changing in emissions testing had completely passed me by...details here:
www.thecarexpert.co.uk/new-wltp-emissions-rules/
But broadly speaking, every new car on the market needs retesting before September in order to remain on sale. Manufacturers have already stopped selling some versions, presumably because they know they won’t meet the new standards? The replacement for my car, an M240i is now only available to order with a manual gearbox. SEAT have stoped taking offers for the 1.5 Ibiza. I’m sure there are others!
Now, ordinarily the fact it had passed me by wouldn’t be an issue...who ‘has’ to buy a new car... after all, I only bought one in March...
ibb.co/eNpxOS
Chosen after a not terribly detailed analysis of the market based on the following criteria:
Needed to be petrol / auto to suit its useage
Needed to be as similar in specification to the A3 e-tron as possible, as once you’ve had toys it’s hard to go without ;)
Needed to be considerably cheaper than the A3 as it pained me every time it was scuffed, bashed, kerbed and generally treated as an appliance ;)
Needed to have a decent sized boot
Needed to be nice to drive, not because my partner cares about such things but I do drive it at times!
Unfortunately, as posted, well off topic, in the BMW recall thread that car has met a somewhat untimely end...
ibb.co/gCkoty
Now, there a 22 + week lead time for a like for like replacement (I ticked every option except for the ‘beats’ audio system...) and no cars in the pipeline with the ‘essentials’ from my perspective. What are the essentials...? Well, petrol/auto/sunroof/climate control (not just ac)/LED (or xenon) lights and adaptive cruise.
I’m not considering the Corsa or the Adam because I don’t like the look of them
The Polo is out for the same reason; it looks like someone’s pumped up the old one with a bicycle pump. So I think I’m looking for something which a few sharp edges
There are no 1.4 TSi auto A1s to be found anywhere
So, what am I missing...? I’ve never really had Japanese or Korean cars on the radar. Should I? Who else makes smallish, well equipped, good to drive and sharp looking superminis? I don’t really want a pseudo 4x4 of soft roader version, though I accept that the way the market is going.
Though, on the supermini front, to drive, the new Ibiza didn’t really feel a whole lot smaller than the A3 and, of course, the main driver interfaces were familiar to someone who’s had years of VAG cars on and off.
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