Offtopic - Car you'd buy for your family and team

[Zwill]

I see the NextLevel is trying to start some off-topic BS (BS as in bluesponge), but his Enron bluesponge feels like the Titanic. It's a kick in the own nuts, so I will try something more useful. Since I fancy my nuts un-kicked.

BTW, this is a highly divisive, highly fanboy-based, heck maybe even religious topic.

What you need to know of me if you don't know already: I have no brand loyalty. If Butterfly does well, I say so; if DHS, then I like them; if Donic, then I acknowledge them. I really don't care.
I do have a soft spot in my heart for the Chinese makers, so I have some bias, which I will state up front. (but maybe it's asian too,For not just Chinese)

This is not a topic for car lovers who will buy their Miata or Nissan 300Z and will call everyone a tasteless C.U.N.T... I get y'all, 300Z is god.

I'd like this topic to be a reasonable topic for people who want to buy, potentially a 2nd hand car they would use for family trips and very potentially to carry their team to different city in their country, and hopefully be safe and economical and comfy.

A table tennis team consisting of 4 main players, a coach, and potentially a sub. Well, since most cars are 5-seaters, so f.uck the coach. (sorry coaches) (maybe even f.uck the sub)

So we need a car that has 4-5 comfy seats with a boot that can support the luggage of the players nicely, and be reliable and frugal.
So what is frugal? Well, despite all the diesel hate, diesel is the most frugal and economical. Unless someone has the balls to go all the way LPG, but I won't touch on that since that is 95% an aftermarket mod. (a very good aftermarket mod too, so if you do it bro/sis you got my love)

Let me give everyone my thinking when I bought my last 2nd hand car for family and team purposes.

I got myself a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze 1.7D wagon/combi/estate. Why? Well, it looks OK, it's basically a Daewoo with American styling and Opel (GM) guts. So parts are cheap as f.uck, Daewoo South Korea has pretty great manufacturing capability, the engine is basically Isuzu 1.7 Diesel, so Japanese to the core, and it's a fairly big car with a big boot, and it's mechanically simple. I actually don't take my cars to service station. I like to tinker and service and fix them so I search for home fixable simple cars.
I guess the Germans are screaming "why didn't I get an Opel Astra J combi/wagon/estate?" Well, Opels rust like no tomorrow, and they don't use high-strength steel like Daewoo...
I also like manual gearbox and the Cruze with this setup is not ideal since it has the infamous M32 gearbox from GM but mine still feels great actually the M32 is quite smooth to shift.
The Cruze has a comfy bad road setup suspension with "Opel" seats and Opel was always was into ergonomics in that regard, rightly so. I have driver BMW and Mercs and H.itlerwagens and while they provide more driving fun their ergonomics are worse in fact.

I really wonder where this topic will go and I hope we can all keep it not civilized, but within the realm of reason. I know poeple who bought cars with PSA Puretech engines and they are being burnt alive or Ford with their ecoboost shit or powershift shit...

I reckon everyone here will be honest will state what company burned them and what models they struck gold with.

 

[NetProphet]

Mercedes E220/250/300D Estate.
Job done

 

[NextLevel]

I see the NextLevel is trying to start some off-topic BS (BS as in bluesponge), but his Enron bluesponge feels like the Titanic. It's a kick in the own nuts, so I will try something more useful. Since I fancy my nuts un-kicked.

I guess I deserve that - my Enron bluesponge was really supposed to be about following the rules vs following the spirit of the rules. But I am not a good messenger so...

But the another sentiment you may have missed was to keep off topic stuff from invading the forum that people wanted to focus on TT. I do think there is some room for community building but maybe there will need to be a way of keeping off-topic stuff from the main list of topics presented when you come to the site so that people can avoid it on demand.

BTW, this is a highly divisive, highly fanboy-based, heck maybe even religious topic.

What you need to know of me if you don't know already: I have no brand loyalty. If Butterfly does well, I say so; if DHS, then I like them; if Donic, then I acknowledge them. I really don't care.
I do have a soft spot in my heart for the Chinese makers, so I have some bias, which I will state up front. (but maybe it's asian too,For not just Chinese)

This is not a topic for car lovers who will buy their Miata or Nissan 300Z and will call everyone a tasteless C.U.N.T... I get y'all, 300Z is god.

I'd like this topic to be a reasonable topic for people who want to buy, potentially a 2nd hand car they would use for family trips and very potentially to carry their team to different city in their country, and hopefully be safe and economical and comfy.

A table tennis team consisting of 4 main players, a coach, and potentially a sub. Well, since most cars are 5-seaters, so f.uck the coach. (sorry coaches) (maybe even f.uck the sub)

So we need a car that has 4-5 comfy seats with a boot that can support the luggage of the players nicely, and be reliable and frugal.
So what is frugal? Well, despite all the diesel hate, diesel is the most frugal and economical. Unless someone has the balls to go all the way LPG, but I won't touch on that since that is 95% an aftermarket mod. (a very good aftermarket mod too, so if you do it bro/sis you got my love)

Let me give everyone my thinking when I bought my last 2nd hand car for family and team purposes.

I got myself a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze 1.7D wagon/combi/estate. Why? Well, it looks OK, it's basically a Daewoo with American styling and Opel (GM) guts. So parts are cheap as f.uck, Daewoo South Korea has pretty great manufacturing capability, the engine is basically Isuzu 1.7 Diesel, so Japanese to the core, and it's a fairly big car with a big boot, and it's mechanically simple. I actually don't take my cars to service station. I like to tinker and service and fix them so I search for home fixable simple cars.
I guess the Germans are screaming "why didn't I get an Opel Astra J combi/wagon/estate?" Well, Opels rust like no tomorrow, and they don't use high-strength steel like Daewoo...
I also like manual gearbox and the Cruze with this setup is not ideal since it has the infamous M32 gearbox from GM but mine still feels great actually the M32 is quite smooth to shift.
The Cruze has a comfy bad road setup suspension with "Opel" seats and Opel was always was into ergonomics in that regard, rightly so. I have driver BMW and Mercs and H.itlerwagens and while they provide more driving fun their ergonomics are worse in fact.

I really wonder where this topic will go and I hope we can all keep it not civilized, but within the realm of reason. I know poeple who bought cars with PSA Puretech engines and they are being burnt alive or Ford with their ecoboost shit or powershift shit...

I reckon everyone here will be honest will state what company burned them and what models they struck gold with.

Part of the reason I EJ is that it is cheaper than buying cars. But when I up my game to car buying or deciding what car I want to buy when I get in the money, I will be sure to join you on this one!

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

why this vehicle?
1. It a Toyota
2. You can transport a whole football team with it.
3. It is a Toyota.
4. Point 1 needs to be stated twice.
5. Plenty of pre-owned around.

 

[DrBean]

Idk all the other hobby forums I'm on have Off-Topic sections, so is normal for me.

View attachment 39369
why this vehicle?
1. It a Toyota
2. You can transport a whole football team with it.
3. It is a Toyota.
4. Point 1 needs to be stated twice.
5. Plenty of pre-owned around.

6. When you inevitably round up your homies to shirtfront whoever wronged you on the internet.

 

[Matteones]

I just bought a second-hand Dacia Jogger (2022 - 50.000 kms on it) for my expanding family. Mine is a 5 seater, but you can also find a 7 seater. It comes with GPL already from the company.
It is everything you described and more: comfortable, cheap but safe, plenty of space. It's manual gearbox of course because in Europe automatic gearboxes are only for taxi drivers and grandmas.
I am not a motor-head in any way (car has to bring me comfortably from A to B and nothing else) but I have driven a lot in my life and this car feels good to drive (it's only been one month for now).

 

[Zwill]

Mercedes E220/250/300D Estate.
Job done

Rear wheel drive sure is nice and Mercedes engines are actually not shit. I mean real Merc engines, not the Renault rebadges, not to say the Renaults are any worse than other small petrol engines nowadays. In fact among small petrols maybe Renaults are pretty okay which sure is a 180degree turn from how things were for Renault 20 years ago lol.

View attachment 39369
why this vehicle?
1. It a Toyota
2. You can transport a whole football team with it.
3. It is a Toyota.
4. Point 1 needs to be stated twice.
5. Plenty of pre-owned around.

I remember when I first went to HK I saw a lot of these or similar ones and I was quite shocked since these are not available in Europe, or no one buys them??? I don't get it why, because for what it is quite a good-looking van. I'm glad Toyota nowadays makes good-looking cars, in the 2000s (besides the Celica) I struggle to remember anything from them that didn't look like poop.

I just bought a second-hand Dacia Jogger (2022 - 50.000 kms on it) for my expanding family. Mine is a 5 seater, but you can also find a 7 seater. It comes with GPL already from the company.
It is everything you described and more: comfortable, cheap but safe, plenty of space. It's manual gearbox of course because in Europe automatic gearboxes are only for taxi drivers and grandmas.
I am not a motor-head in any way (car has to bring me comfortably from A to B and nothing else) but I have driven a lot in my life and this car feels good to drive (it's only been one month for now).

You mean LPG like liquid petroleum gas? My dad had a E46 330ci and he fitted a LPG set on it and I bet a factory one is much better. When I was buying my last car I was debating myself should I get disel or a petrol car then fit an LPG kit and then I can buy a bigger engine car, preferably non-turbo, no direct injection etc etc.
I wonder if Dacia, Renault whatever make a higher compression engine for these factory LPG cars? I think they should... it would make sense.

I only buy manual gearbox cars. I don't need no DSG or CVT take a shit for me on the road. I wonder what's the price for a clutch replace on a DSG I bet it's not only double because they have 2 clutches.

Anyway I wanted to get a 2nd hand last gen Citroen C5 because they still have the good old hydropneumatic suspensions and those are just so sweet and it's a nice looking car too.
I guess I went with the Cruze because it's simple, it's just made so textbook-like, by that I mean it has nothing special going for it, but also nothing offensive or dumb.
Cars nowadays are full of dumbness for me, wet timing belts, direct petrol injection, LED headlights, electric brakes, BRAKE BY WIRE wtf. And offensive shit too like when timing chain is towards the firewall so if that needs replacing then engine out...

 

[lodro]

Just to defend Toyota AND the cars from 2000. My car is a 2000 and i have been driving it for over 20 years. The one before was basically the same but was a manual diesel on which i did 500 000 km plus.

 

[lodro]

Cars nowadays are full of dumbness for me, wet timing belts, direct petrol injection, LED headlights, electric brakes, BRAKE BY WIRE wtf. And offensive shit too like when timing chain is towards the firewall so if that needs replacing then engine out...

absolutely ! Just more crap to go wrong. The later the model car i look at the flimsier they are made. At one stage i have been looking at a subaru because i thought "what can go wrong with the old boxer 4 cylinder ??? Well after 5 minutes of googling i found that the later models leak oil and in some cases it takes 34 bolts to loosen the sump cover and wait there is more, the engine has to be take out to do that. What a fricken joke.

In the moment I am dreaming about a
2017 Skoda Yeti the one with the 2litre diesel engine

 

[Snek]

Tesla model Y
Very economical, almost free to charge, good range, fast charging, massive trunk with sub trubk space, rear trunk, behemouth leg space front and rear, no gear axel in the rear middle seat legroom. Comfy for 5 adults.

 

[Zwill]

absolutely ! Just more crap to go wrong. The later the model car i look at the flimsier they are made. At one stage i have been looking at a subaru because i thought "what can go wrong with the old boxer 4 cylinder ??? Well after 5 minutes of googling i found that the later models leak oil and in some cases it takes 34 bolts to loosen the sump cover and wait there is more, the engine has to be take out to do that. What a fricken joke.

In the moment I am dreaming about a
2017 Skoda Yeti the one with the 2litre diesel engine

Yeah, many manufacturers do hateful solutions. It makes me wonder if they wanna make the repairmen life miserable on purpose. Or they wanna cash in more money with service.

I'm surprised to see so many Skoda in China, I didn't think it was a global brand like VW or Audi. I thought it's only for the European market.

 

[DrBean]

Yeah, many manufacturers do hateful solutions. It makes me wonder if they wanna make the repairmen life miserable on purpose. Or they wanna cash in more money with service.

I'm surprised to see so many Skoda in China, I didn't think it was a global brand like VW or Audi. I thought it's only for the European market.

Packaging is an art that's pretty hard to get right. While it was incredibly easy to work on 90s Honda engine bays, that packaging is undoubtedly inefficient. As things get more complex over time, that difficulty compounds. The amount of sensors that exist nowadays is a war crime, but it does make the overall product better (probably).

Skoda wanted in on the Chinese market, so the signed with SAIC VW to produce in country.

 

[NextLevel]

Just to defend Toyota AND the cars from 2000. My car is a 2000 and i have been driving it for over 20 years. The one before was basically the same but was a manual diesel on which i did 500 000 km plus.

I still find my 1996 Toyota Camry to be the favorite car I ever owned in terms of how I felt driving it, even more than the later "luxury" ones or newer models.

 

[ander999]

Tesla model Y

Very economical, almost free to charge, good range, fast charging, massive trunk with sub trubk space, rear trunk, behemouth leg space front and rear, no gear axel in the rear middle seat legroom. Comfy for 5 adults.

Model Y for the same reason as here. Those who hate 100% havent driven one. And the 2026 model is such a big improvement.

 

[blahness]

BYD is even better and more economical than Tesla, especially with really sweet novated lease pricing here....

 

[Tyce]

I bought a pre owned Skoda Fabia combi a couple of months ago. Small enough to be economical, big enough to fit the four of us plus luggage and as reliable as a VW because we'll, it's a VW.
The only thing I kinda miss is adaptive cruise control but you have to sacrifice something when you have to return the company car

 

[Zwill]

I bought a pre owned Skoda Fabia combi a couple of months ago. Small enough to be economical, big enough to fit the four of us plus luggage and as reliable as a VW because we'll, it's a VW.
The only thing I kinda miss is adaptive cruise control but you have to sacrifice something when you have to return the company car

I think it's a bit dangerous to say something is good because it's VW or Toyota etc. There are plenty of lemon solutions from both companies.
But also at the same time they had many bulletproof cars too while some other brands mainly produced junk.
I have no brand loyalty. In fact I like the brands that depreciate in value like the Titanic since I usually buy 2nd had so I let the first sucker loose more money hhhh So in this regards Toyota is not really my cup of tea since they keep their values really well.

Packaging is an art that's pretty hard to get right. While it was incredibly easy to work on 90s Honda engine bays, that packaging is undoubtedly inefficient. As things get more complex over time, that difficulty compounds. The amount of sensors that exist nowadays is a war crime, but it does make the overall product better (probably).

Skoda wanted in on the Chinese market, so the signed with SAIC VW to produce in country.

By efficient package what do you mean? How space is used fully in the engine bay or how efficient the actual engine is using fuel?

 

[mamedium]

this one can bring you back to the past tournament and have a second try.
it's a no brainer

(it only runs on Haifu black national so Igor won't buy this... just so you know)

 

[DrBean]

I think it's a bit dangerous to say something is good because it's VW or Toyota etc. There are plenty of lemon solutions from both companies.
But also at the same time they had many bulletproof cars too while some other brands mainly produced junk.
I have no brand loyalty. In fact I like the brands that depreciate in value like the Titanic since I usually buy 2nd had so I let the first sucker loose more money hhhh So in this regards Toyota is not really my cup of tea since they keep their values really well.

By efficient package what do you mean? How space is used fully in the engine bay or how efficient the actual engine is using fuel?

Former in this case, but you also have packaging considerations in designing an engine block (or anything that occupies space).

 

[Zwill]

Former in this case, but you also have packaging considerations in designing an engine block (or anything that occupies space).

Problem is most blocks were not designed in the bay the are used. Many blocks are from the 70s 80s etc, just got new heads and got a turbo bolted on, the intercooler etc etc
Not to mention a ton of car companies buy engines from eachother, Mercedes from Renault, OPEL used to buy fiat, Ford from Peugeot, Volvo from renault and Peugeot etc etc
If course this doesn't help repairability either, so those old roomy Hondas are quite nice.
Too bad 90s Japanese cars just rusted away or got owners who thought they are so bulletproof that they need no service.