My next car would be this if I could find one. Most reliable fun car I had. Well it seemed like it was back in 1980's 

More than happy to drive around today in one. 

3 minutes ago, iantt said:

My next car would be this if I could find one. Most reliable fun car I had. Well it seemed like it was back in 1980's 

My very first company car was a 1986 1.6 GL version of that Cavalier and "I hated every mile that I drove it" . What I would have given at the time for a nice Cortina 😀

I won’t go back to Ford once my Fiesta eventually goes.I have a new Honda HRV Hybrid as a main car, typical Honda quality, just fantastic.

Looks like you may have to join some of us here "on the dark side" and go for an auto. 

I've had autos for over 30 years now and I have no desire to return to 3 pedal motoring, especially now that the performance of autos is comparable with manuals.  But each to their own. 

I hadn't realised how restrictive your choice would be though.

I've owned a couple of VWs (2005 Passat and a 2009 Sharan) and they were very nice.  Not any more reliable than my Focus, but the main dealer was miles better and warranty issues on the Sharan were dealt with without a quibble. When the car was nearly 3 years old, they impressed on me to check to see if there was anything else that needed attention and make sure I got it booked in before the warranty expired. 

But on the other hand, can you trust anything VW say about their new cars after Dieselgate?

On 6/25/2022 at 3:16 PM, Focusinford said:

only problem it’s a diesel and since l retired l only do about 8000 a year.. not enough to warrant the oil burner and l worry about the dpf etc.

8000 miles p.a. is absolutely no problem.  I do about that mileage now (mostly short journeys, sometimes medium journeys) and haven't had any problems with the dpf. 

40 minutes ago, iantt said:

My next car would be this if I could find one. Most reliable fun car I had. Well it seemed like it was back in 1980's 

More than happy to drive around today in one. 

I enjoyed mine too! Beginning to think the answer to my "next car" problem is a time machine - now where did I put that flux capacitor?

34 minutes ago, unofix said:

My very first company car was a 1986 1.6 GL version of that Cavalier and "I hated every mile that I drove it" . What I would have given at the time for a nice Cortina 😀

But they'd stopped making the Cortina years before. Didn't you fancy a Sierra? I had a 1.6 Cavalier before the SRi and liked it - but we're all different.

18 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

they'd stopped making the Cortina years before. Didn't you fancy a Sierra?

 As I remember the very first of the Sierra's came out in 82/83 on a 'Y' plate and were straight out of a jelly mould !! --- No I didn't fancy one, I still much preferred the Cortina Mk5 a car with a real boot.

10 hours ago, unofix said:

As I remember the very first of the Sierra's came out in 82/83 on a 'Y' plate and were straight out of a jelly mould !! ---

Yes, that's right. It was a funny time ordering cars for our golden wheels club members. Some were desperate to get a run-out Cortina (which had a very good spec and some attractive lease deals on offer), some wanted the latest thing so went Sierra, but the Cavalier was very popular. I think it was 82 when Vauxhall stunned the fleet market by fitting the 'L' with a radio/cassette as standard, when the competition just fitted a radio! Seems funny now!

The Sierra Sapphire would have met your boot needs but didn't come out until 1987 iirc, with (imo) much better styling. My then boss  had one of these which I drove quite a few times and found to be quite a nice drive:

https://www.kgfclassiccars.co.uk/vehicles/2700/

Another thing from those days was the popularity of the Chrysler Alpine - it drove/went pretty well, was well equipped (by the standards of the day) and was available at very competitive lease rates. I don't recall them being that robust but when you're handing it back in 2/3 years, no-one cared much about that.

 

Chrysler alpine!! Now that was the poor man's cavalier. One of my first jobs as an apprentice was a clutch on an alpine. Did the job on a right dodgey pneumatic ramp. Basically a H shaped plate and centre post. The cars could quite easily roll off if the handbrake wasn't on. But once up you could spin the car 360 degrees.first garage was Peugeot Talbot garage. 

 

19 hours ago, iantt said:

My next car would be this if I could find one. Most reliable fun car I had. Well it seemed like it was back in 1980's 

More than happy to drive around today in one. 

You were lucky with reliability, I had a 1.6 Hatchback in exactly the same horrible gold colour and was the only car I've owned that I had to change the Camshaft on because it was worn.

Not only that but after breaking a few Clutch cables I had to change the Clutch and repair the Bulkhead because the stiffness had ripped it through where the pedal was bolted to it.

For anyone who does not know you could change the Clutch on that car without dropping the Gearbox, I'm sure I still have the clips and Adaptor for doing it somewhere.

21 minutes ago, Tizer said:

You were lucky with reliability, I had a 1.6 Hatchback in exactly the same horrible gold colour and was the only car I've owned that I had to change the Camshaft on because it was worn.

Not only that but after breaking a few Clutch cables I had to change the Clutch and repair the Bulkhead because the stiffness had ripped it through where the pedal was bolted to it.

For anyone who does not know you could change the Clutch on that car without dropping the Gearbox, I'm sure I still have the clips and Adaptor for doing it somewhere.

Never had an issue with the 1.8 engine. Did 100k in it. Didn't even replace the cambelt.  Just went a bit rusty in places so that's why I sold it on. I remember the clutch replacement procedure with clips etc. 

The lease on my current St-Line 140 ends in a few months and I was originally hoping to get hold of the 155PS St-Line mild hybrid Fiesta but I couldn't find anyone who could supply me with one. I've now ordered a Mazda 3 Skyactiv X which I'm promised should be ready by the time my lease is up.

Every company I tried seemed to want me to get the Puma instead but I don't want an SUV, one of the most pointless vehicle types I can think of for my requirements.

46 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I had a 1.6 Hatchback in exactly the same horrible gold colour and was the only car I've owned that I had to change the Camshaft on because it was worn.

Interesting that, and ditto. I had new camshafts fitted foc on both the 1.6s I owned - an Astra and the Cavalier I mentioned earlier. 

Story at the time iirc was that there'd been a bad batch not properly hardened. Never heard of an issue with the larger engines - 1.8 or 2.0. I had two 1.8s (one for 7 years) - like Ian, no problems. My 2.0i Cavalier company car was similarly trouble free, doing 100k over 3 years.

Also had a couple of GM 1.3s, no issues with them.

1 hour ago, Tizer said:

was the only car I've owned that I had to change the Camshaft on because it was worn.

Never owned a 1.9 PD engine?  They were infamous for the chocolate camshaft!

 

3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Never owned a 1.9 PD engine?  They were infamous for the chocolate camshaft!

 

I've never had the pleasure if that is the right word of owning any VAG car. I do know people who have and they all say that they are not as great as they were once made out to be.

The Cavalier ones were just well worn Lobes possibly exacerbated by poor lubrication at Idle, which is why I don't like leaving a car at Idle for too long. 

21 hours ago, unofix said:

My very first company car was a 1986 1.6 GL version of that Cavalier and "I hated every mile that I drove it"

I had a 1984 one (also gold) but I had the 1.8 injection CD

So mine was quicker than your 1.6, had power steering, central locking, a sunroof, and lovely velour upholstery, which yours may not have done. I really liked mine - only downside was it was a manual, and I was getting a taste for autos.

12 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I've never had the pleasure if that is the right word of owning any VAG car. I do know people who have and they all say that they are not as great as they were once made out to be.

The Cavalier ones were just well worn Lobes possibly exacerbated by poor lubrication at Idle, which is why I don't like leaving a car at Idle for too long. 

Worn, rounded lobes were the same issue on the PD.  They cut into the lifters after losing the chamfered edge and eventually broke right through.  Amazingly I had this on a rolling road a couple of months earlier, was gutted it only made 167bhp!  

Pretty sure it was the long life oil and servicing that contributed, as well as the cam lobes having to be thin for the PD injectors.  140k/10 years old.

5 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Worn, rounded lobes were the same issue on the PD.  They cut into the lifters after losing the chamfered edge and eventually broke right through.  Amazingly I had this on a rolling road a couple of months earlier, was gutted it only made 167bhp!  

Pretty sure it was the long life oil and servicing that contributed, as well as the cam lobes having to be thin for the PD injectors.  140k/10 years old.

Yeah, I was forgetting about the extra engineering required for the PD Injectors and the extra strain that must put on things. I'm guessing that these engines were too early for variable rate Oil Pumps as well.

The Cavalier didn't have these excuses, they has a conventional for the time setup but with Hydraulic Tappets which could overextend when removed and break the Cam after refitting.

The memories are coming back to me now. I improvised and made up a clamp to hold the Hydraulic Tappets from overextending when removed with two pieces of wood and a pair if spring compressors.

Owning an old car was such fun back then.  

1 hour ago, Blatto said:

I've now ordered a Mazda 3 Skyactiv X which I'm promised should be ready by the time my lease is up.

Now that's an interesting choice. 2 litre engine with 122 or 186ps, no turbo, available with a manual box. I'd tended to discount the current version as being a bit bigger than we need, but as the world seems to be getting SUV obsessed, worth another look, I'm thinking.

 

2 hours ago, Blatto said:

The lease on my current St-Line 140 ends in a few months and I was originally hoping to get hold of the 155PS St-Line mild hybrid Fiesta but I couldn't find anyone who could supply me with one. I've now ordered a Mazda 3 Skyactiv X which I'm promised should be ready by the time my lease is up.

Every company I tried seemed to want me to get the Puma instead but I don't want an SUV, one of the most pointless vehicle types I can think of for my requirements.

You cannot go wrong with a Mazda, far better than anything Ford has,top notch quality as well.They are a massive seller here in Australia.The things are pretty well bulletproof.

On 7/27/2022 at 8:41 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Now that's an interesting choice. 2 litre engine with 122 or 186ps, no turbo, available with a manual box.

I've gone for the 186ps version as it's more economical than the 122ps version and a bit quicker.

I know someone who comes into my local pub  on occasions and he swears by them, very good quality and he reckons he gets about 60mpg on a run if he keeps it at the legal limits, so on a par or slightly better than my current Fiesta.

Incidently I've just ticked over 50,000 miles with the ST Line 140 and its never been running better, seemed to free up a bit at around 40,000.

Gearbox is a bit notchy still but again better than when I first got it (or maybe I'm just more used to it)

Been keeping the speed down to around 65mph on my motorway stints to try and save some petrol (averaging about £1.90 a litre round this way ) and I'm getting around 56-58mpg over the 350 mile weekly commute.

Only had one problem with it over the three years and that was vague handling, which turned out to be be dodgy front dampers.

Had them replaced under warranty and it's been fine since. Must have been a manufacturing defect as they both started leaking and I hadn't driven over any potholes etc...

Like I said  would have stayed with the Fiesta if I could have got the model I wanted in time but the current supply problems scuppered that idea.

Going to pay a bit more for the Mazda but from a short test drive I'm thinking this one should be an enjoyable drive towwards my retirement from work and driving. I think a free  bus pass is more enticing than the polluting rubbish  of the Electric car offerings that we currently have.

15 hours ago, Blatto said:

I've gone for the 186ps version as it's more economical than the 122ps version and a bit quicker.

Yes, it's technically very interesting with a combination of spark and compression ignition.

I've yet to have a drive of the current generation (must get round to it) but was very impressed with the interior from a showroom viewing - very clear instrumentation etc without reliance on the touchscreen.

An old colleague of mine has been driving nothing but Mazda 3s and their predecessors since the 80s - I still bump into him occasionally and find he's still got one.

Hope you let us know how you get on with it. Which grade did you go for btw - they all seem very well equipped but I don't think you can get the 186ps in the "base" SE-L so presumably SE-L Lux or above?

I went for the GT Sport trim, Hatchback/Manual in polymetal grey.

Apart from the very high quality interior materials, the first thing that struck me was the fantastic manual gear change, very tactile and precise. You need to rev it a bit more than the Fiesta to get it going as the Torque is a bit lacking below 3000rpm but it doesn't seem to suffer mpg wise if you change at around 4000-4500 rpm.

And not having a touch screen is a big bonus it's much easier to control with the rotary dial.

Also very quiet an smooth on the motorway compared to the Fiesta. Didn't get a chance to test the handling on the twisty bits but most of the reviews seem to think it's up there with the Focus as one of the best handling family hatches.

The only real downside for me is the service interval at 12,500 miles, and as I do about 20,000 a year it'll cost a bit more for servicing.

Otherwise running costs for petrol and insurance etc.. seem to be about the same as the Fiesta, Insurance quote was only £25 a year more.

Apologies in advance for jumping in here but......is Forscan compatible with Mazdas ? 

I'm sure I've read somewhere it is ............

1 hour ago, Wino said:

Apologies in advance for jumping in here but......is Forscan compatible with Mazdas ? 

I'm sure I've read somewhere it is ............

Old ones yes...  Mazda 3 was basically a Mk3 Focus and Mazda 2 basically a Mk7 Fiesta a few years ago.  I think Mazda have split now and use all of their own engines etc so can't see it still being compatible.

3 hours ago, Blatto said:

Torque is a bit lacking below 3000rpm but it doesn't seem to suffer mpg wise if you change at around 4000-4500 rpm.

That's what strikes me as a potential downside, given that I do a lot of driving in hilly areas and very little on flat major roads.

Max torque on the 186 Mazda is, I think, 240nm @ 4,000 rpm, whereas the 1.5 turbos from, say VW group or Hyundai/Kia produce less bhp (150-160) but a bit more torque from a lot lower rpm (1500rpm or so).