What new car?

[Frances]

We have been talking about maybe buying a new car later this year or early next year - something bigger than the Astra, but not quite as big as a Falcon or Commodore. The one car that I'm starting to favour is the Škoda Octavia, possibly a 118TSI wagon. Does anyone have any experience with these cars, any comments or any other suggestions?

[eddy]

The most economical way to go is to buy the most common car there is as insurance is cheaper and parts are more readily available.

One other thing to think about is what side the indicator is on if either of you drive another vehicle because it is a pain when you keep putting the wipers on by mistake.

[Daniel]

We have been talking about maybe buying a new car later this year or early next year - something bigger than the Astra, but not quite as big as a Falcon or Commodore. The one car that I'm starting to favour is the Škoda Octavia, possibly a 118TSI wagon. Does anyone have any experience with these cars, any comments or any other suggestions?

A friend has recently bought a 118TSI sedan. What a nice drive it is! Essentially it has the same engine as a VW Passat and Audi A4. Great value for money, handles well, comfortable, and very well put together. Streets ahead of your Astra thats for sure. But the DSG transmissions are know to have had issues in the past, something to be aware of - but they are much more responsive and economical than a torque-converter auto.

[Andrew]

Just get a Camry Hybrid and be done with it ....

[Frances]

Interesting....

Indicator stalk on the left hand side - mind you, I don't know where the indicator stalk is on the Octavia, and it would be confusing at first (been there, done that, when I was driving a rented vauxhall Zafira around Scotland a few years ago) but wouldn't it just be a matter of getting used to the car?

The DSG gearbox problems sound a bit scary, though we were thinking of getting a manual rather than an automatic.

Can't say I want a Toyota. They're rather ugly looking things....

[Daz]

Subaru Impressa. Cheap to run, reliable, safe, fast, comfortable, and unlike most Euro cars you will enjoy years of market leading resale value, and parts at realistic prices should the worst happen.

Daz

[eddy]

Daz may be right even though they are a bit thirsty, they are four wheel drive, plenty around and with Japan printing money you may get one cheap?
You do get used to whatever side the indicator is on but it gets confusing if you drive two different vehicles regularly. Japanese cars have the indicator on the right

[Andrew]

I am obsessed at the moment with the Fiat (Dodge) Freemont Urban in manual diesel. I don't know why, I just am. They are bigger than Astra, but not as long as a Commodore/Falcon at under 5 metres. ~$36,000 on the road.

[Bus-1809]

I know someone with a 118TSi Octavia with DSG and they love it!

[boronia]

DSG is great until something goes wrong with it (and seems it will). CV transmissions are also a long term worry.

[chuboy]

Skoda make a great car. They rank number one or close to it in the UK for reliability and overall perception. Well worth solid consideration. The Octavia is a popular seller over in Europe with good reason. Go for it if you like it.

[Albatross]

A friend of mine just brought a Mazda 6, admittedly second hand not new, and seem pretty happy with it, and from what I have seen it's a very nice car. I don't think the Hybrid Camry comes as a manual, if that's a high priority for you.

Have you considered or thought of the new Opel Insignia?

[Andrew]

No Hybrid Camry is auto (CVT) only. Everything else about it (apart from the looks for some) is top notch.

[Albatross]

I don't mind the look of the new Camry/Aurion, but I would run a mile from the CVT. They've yet to prove themselves capable in my eyes, admittedly capable to me means 20 years and the greater part of 3-400,000 km. For the same reason I would avoid anything Volkswagen until they clean up their after sales service. I've heard of too many people getting burnt with big repair bills for Volkswagens that are too new to deserve big repair bills. You may not plan on owning your car for a long time but a poor long term reliability record will cost you money in resale value.

[chuboy]

Plenty of CVT Hybrid Camrys being used in Brisbane as taxis. I wouldn't worry about longevity.

[Albatross]

That may be true, and I am sure that if anybody is going to perfect the CVT, it's Toyota, but I would still rather not take the gamble and be an early adopter of a technology that is not yet fully proven.

I actually do not know if the ever increasing number of gears for automatic transmissions is a good or a bad thing. I do know that the early Turbo Hydramatic 400 is revered by drag racers for it's sheer indestructability regardless of how much power is thrown at it, and it's 4 speed derivative is considered to be weaker, and the 5 and 6 speed derivatives of the 4 speed are, in turn considered weaker still. While I am not saying that we should still be driving around in 1970's land yachts with inefficient 3 speed gearboxes, I do have to ask the question, why does there appear to be an inverse relationship between the durability of an automatic gearbox, and the number of ratios said gearbox offers.

[John]

I don't mind the look of the new Camry/Aurion, but I would run a mile from the CVT. They've yet to prove themselves capable in my eyes, admittedly capable to me means 20 years and the greater part of 3-400,000 km. For the same reason I would avoid anything Volkswagen until they clean up their after sales service. I've heard of too many people getting burnt with big repair bills for Volkswagens that are too new to deserve big repair bills. You may not plan on owning your car for a long time but a poor long term reliability record will cost you money in resale value.

CVT is not really new technology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous ... on#History

[Albatross]

Fair comment, but you could hardly call it a mature technology in the same way you would call the regular torque converter automatic mature. I'm not saying it is a bad technology per se, just that I would be uneasy implementing it in a vehicle I personally own, especially if I planned on owning it beyond the length of the warranty, given the still somewhat open question of long term reliability.

[kitkat271]

I'm divided on the CVT debate ... I think they're great technology, certainly a giant leap over the torque converter auto, having recently lived with a CVT Nissan Cube rental in Hawaii, but like Albatross I'm not sure I'd stump up my own money to buy it simply for longevity concerns.

Having said that, this technology is not new at all - even Toyota have been building it for years. The fact they're putting a CVT in a Corolla instead of upgrading the old 4 speed auto speaks volumes. I'm sure they're one company which wouldn't put it on their bread and butter if it's not good enough. I'd still like to see how the CVT auto Corollas go in 10-12 years though ... (a few months ago I decided not to buy a new Corolla but an old-tech Mazda 3 instead, decision more or less solely based on CVT auto in the Corolla)

As for DSG ... great concept and works better than CVT but I don't think it works well for normal people because it's not an auto and shouldn't be treated as such, esp at low speeds.

For my money I wouldn't like to buy anything VW Group, in fact I would hesitate to buy any car with my own cash if it's not "Made in Japan" or at least manufactured by a Japanese manufacturer.

[Daz]

Isn't CVT a sliding belt slipped between two cones, one increasing and one decreasing in size by virtue of centrifugal force and weights?

From what I understand, I would rebuild a CVT than an auto.

Also, I have a friend with a 2005 Honda Jazz VTIS with a bit over 200k's on it. It did a bearing in the box under warranty, which is a known design fault, untroubled since. That had the bigger motor too, and he didn't exactly hang around with it.

Anyway, when it comes to cars, Japanese seem to know best. Not much else other than V-Tech's, Evo's, top end Toyota's, and very select Mazda's are made in Japan. Subarus (Australian and NZ) are all Japanese.

If you buy a VW, BMW or Benz it's generally only a social thing, with low end variants for Australia generally assembled in South Africa. Skoda are built in the Czech Repulic, which is only just down from Russia. Lada's came from Russia... I think given time the "new" Skoda will become the Saab of the future. Attractive, high on technology but hopelessly unreliable and short lived with terrible resale value to top it off. Tell this to a Saab owner and they will give you a spiel about how good it's been, commonly known as denial. Even parts availability can be tough with Euro cars- it's even hard to get bits for Volvo-powered 5cyl Ford Ranger utes.

The new Hyundais are nothing like they used to be. Kia haven't changed a great deal. Proton are cheap, stylish and Malaysian built, with one mate doing nothing more than services getting over 260,000 from a Satria and still going strong.

You haven't specified a budget, I reckon go with a Bentley. Convertible.

Daz

[chuboy]

Skoda used to be awful. They completely turned their brand around (and are now used as case studies in advertising courses, so successful they were). The cars they build are tried and tested in Europe and have proved themselves bulletproof and excellent value for money.

The resale in Aus for a Skoda is only bad because people haven't heard of it. If you want to see poor resale you need only buy a Falcon or Commodore!

Definitely don't go a Proton, buy a decent used car if your budget limits you. Proton basically make Mitsubishis from the 1990s and sell them in 2013. Safety-wise they're on par with Chery.

[Power]

Ferrari FF mate!!! You can't go wrong.

[kitkat271]

Also, I have a friend with a 2005 Honda Jazz VTIS with a bit over 200k's on it. It did a bearing in the box under warranty, which is a known design fault, untroubled since. That had the bigger motor too, and he didn't exactly hang around with it.

The fact that Honda dropped CVT in the Jazz in the latest model told me volumes about whether or not CVTs are the way to go ... I think Honda got burnt big time with that one ...

The new Hyundais are nothing like they used to be. Kia haven't changed a great deal.

But Daz they're the same cars with a different body. You're right though Hyundais aren't what they used to be, but they're still not as good as the Japanese. Unfortunately, they're learnt to build style into their cars and new Hyundais and Kias now look much better in the showroom than the Japanese competition - and they're wanting Japanese money too now so that's why I'm still not going near one ...

I've driven a few rental Hyundais and Kias with 80,000 or so kms on the clock and their condition is very poor. I know rentals get thrashed around but didn't expect them to feel like they're about to fall apart completely. Toyota rentals at that mileage doesn't feel anywhere near as bad ...

[crazyturbo76]

Skoda used to be awful. They completely turned their brand around (and are now used as case studies in advertising courses, so successful they were). The cars they build are tried and tested in Europe and have proved themselves bulletproof and excellent value for money.

The resale in Aus for a Skoda is only bad because people haven't heard of it. If you want to see poor resale you need only buy a Falcon or Commodore!

Definitely don't go a Proton, buy a decent used car if your budget limits you. Proton basically make Mitsubishis from the 1990s and sell them in 2013. Safety-wise they're on par with Chery.

Proton's range is mostly nowadays independently-designed, apart from the Jumbuck (which is of course based on the Lancer-derived Wira). Then again the company still sells a badge-engineered Lancer (the Inspira) in Malaysia and only stopped producing the Wira and its first Lancer clone (the Saga) a few years ago.

Skodas aren't really that bad; the Fabia, Octavia, Superb and Yeti are all big-sellers in Europe and will most probably sell well here if Volkswagen Group Australia decide to promote these beasts well here. Once people find out about their excellent ANCAP scores they'll start flocking to these cars.

[crazyturbo76]

And I just remembered that the Jumbuck was discontinued only 3 years ago. That means that there are no more Lancer-based Protons.