Safe Speed Forums

Currently I drive a 6 year-old Skoda Octavia 90 bhp diesel. I have been looking at cars to replace it.
One of the shortcomings of this car is that when loaded with a full tank of diesel, my wife and I and our luggage, it's bit slow on steep hills, particularly in mountainous areas like in the Alps and Pyrenees. Similarly I can't maintain anything like the autoroute speed limit of 130 kph on roads like the A75 south of Clermont Ferrand.
I've thought about buying the Skoda Fabia vRS which has the necessary torque and power without losing too much economy but do I really need a car capable of 125 mph on the autobahns of Germany? Most of its performance will be wasted here in the UK but being over-engineered for most of its usage is perhaps no bad thing?

certainally. used sensibly a car with power to spare is safer when it comes to overtaking, both slow vehicles on single carridgeway roads and when moving into faster flowing lanes on the motorway.

thats what I hate about most vans, they call a vauxhall combo 1750 cwt capable cos the chassis won't snap but chuck in a pathetic 40hp deisel fart generator, which is also false economy because you have to thrash the holy living brown stuff out of it just to make gradual progress....

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Fear is a weapon of mass distraction

Agreeing with hairy'. My personal car has just under 180 bhp & is a joy to, em, pilot. Fast, smooth, torquey, cruises effortlessly with plenty to spare. Just don't expect a great economy, avg. 29mpg. I'd never willingly own a smaller (engined) car again - too much effort to work within its feeble limits. I'd rather put the foot down & things happen than try & save a few quid on petrol. My work van however, a Citroen (by any other name is still a lemon) Relay piece of crap with a 1.9 non-turbo, non-direct injection 'fart generator' that sometimes makes it to 60 in under a minute (downhill & tailwind) when it's empty!! Is downright dangerous - I never attempt overtaking without a MASSIVE stretch of clear road, and I mean MASSIVE, not including the run-up!

All said the new CDTi DTi MFI BBQ....or whatever diesel jobbies are VERY quick with bags of torque & decent top end speeds. I wouldn't mind one of these, the wee Kangoos most of the other guys have have stunning acceleration.

To a large extent a high top speed is simply a by product of providing a car capable of carrying a full load of people and luggage comfortably at legal speeds, especially on hilly roads. This is something that the people who whinge about "why do we make cars that will do well over the legal limit?" simply fail to appreciate.

If your budget stretches to it I would have thought the 140 bhp TDi version of the new Octavia would fit the bill very well (even the 105 bhp version would be a big advance on the 90 bhp)

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Well my dad has taken a 1.0 Nissan Micra down past Clermont Ferrand and Millau as well as on the German Autobahns, and as you have proved, it is still perfectly possible to do any journey safely in any vehicle. It probably takes more skill to drive a slow car on fast roads then a vehicle that is much more capable. Saying that though a fast car can be driven slowly where the other way round is impossible.

I think you've got to weigh up the additional fuel costs, insurance and purchase price against how much you would use the performance. That is assuming you want the performance for purely practical reasons. I enjoy extra performance just because it makes me smile, perhaps you would to?

Just look at it like you would any other feature of a car. For me maybe once or twice a year having more space would be beneficial, but it's not enough to justify buying an estate. Occasionaly I want to carry more then 3 passengers, but not enough to justify a 7 seater. Anyway, you get the point. If you add up the additional costs against the benefits and feel it's worthwhile, why not go for it?

Performance is NEVER wasted

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Speed camera policy Kills

Faster cars, the way I see it.
Better breaks, better suspenstion,look better ( except for german cars ) better everything.


They are comfortable to drive at the leagal limit.
I repaced my rover 25 for a afla 147
I drive at the roughly the same speed.
But after the drive now, I am a lot more relaxed.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
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In the early 80s, the Army bought the 1.1L ford Escort estate as a run around vehicle, for post runs and the like.
It didn't take them long to get rid of them and replace them with the 1.3L, fuel economy improved tremendously.

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Semper in excreta, nur quantitat variat.

[boop] Mission control, this is Mica One. Do you copy? [boop]

[beep] We copy. Go ahead Micra One [beep]

[boop] We are at maximum approach velocity and are experiencing severe buffeting of the module. Please advise. [boop]

Personally I can't see the point of anything larger than a 2 litre engine. Mine is more than fast enough, with plenty of torque to spare.

I had a 2.5l V6 for a few years, and I am much happier now I have downgraded to my modest 2L 4 door saloon. Especially as I got this option dealer fitted, and it doesn't even invalidate the warranty: PPP

(note: - this post is somewhat tongue in cheek )

For a few years had a firms 1.6 Cav . Bought my own 2.0 Cav -- fuel - 2.0 better , esp if i treated throttle gentle.
Looking back over years - first noticed this in 60/70 s with Austin 1100 /1300 and ford Cortina 1200/1500 and others of similar engine sizes.
Bigger engine,same body -= better ecomony.
Also - engine doing less work so lower stress on engine .
My opinion - get bigger engine version - train right foot- that chav can take the piss, but by looking a plonker, you save fuel .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Botach: "My opinion - get bigger engine version - train right foot- that chav can take the piss, but by looking a plonker, you save fuel ."

Used to have a Citroen Xsara 5 dr hatch 1.9 non turbo diesel top speed 110 got 55-60mpg out of it, great for eating up the mile BUT very slow acceleration and not the easiest car to overtake in lots of times cursing because I couldn't safely overtake 'thumb up bum brain in neutral' in front of me. Now have a Citroen C4 5dr hatch VTR+ 2.0 138bhp diesel top speed 130ish, am getting 50ish mpg (bear in mind still running in) and have the oomf to get around 'thumb up bum brain in neutral'. Know what I'd rather have !!

As for the Octavia Estate have driven the 1.9 105bhp and the 2.0 140bhp diesels, both are nice to drive but if lugging large loads or towing would definately take the 2.0 (it's not that much thirstier).

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Yes, with the "hot" version of a particular car, you get better suspension, better brakes, wider tyres, better throttle response and can cruise on the motorway at lower engine RPM, making the experience much more relaxed and stress-free. You usually get more supportive seats too.

As long as you drive it responsibly, a "GTI" is safer than a "GL" model. The difference in fuel consumption is often not as much as you might think, especially with the new diesel GTIs that are becoming more common now.

The only real downside is the slightly higher insurance costs. Insurance will always cost more on "GTI"s because of their greater attractiveness to thieves and the higher replacement cost of their parts.

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

If it is for business use then you want an engine over 2.0l as you can claim back the most VAT on your mileage

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Andrew.

For a number of years I drove a small van and a 350bhp car. The van was very stressful on a long journey because of its lack of power. If you lost speed it took a long time to get it back and as hobbes said it was a nightmare overtaking anything else.

The car encouraged me to drive in a more relaxed manner knowing I could make up any speed when needed.

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Shooting is good for you and too good for some people.

You don't need to justify anything

go for the RS!

You earned the money you decide how to spend it!!

Having a similar decision shortly though!!!!! my current companyesque car is going and there is the choice to down grade and have more money for????????something or other or push the boat out and get the A6 avant I really fancy. But what would I do with the extra cash?

Yes, but I raises the point of it depends what vehicle the engine is in. My car has a 2 litre diesel, my camper van has a 2.4 litre diesel. Which do you think has the best acceleration?

Well, it isn't the camper.

I have a slow car and it get's hard work on motorways. It will cruise along in lane 3 all day long, but overtakes need booking in advance. If I were doing big miles I'd have to get more power. But it's not so much the power it's the mid range or lack of it. If some one pulls out in front of me and causes me to slow up, it takes the boys in the engine room a while to bring the boiler back up to full steam!

The problem with more power is the urge to use it. Even with my megre 1.4 litres and 89 revy ponies I can really use it because of risks to my licence. With a more powerfull car I might as well just go to the local police station and hand myself in.

Not really convinced by the theory that a bigger engine uses less juice. My Golf had a 1.8 90 hp engine and was very torquey but the Honda has a 1.4 with 89 horses that's all rev but is consistantly better on fuel. It's also heavier and has ac and pas to drive too.

But if I could afford it and or was doing more miles then more grunt would be the order of the day

I got rid of my 2.8 A4 quattro avant and opted for the 2.4 A6 quattro avant instead. I do sometimes wish I had got the 2.7

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Have just got a 1991 BMW 535i, Great for long drives and overtaking. Much safer than the Modeo TDci's i drive for work.
Besides the BM sounds far better than the Mondeo.