adamhopkinson.co.uk » motoring http://adamhopkinson.co.uk/blog Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:17:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0-RC1 Choosing a new car http://adamhopkinson.co.uk/blog/2005/04/16/choosing-a-new-car/ http://adamhopkinson.co.uk/blog/2005/04/16/choosing-a-new-car/#comments Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:48:22 +0000 Adam Hopkinson http://www.adamhopkinson.co.uk/2005/04/16/choosing-a-new-car/ Continue reading →]]> I’m currently looking at new cars, as my beloved Honda has done almost 180,000 miles and although the engine is still fine, annoying little things like the aerial and the driver window motor are slowly dying.

Renault ClioIn the running for a new car is a VW Golf, a Seat Leon, a Ford Focus or a Renault Clio (left).

The Clio looks set to win – i’m currently looking at a 1.5 dCi 100bhp. My Honda is 144bhp so a fair bit more powerful, but the Clio is a lot lighter so can almost match the Honda in speed and will be much better handling.

I have been quoted about �11,500 new, but Parkers Car Guides reckon I could pretty easily get them down to �9,500 and Renault have offered me 2% APR (it’s usually about 12-13%), so i’d be saving a small fortune.

Renault list the cars’ miles-per-gallon at 67. I think my Honda does about 30, so I will save a fortune on petrol (which is currently 86pence per litre / $6.16 per gallon). Parkers also hold the unofficial mpg record in this model Clio, which they drove at a constant 56mph to attain 100 miles per gallon.

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