New car time in the autumn, need something dull

[TW]Fox;20062329 said:
Did you go for the optional roof snorkel? If not, you'll be leaving it by the side of the road with all the other losers when it floods :eek: :p
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He should have got that for sure.

Also tracks, just in case.

And as he lives in Birmingham, perhaps he should have got the Protection model to protect from gunfire?
 
I would've gone for the new Superb personally, but whatever floats your boat.
Get a set of ContiWinterContacts on 16" steelies while you've got your credit card out :)
 
I can't help but think the Exeo is a half hearted attempt by Seat, purely because it's the old shape A4 with different grille and lights, no effort gone into its design by Seat, therefore, i'd rather buy a used old shape A4 and save loads of money and have a better badge than buy a brand new old shape car. Not that it's really a bad car though, after all, it is an A4 basically lol, but i'm sure you get the picture.
 
Simon said:
Videos are obviously fake, winter + snow tyres are no better than summer tyres on snow or ice
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Whilst I don't particularly agree with Fox on this, he has never (as far as I have seen anyway) said that on snow or ice that they don't have an advantage.

His opinion is always based on our winters, ie mainly crappy cold+rain rather than constant snow.
 
DRZ said:
Whilst I don't particularly agree with Fox on this, he has never (as far as I have seen anyway) said that on snow or ice that they don't have an advantage.

His opinion is always based on our winters, ie mainly crappy cold+rain rather than constant snow.
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The issue isn't just ice and snow though, it's about having the right compound for the temperatures. Once the ambient (never mind road temperature) reaches around 7ºc, summer tyres begin to fade very quickly.
 
paradigm said:
The issue isn't just ice and snow though, it's about having the right compound for the temperatures. Once the ambient (never mind road temperature) reaches around 7ºc, summer tyres begin to fade very quickly.
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I'm not arguing one way or the other, just commenting on the snow comment :)

I've yet to see a high performance summer tyre vs high performance winter tyre test in appropriate conditions, but in my limited experience (which is the same as for most people here) FK452s were acceptable in the -15-18c temps we had as they were at +20c. RE050A behaved in much the same way.

I have RE050A on the Merc and Kumho Ecsta on the MX-5 so if it gets cold again this winter I'll have another tyre to test :)
 
Simon said:
Videos are obviously fake, winter + snow tyres are no better than summer tyres on snow or ice
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Love it how Fox's crystal ball of knowledge extends to individuals experiences in particular parts of the country over the last few winters. I can only assume that he watches the weather constantly so he’s fully updated on the potential plight of all motorists through the country. However what he seems to be forgetting is down south particularly around your parent’s house you get very mild winters, in addition your car usage pattern seems very limited with hardly any trips requred over none gritted roads.

Point in fact:

Most years we disappear to the Lake District for two weeks in one of my uncles cottages, these are in small villages up none gritted farm tracks, I have a FWD car as does my parents, my uncle has a 4wd A4, another family member has a RWD 3 series, all running good quality summer tyres.

Like clockwork the following usually goes down:

BMW gets stuck everytime, my car is next to get stuck due to its wider profile tyres, parents car usually get most of the way till the hills get steeper, uncles car sails up.

So for me this dispels the 4wd with summer tyres are no better than FWD only, FWD with summer tyres gets you out of more situations than a RWD car.

We get around 2 - 3 months of cold temps in Cheshire, less than the ideal working temps for summer tyres, when you drive to work on an icy dark country road and then drive back in the evening on another icy dark country road it's nice to know you've fitted the right tyres for the job.

It's interesting that he will only consider premium summer tyres since the cheaper ones increase his stopping distances however he's unable to consider the reduction and extra safety winter tyres offer over summer tyres.

Perhaps he's only planning on doing emergency stops during the summer months?
 
I agree with the bulk of your post but I do think you are misrepresenting his opinion somewhat - he does agree that on snow, winter tyres are better.

There are an awful lot of factors that make a difference other than temperature though - water clearing ability of UHP tyres are often better than mid range tyres for example and that doesn't just go away when the temp drops...
 
wez130 said:
I can't help but think the Exeo is a half hearted attempt by Seat, purely because it's the old shape A4 with different grille and lights, no effort gone into its design by Seat, therefore, i'd rather buy a used old shape A4 and save loads of money and have a better badge than buy a brand new old shape car. Not that it's really a bad car though, after all, it is an A4 basically lol, but i'm sure you get the picture.
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I agree with some of that but this is my company car and we don't buy second hand.
 
merlin said:
Considered it - didn't fancy it & price-range with the goodies I want wasn't hitting the spot either.

I have to buy brand new.
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What I don't get though, is that you say it's your company car, and thus have to buy new, but yet you bleated on about how awesome the trade in was for your 325d against the Exeo?

Surely it's one way or the other? Either it's a company car that you simply hand back and it's not your problem to shift on (nor is it part of the purchase cost of your next car), or it's part of a car allowance, in which case you'll have guidelines that prevent you buying something too old, but could quite easily buy a 6-month old example?
 
paradigm said:
What I don't get though, is that you say it's your company car, and thus have to buy new, but yet you bleated on about how awesome the trade in was for your 325d against the Exeo?

Surely it's one way or the other? Either it's a company car that you simply hand back and it's not your problem to shift on (nor is it part of the purchase cost of your next car), or it's part of a car allowance, in which case you'll have guidelines that prevent you buying something too old, but could quite easily buy a 6-month old example?
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I'm a Director and therefore my MD will expect me to strike a good deal both for me and for the company. Whilst I want a reliable & decently equiped tool of the trade to drive around I also don't want to be shooting company cash down the toilet.

Problem with our company is that the MD has never spent any more than £29k on a car ever. This kind of sets the tone - even if I was at his level my budget would be £29k/£30k tops. He doesn't really value nice cars like I do so I have to manage.

He's offered me cash in lieu but I like not having to budget for bills/servicing/tyres & getting stressed out about depreciation etc.

For me this car is just a box to get me from A to B. The Exeo isn't anything special but then neither is a Skoda or a Volvo or a whatever. It's all boring crap whether the budget is £23k or £27k.
 
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