Associate
- Joined
- 23 Dec 2002
- Posts
- 1,495
- Location
- Under my desk
Well, after the last 3 years my trusty (right) Focus 1.6 Zetec has been part exchanged!
I've been quite impressed by the handling and ride quality of the Focus, but was left far from impressed by my local dealerships and the build quality of the car. Having seen a machanic more times for faults than my dad's 94' Rover 216 has seen in it's entire life, I thought that it was time for a change.
This left me with a bit of a problem: I'm reasonably tall (just over 6ft) and I like my space, and knowing what it's like to be sat in the back of a car with no space, I like to have a bit of room left for my passengers too! This is probably what impressed me about the Focus, as when my seat was adjusted for me, there was still a comfortable amount of room for 2-3 people in the back.
So last Friday I toddled down to my local Renault Dealership and had a look around (this was brought about by my g/f's bro in law buying a Scenic - which I was quite impressed with)
I ended up arranging test drives in the Megane and also the Scenic - for a good comparision I allowed both to be the following spec: 1.9 DCI, Dynamique.
Firstly the Megane: I think it's the same class as the Focus, so on to first impressions:
The Megane, while similar in size to the Focus, didn't have the same room inside - which to be honest was quite a dissapointment. It didn't feel as roomy as the focus, both in hight and leg room. In fact, when I adjusted the seat for myself, I still felt cramed in and on trying to fit into the rear seats, I found that there was about 8 inches of leg room - not a good start!
Driving and Build: I was quite impressed by the specification of the car - having a better spec alround than the Focus, though I did feel that the 'Aeroplane Throttle' Handbrake was uncomfertable to use, as I had the reach over the armrest to apply / release it.
Driving - so, off we went, visibility wasn't too bad - I'd say on par with the Focus adn the power from the engine was excelent. However I was less impressed with the feel of the handling - to me it felt to light, when I went around a bend in the road, it felt like it was going to keep going in the original direction rather than where I wanted it to go.
So onto the Scenic:
While being in a different class (MPV) to the Focus, I was suprised to find that the Scenic wasn't all that different in size from the Focus, infact it 8cm shorter! (though it is wider and taller).
First Impressions:
Looking at the Scenic, I was again impressed by the amount of kit inside, add this to the leg room which is more than enought for myself and 4 other people. The interior space felt light and uncluttered with lot's of visability - both front and back.
Driving and Build - Having driven other MPV's - Focus C-Max and Citroen Picasso, I will admit that I was worried about the amount of Body-Roll that the car might produce when going around the corner at any speed. I didn't find this the case, the car felt like it was glued to the road, while the engine put down the power quite well. The electronic handbrake took a bit longer to get used to though!
So, as you have probably have guessed from the favourable review of the Scenic, this is what I ended up purchasing. On Thursday this week I took delivery of my 53 Plate Scenic 1.9 Dynamique.
having driven it to work and back and around the place today, I can't say that I'm dissapointed! Though I'm sure that there are better cars out there - I like the car that I've ended up with! In fact I'm still grinning now!
Pictures to follow in the morning, while it's still clean!
Kev
I've been quite impressed by the handling and ride quality of the Focus, but was left far from impressed by my local dealerships and the build quality of the car. Having seen a machanic more times for faults than my dad's 94' Rover 216 has seen in it's entire life, I thought that it was time for a change.
This left me with a bit of a problem: I'm reasonably tall (just over 6ft) and I like my space, and knowing what it's like to be sat in the back of a car with no space, I like to have a bit of room left for my passengers too! This is probably what impressed me about the Focus, as when my seat was adjusted for me, there was still a comfortable amount of room for 2-3 people in the back.
So last Friday I toddled down to my local Renault Dealership and had a look around (this was brought about by my g/f's bro in law buying a Scenic - which I was quite impressed with)
I ended up arranging test drives in the Megane and also the Scenic - for a good comparision I allowed both to be the following spec: 1.9 DCI, Dynamique.
Firstly the Megane: I think it's the same class as the Focus, so on to first impressions:
The Megane, while similar in size to the Focus, didn't have the same room inside - which to be honest was quite a dissapointment. It didn't feel as roomy as the focus, both in hight and leg room. In fact, when I adjusted the seat for myself, I still felt cramed in and on trying to fit into the rear seats, I found that there was about 8 inches of leg room - not a good start!
Driving and Build: I was quite impressed by the specification of the car - having a better spec alround than the Focus, though I did feel that the 'Aeroplane Throttle' Handbrake was uncomfertable to use, as I had the reach over the armrest to apply / release it.
Driving - so, off we went, visibility wasn't too bad - I'd say on par with the Focus adn the power from the engine was excelent. However I was less impressed with the feel of the handling - to me it felt to light, when I went around a bend in the road, it felt like it was going to keep going in the original direction rather than where I wanted it to go.
So onto the Scenic:
While being in a different class (MPV) to the Focus, I was suprised to find that the Scenic wasn't all that different in size from the Focus, infact it 8cm shorter! (though it is wider and taller).
First Impressions:
Looking at the Scenic, I was again impressed by the amount of kit inside, add this to the leg room which is more than enought for myself and 4 other people. The interior space felt light and uncluttered with lot's of visability - both front and back.
Driving and Build - Having driven other MPV's - Focus C-Max and Citroen Picasso, I will admit that I was worried about the amount of Body-Roll that the car might produce when going around the corner at any speed. I didn't find this the case, the car felt like it was glued to the road, while the engine put down the power quite well. The electronic handbrake took a bit longer to get used to though!
So, as you have probably have guessed from the favourable review of the Scenic, this is what I ended up purchasing. On Thursday this week I took delivery of my 53 Plate Scenic 1.9 Dynamique.
having driven it to work and back and around the place today, I can't say that I'm dissapointed! Though I'm sure that there are better cars out there - I like the car that I've ended up with! In fact I'm still grinning now!
Pictures to follow in the morning, while it's still clean!
Kev
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
