New car reviews by members

[Bipolar]

If you drive a new car or have recently driven a new car and have an opinion on it, post here with what you think of it and how it compares to your older model Falcon.

I drive cars for work every now and then and today I drove a Nissan XTrail and a Mazda6 wagon. I hated the XTrail. It isn't the latest model but it was only 2 years old. The seating position was crap. To get the perfect reach for the pedals and wheel I had to sit bolt upright. With no lumbar support, no reach adjustment on the wheel and the dodgy centre "armrest", it was bloody uncomfortable. The instrument cluster was in the centre of the dash which is a joke IMO, especially in a time where everything designed in a vehicle is based around safety.

For a vehicle made in the 00s, it felt like it came out of the 90s. While the interior looks are arguably on par or worse than my EL GLi, the comfort level makes my base model Aussie car feel like a limo. The ride, handling, power and brakes are all about average for a softroader, but the brakes are too bitey when travelling at speeds below 30k's. I don't care how many secret cargo spots and cool little afterthoughts it has - I never want to drive one of these again.

The 6 on the other hand was brilliant. It had 5k's on it when I picked it up and the smell when I opened the door took me back to opening the doors of brand new Mazdas 7 years ago. Inside was all class - matt and gloss black throughout with hints of silver here and there. The dash and display were clear and very easy to read. The indicator stalk felt very solid and perfect to hold up or down for a couple of seconds while changing lanes.

It still went well and handled fairly neutrally for a wagon. Not much happened below 3 grand but after that it picked up nicely and happily revved all the way to 7+. Suspension felt like the perfect balance between firm and comfortable. The brakes were strong and progressive, and pedal feel was spot on. ABS works great too - some tool in a Camry decided to enter a driveway at speed not realising there were pedestrians crossing it. Weird feeling ABS kick in without the pedal pumping away under your foot. I'd still prefer driving my lower stiffer sprung Falcon sedan, but for a FWD and a standard wagon it's a bloody nice, comfortable car to punt around in.

[psychotic-angel]

i drove a ve it was a v8 was a dealer get rid of old stock sale it had a clubsport looking kit 20inch rims tinted windows,lowered,power everything.hate to say it but it wasnt a bad car sounds nice,handled well,heaps of room,easy to park,stereo was great clear sound even when music was turned right up and bass and treb were upp'd looks nicer then the normal ss or base model,the color was a smack you in the face bright green,it was a 6 speed manual only thing i can say i didnt like was the fact its a bloody holden id love to drive a xr8 and compare them.

ive driven a little ford cant think of the name its like a laser smaller then the focus.it had the bigger rims sports pack which is lower firmer susp,exhaust is diffrent but not sure what,seats sort of hold you unlike normal were you sort of slide around,it had the stripes on it this was black with silver stripes it had i think 17s on it for a little buz box its not bad would make a top city car easy to park,not to many blind spots,was low but could still get over speed bumps up drive ways etc,it was a auto i was thinking crap im stuck in a freaking mini with no power all day but i was shocked it doesnt go to bad i mean i didnt flog it but with normal take offs and that its fine gear changes are smooth motor isnt slugish it really liked being rev'd up hills it didnt fu fuss like most little cars ive driven do i mean it didnt go up there like a falcon or some thing bigger would but it didnt lose speed it was nice bare i mind i think all small cars are gutless like a mighty boy and really dont like them but theres a few that have made me rethink how i look at little cars.i mean sure it my not fit 7 kids in it or tow a trailer but its not ment to.it seats four people easy as my cusins are over 6ft like me and they said its not to bad space wise they said if we went on huge trips we would need to stop and have breaks but thay said it was pretty good seats were soft yet you didnt sink in them leg room isnt massive but there knees wernt in my back for the trip.then i got sick of driving and i sat in the rear and they were right i mean its no limo but for what is it there seems to be plenty of room more then a yaris.my cusin who owns it is dating a girl who has a yaris and after driving the ford she said she wanted to trade hers in and get one only she wanted a manual.a few weeks later she turned up in a white with blue stripes festiva hers is manual and a two door but its still nice hers was exdemo its got all the power crap but it had 15s on it shes since had 17inch advantis put on and had it lowered she had a connon exhaust put on with a 5inch tip it sounds like a little beast lol it isnt as nice to drive tho being lower and that but its still a great city car

[serial_fool]

Paragraphs ftw.

Current model Focus (ghia spec).

Pros:
Cabin higher than a falcon = better head room.
Went alright for a small banger
Leather seats are x100 billion times better than the leather offered pre AU.
4 speed semi auto is good i guess, can't really comment because I've only ever driven manuals.
Isn't a falcon.

Cons:
Front end shakes on braking.
Drivetrain noises on takeoff.
Instead of feeling like your are sitting IN it, you feel like you are sitting ON it.
Annoying beeping shit when you are doing a no-no.
New model is coming out soon.
Isn't a falcon.
Poorly done factory add-ons like a big box near the LHS of the steering wheel that reminded me of a XF falcon dash.

All in all not a bad bus but not something for a person into cars.

[psychotic-angel]

sorry serial_fool

[Rollin]

I drove a Captiva and a Sorrento back to back one day, just by chance.

Now, I've always hated soft roaders, and clearly, Kia's have never been high on my "must have" list, but I'll tell you now that Sorrento's SHIT ALL OVER Captivas for pretty much everything.

Both cars I drove were turbo diesel autos IIRC, and the Kia just seemed to do everything better. I didn't drive either of them for long and I certainly didn't give them a flogging, but the Kia shit on the Captiva for turning circle, ride, acceleration, dash layout etc.

If you bought a Captiva without first testing a Sorrento you'd have to be kicking yourself I reckon.

P.S. VE's are shit - driving position no too crash hot, visibility of anything outside the car is fucking pathetic. Possibly THE most crucial thing that you need to have in a car is visibility - it's unforgivable. They spent so much time making sure the car was safe in the event of an accident that they forgot to make sure you could see out of the fucking thing to prevent the accident in the first place. VZ any day if you just HAD to get a commo.

[Frost]

Ford Mondeo 08 Model 2.0lt TDI.

Awesome car to drive, had loads of power and the Auto was ever so smooth. For a Diesel it didn't make much noise at all. Although a higher roof line than a Falcon and some issues in seeing out the rear window overall a 7/10 Car. Interior was nice comfy to sit in etc. Handled through all the corners and the ride wasnt the best I think maybe because the factory 17's with low profile rubber.

One down side of the Mondeo is those spit side Mirrors they get hard to get ust to.

Toyota Camry Altise 07 Model.

Good large family sedan for a FWD. Had the V6 in it, hammered along, power needed when overtaking trucks on the Highway to Wagga. Lots of room, heaps of vision space. Seats were comfy. The fact that for the same price as an BF XT at its time it had Cruise Control, 6stack, A/C, Electric Seats etc.

Handled very well, was smooth ride on one of the shittest main thoroughfares in NSW, braked well, and still had stability at 160km/h

NIssan Navara D22 08 Model ST-R

Comfy dual cab 4wd Ute, great fuel economy and turning circle. Only good things about it. The 2.5lt Common Rail matched with the 5spd gear box, worst combination ever, slow to take off, had to change back gears going up hills etc, and got stuck quicker than the 3.0lt 06 D22. Comes onto Boost by 2800 by 3000 its all over and your ringing its guts out for nothing, bad for use in the medium style traffic, even worse if you have a trailer.

The interior has been updated in it since around 02.

And there's no room in the backseat making it a bad dual cab ute. No good for workman.

The 08 D22 is Nissans cheap way out I reckon because the D40 was an expensive upgrade.

[Bipolar]

Drove a diesel VW Passat again today. Took it in to get the DSG checked out as it was believed that a clutch pack was faulty coz the car would jerk like it had a really loose driveline in first. If you know about DSG's, you'll know why there are clutches in an auto box. So they're gonna replace the gearbox. Pretty poor for a car less than 2 years old. But anyhoo, it was very comfortable to drive. Felt similar to the 6: FWD, and nice balance of handling and comfort. Steering is a bit light and uncommunicative, and brakes are similar to the XTrail: very sensitive and grabby, and not very progressive in feel.

Took a couple of seconds just to get the bastard going coz you have to stick the "key" (imagine a long modern car key minus the metal) into a slot,then push it in further to start the engine, then put your foot on the brake and push the park brake button on the furthermost right of the dash to disengage it. Then you can put it in drive and move the car. The dual zone auto climate control works great, and everything is very intuitive and easy to operate via the display and surrounding buttons.

The strangest thing about this car is the feeling you get putting your foot down. Pre-boost it moves like a diesel from the 80's - very slow. I had a guy in an Australia Post van walk all over me from the line and because of the gearbox issues, I couldn't stall it up. Once boost comes on though, it's all fun. It feels like the gearing is very short but with a 6 speed DSG, that's irrelevant. The gear changes are lightening quick, like nothing I've ever experienced. It is fun to drive, but I couldn't live with that lag.

[Russ.]

Current model Corolla (First drove it with 50km's on odo, picking it up again today with 2000+ on it)
- Worst Interior Ever! Picture the interior of your E-Series if you out a plank of wood from the console lid to the dash above your clock (going over where the shifter etc. is). Well thats basically what toyota did (in a slightly more classy package)! Then on that piece of wood, put the handbrake and gear selector (its auto, but I'll never understand why they went with that stupid selector where there is no button but there is 20 corners to turn if you want to go from P to D) then underneath the piece of wood (on the floor) put a small tray where you can store your wallet or mobile phone (on the floor?!?!?!). As I said WORST INTERIOR EVER!
- Other than that its not too bad for a small banger, seating position is better than my gf's 2002 model but I still prefer the EL, loves to sit on the rev limiter, has done since new.

Toyots Prius (Drove 2 of these fairly regularly late last year and still occasionally get in them, one with 50k+ on odo the other had 5k on it)
- Toyota's crap interior design department strikes again! Although not as stupid as the Corolla interior the Prius is still nothing to write home about, the centre console feels like its about 1m long but only 1cm wide so not very useful!
- Gutless even when flogged. It had an annoying habbit of trying to take off on electric power when I asked for full throttle then pausing to fire up the petrol engine, which can be frightening if you are turning right at an intersection and you put your foot down, only to have it take you into the oncoming lane then pause to fire up the other engine while the traffic gets closer to you. (before I get flammed I know it is MEANT to be gutless and I shouldn't have been flogging it etc.etc.)
- Still not that great on fuel (even when I drove it normally). In traffic: yes it was goon but only because the engine switched off when I stopped. Freeway driving the fuel usage was surprisingly high (even in city traffic that wasn't at a standstill).

Toyota Hiace LWB (Minibus seating approx 15 people)
- Its a minibus, its not supposed to be comfortable
- Pretty gutless, but LOVES spending time on the rev limiter, much to the delight of the engineering students who were the usual passengers when I was driving it
- Doesn't do a bad reverse skid, and likes to light up the inside tyre when cornering hard (due to single spinner diff and long wheelbase i believe)
Not much else to be said about that one

Astra (current shape)
- Didn't like the seating position much but other than that not much else to report, just a band point-to-point transport machine.
- Had a "Snow Mode" feature which would make it only use 3rd and 4th gear even when acellerating from standstill, was fun to turn that on then watch someone else try to work out why the car was so gutless when they were driving it.
- It doesn't like the rev limiter much