I aint sure which one to buy need help

[igal]

Im thinking about two cars and need your recomend and all the details u can give me about THe FIat Punto (95-95) and Daihatsu Charade (93-95), thanks.

[thebyp2]

Hi,

I actually drive both of these reguarly when i go to london on business as they are cars given out by my employer to whiz about in, as well as the Smart car.

Charade:

I would have to say the ride is a bit on the average side. No real pizaz to it at all, tends to roll a bit on corners. Though the fuel effeciency is good.
The accelaration is a little lacking, and between 2nd and 3rd seems to be geared completly wrong. I don't know if its because its a rental, but the ride seems a bit heavy.

The interior is functional if a little sparse, which is just fairly indicative of the overal appearance.


Punto:

Very nice drive, zippy off the point and a good firm ride with cornering (providing the suspension is sound) like its on rails. Its also incredibly fuel efficient, i don't recall having ever visited a petrol station in one.

Totally spacious inside with all the essential gizmos the only downside is that there is a slightly higher amount of road noise than i would like.

I would easily recomend the punto above the charade, though the charades will probably be cheaper.

[Chicken]

Unless I'm mistaken, these cars aren't imported into the U.S., however I do wonder if the word charade means something else where it is imported?

cha·rade - an empty or deceptive act or pretense.

[interactive]

You're in the USA? Get an American car ;)

[net-trend]

Get a Fiat over a Daihatsu anytime! :)

[thebyp2]

Originally posted by interactive:

You're in the USA? Get an American car ;)

why would he want an american car, they are very fuel ineffecient, unreliable and generally have no character. No offence but in the last 30 years your cars have gone from being some of the best, to some of the worst cars available.

[kunal]

How about getting an Audi A6 fully loaded :P

kunal

[net-trend]

Originally posted by kunal:

How about getting an Audi A6 fully loaded :P

kunal

How about an Audi RS6 instead of that plaind ol' A6....:p:

[thebyp2]

i think once i'm done with my vw i'll move onto a audi.

[kunal]

Originally posted by net-trend:

How about an Audi RS6 instead of that plaind ol' A6....:p:

I think the RS6 was a disapointment. I prefer the plain old A6 with all the packages they have. Now, thats a fully loaded car ;)

kunal

[Phoenix]

Punto???

If that is anything like a Pinto, you better not buy that either, :rofl:

[Chicken]

Originally posted by thebyp2:

why would he want an american car, they are very fuel ineffecient, unreliable and generally have no character. No offence but in the last 30 years your cars have gone from being some of the best, to some of the worst cars available.
Actually, we're rebounding (must be). They were some of the best, then they became some of the worst (mid-80's-ish), ala the K Cars, and one Mustang come to mind as being so terrible I can't stand to see them on the road. Today's cars at least have rebounded from that time, and things are looking up overall for all car makers (American and non) IMHO.

[thebyp2]

except ford. who is basically bankrupt.

[net-trend]

Originally posted by kunal:

I think the RS6 was a disapointment. I prefer the plain old A6 with all the packages they have. Now, thats a fully loaded car ;)

kunal


Ahhh, you're the kind of buyer that prefers luxury over performance in a car eh? :cool:

[Alan]

Sorry if I take this slightly off topic.

been thinking about getting one of these http://gallery.mg-rover.org/data/525/1tfsilver1.jpg

Just need to start those lessons :)

[interactive]

Originally posted by thebyp2:

why would he want an american car, they are very fuel ineffecient, unreliable and generally have no character. No offence but in the last 30 years your cars have gone from being some of the best, to some of the worst cars available.

I totally disagree. The ford focus gets something like 40 on the road and 50 something on the highway. Even the saturns get great gas milage (most of them). I agree that during the 80's quiet a few American cars sucked, including the mustang. The camaro was one of the few good 80's sports cars. I don't think Dihatsu (sp?) can even be in the reliable range. They are basicly throw away cars. Hummer H2, Shelby Cobra, just a couple American cars with character. Although there are a few manufactures here that do suck. Such as Geo, Mazda, and Nissan (which now I believe is mostly American).

[MMiz]

I just got a brand spankin' new SUV this past week that gets a whopping 15 mpg. I travel about 1250 miles a month, so it gets expensive for a college student. Ive had the same car, older model for a few years now, and its absolutely horrible as far as gas consumption is concerned.

Darn SUVs.

My old old car, a pontiac Grand Am that is still around gets 21 mpg, so its a bit better. I find myself driving it just to save on gas.

[thebyp2]

Originally posted by interactive:

I totally disagree. The ford focus gets something like 40 on the road and 50 something on the highway. Even the saturns get great gas milage (most of them). I agree that during the 80's quiet a few American cars sucked, including the mustang. The camaro was one of the few good 80's sports cars. I don't think Dihatsu (sp?) can even be in the reliable range. They are basicly throw away cars. Hummer H2, Shelby Cobra, just a couple American cars with character. Although there are a few manufactures here that do suck. Such as Geo, Mazda, and Nissan (which now I believe is mostly American).

the thing here is that most of your fuel efficient cars are so because they are designed for cross market compatibility. this means they have to be marketable in europe as well as the american market. for example the focus was primarily developed by the uk arm of ford at dagenham. as such the fuel consumption had to be high as not european would buy it.

rather than going into a long rant, my comment was not designed to cover all. there are, of course, exceptions to everything.

one thing i would say though is that although the hummer might have character (of sorts) i would question how anybody would feel comfortable driving a car that does 11 miles per galon on a good day.

[thebyp2]

Originally posted by Alan:

Sorry if I take this slightly off topic.

been thinking about getting one of these http://gallery.mg-rover.org/data/525/1tfsilver1.jpg

Just need to start those lessons :)

wouldn't recomend it. friend has one. he bought it in november and its been in the garage over 10 sperate times now.

[Matt]

I wouldn't mind the poor fuel consumption in an RS6 considering the 450bhp you get in return! ;)

[Alan]

damn, it looks so hot too.

[thebyp2]

you could probably find a tvr for not a great deal more.

[Matt]

Don't particluarly like the bodywork of the new Tuscan S. Lightning fast though!

[thebyp2]

i'm not too keen on them either. the older style is rather nice though.