# Comparing my cars.



## Chris Hobson (Apr 2, 2018)

This post is about a slightly strange car comparison. I thought that I would write it because I have just changed my car for one that is quite a bit different. So this is Saab 9-3 1.9TD Estate versus Ssangyong Korando D20T SUV. I'm too lazy to embed pictures of the cars so I'll just offer a couple of links.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ssangyong+korando+pictures&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=YXPQ1r_lHJQT1M%3A%2CMNq2qsGX3YObZM%2C_&usg=__5l5Y5usv8zN0KR9GMJyNStRM3IY=&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi_8cqrxpvaAhWRmLQKHfIEAjgQ9QEINTAF#imgrc=YXPQ1r_lHJQT1M:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=saab+9-3+estate+pictures&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=aiHf1gD2E1CnUM%3A%2Czrk4k-0zGbwDpM%2C_&usg=__0ygCIrEZDrepSqzszVZq4J8aFU4=&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj76r2zxJvaAhVDEVAKHb8ICToQ9QEIPzAK#imgrc=aiHf1gD2E1CnUM:

I used to have a Peugeot 206 1.4TD Estate. It was a nice economical and practical car. In January 2014 it was rear ended at a roundabout and, although the damage wasn't too bad, it had over 100,000 miles on the clock and so it was written off. Armed with an insurance cheque and some cash of our own, wife Liz and I went off looking for a replacement. We were really looking for a similar, possibly even identical car. Unable to find quite what we were looking for, what we ended up with was a 2007 Saab 9-3 1.9TD. It ticked most of our boxes except that the milage was quite high and it wasn't eligible for cheap road tax. I fell in love with it straight away, lovely interior with acres of leather and quite astonishing performance for a diesel. I am old enough to remember the old school diesels that were just horrifyingly slow. We used to have a Peugeot 206 hatch-back that would cruise beautifully on the motorway but acceleration was painfully slow. The upside was that on a long drive it would do nearly 70 miles to the gallon. Years ago I used to have a 3.5 litre V8 Rover which went rather well but gave about 21 miles per gallon, it was like constantly having money hoovered out of your pocket. Although I've never been what you would call a boy racer, I do like my car to be reasonably spacious and to have reasonable performance. The modern two litre turbo-diesels are just amazing, it is like having your cake and eating it, more than adequate performance, massive car, between 40 and 50 mpg.

Buying the Saab coincided with Liz and I starting to do triathlons and also with my daughter Hannah going off to university. Its massive load space has been very useful in both cases. Triathlons do tend to involve a great load of baggage, wet suits, nutrition supplies, tool kit for bike maintenance, changes of clothes and shoes etc. The Saab's enormous boot would swallow all of this stuff with room to spare without having to fold the seats down. The bikes went on a rack on the roof. When going to running events we would sometimes car share with ladies from liz's running club, again there was plenty of room for five runners and their sports bags. During her first year at University, Our daughter Hannah stayed in the halls of residence. During the Easter hols the rooms were given a deep clean and so she had to empty her room completely. Everything that she had in her room had to go into the car. With the two thirds section of the split folding seats down, we managed to cram everything in but it was a very tight squeeze. I reflected that had the Peugeot not been shunted, we wouldn't have been able to fit it all in. In reality I suspect that we would have found a way to stuff it all in somehow. She is now house sharing with two other girls but will soon be graduating, so our car will probably soon have to double up as a removal van again. I would have been happy to keep the Saab until it went around the clock again but unfortunately, with 138,000 miles on the clock, the gearbox started to make unhappy noises. Sadly due to the age and mileage it wasn't worth repairing, so the search began for a replacement.

The Saab 9-3 Estate is no longer in production as the company folded several years ago. The company that bought the factory did re-commence production of the saloon but if you wanted one you would have to go to Sweden to buy it. Similar estates exist, The Ford Mondeo estate is of similar size and Hyundai make one too. There is also the Vauxhall Insignia estate which is mechanically similar to the Saab. Instead we decided to go for a modern SUV. As it happened, a garage very close by had a 2012 Ssangyong Korando for sale so we went along for a look and took it for a test drive. It pretty much ticked all of our boxes and so we traded the Saab, with full disclosure about the gearbox problem, for the Korando.

The two cars are very different in some ways and very similar in others. To be fair to the Saab, the Korando is five years newer and is therefore slightly more modern. It has to be said though, that by 2007 the 9-3 was already becoming quite dated and this may have contributed to its demise. This difference is most noticeable when comparing the interiors of the two cars. When we bought it the Saab had nowhere to stash water bottles, I had to buy two bottle holders and fit them. The Korando has eight bottle holders and dozens of little cubby holes for stashing stuff, they are just everywhere. The Saab wins with the leather seats but the Korando seats are made of attractive modern fabric which are likely to be durable and easy to clean. The Saab has climate control which eliminates the need to keep adjusting the heater controls because it has become too warm or too cold. The Korando has air conditioning, for the rare occasions when the English weather gets too hot, but no climate control. In practice it has proved to be fairly easy to keep the temperature at a comfortable level although the heater seems to take a bit longer to start working. Surprisingly, given its short stubby appearance, the Korando has much more legroom both front and rear. The load space behind the rear seats is shorter as a consequence but it is wider and higher. Once the rear seats are folded the load space of both cars is impressive but the Korando is considerably larger.

I was always impressed with the Saab's handling. For such a large car its ability to take on bendy roads was very impressive. The Korando is very tall and, as a consequence does have a slightly top heavy feel by comparison. The steering is taught and accurate but you have to take the high centre of gravity into account when cornering. Both cars are a bit of a pain to park. The high waistline on the Saab meant that you couldn't see the lines on parking bays so you had to carefully line it up in a straight line before driving in. Because it was so long it was a pig to park in the street, it also needed positioning carefully in car parks so that it didn't stick out at the front or at the back. The Korando is much shorter and the view from the high up seats is much better but it is quite wide. This means that it is a really tight fit in the parking bays and if you don't get it dead in the centre, or if the idiot in the next bay has failed to do so, you can't open the doors. It does have a park-assist beeper which is a big help, although I'm still learning to trust it.

Regarding performance, as I have already stated, the Saab's 1.9 litre turbocharged diesel engine was very impressive. The Korando has a 2 litre turbocharged diesel engine. The extra 100cc is a trivial difference but it is is also a more modern DOHC design and is noticeably more powerful. The online reviews rave about the car's ability to haul caravans and horse boxes due to the massive torque from the engine, without such a load to haul the acceleration is quite exceptional.

Other bits and bobs. The Korando has cruise control, the Saab didn't, which I thought was a bit of an omission on what was a reasonably high end car. The Korando comes with a Kenwood stereo system which is the old 7” X 2” type. This looks rather old fashioned when compared to the more modern built in systems but has the advantage that it can be upgraded without having any untidy add ons. The stereo system on the Saab only had an auxiliary input, The Korando has an auxiliary input and a USB port. On the Saab the remote controlled central locking buttons are built into the key. The Korando has them built into a separate key fob which I find a bit cumbersome. According to the manual this design is for the EU market and other places get one with the buttons in the key.

I really liked the Saab but I'm also very happy with the new car. It is a much more modern design than the Saab and, apart from the leather and climate control, it is pretty much better in every department. Considering that it is a budget brand it is very solid and well made with no aspect of it that looks or feels cheap. It doesn't stand out from the crowd much as this style of car is becoming exceedingly popular and they seem to be everywhere, since they are so practical I can see why. The Ssangyong brand has yet to become well established in the UK so this particular SUV is still a little rare, slightly less common on the roads than electric cars according to a counting game played on a long trip over the weekend. So now I'm looking forward to my next triathlon, car share or removals operation so we can really put it to the test.


----------



## Wirrallass (Apr 2, 2018)

Chris Hobson said:


> This post is about a slightly strange car comparison. I thought that I would write it because I have just changed my car for one that is quite a bit different. So this is Saab 9-3 1.9TD Estate versus Ssangyong Korando D20T SUV. I'm too lazy to embed pictures of the cars so I'll just offer a couple of links.
> 
> https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ssangyong+korando+pictures&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=YXPQ1r_lHJQT1M%3A%2CMNq2qsGX3YObZM%2C_&usg=__5l5Y5usv8zN0KR9GMJyNStRM3IY=&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi_8cqrxpvaAhWRmLQKHfIEAjgQ9QEINTAF#imgrc=YXPQ1r_lHJQT1M:
> 
> ...


Very informative thread Chris thanks for sharing. May you enjoy many safe and happy motoring hours in your Korando.
WL


----------



## trophywench (Apr 2, 2018)

SsangYong have been popular for towing caravans (and anything else with a towing hitch) for years and the caravan club at one stage had a deal with them, show your CC membership and get discounts - their car of the year at some time.  We don't tow a caravan  and don't replace cars anyway unless we need to, as opposed to 'want to' though of course if we hated one (unlikely unless it just didn't do the jobs we bought it to do cos we check it's up to it)

Hence I should not be whatsoever surprised if it did everything you need to do, effortlessly!

There's a dealer not far from us, on the outskirts of Bulkington, Warwickshire.


----------



## mikeyB (Apr 3, 2018)

My favourite car ever was a 2.5 Rover 75 automatic, pale blue metallic, cream leather and wood interior. Fabulous cruiser. It’s how I announced to the world I was middle aged


----------



## Chris Hobson (Apr 3, 2018)

I was in my twenties when I had my Rover, but it was a more modern one than the 75, about 1974 I think.


----------



## Mark T (Apr 3, 2018)

When walking back from the playpark with the little one, I saw one of the Ssangyong's parked up.

The first thing that popped into my head was "oh dear, diesel" but it's old enough to not get hit by new increased tax.

Its a fairly potent motor - does it have urea tanks (sometimes called blue something) or a particulate filter in the exhaust?  Have to watch out with both of those because they are tightening the MOT for diesels.


----------



## AndBreathe (Apr 3, 2018)

trophywench said:


> SsangYong have been popular for towing caravans (and anything else with a towing hitch) for years and the caravan club at one stage had a deal with them, show your CC membership and get discounts - their car of the year at some time.  We don't tow a caravan  and don't replace cars anyway unless we need to, as opposed to 'want to' though of course if we hated one (unlikely unless it just didn't do the jobs we bought it to do cos we check it's up to it)
> 
> Hence I should not be whatsoever surprised if it did everything you need to do, effortlessly!
> 
> There's a dealer not far from us, on the outskirts of Bulkington, Warwickshire.



Interestingly, Trophywench, if it's the one I'm thinking of, they were Saab dealers years ago, and are excellent engineers.  I had a number of Saabs which they used to look after for me.  My last Saab, @Chris Hobson was a 9-3 Aero, which when delivered, brand new, the driver reversed it off the truck into a wall.  That made for a particularly joyous day [ /irony off ]

Chris, I never had an estate, but the main dealers used to use estates as their courtesy cars.  I was astonished how roomy they were inside.

I hope you enjoy your new car.


----------



## Martin Canty (Apr 3, 2018)

Always viewed my current vehicle as the best one I've owned, however, I still yearn for a Land Rover


----------



## mikeyB (Apr 3, 2018)

Chris Hobson said:


> I was in my twenties when I had my Rover, but it was a more modern one than the 75, about 1974 I think.


I’m talking about the new version, the last hurrah of the Rover company, 1999-2005. I might be getting old, but I was at junior school when the original 75 was built!


----------



## Vince_UK (Apr 4, 2018)

I had 2 Rover 75's and they were by far the most comfortable cars I had ever driven until I bought the SClass.
I could drive from one end of the UK to the other and arrive relaxed.
Here they are still available badged as Roewe 750i with a very similar logo and the cars here have been stretched.
The only criticism I had of the 2 I had was the poor rear legroom which has been addressed now.  Other than that they were a very good car.
The most uncomfortable I had for long journeys was an Audi A6.


----------



## Grannylorraine (Apr 4, 2018)

I love all this comparison. It is the sort of thing my husband did before I bought my new car, he asked me to tell him which cars I was interested in, he then came back and told me to pick between a fiesta or Corsa, I like a small car, but even then we went through all his comparisons at the two dealerships, went down to price in the end.  For me it was all about the colour.  He listed all the reasons not to have a mini or a fiat 500.


----------



## Mark Parrott (Apr 4, 2018)

I've had 2 Rovers in my lifetime, a 216 auto, followed by a 800 auto (predecessor to the 75).  The 216 was an awesome car with Honda engine & auto box that was bullet proof.  Even had the cambelt go on the A1 & no damage to engine.  Finally got rid of it at 250,000 miles.  The 800 was a lovely comfortable cruiser, though wasn't as reliable as the previous Rover.  Broke down on the way to Devon on the M5 & was in the garage for our entire holiday (fuel pump packed in).  After that I went for my first diesel, a Citroen Xantia.  It was odd driving for miles & miles & the fuel gauge barely moving.  Had the pneumatic suspension so was like a magic carpet ride, though that needed regular attention to keep it at it's best (replacing the 'spheres' every 40,000 miles & I was a high mileage driver).  Other than that it was a very reliable car that had no other issues & finally died at 200,000 miles with lots of electrical faults.


----------



## Mark T (Apr 4, 2018)

My first Rover was a Rover Metro which replaced a Citroen AX that blew it's head gasket twice!  The Metro was a nice little car (especially it you kept the engine buzzing) but not good for long journeys.

I replaced that with a brand new Rover 214 which I got through my company scheme (useful because I was in my 20's and the scheme included insurance).  When I handed it back, the 214 creaked worse then the Ford Focus I replaced it with, which was an older car.

We have been on Fiesta's for the last few years, mostly because my wife prefers something small (and we don't ned 2 cars) and the fact anything wider won't fit in the allocated parking space!  If I had a big estate I'd be on my neighbours space


----------



## Vince_UK (Apr 4, 2018)

Mark Parrott said:


> I've had 2 Rovers in my lifetime, a 216 auto, followed by a 800 auto (predecessor to the 75).  The 216 was an awesome car with Honda engine & auto box that was bullet proof.  Even had the cambelt go on the A1 & no damage to engine.  Finally got rid of it at 250,000 miles.  The 800 was a lovely comfortable cruiser, though wasn't as reliable as the previous Rover.  Broke down on the way to Devon on the M5 & was in the garage for our entire holiday (fuel pump packed in).  After that I went for my first diesel, a Citroen Xantia.  It was odd driving for miles & miles & the fuel gauge barely moving.  Had the pneumatic suspension so was like a magic carpet ride, though that needed regular attention to keep it at it's best (replacing the 'spheres' every 40,000 miles & I was a high mileage driver).  Other than that it was a very reliable car that had no other issues & finally died at 200,000 miles with lots of electrical faults.


I used a Xantia for a while Mark and yes I was totally surpised at the excellent fuel consumption.


----------



## Bubbsie (Apr 4, 2018)

Grannylorraine said:


> I love all this comparison. It is the sort of thing my husband did before I bought my new car, he asked me to tell him which cars I was interested in, he then came back and told me to pick between a fiesta or Corsa, I like a small car, but even then we went through all his comparisons at the two dealerships, went down to price in the end.  For me it was all about the colour.  He listed all the reasons not to have a mini or a fiat 500.


I love the little Fiat 500s Lorraine...although I'm not sure I'd get my hips in them...my very first car was a little beige Fiat Uno


----------



## Grannylorraine (Apr 4, 2018)

Bubbsie said:


> I love the little Fiat 500s Lorraine...although I'm not sure I'd get my hips in them...my very first car was a little beige Fiat Uno


I loved them too, but hubby said too small and in fairness he is probably correct, he was looking at boot space etc I am not sure I would have got the granddads pushchair in it.  Even with my Corsa I have to the eldest one's car seat on the front seat with the airbag turned off if taking all three out at once.

My idea of comparisons between cars is do I prefer the red or the blue lol.  But my hubby would love this thread.  And don't even get me started on his analysis of electricity prices, mobile phone contracts etc.


----------



## Bubbsie (Apr 4, 2018)

Grannylorraine said:


> I loved them too, but hubby said too small and in fairness he is probably correct, he was looking at boot space etc I am not sure I would have got the granddads pushchair in it.  Even with my Corsa I have to the eldest one's car seat on the front seat with the airbag turned off if taking all three out at once.
> 
> My idea of comparisons between cars is do I prefer the red or the blue lol.  But my hubby would love this thread.  And don't even get me started on his analysis of electricity prices, mobile phone contracts etc.


I love a good colour too...my last three cars have all been midnight blue with a cream interior...so you're not the only one.


----------



## Mark T (Apr 4, 2018)

Grannylorraine said:


> I loved them too, but hubby said too small and in fairness he is probably correct, he was looking at boot space etc I am not sure I would have got the granddads pushchair in it.  Even with my Corsa I have to the eldest one's car seat on the front seat with the airbag turned off if taking all three out at once.
> 
> My idea of comparisons between cars is do I prefer the red or the blue lol.  But my hubby would love this thread.  And don't even get me started on his analysis of electricity prices, mobile phone contracts etc.


My wife test drove a 500, her main bugbear was that the pedals were set very close together - which if your feet are on the larger side (She's an 8) it makes it a bit more uncomfortable.


----------



## trophywench (Apr 4, 2018)

Pete had a Xantia when we got together in 1998, which we kept going until it virtually died of old age - remember going up to somewhere outside of Manchester (?Withyholme? - somewhere with v nice individual upmarket shops - no chippy but had a winebar, ISTR they sold tapas before downmarket towns had heard of it LOL) (cos they still went to Skeg on holiday not roaming rural Spain) to get refurbished spheres fitted - half the cost of dealer prices cos the chap refurbed them himself, worked from his garage at the end of his back garden!  Pete then bought a Citroen C5 and I bought a Xsara, some souped up version in a really fab almost fluorescent metallic gold that failed the second MOT after I had it cos the ABS light didn't come on when you turned the ignition on - the ABS worked absolutely fine but we spent £100 for the Citroen dealer to tell us they couldn't find out what was wrong with it, before they told us we could try a new ECU (£500-ish) but didn't know whether that would solve it or not ...... traded that in against a 3yo C4 which we ran until last year and other than eg wiper blades, a couple of services and the MOTs, and 4 new tyres (we thought it just needed 2 either back or front, tread depth only on that axle, normal thing) but when E-Tyres came to replace them they whipped em off and saw the inner tyre walls were cracked so looked at the other axles - oops!  So we all squatted down to look at the tyre codes - OMG - all the tyres including the spare were the original Michelins from 2004 when it came out the factory!

I had a Rover - 216? -not new to me - firms car passed on - and it 'crabbed' which I thought 'must be me' cos surely ?? until my first husband decided the day after I got it we'd go down to Wickham for the weekend in that instead of his Peugeot 405 which appeared to be fine till we came down Fish Hill out of Broadway and he was fighting the steering coming round the bend.  Another phone call to my boss to enquire why he was trying to kill me - again!  (same conversation he'd had to have 2 years previously with the previously abused Cavalier I got!)

We've now got a Vauxhall Antara - ex Motability so just 3 years old last year.  Seems fine still.

And yes @AndBreathe - same garage!  LOL (where are you, or were you, then? - PM me if you don't want to publicise)


----------



## Mark Parrott (Apr 4, 2018)

trophywench said:


> Pete had a Xantia when we got together in 1998, which we kept going until it virtually died of old age - remember going up to somewhere outside of Manchester (?Withyholme? - somewhere with v nice individual upmarket shops - no chippy but had a winebar, ISTR they sold tapas before downmarket towns had heard of it LOL) (cos they still went to Skeg on holiday not roaming rural Spain) to get refurbished spheres fitted - half the cost of dealer prices cos the chap refurbed them himself, worked from his garage at the end of his back garden!



I had my spheres done by a guy I used to meet up with in a back street.  Just did them at the side of the road.  I tried doing them myself once.  Got a chain wrench to loosen them, but the things wouldn't budge!  Apparently you need a lump hammer as well to break the seal.  Decided to leave them to my dodgy back street guy.


----------



## Chris Hobson (Apr 4, 2018)

A couple of things that I forgot about when writing the OP was that the Saab had a really large fuel tank that gave a range of about six hundred miles. The Korando has a more modest range, I haven't had a chance to work out how much yet but it is quite a bit less. The Saab also had a gadget that would tell you when a bulb had blown and which one. It did used to cry wolf from time to time but it was very useful as without it I might have taken a while to notice that I had a light out.


----------



## Vince_UK (Apr 4, 2018)

Mark Parrott said:


> Decided to leave them to my dodgy back street guy.


Useful people at times lol especially in the past when one was young and pukka MOT's proved costly


----------



## Dave W (Apr 4, 2018)

Land Rovers WERE great and very easy to work on - just like a big meccano set and no degree in computing required - just a decent set of spanners and a feeler gauge!  I rebuilt a 1960s Series IIA and later an early Defender. Both were great off-road but not built for long journeys in comfort. Later I had a SWB Land Cruiser which was very good off-road and pretty good on long trips too though not too easy to work on, but was one of my most fun cars to drive. Biggest kicks were delivered by a Triumph TR4A though, but that is now very ancient history.


----------



## Vince_UK (Apr 4, 2018)

Dave W said:


> Land Rovers WERE great and very easy to work on - just like a big meccano set and no degree in computing required - just a decent set of spanners and a feeler gauge!  I rebuilt a 1960s Series IIA and later an early Defender. Both were great off-road but not built for long journeys in comfort. Later I had a SWB Land Cruiser which was very good off-road and pretty good on long trips too though not too easy to work on, but was one of my most fun cars to drive. Biggest kicks were delivered by a Triumph TR4A though, but that is now very ancient history.


I learned to drive in a Land Rover in the 70's when I was in the TA for a while. Simple and amazing vehicles.


----------



## trophywench (Apr 4, 2018)

The old Land - and Range - Rovers were simple - a mate of my first husband had an older Landrover with an old fashioned radiator (the water containing sort that we used to have in our Junior school then) that ran off the engine.  His family reckoned in was quite toasty in the back in the winter.

Like to see any ordinary handyman installing one of them in a modern vehicle!


----------



## mikeyB (Apr 5, 2018)

Talking of simple cars, my first car was a shiny brand new Citroen Dayane, which was the four door hatch version of the 2CV. I loved that car, if only for the fact that it had a starting handle if the battery was a bit flat. Plus that inimitable gear changer sticking out of the dashboard. Very comfortable, too. 

I once reached 83mph going downhill in that car.


----------



## Bubbsie (Apr 5, 2018)

Chris Hobson said:


> what we ended up with was a 2007 Saab 9-3 1.9TD. It ticked most of our boxes except that the milage was quite high and it wasn't eligible for cheap road tax. I fell in love with it straight away, lovely interior with acres of leather and quite astonishing performance for a diesel. I am old enough to remember the old school diesels that were just horrifyingly slow



I had a Saab 93 cabriolet from new... back in the day when they were still made by Saab...loved it...kept it for 12 years...until someone hit when it was parked...devastating when it was hauled off to the scrap yard...think that's probably my favourite so far.


----------



## Vince_UK (Apr 5, 2018)

My only exerpience of Saab was a 93 I hired and I couldn't work out how to take the ignition key out lol. Talk about feeling stupid


----------



## Bubbsie (Apr 5, 2018)

Vince_UK said:


> My only exerpience of Saab was a 93 I hired and I couldn't work out how to take the ignition key out lol. Talk about feeling stupid


when I was busy dealing with a client & couldn't get out to move my car...my clients father offered to move it for me...he was gone for what seemed like hours...on his return said he couldn't remove the key from the ignition...struggled with it... until a passer by told him to put it in reverse...I never thought to tell him that...oops...assumed he would know.


----------



## Mark Parrott (Apr 5, 2018)

mikeyB said:


> Talking of simple cars, my first car was a shiny brand new Citroen Dayane, which was the four door hatch version of the 2CV. I loved that car, if only for the fact that it had a starting handle if the battery was a bit flat. Plus that inimitable gear changer sticking out of the dashboard. Very comfortable, too.
> 
> I once reached 83mph going downhill in that car.


Reminds me of the Rolls Canardly.  Rolls down one hill & canardly get up the other.


----------



## Vince_UK (Apr 5, 2018)

Bubbsie said:


> when I was busy dealing with a client & couldn't get out to move my car...my clients father offered to move it for me...he was gone for what seemed like hours...on his return said he couldn't remove the key from the ignition...struggled with it... until a passer by told him to put it in reverse...I never thought to tell him that...oops...assumed he would know.


I sat in he carpark for 30 minutes at Newcastle airport feeling a complete idiot before I plucked up the courage to go and ask


----------



## Martin Canty (Apr 5, 2018)

A fun car I had was a 2CV.... taught my Ex to drive in that car, unfortunately the gate between first & reverse was very worn; as a consequence she had a constantly bruised left foot because, as soon as I realized we are in reverse, I'd stamp on her clutch foot & change back to first.


----------



## Chris Hobson (Apr 7, 2018)

A friend of mine had a 2CV I thought that it was a wonderful little car, delightfully quirky if a little on the slow side. I once changed the clutch for her and lifted the engine out by hand. On the Korando front, I have fitted a new carpet set into it and swapped the Kenwood stereo system for a similar one with a digital radio.


----------



## Chris Hobson (Apr 27, 2018)

I've now had the Korando for just over a month and I really love it. The engine is much more flexible than the Saab and so it can cruise along in a higher gear. We have now fixed the cycle racks to the roof, I have had to buy some folding steps due to the extra height. Used cars tend to have the odd scratch that you only notice when you give them their first wash. I have now washed this one and have only found two tiny scuff marks on the nearside front wheel. This suggests that the two previous owners have cared for it really well. The 7"X2" stereo seemed a little old fashioned when I first saw it, but in fact it meant that it was really simple to update to a digital radio and this was a big plus. I miss the posh leather interior a little but the lack of climate control hasn't proved to be a problem. The heater controls make it easy to set a comfortable temperature with non of the fridge-oven-fridge-oven problems that I have had on some other cars.


----------



## Chris Hobson (Apr 29, 2018)

The Korando has now done its first triathlon trip. Here it is outside the Ancholme Leisure Centre at Brigg with our bikes racked on the top. I notice that almost all the cars at the event were either SUVs or estates. Because it is so tall I had to buy a little set of folding steps to get the bikes on an off. As expected there was simply bags of room in the back for all our kit.


----------



## Grannylorraine (Apr 29, 2018)

My hubby used to put his bike on the roof of my little old Corsa. The irony his bike was worth more than the car at the time.


----------



## HOBIE (Apr 29, 2018)

The car I have in my heated garage is the brand new one I got when I was 20. Still with un-curbed Alloys. An Astra GTE. In Black. Recaro seats. 35 years ?  this 1 aug. Had a few since then


----------



## scousebird (Apr 29, 2018)

Many moons ago we had a SsangYong Musso, one of the comfiest cars we have owned.


----------



## Chris Hobson (Jun 2, 2018)

Update. The Korando has now been used as a removal van for the first time. Daughter has finished at uni and has cleared out of the house that she was sharing with two other girls. Those split rear seats are a really useful invention, as far as I know, the Austin Metro was the first to have these. Pretty much every inch of space in the car was packed with stuff, including the well in the floor of the boot around the spare wheel. We got it all in and got it all home and I was impressed with the car once again.


----------



## Chris Hobson (May 12, 2019)

I have now had the Korando for just over a year and just love it more and more. Just a brilliant practical workhorse.


----------



## Chris Hobson (Aug 24, 2019)

I'm revisiting this thread as the dealer that sold me my Korando has sent me a letter inviting me to the launch of the latest Korando on September 7th. My phone is also very keen that I know all about the new Korando too. The new Korando looks very impressive and has a leather interior. Interestingly, I am planning to retire at the end of March next year, aged 61. The new Korando is priced at just under 20k so I could afford to buy one but I would then have to stay on at work for two more years. No matter how impressive it is, I don't want one that much. In any case, I still really love the one I've got. I will still be popping along for a look though.


----------



## SueEK (Aug 24, 2019)

I wouldn’t trade 2 years more of work for a car either especially if I was happy with the one I had. Last year I bought a lovely second hand Mercedes C220 saloon, it is the first really decent car I’ve ever had and sad to say I’m very precious about it. It is lovely and I got it at a good price. Never been one for cars, always been chosen with the kids, grandchildren or dogs in mind, this is the first one for me x


----------



## Chris Hobson (Aug 25, 2019)

Is it more of a man thing to be emotionally involved with your car? Queen and Deep Purple have both done songs about the subject. I have known women to be quite attached to their Minis, back when they were cheap and plentiful.


----------



## SueEK (Aug 25, 2019)

Chris Hobson said:


> Is it more of a man thing to be emotionally involved with your car. Queen and Deep Purple have both done songs about the subject. I have known women to be quite attached to their Minis, back when they were cheap and plentiful.


Yes I would agree with you, most men can have very long conversations about their cars, especially ones they’ve owned in the past - yawn!!


----------



## Chris Hobson (Aug 25, 2019)

You haven't read the rest of this thread I take it?


----------



## SueEK (Aug 25, 2019)

Chris Hobson said:


> You haven't read the rest of this thread I take it?


Sorry I didn’t, have I made a boo boo?


----------



## Chris Hobson (Aug 25, 2019)

Just lots of people getting nostalgic about the cars that they used to own in the past that's all.


----------



## SueEK (Aug 25, 2019)

I’ve read through the posts and of course people do get nostalgic. Unfortunately I’ve had 37 years of hearing about my husbands cars, ones he had, ones he raced and ones he built which gets repeated to everyone, it can be very boring. I am surrounded by car enthusiasts. Having said that I do appreciate that we all have ‘our thing’ and cars is his. I wasn’t deriding anyone’s passion, just my husbands, that was the ‘yawn’. My personal all time favourite car was an old BMW 5 series but the inside fell to pieces, not the engine and my worst car was a Nissan Bluebird that was like a tank and I needed the muscles of iron man to park it.
Am very happy with my latest car, it’s a little bit of luxury that I’ve never had before and probably won’t again xx


----------



## robert@fm (Aug 26, 2019)

Chris Hobson said:


> Is it more of a man thing to be emotionally involved with your car? Queen and Deep Purple have both done songs about the subject.


Also Madness and the Beatles.  The Who did a song about a bus.


----------



## Chris Hobson (Sep 7, 2019)

I went along to have a look at the new Korandos today. The launch at Maple Garage was quite a low key affair. Externally the new cars are quite a lot cooler, the styling being much more modern than the slightly blob shaped version that I have. Inside the new cars are quite similar in many respects to the older ones, mine is a 2012 model. The main  difference being the built in touch screen and all the associated tech. Some of the cars had the full leather interior which is one thing that I would like. I wonder if there are leather seats turning up in breakers yards yet, I could give mine an upgrade.


----------



## Chris Hobson (Jan 26, 2020)

The Korando is now being advertised on the telly by Vinnie Jones of all people. I find it interesting that Ssangyong have managed to build up a modest presence in the UK without me ever seeing any TV ads for them. Now that has changed and Vinnie is saying that we should buy one even though it has a funny name.


----------

