possible member

[ghosty]

well, im off to the garage with the missus tomorrow with a high possibility of putting an order in for an FR (petrol version)

and with a big thanks to this site i have the options list sorted out

just hope we can come to some agreement on price with the stealers (they have been very good with us so far)

maybe i'll have some news tomorrow and can turn into a proper member

will keep you posted..
g

(ok, better explain 'high possibility'. its going to be the wifes car so her final decision and she is pretty sure she wants to go for the leon. but we are also going to the 'other' garage too. u know what women are like, i dont trust ger yet )

 

[Simon_Peters]

Good luck!!!!

I am sure the Leon will shine through!

 

[Xe]

Get the diesel instead.

Good luck!

 

[ghosty]

diesel...

we both like the FR and she wants an 'auto box, so petrol it is. have nothing against the diesel mind you. i already drive an audi tdi so would like to get to drive a petrol car again

as its the wifes car it will be a low miler anyway so not overly worried about the fuel consumption benefits of a diesel. my main concern is the kiddy in the back with the reported firm suspension on the FR

when we took the cars on test drive (tested both manual and dsg FR's) i sat in the back didnt find the ride to be overy firm (and im used to the comforts of a standard spec A4). from the reviews ive been reading here i was expecting it to feel similar to a civic typr-r but it felt just a tad firmer than normal.

better see if i can take another test drive tomorrow and find a bumpy road i guess

 

[andrewb]

If my 4 year old travels in the back the FR, I get moaned at for making it a bumpy ride - go for something softer if you got young kids.

 

[ghosty]

D'oh!

thanks so much for the comment andrewb, better to have that knowledge now rather than later

had better have another long chat with the missus tonite

 

[andrewb]

Depends whether its gonna be the only car in the house, dont get me wrong, I love my FR, but thankfully its not the car my wife uses to ferry the kids around - I think it would have sold if that was the case - the ride is just too firm for littleuns.

 

[JonoUK]

You could always stick some different supsension stuff on it?

 

[ghosty]

well thats the thing, it is intended to be the wifes car for everyday use and thus the kiddie-mobil during the week

ive read the links on the suspension and will probably not want to play with the suspension due to additional costs

we both really like the car (me more than her if i had to be honest) but i guess its just a case of weighing up the pro's and con's. (her other contender is a mini cooper so how does that figure with a little 'un i'll let you know when i have figured women out ...but it might take a while!)

the main thing is to be making an informed decision, which is why i love this forum!

thanks for all the advice, i'll keep u posted on how it goes..

 

[JonoUK]

How old are said kids, have they been in it? Maybe worth seeing if you can get another test drive and see what they think of being in it?

A lot of it (ride quality) depends on the roads you'll be driving down. I love how sure-footed my car feels when I'm on most country/A roads (ones with corners in them). I brought it back from Edinburgh to Newcastle via the A68 last weekend, full of camping gear with 3 people in it, and it was awesome. Even got just under 50mpg but I blame that on all the scameras and the fact it's mostly all downhill

Sooo yeah, love the firmness of it, UNLESS it's on the little back road I have to pootle along at 40-50mph behind people sometimes on my way home from work. That road is AWFUL. The camber's all over the place (think almost buttertubs-sized potholes, but smooth - it's like going over a mass of speedbumps, but smoother)... anyway - horrid horrid road and it does not make driving the car a joy.

That's the only downside I've found so far. No one else has really commented on it from the dozen or so other people who've been in it as passengers - well not in a negative way at least.

 

[ghosty]

the little one is only 1 years old so she wont be able to tell tell us if the ride is too firm/bumpy (but she cant half moan when shes not happy!! )

good point that it all depends on what roads you will on. it will mainly be town driving and motorway driving (the wife hates country roads and will avoid if at all possible)

will try and get a test drive in town conditions tomorrow if we can. that will be out best bet

 

[ghosty]

some good news and some bad news. had an eventful weekend, test drove the FR and the mini again and am suprised to report back that though the ride on the FR is pretty frim, the ride on the mini is not far off! they were pretty similar after driving them back to back (mini being a tad softer of course).

the FR was fun . mini fun was none

the bad news is that the missus has however not made up her mind yet after the viewings. is turning out to be quite a difficult decision to be made.

one garage told me the waiting time for an FR is currently about 2 weeks!! not sure if he was talking out of his **** or not. they did had a lovely red FR TDi on display which was pretty much fully loaded (18", xenons, winter, convenience, BT, ipod) that i was drooling over