Being busy students means that we usually have little time for cars. We often have so much to do that we simply do not care about what model has just come out, or what tuning company has gone under. No, we therefore need a car that is as ruggedly simple as a car can be. We need something that is practical, affordable, and above all, stylish. Now both the Fiesta and the Punto I reviewed a while back have most of these bases covered. They both will get you from A to B in a reasonably fast time, they both look good, and on the outset they are both affordable. But the trouble is there always seems to be something missing from these models; some detail that has been overlooked during production, and likely as not this ruins the whole car. It’s like building a house, and then forgetting to put a roof on it. Now however, I think I’ve finally found a car that ticks every box. A simple, stylish runabout that is both affordable and quick. A big round of applause then, for the Smart ForFour.
Utilising the same 1.1 litre engine, floorplan and gearbox as the new Mitsubishi Colt, the ForFour is presented as a city runabout big enough for the whole family. Smart’s previous outing in the ForTwo was, and I’m going to be brutally honest here, disastrous. Smart say that the old model certainly “got people looking”. What they don’t realise however is that they were looking for the wrong reasons. The ForTwo just didn’t look like a car, it looked more like a shopping trolley with windows. Seeing one of these smugly brush past you in London was enough to make your blood boil, and when Smart announced that you could fit two ForTwo’s into a single parking bay, well, that was the final straw. The social stigma that is now associated with the ForTwo forced Smart to head back to the drawing board, and think again.
With the ForFour however, this is a different story. This is a car you can actually use, and, once again using our old friend Autotrader, you can pick one up for just £3,500. The ForFour doesn’t excel in any one area, but what it does do is cover all the bases evenly. It’s cheap, practical, and handles like a dream, outperforming most other cars in its class, and leaving them for dust in the corners; so if you’re looking for a semi-sporty but practical car, here’s your choice. Now yes, you won’t get the same fun factor as you do with a Mini or even with a Colt, but for the price you’re paying, you’re getting a whole lot of car. Smart will even give you a third back seat and headrest for a mere extra £80, turning the ForFour into a ForFive. Such has been the interest in the ForFour that Smart’s car club is now the second largest one-make club in the UK, second only to MG. This, coming from a company that nobody had heard of a few years ago, is simply epic.
To sum up then, this car is not your average student transport. Some will argue that in a city like this you only need two seats, and that in the long run the ForTwo is more economical. Well, no actually. The ForFour produces a whopping 45mpg in the city, meaning that it is actually a lot more economical than its two seater predecessor. People would turn you away if you turned up in the ForTwo. In the ForFour, they welcome you with open arms. This then is what we want; a car that does all the things we expect, a car that touches every base and still just keeps on giving. What Smart has created is not your average car. The ForFour does so much more than what you expect from any other car in this range. It is then a very Smart car, and it’d be a Smart choice to have one.
Sunday, 21 December 2008
Forget the Ferrari and the Armani...Grab Yourself a Punto
As students we like to congratulate ourselves on being at the very forefront of style and dress sense. Every shirt we buy is an instant classic. Every hair style we boast as being “just got out of bed”, is something of beauty. But with cars, we’re generally stumped. On the street, on our feet, we’re cool, swarve and sophisticated. But get in our cars, and it’s a different story. The problem, as I explained last week, is that most students are so deep in debt the last thing on our minds is how good our cars look. But for once, I think I have a solution, one car that, on the outside it seems, is both stylish, and affordable. A big hello then to the Fiat Punto, the cheap Italian hatchback for the masses.
Now again, unless you have a spare £10,000 lying about under your bed somewhere we can pretty much throw new models out the window. However, as with the Fiesta last week, five minutes on Auto trader will set you up with a 2007 1.2 Punto for about £4,500, and that’s not bad. And I know that a 1.2 engine doesn’t seem like much, but Fiat have truly worked to squeeze every last drop of power from within and so have managed to give you a frankly applause-worthy 65bhp. Now whilst that may not be enough to get you into the next race at Le Mans, it’s certainly enough to get you around and more importantly, it’s enough to get you noticed. And don’t worry about the horsepower problem, because here’s a sneaky hint. There are more than enough turbo’s for the Fiat to go around. Enough said.
So essentially then the Punto is a small car, with excellent leg room all round, a good starting price, and more add-ons and accessories than you can shake a stick at. So it would seem then we’ve found the perfect student car, well; no actually. You see, there is one flaw with the Punto, one feature that will forever, in my mind, place it far beyond the reach of any student hands. It is hideous.
The styling looks like it’s been done by somebody with a lot of brains, and a lot of knowledge in wind resistance and engine management, and not by someone with a social life. What Fiat have done is build this car from the ground up as an everyday-man’s car. And that’s not what we students want, we don’t want average, we don’t want an endless succession of grey and black. We want style, we want flair, we want...to be noticed. What Fiat should have done is build the car, and then hand the designs over to an eight year old, and let him go crazy with the crayons, drawing spoilers and exhausts at every possible angle. Because that’s the sort of car that’ll get you noticed. Let’s face it, we’re not at this stage going to be looking at a BMW or Mercedes, so instead we need to focus on what is practically doable. There are only a very few problems with the Punto, and this, I’m sorry to say, is one of them.
I’ve found it difficult then to come to a conclusion on the Punto. On the one hand, I like the engine, and the price, and the steering, and the power, I even like the seats. But the styling? No, I’m afraid not. What Fiat has made may well be a very good car, but for a student, where style is everything, this doesn’t quite cut the mustard.
Now again, unless you have a spare £10,000 lying about under your bed somewhere we can pretty much throw new models out the window. However, as with the Fiesta last week, five minutes on Auto trader will set you up with a 2007 1.2 Punto for about £4,500, and that’s not bad. And I know that a 1.2 engine doesn’t seem like much, but Fiat have truly worked to squeeze every last drop of power from within and so have managed to give you a frankly applause-worthy 65bhp. Now whilst that may not be enough to get you into the next race at Le Mans, it’s certainly enough to get you around and more importantly, it’s enough to get you noticed. And don’t worry about the horsepower problem, because here’s a sneaky hint. There are more than enough turbo’s for the Fiat to go around. Enough said.
So essentially then the Punto is a small car, with excellent leg room all round, a good starting price, and more add-ons and accessories than you can shake a stick at. So it would seem then we’ve found the perfect student car, well; no actually. You see, there is one flaw with the Punto, one feature that will forever, in my mind, place it far beyond the reach of any student hands. It is hideous.
The styling looks like it’s been done by somebody with a lot of brains, and a lot of knowledge in wind resistance and engine management, and not by someone with a social life. What Fiat have done is build this car from the ground up as an everyday-man’s car. And that’s not what we students want, we don’t want average, we don’t want an endless succession of grey and black. We want style, we want flair, we want...to be noticed. What Fiat should have done is build the car, and then hand the designs over to an eight year old, and let him go crazy with the crayons, drawing spoilers and exhausts at every possible angle. Because that’s the sort of car that’ll get you noticed. Let’s face it, we’re not at this stage going to be looking at a BMW or Mercedes, so instead we need to focus on what is practically doable. There are only a very few problems with the Punto, and this, I’m sorry to say, is one of them.
I’ve found it difficult then to come to a conclusion on the Punto. On the one hand, I like the engine, and the price, and the steering, and the power, I even like the seats. But the styling? No, I’m afraid not. What Fiat has made may well be a very good car, but for a student, where style is everything, this doesn’t quite cut the mustard.
The First Steps to Motoring Heaven
First cars are wonderful things. You can drive them like an absolute idiot, and rest completely assured that at some point everything will go wrong. Your typical first four-wheeled travelling companion will, under your ownership, be subjected to some of the most advanced torture on offer today. You can scratch it, you can boot it, and you can kerb it, and your car will save the payback to all this until the time is just right. Usually on the A14 at three in the morning. The first car then is in itself a motoring icon, if only for its “unpredictable” personality. Ask any petrol head in the world, and he will tell you everything about his first car. He can tell you, for instance, how many people can be crammed into the boot, how many times the seats have been flecked with vomit, and more often than not; how many members of the fairer sex have lost their innocence on the back seat. It seems only fair then, that we kick off this section with one of the best student cars money can buy. It’s a typical 1.2 litre Ford Fiesta. Although, I must admit I’m a little nervous about reviewing it; mostly because I like it a lot, but also because of one inescapable fact. It’s mine.
Now let’s get one thing straight here. Being a student means one thing, you are almost certainly going to be skint. Therefore we can chuck new Fiesta’s out the window, but here’s a secret. The technology in most Fiestas’ hasn’t changed much over the last few years. The floor plan is exactly the same, the engine is still the same, even the airbags are identical. A 2006 Fiesta is just as good as the 2008 model in every way. Essentially then, what would normally cost you £8500 new can now be picked up from as little as £5000. Websites like Autotrader are an absolute goldmine for students. It is really a case of today’s cars, for yesterday’s prices.
But let’s get back to the topic at hand. Whilst the 1.2 litre engine in the Fiesta can hardly be described as “phenomenal”, and whilst it certainly won’t compare to most mid-range Ferrari’s, it is still an impressive piece of engineering. Take the one in my car for example. It’s still the same 1.2 you’ll find in most modern Fiesta’s, and it’ll still get you from 0-60 in about 12 seconds. But unlike most others, it has mood swings. I’m being serious now, I think I may have the only menopausal motor in Britain. On some days, the engine’s fine, it works like a dream. And on those days you feel cocooned in a metal shell of perfection. On other days however, it is rather more obnoxious than your average younger sibling. It coughs into life, and, just when you think all is well, it coughs itself back into a coma. And that’s what I love most about first cars, nearly all of them have a distinct personality. Only they can give you that unique mixture of astonishment and delight when you drive. They’re not just “some cars”, they’re like your best mates.
Driving the Ford is however, a bit tricky. It is, in my opinion, rather like wrestling with a rampaging gorilla. You fight and fight with the car, all the way, just for those ten seconds of greatness when all is well. And in those ten seconds you are quite literally transformed from miserable sod...to driving god. Your Fiesta is capable of turning you into the automotive equivalent of Hercules. But only if it feels like it. The Fiesta should really come with a health warning. It can make you look as good and as handsome and as rich as James Bond; but it might kill you in the process
Now please don’t get me wrong. I love the Fiesta, I really do. I just feel that, for the money we’re forced to shed out for it, we could get a little bit more. The Fiesta is a great little car, and for getting you out and about there is no better alternative. Yes, there may be many more ways of getting from A to B. Yes, they are probably better for the environment in lots of interesting and I’m sure very important ways. But, and this is a promise, there are very few ways, of having as much fun in the process.
Now let’s get one thing straight here. Being a student means one thing, you are almost certainly going to be skint. Therefore we can chuck new Fiesta’s out the window, but here’s a secret. The technology in most Fiestas’ hasn’t changed much over the last few years. The floor plan is exactly the same, the engine is still the same, even the airbags are identical. A 2006 Fiesta is just as good as the 2008 model in every way. Essentially then, what would normally cost you £8500 new can now be picked up from as little as £5000. Websites like Autotrader are an absolute goldmine for students. It is really a case of today’s cars, for yesterday’s prices.
But let’s get back to the topic at hand. Whilst the 1.2 litre engine in the Fiesta can hardly be described as “phenomenal”, and whilst it certainly won’t compare to most mid-range Ferrari’s, it is still an impressive piece of engineering. Take the one in my car for example. It’s still the same 1.2 you’ll find in most modern Fiesta’s, and it’ll still get you from 0-60 in about 12 seconds. But unlike most others, it has mood swings. I’m being serious now, I think I may have the only menopausal motor in Britain. On some days, the engine’s fine, it works like a dream. And on those days you feel cocooned in a metal shell of perfection. On other days however, it is rather more obnoxious than your average younger sibling. It coughs into life, and, just when you think all is well, it coughs itself back into a coma. And that’s what I love most about first cars, nearly all of them have a distinct personality. Only they can give you that unique mixture of astonishment and delight when you drive. They’re not just “some cars”, they’re like your best mates.
Driving the Ford is however, a bit tricky. It is, in my opinion, rather like wrestling with a rampaging gorilla. You fight and fight with the car, all the way, just for those ten seconds of greatness when all is well. And in those ten seconds you are quite literally transformed from miserable sod...to driving god. Your Fiesta is capable of turning you into the automotive equivalent of Hercules. But only if it feels like it. The Fiesta should really come with a health warning. It can make you look as good and as handsome and as rich as James Bond; but it might kill you in the process
Now please don’t get me wrong. I love the Fiesta, I really do. I just feel that, for the money we’re forced to shed out for it, we could get a little bit more. The Fiesta is a great little car, and for getting you out and about there is no better alternative. Yes, there may be many more ways of getting from A to B. Yes, they are probably better for the environment in lots of interesting and I’m sure very important ways. But, and this is a promise, there are very few ways, of having as much fun in the process.
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