Unified Theory of Cars Denny Can Be In Possession Of

[denny]

I forgot to mention earlier, part of the plan for visiting Leicester was that I booked a nice sensible hire car, (a) so that I could fit libellum and romauld into it at the same time (libellum's parents' reaction to being told that she had two boyfriends being to invite us both to Mythmas dinner, which was pretty good of them I thought), and (b) so that it wouldn't cost me the best part of a hundred quid to get to Leicester and back (the RX being a little thirsty on any journey - long or short, fast or um, faster *cough*).

Anyway, I booked either one of these:

(which is about as sensible as you can get)

Or one of these:

(which I spent the entire time between booking and collecting praying that I wouldn't end up with - not only do they look fucking stupid, but also I have an objection to driving anything from the same manufacturer as the car that nearly killed me a few years ago)

When I turned up on the day, they'd hired all of those out. In fact, they'd hired almost everything out. I was left with the choice of an automatic Golf ("I don't think so" was my response to this suggestion, to which the guy behind the desk replied "Yeah, fair enough mate"), or one of these:

(at the same price as the car I'd originally booked)

So apparently there's some kind of universal constant that says I have to drive a two door coupe :-P

Wasn't quite as fuel efficient as the plan suggested :) but it was definitely a lot more pleasant to drive, and surprisingly practical (on a scale of RX7 to Volvo estate, it probably scored about 6 or 7, when I'd have expected it to score something like 3 at best). In fact, when circumstances force me to part with the RX, I will definitely consider buying one of these to replace it.

Comments

[easternpromise.livejournal.com]

Oh noes! What a dreadful universal constant to have! *grin*

It's a very pretty car...

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

It is, although not as pretty as the one I usually drive. I parked them next to each other and suddenly the hire car looked like a whale instead of a shark :)

[mr_magicfingers]

Whassat then!

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Hyundai Coupe 2.0 SE

[djlongfella.livejournal.com]

Must admit, when I bought myy black shiney, I was tempted by one of these, but had always wanted a Celica, any chance of a more in depth / detail of the drive from this motor, as , like you I am considereing one for my next purchase.
I note by comparison to the Celica that you get a lot more spec for your money, or rather you do on the secondhand level.
Dissapointingly I have not gone head to head with one on the tarmac yet as I would be interested to see which faired better.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

It wasn't spectacularly fast, I have to say. Other than that it was very nice. The boot is impressively huge, the rear seats are 'good enough' as long as you don't want to fit four big blokes in your car at once (not much headroom in the back, is the main problem), and the front is nicely laid out. The trim was a bit plasticy in the one I had, but I suspect they had the cheapest interior in it being a hire car - I think they usually have leather seats rather than vinyl, and hopefully not a gearstick with a plastic top that keeps falling off it :)

It was very nice to drive other than being a front wheel drive car, which I believe the Celica is too? I do find them a bit annoying when pulling out of corners, or taking roundabouts with a bit of enthusiasm. Other than that it performed tolerably well (bear in mind I'm coming at this from the viewpoint of being used to the RX7 these days, so I realise my standards are set a bit high). It steered very nicely indeed - light but extremely positive feeling - and it handled being thrown into roundabouts at a fair pace with no noticeable problems (other than the understeer, which might just be me being used to RWD and therefore driving it wrong).

It looked really nice, which is always a bonus - definitely good styling as standard. They do seem to be getting a bit common now, which is a minor point against them for 'coolness', but it's probably because they're good value for money. Apparently they have a full transferrable five year warranty on them from new, which must be reassuring.

As far as racing one against the Celica goes... what model is your Celica, how powerful is it? The Coupe 2.0 SE makes about 140bhp, and the 2.7 V6 gets up to about 165bhp. I suspect that's about the same range as Celicas, maybe a bit less even? I'm not sure how they compare in weight.

[djlongfella.livejournal.com]

Nice report, thanks for the time, all the info I would look for.
Yeah think you are right on the interior generally they all appear to come with leather, or it's such a cheap upgrade that everyone goes for it, when I was shopping s/hand I don't think I saw one with a cloth interior

Yeah would also say your " standards " are high from the rx 7 ( dribble ) but it also took me a while to get used to the understeer which I also presume is from fwd.

Bhp etc, is a bit of a trick one , as all the jap imports of which mine is one, come with a country specific ecu chip, top speed is a little over 114 before it cuts out, but on the rev range gets there twice as quick as a western model, so lots of spins on pull away if not too carefull.
My impression was that they were targetting the celica market by offereing higher interior creature comforts for slightly less money than the Celica. I did test drive the new model Celica before buying my model, and was woefully dissapointed, remmber I have wanted a Celica of any model for a long time...I had use of a new one for a weekend " on loan " it was only a few hours before I was bored with it and found it drastically lacking in power, by the time I handed it back on the Sunday I was bored of it
There was nothing greatly wrong with it and it only had 5k on the clock, but I really felt Toyota had dummed down the current model to ensure sales in the " second car / wifey present " market, mine still excites me and in my personal opinion is far sexier looking, but unfortunatley I have to respect its age, so if a car change is on the cardcs this year, my s/hand thoughts are a Supra,Misubishi GTO / FTO or a new Hyundai, I must admit I would certainly include RX 7 in my choice range, as driving yours,( thank you ) even sedatley was very much fun, but I really do intend to keep my license...:)( which to be honest is the only reason I have not had my import rechipped...

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I like the look of the Supra and the GTO, and they're both RWD I think. Big cars though - the Supra particularly I'm told is a nightmare to park, and not very big inside considering what a whale it is on the outside. I almost bought an FTO before the RX, but decided against the front wheel drive in the end. The Gen 6 Celica (your one) is a lovely looking car - I was considering the GT4 version of that, but the RX won my heart (or the contents of my bank account) in the end :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Rawr! :)

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Rowr, I think.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

He was a nice dragon. :)

[sevenhelz.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I miss driving.