These European hatchbacks all have things that I love and other features (or body shapes) that I hate. Some stuff, like air vents to the back seats or hard drive space for music, should be optional on every car IMHO.
A 1.6 L turbo two door hatch pushing 175 hp.
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/cartec...0.htm
A 60 mpg diesel four door
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/cartec...0.htm
A 1.4 L Alpha Romeo Supermini. Does 0-60 in 8 seconds.
http://videos.cnet.co.uk/39042244.htm
Hatchbacks across the pond
Re: Hatchbacks across the pond (Ginsu)
Hatchbacks are EVERYWHERE over there. I just got back from my honeymoon last week where we took a Med. Cruise to Spain, Malta, Italy, and France. I can't tell you how many Clio hatches I saw over there. I even have captured some video while in Cannes, France last Saturday of George Clooney being driven away from a hotel in some type of Renault hatch.
Most of the cars I saw over there were manuals and diesel.
Most of the cars I saw over there were manuals and diesel.
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superskunk
- Posts: 1416
- Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:16 pm
- Car: '07 Nissan Versa S Hatch
'06 Nissan Murano SL
Re: Hatchbacks across the pond (superskunk)
I don't get it.
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Rockhound
- Posts: 670
- Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 5:26 pm
- Car: 2007 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL HB CVT
2008 Mazda3 GT
Re: Hatchbacks across the pond (Ginsu)
My wife and I took a vacation to Spain in May, and the vast majority of the cars we saw were small, diesel, stick-shift hatches. Seat is an especially popular brand over there, mainly because it's Spanish-made, but many of their newer cars are quite attractive. Seat used to just rebadge Fiats, but now as a subsidiary of VW, makes some pretty respectable cars.
I noticed very few Nissans, with the exception of a few P11-chassis Primeras (G20s) and a few Marchs.
We rented a VW Polo to drive from Zaragoza to Albarracin, which was a pleasant-enough little machine. The interior was spartan, but functional, and the drive was akin to the Versa. This was a TDI 5-speed variant, and the engine vibration was nearly intolerable at some especially resonant RPMs. The diesel engine was very agricultural sounding, but wasn't unbearable. It obviously didn't rev like a gasoline I4, which sapped much of the fun out of it, for me. It did have quite a bit of torque, though, which was nice to help slog through the traffic in Zaragoza.
Oh, and we got somewhere close to 50 MPG on the highway (about 80 MPH cruising).
I noticed very few Nissans, with the exception of a few P11-chassis Primeras (G20s) and a few Marchs.
We rented a VW Polo to drive from Zaragoza to Albarracin, which was a pleasant-enough little machine. The interior was spartan, but functional, and the drive was akin to the Versa. This was a TDI 5-speed variant, and the engine vibration was nearly intolerable at some especially resonant RPMs. The diesel engine was very agricultural sounding, but wasn't unbearable. It obviously didn't rev like a gasoline I4, which sapped much of the fun out of it, for me. It did have quite a bit of torque, though, which was nice to help slog through the traffic in Zaragoza.
Oh, and we got somewhere close to 50 MPG on the highway (about 80 MPH cruising).