[AlanHo]

I would suggest that anyone looking to buy a new car in the UK should first arm themselves with quotes from leading brokerages such as Broadspeed or Drive the Deal that both come recommended by newspaper reviews.

I spent an hour haggling and only got about £1500 off the OTR list price.

I then produced print-outs of the brokers quotes and after a further 20 minutes "discussion" the dealership sales manager phoned one of his directors who agreed to match the lowest price - and then threw in the road tax and a few accessory goodies if I agreed to order there and then. This doubled the saving he originally offered.

Hence - I will soon be taking delivery of a KIA Venga 3 1.6 petrol 6 speed auto.

Unfortunately the Hyundai ix20 facelift has not gone far enough and the lack of certain features rules it out. 

It is clear that Hyundai UK have analysed the demographics of who bought the ix20 over the past 5 years and have decided that they wish to continue to appeal to the silver haired, tweed jacket & flat cap , thick rimmed glasses wearing, pipe smoking fraternity who never drive far enough to use cruise, satnav, reversing camera, and some other of the more modern features that come as standard with the Venga 3.

[eye30]

Brill news.....When is DD?

[AlanHo]

Dunno yet.

There are 3 cars in KIA UK stock but the computer wasn't able to determine whether they are already reserved whilst I was there.


However - I'm in no hurry.

[asathorny]

Looking forward to the photos and another of your excellent owners reports   

[Doggie 1]

Brill news.....When is DD?

Oh, I don't think Alan will be drink driving in the new car.   
Congratulations Alan. 
I'm having trouble keeping up with changing my undies compared to you buying new cars.
I think you're slightly in front at the moment. 

[Dazzler]

Looking forward to the photos and another of your excellent owners reports   

 

[AlanHo]

Brill news.....When is DD?

Oh, I don't think Alan will be drink driving in the new car.   
Congratulations Alan. 
I'm having trouble keeping up with changing my undies compared to you buying new cars.
I think you're slightly in front at the moment. 

My recent history

Sept 2010   i30 Premium 1.6 CRDi manual FD
Apr   2012   i30 Premium 1.6 CRDi manual GD Blue drive
May  2013   i30 Tourer Style 1.6 CRDi manual GD Blue drive
Feb   2014   KIA Venga 3 satnav 1.6 petrol manual Eco drive
Oct   2015   KIA Venga 3 satnav 1.6 petrol 6sp Auto


Will you now list the dates you changed undies for comparison......

[CraigB]

Alan, why changing cars so often...is there something wrong with them

This KIA Venga on their website is quite smart looking

[Doggie 1]

Brill news.....When is DD?

Oh, I don't think Alan will be drink driving in the new car.   
Congratulations Alan. 
I'm having trouble keeping up with changing my undies compared to you buying new cars.
I think you're slightly in front at the moment. 

My recent history

Sept 2010   i30 Premium 1.6 CRDi manual FD
Apr   2012   i30 Premium 1.6 CRDi manual GD Blue drive
May  2013   i30 Tourer Style 1.6 CRDi manual GD Blue drive
Feb   2014   KIA Venga 3 satnav 1.6 petrol manual Eco drive
Oct   2015   KIA Venga 3 satnav 1.6 petrol 6sp Auto


Will you now list the dates you changed undies for comparison......

2010
2013
Anticipated 2016.

[ibrokeit]

Alan, why changing cars so often...is there something wrong with them

They aren't new anymore? 

Which will definitely be the case with Doggie 1 undies by the sounds of it. 

[Raid]

Congrats Alan

[AlanHo]

Alan, why changing cars so often...is there something wrong with them

2010  I had an Audi A4 Avant 2.0 petrol multitronic auto. It was out of warranty and the multitronic auto is not famous for longivity. My wife had a Hyundai Amica and she wanted to trade up to the new Hyundai i10 so I went with her to the dealers. While she was out on a test drive of the i10 I took a look at the cars in the showroom and was impressed by the i30 FD - it seemed to be as well equipped as the Audi and was on paper far more economical to run. It also had a 5 year warranty - was a smart looking car - had all the room we need etc. So we finished up buying two new cars at an unbelievable discount.

2012  I was invited to Silverstone for a pre-launch demo and test drive of the new i30 GD before it was launched - I was impressed enough to order one as soon as they arrived at the dealers.

2013  We moved house and downsized to a managed retirement complex where it was not practical to have 2 cars. So we traded in our 2 cars in exchange for an i30 Estate. It was a mistake because my wife hated it - she had difficulty getting in and out due to the low seating position and she found it too big. Bloody women.

2014  After a heroic stand against whinging - I decided to swap the car for a high seated compact petrol car (Not diesel because I was fed up with the DPF on previos i30's savaging overall economy) and homed in on the ix20, KIA Venga, Ford C-Max, and Citroen C4 Picasso as candidates.
Only the ix20 and Venga survived the first round - the C-Max was over priced, under equipped and it was a Ford. The Picasso was tinny, ugly and French - a no brainer.
At the second round the Venga won because it was better equipped than the ix20, had a 7 year warranty and I could have a 1.6 rather than 1.4 petrol engine. It has proved to be a fine car and there is nothing wrong with it. However - time marches on, we both have arthritis in various places which has got worse over the past year and I have decided to get an auto car to make life that bit easier.

The photo you posted is the model I am having - but in silver.

[CraigB]

Thanks for explaining that for me Alan, you're certainly kept busy with lots of changeover paper work

Nice little car too

[beerman]

The Venga bus is coming.....

Always nice to get a new car 

[Doggie 1]

The aVengas.   

[AlanHo]

The Venga should have been named Tardis - because it is small on the outside and big on the inside.  It has more cabin room that the i30 due to the more upright stance and a lot more luggage space, seats up and seats down.

Frankly I am surprised that the ix20 and Venga are not more popular. Comfort, space and performance in buckets - but not a boy racers status symbol.

It's only a myth that you have to wear a flat cap and smoke a pipe to drive one.

[Asterix]

Congrats on yet another new car Alan... 

[wbm00]

Frankly I am surprised that the ix20 and Venga are not more popular. Comfort, space and performance in buckets - but not a boy racers status symbol.

Interestingly the Honda Jazz (which has a similar perception here) is popular in Japan with boy racers and those who like to modify cars.

[AlanHo]

The Honda Jazz is not a comparable car in terms of overall size, cabin space and luggage capacity. It is smaller and it's styling is more racy. In addition, unlike the Venga, there are lots of aftermarket styling bits and accessories available for the Jazz to raise their street cred.

A typical example

Cars Info: Honda Jazz Full Modification