Our "own" car reviews

Our old T3 had all-seasons, way back before winter tyres were mandatory. That was okay, because it wasn't used for commuting. If the weather was truly terrible winter there'd be no problem to not use it that morning. Also low speeds and less than a third of the power of this. This T5 is used to get their kids to the Kindergarten in the morning, so it has to work once they return from 'Straya in January.
 
Took the T5 to work today... and "grocery" shopping after. Superior tool for the job :lol:


Disregard the empty diaper boxes. The rear bench is slid back very far, for lots of space between the bench and the middle seats to plonk kids into their seats. Still enough space.


Climb aboard...

...into lots of buttons and lights.

Tiny steering wheel is tiny. Also, disregard the lady on the dash. Not my car :p

Commute to work was 8.0l/100km over 9km from cold in mild December weather, top speed 100km/h for a short sprint, average 35-40. The picture is since I took it over, and that includes quite a lot of teaching the parents to use the car... they're old :lol: so lots of idling and creeping around, so the actual figure would be maybe 7.6l/100km with that factored out.


j8fLBBM.jpg



I love that dashboard layout. So perfect.
 
j8fLBBM.jpg



I love that dashboard layout. So perfect.

:lol:

I can't say it's bad, but there's zero room for your knees in these things if you're tall. At least the van version with the bulkhead in place. VW designed the cabin for average height and didn't give a fuck about anyone else. For that reason alone I'll take a Renault every day. I can actually fit in the damn thing. :p
 
This works well for me at 1.86ish... but then there's nothing behind the driver's seat, it's in 6-seater configuration.

That reminds me, no pictures of the interior between the dash and the boot... yet :nod:
 
What is the bottom left button by the gearstick? To the left of the parking sensor button. Also top right one on the other side.

EDIT: Jealous of the RNS510. But why spec that and no backup camera? o_O
 
Last edited:
What is the bottom left button by the gearstick? To the left of the parking sensor button. Also top right one on the other side.

EDIT: Jealous of the RNS510. But why spec that and no backup camera? o_O

That's the blindspot detection system. Above a certain speed it illuminates a light in the wing mirrors if it detects a car there, and beeps if you indicate that way while it detects a car.
Top right is the set button for the TPMS, methinks ABS-based rotation counters.

As for why spec that without the rear view camera, we didn't spec that... it was bought from WOB at about a year old. I agree though, you're more than blind to the rear.
 
As for why spec that without the rear view camera, we didn't spec that... it was bought from WOB at about a year old. I agree though, you're more than blind to the rear.

I've never missed not having a backup camera, but then agan I've only used one once, and that was on a Toyota Auris which is the same size as a Golf. It would probably use it if I had one on the van.

Then again, I don't get why VW refuses to give their customers proper mirrors, as on the Renault/GM/Nissan van:



The small mirror is really wide angle and shows both the blind spot next to you, and where your rear wheels are. Really good for parking.

If I had to complain about anything I would mention that the small mirror isn't heated or adjustable. Just the other day I drove down into a packed parking garage with a floor full of snow, slush and road salt... which promtly fogged up my mirrors. The defroster fixed the big glass in seconds but I still couldn't see shit when I had to squeeze into the Anglia-sized parking spots.

The FIAT/PSA van mirror has adjustment on both halves... dunno about defrosting though.
 
Handed back the T5 yesterday, and after some Autobahn blasting... I can confirm Adrian's fuel numbers are puny :lol: the drink becomes massive when the speed goes up. Big surprise, considering its sleek aerodynamics... It has a lot of overtaking presence, must be related to the hugeness as well that makes people move out of the way.
 
Drove a "determined sperm" (Volkswagen Up!) the other day while my car was in the service:

- small car (obviously), light and nippy
- surprisingly comfortable (good ride, ok seats, little wind noise)
- really likes to sit at 120 kph on the Autobahn, then it's ridiculously comfortable and quiet for such a small car
- max speed on a level and straight piece was an indicated 160 kph (had the 1.0l 3cyl with 59hp) - not absloutely quiet anymore, but perfectly ok and still feels surefooted
- clutch and accelerator are something to get used to. To clutch in from a stop, you have to release the clutch very far while also pressing the accelerator very far, which is somewhat annoying
- good space in the front even for me (8'3"), but backseats only for people without legs and a boot for nothing more than an umbrella
- had a 5-door version which looks ridiculous because of the tiny rear doors, I recommend the 3-door
- 5 speed manual, very long 1st gear generates a severe rev-drop when starting from a standstill
- 3-cylinder engine runs and sounds quite rough, but has a reasonable amount of power. Mind you, reasonable for a 1.0l 3-cyl, nothing more
- couldn't work out the mileage exactly, but guesstimate between 7 and 8 l/100km, which is too much even when considering my short max speed run on the way back. It's not an Autobahn car, but still...

Conclusion:

Good city car to get around, quite comfortable for its size
 
Last edited:
Hm, turns out I haven't made a post about my newest rental adventures. Those that frequent the hellpit also known as IRC have more than once heard me moan and complain about it though.

The Captur was a size bigger than what my employer was paying for, so it was only temporary, until they had something in my class again. So on dec 3, they took away the Captur and presented me with the new rental....

A... wait for it... Opel Corsa 1.2. Because the 1.4 was clearly far too dangerous for me to handle with its gigantic 100hp engine, they saw fit to provide me with the 83hp strong 1.2l engine, which was hopefully closer to my capabilities as a driver.

Let's start of with the good.
The throttle response is far better than the 1.4's. The engine is eager to respond to inputs from the driver.

There. That's taken care of.
The bad then. After that initial response, nothing happens. You know that feeling when you have the gearbox in 4th, you're doing 90kph, you've got your foot buried in the carpet, yet due to a slight incline (we're talking highway onramp material here) the car won't accelerate? No? Well, thanks to the Corsa, I do. The engine is PA-THE-TIC. Even though it repsonds eagerly to your inputs, it has nothing to respond with. If you're stuck behind a lorry and want to quickly get back to cruising speed, get ready to drop it to 3rd gear, because nothing will happen in 5th or 4th.
Then there is the consumption. A small, slow engine might be almost acceptable if it at least is economical. Well, are you of luck. Not only does GM Europe see fit to fit the most pathetic engine I have ever encountered (which says a lot, coming from a guy whose first car was a 45PS VW Polo), but the amount of fuel it needs to deliver that staggering lack of performance is downright criminal. I slagged the 1.4 in the Corsa for needing too much fuel for too little performance. This is even worse. It doesn't move, at all, even when prodded with a burning stick teeming with pissed off fire ants and terminally ticked-off scorpions, yet it feels fit to need almost 7l/100km for fucking highway driving. That means getting to 120kph and staying there.
Then there's the rest. Where the previous Corsa felt like a blast from the past, it at least made up for it with some nice creature comforts. Creature comforts which this one lacks, apart from the climate control. Gone are the heated seats and steering wheel that roasted your backside and heated only the parts of the steering wheel you don't use. Gone are the automatic wipers that get confused by sunlight, and require 10 full seconds to realise "oh shit, it doesn't rain in tunnels". Gone, too, are the automatic headlights that were even slower to react to changing conditions than the wipers. Also gone are the headlights that turn with the steering with their wonky wiring that made the left one work only once in every 4 days, and turned itself off in left turns to turn itself back on when turning right. None of these fantastic features. Instead, you get wipers that feature the most useless interval ever, because it's too slow, even in dry conditions. Fantastic, working, non-swiveling reflector headlights that are a true blast from the past with their H4-type lighting patterns and performance.

Where I wondered how the hell Opel was still in business after driving the previous Corsa, I now seriously doubt the sanity of every single person who has ever willing bought an Opel product. Seriously. How can you make cars as shitty as this and still find idiots willing to pay you large amounts of money to endure such a torture willingly. It is beyond me. If I never have to experience anything made by GM ever again, it's too soon.

Seriously Opel, go fuck yourself.
 
Have you tried anything better? :p

VW van mirrors are tiny, and for some reason also lopsided.
Are you drunk? They're massive :lol:
 
Are you drunk? They're massive :lol:

They are tiny compared to what you get on a Vivaro, Trafic, Ducato etcetc. And there's no wide-angle mirror as far as I know. They're more like big car mirrors. :)
 
It has a lot of overtaking presence, must be related to the hugeness as well that makes people move out of the way.

This actually surprises me. I would have expected the opposite since it's a van and people think it's slow?
 
This actually surprises me. I would have expected the opposite since it's a van and people think it's slow?

It's a big box of bright lights closing in at some speed in your rear view mirror, making you get out of the way.

I did get some "people think it's slow" while there was still some light out... an older 3er did move out of the way but sped up as he did... and lost :D when it's properly dark though average people don't recognize the type of car, just a bright and big and quick light pattern.
 
And is it really quite quick over 130km/h? I expect a block of a VW T5 not to be fast, even with a powerful engine.. :D
 
The ratio of actual speed to expected speed is more bonkers at lower speeds, but it goes pretty well until about 160. After that aero takes over too much, despite the 400Nm and 132kW. After all it still is a big block of a VW T5 :nod:
We had a 1990 VW T3... that would struggle to reach 115 with infinite run-up :lol: this is in no way comparable.
 
Top