New car soon...sequential gear box yay or nay?

[Guest amo]

So, the new car time of the year is upon me very soon and i'm currently thinking of getting either a Citroen C2 VTR, Lexus IS200 or a BMW 3 series of some sort.

I currently have/had a 3 series compact so thought another BMW would be the natural choice to go for. The only thing holding me back with this choice and the Lexus incidentally is the product per pound factor when compared to the Citroen alternative.

Now obviously these are two completely different types of car (IS200/3 Series vs C2) but both groups appeal to me.

I'm only going to get the more prestigous one if I get a good deal but at the moment i'm almost certain it'll be the sporty little C2 mainly because I can get an almost new one for the same money whilst maintaining things like warranty, extras, lower mileage and its newer!!!

Anyone got any input on this firstly?

Second of all - the VTR has a sequential gear box (SensoDrive as they call it) and personally I've never used one. Is it really That bad to drive a car with Sequential? Does anyone have one that they can give me some feedback of; good or bad!

Cheers

[Guest C00LH4ND]

Amo

I had the "Pleasure" to drive an M3 with a sequential and personally I did not like it. It was very very jerky at changing and a pain around town when shifting say from 4th to 2nd or between reverse and 1st when parking. Purely personal reflection.

As for the choice again it is personal. I ffaced with the same I would avoid the 90s Cortina (BMW 3 series) and plumb for the IS200 if you want space and reliability though 0-60 is a little slow at over 9 secs and anything less than a Sport is not worth it. If you want fun, speed and cornering go for the C2.

From experience I have had a number of cars with all the extras you can buy but these become boring after 18 months.... My current car does 0-60 in 5.8 secs is quicker than a 911 Turbo from 40 - 80 and corners well enough to scare me... I have had the car for 2+ years from new and even now I still look forward to driving it and it still raises a BIG grin after a good drive down A roads.. For me Speed, cornering and a little fun when safe are what makes a car....

[Guest amo]

Cheers for the input!

Personally, Im not too bothered about its 0-60 time as i've not got the budget for a proper performance car (plus being only 21 the insurance will be huge!).

Parking was a big concern of mine, whilst rubish at the best of times at the old reverse park the added sequential gear box would make it even trickier surely with the noticable loss of a clutch to ease into a space?

[Guest RazorD]

Cheers for the input!

Personally, Im not too bothered about its 0-60 time as i've not got the budget for a proper performance car (plus being only 21 the insurance will be huge!).

Parking was a big concern of mine, whilst rubish at the best of times at the old reverse park the added sequential gear box would make it even trickier surely with the noticable loss of a clutch to ease into a space?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Have you thought about personal leasing? IMO it seems a good way to get a decent car, especially as cars depriciate so much these days :)

-Raz

[Guest amo]

Hmm problem is i'd constantly be paying for something which essentially is never mine! Don't mind the finance option to push the budget out but hire doesnt appeal to me im afraid :)

[Guest Confused Stu]

When I was looking for a new car last year (to replace the Daewoo Nubira 2.0i in which I'd fitted a PS2!), I went for the Alfa 147. Now, they do make these with a "Selespeed" hand paddle gearbox jobbie. I don't know if this is just the Alfa, but everyone I spoke to and everything I read said NOT to buy it. With this, it's not so much a case of whether it'll go wrong, but when it'll go wrong and how expensively.

Like I said, this could just be related to the Alfa Romeo version of the system, but definitely worth looking into before you shell out money.

Make sure you update this post with whichever car you choose, and make sure you include a nice pic or two so we can go "ooh!" and "ahh!" :)

[Guest amo]

Oh don't worry I will :) Not heard of the sequentials being easier to break up untill now :D

Is this only if you really cane the car or just through normal use? I couldn't be further away from being a "boy racer" so I wont be racing around in it by any means, just commuting to uni and to get to work and back etc.

But now i'm even more confused :D

[Guest Confused Stu]

The gearbox in the Alfa Selespeeds break whether you thrash the car or not. In the car's defence, it does expect to be thrashed (in the handbook it says about the rev redline "try not to keep the engine above the redline for prolonged periods regularly"!), but those types of Alfa gearboxes are renowned for breaking even if your Nan's driving.

I really hope it is just Alfa ones (I didn't buy one!) and that I am worrying you over nothing. Just wanted to mention it, OK?

Good luck choosing the car dude.

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

Alfas in general just fall apart tho right? :)

P

[Guest Confused Stu]

That's unfair!! I've had mine over 12 months and it's only broken down once (when it got sick of it's oil and dumped it on the floor). The central-locking not working and needing a whole new Central Computer from Italy doesn't count as the car was technically still running.

Still love it to bits though - more torque at 2,000rpm than a Honda NSX anywhere AND 140bhp? Definitely fun!

Anyway, enough having a go at my car (Why an Audi Paul? Wanted a BMW or Merc but couldn't afford it? :) ) - which car should Amo get?

[Guest amo]

EDIT: Whoopsie!

Edited June 27, 2005 by amo

[Guest amo]

Haha, i'll hand over my old Beemer to Paul so he doesn't have to suffer with the Audi anymore :) hehe

Read up a few more reviews and apparently the Sequentials DO get better when you get more adjusted to them. The citroen ones are too new though to be commented on for reliability at the moment :D

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

No need to repeat yourself Amo :)

Everyone knows that Audis are better than beemers or mercs nowadays, and more desirable... none of the BMW attitude or the Merc reputation / quality issues :D

I'd probably go for the Citroen, I used to have a ZX and it was a great car.

Actually, i'd probably go for a C4...

P

[Guest amo]

I agree Paul, every chav and their inbred partner drives an old clapped out BMW or an Escort with a BMW kit on Pimp My Ride styleee.

I'd go for the C4 but budget doesn't stretch as far as that i'm afraid :)

[Guest beersoft]

the only good thing about alfas is the bag they come with to put the bits that fall off in :) (which is top coming from someone with a fix it again tony)

will's proberbly a good one to speak to about sequential gearboxes, as his 2 seater 6speed turbo charged cupe has it (we love the smartie :D)

you should be ok with anything as long as you can service it when it needs to

later

Owen

[Guest Monolithix [MVP]]

Actually, i'd probably go for a C4...

P

How much is the transformer option?

hohoho...

[Guest nedge2k]

Beamers - Far too common these days

Lexus - We have an expression for Lexus owners...but i cant repeat it here :)

I'd go for the C2. Cheap insurance, cheap(er) on the petrol, nice handling and nippy as hell but DO NOT go for the paddle shift. Only decent cars with paddle shift are Ferraris or the MK5 Golf GTi.

[Guest travisb]

Audi developed the paddle shift as used on the Golf. Tried it on an A3 - very impressed.

[Guest Flubster]

the c2 is only paddle shift isn't it?

Flub

[Guest Flubster]

I have only driven one paddle shift car, a maserati around silverstone. Didn't like it at all, seemed to be so slow to respond. I think its all down to personal preference, I wouldn't drive an auto, let alone a paddle shift. Still a C2 is hardly a rocket, so the gearbox prob wouldn't be that bad. The only thing I would check would be longevity of these new gearboxes (If its anything like a peugeot rally car steer clear!)

Flubster

[Guest amo]

nedge2k: care to elabourate why to avoid?

thanks for all the responces so far guys!

[Guest RazorD]

Hmm problem is i'd constantly be paying for something which essentially is never mine! Don't mind the finance option to push the budget out but hire doesnt appeal to me im afraid :)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, its not actually that straight forward - you can have the option of buying the car at the end of it, theres so many different methods of leasing these days.

My dad runs a leasing company, hence why i think its a good idea :D I wont advertise his url, though!

-Raz

[Guest nedge2k]

nedge2k: care to elabourate why to avoid?

thanks for all the responces so far guys!

Well, its all down to what type of driver you are and whether you want it to change gear when you tell it. In general paddle shift boxes are slow to react and wont let you do what u want to do. Basic rule of thumb: If its not a £40,000 pound option, dont touch it with a barge pole :D

Take one for a test drive, do a bit of "round town" stuff and try and get it down some nice back lanes and see how it performs but to be honest, paddle shift is just for the pose factor.

Now if it was sequential with a clutch.... :)

[Guest amo]

Yeah if it had a proper clutch to play with, i'd buy it today! Well...tomorrow.

Oh so confused :)

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

The Audi Paddle-Shift (the critically acclaimed 'DSG') is amazing.

It uses twin clutches, and changes gear in the blink of an eye, very impressive.

Wish they'd offer it on the S4 :)

P