Are there any simpler cars around now?

[Time Waster]

We won't be going EV. More like a 2019-2021 Kia Sportage sort of thing. Not going to spend much more than 10k ish.

Will be avoiding ford though. As a kid it seemed a lot of fords on the road. Now round here it's the likes of Kia has taken over.

 

[cyberknight]

The corrolla im driving has all the bells and whistles and the worst thing is lane detection which can try to take control of the steering as you go around a parked car etc.

 

[CXRAndy]

Breakdown

Get a normally aspirated petrol engine car. Make sure it uses a cam-chain for the camshafts not a wet belt system.

Those vehicles in the AI search are camchain NA petrol engine cars

 

[kingrollo]

I've just brought a Skoda scala -if you can stomach the non kudos name and the fact it's more estate than SUV - you get a lot of car for your buck.

The lane assist is one of the better ones I've used -(although I still turn it off) - the worst lane assist was on a Renault captur - that felt dangerous.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Breakdown

Get a normally aspirated petrol engine car. Make sure it uses a cam-chain for the camshafts not a wet belt system.

Those vehicles in the AI search are camchain NA petrol engine cars

Apart from the turbos?

Why avoid turbos anyway? It's very reliable tech., has been for many donkeys.

 

[oxoman]

Had several kia's and never had an issue. Current one is an xceed 1.5 with more than enough grunt to get in trouble with. You can disable numerous driver aids including the haptic control, the bit that trys to take over. Lane departure you need to disable every trip, press a button for a few seconds. The collision alert system is a pita at times as it will flash up inadvertently occasionally. Ie went around a sharp rh bend with cars parked on the bend facing the Rd, dash lights up and screaches at you and would brake if not disabled.

 

[presta]

I'm thinking 3 star EURO NCAP rating of the duster rules it out for me.

EURO NCAP award brownie points for electronic gizmos, and Dacia (aka Renault) have made a deliberate marketing decision to forego points in order to market their cars to people who are fed up with all the electronics in cars.

The Consumers Association have just done a load of research into the number of people who are rejecting unwanted systems in cars following complaints about it last year, and published a report last April. NCAP award points for having the systems, but not for how well they work, so there's an incentive for manufacturers to throw in every gizmo going, but not to develop them so that they work properly. Thatcham research say that they look for what's safest and most insurable, not what gives least false interventions. "Taking the car back to the garage rarely resolves the issue".

More than half of all drivers turn off one or other system at least some of the time
46% turn off speed assist
42% turn off lane assist
34% turn off auto emergency braking
32% turn off attention monitoring
30% turn off blind spot monitoring

 

[icowden]

We won't be going EV

Any particular reason? There are some decent second hand EVs now at around the 10k mark.

 

[Reynard]

+1 for Skoda. I have the Scala's predecessor, the Rapid Spaceback. It slots in nicely between the Fabia and Octavia. My bestie has a Fabia estate.

Back in the days when I was doing stress analysis / strength of materials stuff for Ford, the NCAP testing was purely crash testing. So out of touch with the modern version of the ratings, but it's probably a case of reading the small print.

 

[fossyant]

I'm glad my new van doesn't grab the steering, it just bongs at you and flashes a warning. All the assists are turned on but could be disabled, but fortunately none have been intrusive. If the lane assist did grab the steering it would be a right pain on twisty Welsh roads.

 

[DRM]

Apart from the turbos?

Why avoid turbos anyway? It's very reliable tech., has been for many donkeys.

As long as you remember to count slowly to 10 whilst letting the engine idle, before turning it off

 

[oxoman]

Having worked in Automotive in the past both OEM and tier 1. Ford always always did major foobars when new models or major updates happened, Renault was quality / reliability problems as was Rover and Landrover. Volvo, Peugeot, Skoda, Jag, Nissan and Mitsubishi all faired alot better.

 

[oxoman]

I'm glad my new van doesn't grab the steering, it just bongs at you and flashes a warning. All the assists are turned on but could be disabled, but fortunately none have been intrusive. If the lane assist did grab the steering it would be a right pain on twisty Welsh roads.

Imagine what it's like when it's turned on and your dodging the obligatory craters in the road. Remember the old PlayStation steering wheels when it starts shaking etc that's what it's like.

 

[Jameshow]

Having worked in Automotive in the past both OEM and tier 1. Ford always always did major foobars when new models or major updates happened, Renault was quality / reliability problems as was Rover and Landrover. Volvo, Peugeot, Skoda, Jag, Nissan and Mitsubishi all faired alot better.

Jag should be on the must try harder step surely?

 

[oxoman]

They got worse when taken over and they tried to incorporate standardisation across other brands.