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Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2019 6:08:17 GMT
Booked direct with Sixt, as they generally have slightly better spec cars and I wanted a City as it’s got a 119ps VTEC engine and is about the right size for the area we’re in.
It’s a mid spec V CVT, which means 4 x electric windows, electric flowing mirrors, LED running lights, keyless start and a trip computer.
First impresssion was good, as the boot is big enough to get two sets of cases and hand luggage in and the aircon was powerful. It was pretty easy to get a good seating position, with a height adjustable seat and good range of steering wheel adjustment. I’ve only driven it for 1.5 hours / 35 miles from the airport, but the first mile was enough to know it’s a vastly better car than the Nissan I had in Malaysia last year. The ride is good without being bouncy and it’s comfortable.
I thought a small car with 115hp would feel quite nippy, but it doesn’t, it’s really slow. OK for dealing with mopeds, but that’s about it. It’s got a CVT gearbox which doesn’t help, but what happened to Honda engines that sound and feel smooth and love to rev? This has a 6,500 rpm rev line and is really harsh about 4,500 rpm which is there the gearbox puts it when in sport or full throttle. It feels a bit quicker at lower revs, so the trick when overtaking is not to use full throttle!
Will find out more over the next few days, but the main thing is it’s comfortable on these roads and it isn’t the worst hire car I’ve ever had.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Feb 7, 2019 10:39:51 GMT
I had to.do a Google image search. It was disappointing.
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Post by Roadrunner on Feb 7, 2019 12:41:08 GMT
I had to.do a Google image search. It was disappointing. Likewise and yes. |
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Post by Ben on Feb 7, 2019 13:27:50 GMT
Wait, where are you? Honda Citys (Cities?) are only available in a few places.
It's basically a Jazz saloon really.
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Post by Tim on Feb 7, 2019 13:41:05 GMT
Looks like the perfect replacement for people who are worried their Nissan Tiida is getting a bit old.
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Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2019 14:38:29 GMT
I’ve not driven it today...but it is being well looked after!  |
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Post by PG on Feb 7, 2019 15:49:04 GMT
Where on earth are you that seeking out a Jazz saloon seemed like the thing to do? ;-)
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Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2019 15:55:58 GMT
Where on earth are you that seeking out a Jazz saloon seemed like the thing to do? ;-) You lot keep telling me that basic hire cars are fun.....they’re not! This was the best Sixt had available other than a truck and surprisingly there are two categories below. We’re in Phuket, they don’t do decent hire cars here, but you need to go small anyway as it’s pretty tight other than the main road through the island and the hordes of mopeds make it even narrower. Having said that I saw a current shape 730d earlier, I really wouldn’t want to be driving that around. |
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Post by ChrisM on Feb 7, 2019 17:42:31 GMT
Where on earth are you that seeking out a Jazz saloon seemed like the thing to do? ;-) You lot keep telling me that basic hire cars are fun.....they’re not! That's only because you are in the fortunate position to have access to much better cars in the UK ! Not many of us can afford to buy and run a top-spec 7-series ! |
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Post by PetrolEd on Feb 7, 2019 19:09:54 GMT
A basic hire car is a boggo Fiesta or Panda, I don't know that is. But anything with CVT should have been binned off at the hire desk. Enjoy your holiday, I'd give anything to be on holiday at the moment.
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Post by Andy C on Feb 7, 2019 19:32:09 GMT
Basic hire cars are great and good fun and I always book the cheapest , however on holiday last week this was about 9 euros more than the cheapest car (fiat 500), so we hired this for the day and enjoyed some of Lanzarote finest roads . Italian convertible and RWD so still good fun  |
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Post by PG on Feb 7, 2019 20:04:45 GMT
I think the holiday hire car secret is to hire for the place and the fun you want to have. Italy - cheap and thrash the shit out of it. Sunny - get a convertible. US - a truck or something big. Some places it is best to just call up a limo / taxi firm.
Having been to Phuket once, why did you want to hire a car? The roads looked like death traps and that was 10 years ago. I can't imagine they have improved.
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 1:35:18 GMT
I think the holiday hire car secret is to hire for the place and the fun you want to have. Italy - cheap and thrash the shit out of it. Sunny - get a convertible. US - a truck or something big. Some places it is best to just call up a limo / taxi firm. Having been to Phuket once, why did you want to hire a car? The roads looked like death traps and that was 10 years ago. I can't imagine they have improved. I like a challenge and prefer my life to be in my own hands! That and the independence, I like to get out and explore. You’re right about hiring for the location, to which I’d add that if possible it should me made in that country. That’s what I always do and this is made in Thailand plus is the right size. |
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 1:48:50 GMT
A basic hire car is a boggo Fiesta or Panda, I don't know that is. But anything with CVT should have been binned off at the hire desk. Enjoy your holiday, I'd give anything to be on holiday at the moment. Thanks Ed. It was really needed after a hectic peak period at work and it’s going to be a busy year full of change. Slipped up on my research, didn't realise it had CVT until I drove it. |
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Post by ChrisM on Feb 8, 2019 8:03:48 GMT
Slipped up on my research, didn't realise it had CVT until I drove it. Just how far has CVT come since the DAF "rubber band" days ? |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Feb 8, 2019 8:34:49 GMT
Slipped up on my research, didn't realise it had CVT until I drove it. Just how far has CVT come since the DAF "rubber band" days ? A long, long way, but to say it is as good as a conventional auto would be stretching it. |
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 10:08:06 GMT
I hate to think how bad it was before, as it’s the worst gearbox I can remember, I’d rather have a manual, even a bad manual. I’ve learnt how to get the best (least worst) from it, just enough throttle to get it to sit at 3,000 ish revs which gives some acceleration without the awful noise. One other Discovery is that it has keyless entry as well as start, quite civilised. First drive in the daylight today, only about 40 miles, but that’s half of the island and about 3 hours behind the wheel thanks to awful traffic in places. It’s comfortable and small enough to squeeze through gaps which are the most important things here, along with powerful aircon and it’s best feature, a film on the windows that means you can leave it out in the sun for an hour (it’s 38c today, no clouds) and when you get back in it’s not quite as hot as it is outside and starts to feel cool in about a minute.   50/50 chance generator |
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 10:14:17 GMT
I think the holiday hire car secret is to hire for the place and the fun you want to have. Italy - cheap and thrash the shit out of it. Sunny - get a convertible. US - a truck or something big. Some places it is best to just call up a limo / taxi firm. Having been to Phuket once, why did you want to hire a car? The roads looked like death traps and that was 10 years ago. I can't imagine they have improved. I actually enjoyed dealing with all the mopeds Tut Tut’s and vans today, you have to have eyes in the back of your head, give no quarter, be decisive and remember you’ve got insurance excess cover! It’s a good challenge and no new dents in the car. |
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Post by PetrolEd on Feb 8, 2019 10:47:05 GMT
Reminds me of the time I drove into Bangkok about 15 years ago. That's the last time I went to Thailand. I'd love to go back but to a quite island, is Phuket rather busy?
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Post by Ben on Feb 8, 2019 10:47:11 GMT
Ah. It's not that bad really.
I would have stretched for a Toyota Fortuner though. Essentially a Hilux SUV. Probably a fair bit of coin more, but endlessly practical.
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Post by Ben on Feb 8, 2019 10:49:20 GMT
Reminds me of the time I drove into Bangkok about 15 years ago. That's the last time I went to Thailand. I'd love to go back but to a quite island, is Phuket rather busy? The last time I went (about 5 years ago now I think) it was overflowing with tourists, notably from Eastern Europe for some reason. |
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 11:01:50 GMT
Reminds me of the time I drove into Bangkok about 15 years ago. That's the last time I went to Thailand. I'd love to go back but to a quite island, is Phuket rather busy? Generally yes, but there are some nice quiet spots. I really like and would recommend Koh Samui. Again, there are busy places but overall it’s a lot quieter. We stayed in a small group of villas, so really peaceful but only 10mins to a lively beach resort by their complementary SUV. They gave you a mobile phone so you could call them to pick you up, just one part of their amazing service. This is was the view from our private terrace...perfect!  It depends what you want. One of my team visits at least once a year and goes to small islands only accessible by boat, but loves the seclusion. We like where we stay to be quiet, but to be working a reasonable distance of bars/restaurants so we have some variety. |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Feb 8, 2019 11:23:09 GMT
Tell the Ladyboys Alan says "hi".
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 11:29:14 GMT
Tell the Ladyboys Alan says "hi". We went into town last night and there were a number of them around. I had to explain to Lindsay why I was referring to them all as Alan! They are more than a little creepy. Good atmosphere in general though and fun after several Singha beers. No physical fun before you get the wrong idea...! |
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Post by PG on Feb 8, 2019 13:07:46 GMT
To be all philosophical for a moment, when we went to Phuket I ended up feeling very uncomfortable about what tourism was doing to the place. I felt that the locals were being horribly exploited. All the big hotels or resorts seemed to be owned by multi-nationals. Staff lived in tiny accommodation (or were expected to live off site), paid not much, while us guests lived like lords. Our guide on one of the tours we took said that he and several other locals had to flat share to be able to afford anywhere to live as so many places were turned over to tourism. They simply could not afford the rent otherwise.
On the other hand, the major employment used to be rubber plantations where people were also very poor and worked very hard and compared to that, pandering to tourists seemed like luxury.
We did the obligatory elephant ride one day. We found out by asking, that these elephants used to work in logging in the north of the country, but that was declining and mechanisation was taking over. So they brought the elephants south and used them as a tourist attraction. Their average life span in the more humid south was about 60% of their life span in their previous more natural habitat. But on the other hand, no logging = probably get shot if no work for them, as Thai's then were utterly unsentimental about wildlife. Maybe that has changed?
Overall, we just felt that tourism was taking too much out and not putting enough back.
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Post by ChrisM on Feb 8, 2019 13:18:00 GMT
^
All we need now to make this thread/section of the forum complete is a road test of an elephant.........
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 13:18:25 GMT
To be all philosophical for a moment, when we went to Phuket I ended up feeling very uncomfortable about what tourism was doing to the place. I felt that the locals were being horribly exploited. All the big hotels or resorts seemed to be owned by multi-nationals. Staff lived in tiny accommodation (or were expected to live off site), paid not much, while us guests lived like lords. Our guide on one of the tours we took said that he and several other locals had to flat share to be able to afford anywhere to live as so many places were turned over to tourism. They simply could not afford the rent otherwise. On the other hand, the major employment used to be rubber plantations where people were also very poor and worked very hard and compared to that, pandering to tourists seemed like luxury. We did the obligatory elephant ride one day. We found out by asking, that these elephants used to work in logging in the north of the country, but that was declining and mechanisation was taking over. So they brought the elephants south and used them as a tourist attraction. Their average life span in the more humid south was about 60% of their life span in their previous more natural habitat. But on the other hand, no logging = probably get shot if no work for them, as Thai's then were utterly unsentimental about wildlife. Maybe that has changed? Overall, we just felt that tourism was taking too much out and not putting enough back. I do think it’s changing, but still some way to go. We mainly eat and drink at he locally owned places, I wouldn’t go on an Elephant ride, just driving past a couple of those places today made me feel really uncomfortable. You could see small ones chained by the leg and used as a photo opportuniy. We’re booked in to visit an elephant sanctuary, one where they live in the jungle but come in voluntarily and you feed and bathe them plus the money you pay goes to looking after them. I’ll be honest, it’s more Lindsay’s choice, but that’s partly because I’m not massively keen on the idea of spending half a day getting muddy and paying £130 for the privilege. |
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 13:19:48 GMT
^ All we need now to make this thread/section of the forum complete is a road test of an elephant......... As per my last post, won’t be doing that. I’ve read how their spirit is broken to get them to interact well with humans, not pleasant. |
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Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2019 13:21:20 GMT
Basic hire cars are great and good fun and I always book the cheapest , however on holiday last week this was about 9 euros more than the cheapest car (fiat 500), so we hired this for the day and enjoyed some of Lanzarote finest roads . Italian convertible and RWD so still good fun Excellent work Andy! What do you think of it? |
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Post by ChrisM on Feb 8, 2019 13:58:14 GMT
We're getting close to the bank in Malaysia agreeing to deal with me in regard of my late father's things, almost 2 1/2 years after he departed this earth. The choice of affordable (to me) hire cars is interesting to say the least but includes the Honda City and a Honda BR-V, "Be Ready Vehicle" www.hondacarindia.com/honda-brv (presumably smaller than the CR-V) As for the "Active-Solid Motion", not sure I want one of those when out there ! |
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