now that I don’t have much time to play games I don’t really have a lot to directly do with these forums, but the connection to the community is still there! hope life’s going well for you
4 Likes
That I figured when I returned not too long ago. But it’s good to see you doing well my g.
Oh boi, where to even begin. I’m in Melbourne rn, been here for the last 7-8 months. HMU if you wanna talk about that more lmao
what! do you have discord
lmao GetWrekt#4170 add me
Interesting, knowing opinion’s about Giulietta’s reliability from around here I’d guess that’s not the best maintained example. In general whoever with actual experience you’d ask in Poland would probably say that the really unreliable Alfas were those from the 90s - early 00s, and then it progressively got better, with Giulia and Stelvio being quite reliable.
And it’s like… 3rd, 4th time recently I see someone praisong how an Alfa drives. Now I’d be tempted to buy an Alfa myself, if only I could afford those more reliable ones 
Yeah I’ve frequently heard that while several gremlins remain that Alfa reliability has improved, although having said that I equally still see newer Alfas in the shop so my anecdotal judgement is that it’s relative!
From a pure driving pleasure point of view plus the potential for modification, I’m still going to be favouring my own Civic which is a far more focused (and ergonomically rational) affair, though that does come from a higher price point (i.e. more Golf R alternative compared to the Giulietta which was more pitched at the Golf GTi level). But even with the brake issues and whatnot, this was enough to show me the fun that can be had at that level. Enough to make it worth it? I’d have to test the rest.
update: RIP the Alfa, the insurers have declared that owing to suspension damage the Giulietta QV is a write-off. My colleague is still mourning the loss of the car, and my question of “so what car would you get next???” is “too soon”
F
update 2: so my colleague barged into my office and announced “I GOT A NEW CAR”
Me: what is it?
Him: it’s another Alfa Giulietta QV
…
So my colleague has purchased a 2015 model this time, in Afra Rosso red, with the DCT. Somehow he found one for the absolute bottom end of the price range. From a dealer. In another state. Sight unseen.
I can’t wait to see what’s wrong with it
13 Likes
Cheeky revive time, my mercegges went for winter hibernation as after my move I barely use my car so it’s an unnecessary expense since with insurance and parking it costs just to stay still. Thus, I now get to try out per minute rental cars if I need a car for some reason in the city and yesterday I had just such an occasion!
2020 → Renault ZOE
This was my first ever time I’ve driven an electric car of any sort and I have some thoughts about that, but first the car itself. The Renault ZOE is now an aging product, given it’s been on sale since 2012 and we’re nearing 2024, however it did have a heavy refresh and this is obviously one of the post refresh cars. I love how fabrics are making a resurgence as decor elements in cars, simply coating cheap plastic trim bits in a nice grey fabric can make a world of difference and the interior of this ZOE is a testament to that.
All round the interior is really nice and for the most part the ergonomics are lovely, the seating position is great and the steering weights up nicely once you get going. I drive a 90s car normally, so I’m not used to these modern cars with the pinkie light steering. Android Auto connectivity worked great and the dash display was useful, but HOLY DAMN do I hate the eternal Renault audio stalk. It’s really inconvenient to reach, maybe I could get used to it with ownership I don’t know. Please have a volume jog on the wheel.
How does it drive? Well, I don’t have much EVs to compare to, mostly ICE econoboxes and the like. But I gotta say, wow EVs are fun. The driving is just somehow much more engaging and positive compared to an automatic petrol/diesel car. Of course a manual car is most engaging but a modern EV is a joy to drive. It stays so flat in city bends you can take fast with confidence, the power delivery is instant and regen braking is lovely in the city as well. I had trouble getting used to the sensitivity of the throttle pedal as EVs rarely have a crawl mode like ICE automatics do, and leaving traffic lights I had a split second of panic every time as I thought the car stalled (lmao) since it became silent when you got going and there was a jolt forward from the instant torque.
I’m very impressed with how far Renault has come with their cars, and I’m sure I’d have even more positive of an experience with something newer like the new Megane, Scenic or Austral. The ZOE after all is getting phased out, which in a way is sad as it was one of the revolutionary new generation of EVs in Europe when it came out. This drive has solidified my want to get a range extended EV for my next used car once I have a bit more income, possibly an A3 E-Tron (2016 - 2018), or anything else with electric propulsion and a gas generator. I’d of course love a new full EV like a BYD Atto 3 or something, but well. I’d need on street charging or a house first and a well paying job, so no.
2 Likes
Cheeky revive 2. Honestly, I should’ve posted here when I drove a Peugeot 308 PHEV last year for a week but alas, that’s not fresh anymore.
2024 Toyota Aygo X.
Will keep this snappy. Basically I had plans with friends that kinda got jumbled by a scheduling fuckup and as a result, renting a car for the evening ended up being the best option, since we couldn’t get a ride from a relative like planned originally. The cheapest (or cheapest in a reasonable area) option was an Aygo X.
(Wikipedia picture of the outside)
So for those unaware, the Aygo X is the third generation of the Toyota Aygo, which was originally a collaboration between Toyota and PSA, as the first two generations were sold as the Peugeot 107/108 and Citroën C1 as well, from the same production line. However although Toyota still collaborates with Stellantis (with them having rebadged Peugeots and Fiats in their European selection) the third generation is all Toyota, and renamed as it’s a bit raised and has more cladding. By no means a small crossover like, say the Yaris Cross, just a look package.
This third generation thusly is based on the most recent Toyota Yaris platform unlike it’s predecessors and is a tad larger (especially wider track) than before.
-
Interior: No central vents in a modern car?! What?! All it’s size rivals, i10, Picanto, Spring, ignis et al have central vents. I’m so confused. Instead they use that space for a massive round screen bezel. But at least the large screen has wireless Carplay/AA which was handy since I took the wrong cable with me. The infotainment is hopelessly slow, though (AA too, so it’s hardware, not software), and the gauge screen is impossible to parse through, which is an issue since Toyota requires you to go through that to disable the overspeed sound alert. From the driver’s seat the car felt surprisingly spacious and an adult man fit in the back seat just fine.
-
Driving: Good out of the way, the thrum of an NA 3-cylinder was charming, as was the confident and darty road behaviour, which is probably thanks to the car’s relative light weight. However, I’ve been in Kia Picantos from 10+ years ago that were comfortable on the highway. This car doesn’t even have full door panels in 2025 (exposed steel inside) and immediately above like 50km/h it’s loud as all hell inside, there must be no sound insulation and it’s made of the world’s tinniest steel (which is exposed when you shut the doors). I had no idea which gear I was in most of the time, when I was in 3rd I often thought I’d mistakenly gone to 5th because there was no torque but it’s just cause the engine is gutless, but also the gear stick was really vague.
-
Misc: Lane keep was the most sensitive I’ve ever experienced in any modern car. I could be half a metre from the centre dividing line and it’d panic noise at me and tug the wheel, and it’d hallucinate lane markings all the time. Also, this is partly just cause I’m not used to Japanese cars, but it took 5min extra to fill it up because I had to look up how the fuel cap opens (why it doesn’t just open when the doors unlock, I don’t know. Is there a lot of fuel siphoning going on in Japan?) but google wasn’t much help cause “Around the driver’s knee” doesn’t explain that it’s a small black tab that blends perfectly into the driver’s seat’s rails. Why there? Why have that at all? Dunno.
That wasn’t as snappy as I wanted LMFAO. Anyway, this is probably the most personality you’ll find from a Toyota currently on sale that doesn’t have a GR badge on it. However, it feels like I’m driving a Mk1 Ford Ka, popout rear windows included. Which when it’s size mates are now as comfortable and refined as cars multiple sizes above is just unacceptable, especially at a Toyota taxed pricetag of 19,000€ for the entry level model. So although mostly negatives I did enjoy driving it, I’d just never want to have to drive one.