Buying An Almera. Seems Very Cheap.... Too Cheap.

[rixalex]

Averaged 21.1km/liter chiang mai > udon using 95 gasohol

If you use the engine in "bursts".. you can do 25+ km/litre but not sure its really a sensible way to drive

Just out of interest, as someone clearly with an eye on fuel economy, why weren't you using E20? Hard to come by?

[Almera]

The inside trim is really cheap and nasty looking and there are a few rattles in the dash which i find annoying.

As far as the trim is concerned, i think it depends what you compare it with. Compare it with a more expensive Vios or City and it looks cheap, compare it with a similarly priced Brio and it looks very solid.

Re: The trim.

The showroom top spec one was lovely.

Stopped in the lowest spec one on the way out, I've never seen such a difference in my life!

Seat material was the worst material I've ever felt in my life, polyester fur? The dash was the same as my old mate's 1991 Civic. Manual speedo and rev counter and that's it. Radio and air-con dash gone completely.

If we go for one it's not going to be the bottom spec! The higher spec one we were very impressed with.

[rixalex]

The inside trim is really cheap and nasty looking and there are a few rattles in the dash which i find annoying.

As far as the trim is concerned, i think it depends what you compare it with. Compare it with a more expensive Vios or City and it looks cheap, compare it with a similarly priced Brio and it looks very solid.

Re: The trim.

The showroom top spec one was lovely.

Stopped in the lowest spec one on the way out, I've never seen such a difference in my life!

Seat material was the worst material I've ever felt in my life, polyester fur? The dash was the same as my old mate's 1991 Civic. Manual speedo and rev counter and that's it. Radio and air-con dash gone completely.

If we go for one it's not going to be the bottom spec! The higher spec one we were very impressed with.

Bit surprised by what you say here. I test drove before buying both the bottom of the range and the top, and found probably the biggest difference in terms of interior quality was to do with the seats. Bottom of the range seats are indeed awful. With regards the dash though, from my memory there wasn't much difference - certainly not in terms of quality of plastics. Of course the bottom of the range is missing quite a lot of switch gear and instruments, it being the bare bones version, but to be expected considering the 170,000 odd baht saving you make.

Anyway, my recommendation would be to go for the middle range auto with electrics model, which i think goes for about 490. I really don't think the extra 110k for the top model is worth it. Top model you get the alloys which to me aren't much improvement over the steels as they are too small. Auto climate control, push button start, idle stop are the other main extras, but again, for me, probably not worth it. Perhaps if you were talking an extra 50 or 60k, might be a harder decision.

[Thunder26]

Even if it has a small engine, the performance is not that bad. I've been driving Almera for a couple of months and it does very well on a flat road, even with five people on board.It goes easily up to 120 km/h, but it starts to feel shaky if driving faster, so I wouldn't recommend driving it faster than 120 km/h. Overtaking a car is not a problem on a city road. The sport mode responds very well when the car speed is about 50 km/h. It picks really fast up to 100 km/h. When it comes to hilly roads it is noticeable that the car is under powered, especially with 5 people in the car. Overall it's a great car for a city drive that offers plenty of leg room and fuel efficiency.

[culicine]

Even if it has a small engine, the performance is not that bad. I've been driving Almera for a couple of months and it does very well on a flat road, even with five people on board.It goes easily up to 120 km/h, but it starts to feel shaky if driving faster, so I wouldn't recommend driving it faster than 120 km/h. Overtaking a car is not a problem on a city road. The sport mode responds very well when the car speed is about 50 km/h. It picks really fast up to 100 km/h. When it comes to hilly roads it is noticeable that the car is under powered, especially with 5 people in the car. Overall it's a great car for a city drive that offers plenty of leg room and fuel efficiency.

Two people and a child are ok in the eco-cars for performance. That's what I found in the swift, anyway. There is quite a difference at high speeds between having three adults and two adults. When it's just me it goes very well indeed, even with the cvt. The cvt certainly does get better mileage than a regular auto, especially cruising at 1800 rpm at 100 km/h or so. Really impressed with that, compared to my civic which does 2200 rpm at the same speed, but with a much larger engine. The manual might save a bit more fuel compared to the cvt, but not by much, as it revs much higher at higher cruising speeds.

[pokerspiv]

Id suggest getting the auto. The whole point of the almera is the CVT gears that are meant to help you save fuel.

I agree about getting the auto, but i don't agree you should get the auto to save fuel. CVT is more fuel efficient than other types of auto, but it can't compete with manual.

The main reason to go for an auto is better resale value. Most people can't drive manuals nowadays, so it makes the car harder to sell.

[mogandave]

The main reason to buy auto is traffic.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Is that deal open to Thais only?

I'm sure it's available for any sucker, Thai or ferang.

[mogandave]

That from someone wanting to buy a Yugo errrr, Skota.

Just kidding, but the guy has the car and likes it, why stink up his day?