[drabux]

Hello all,

Well today I've just sold my tuned twin-turbo, 5.5 litre V12 Mercedes and am looking to buy a base model Up. Surely the most dramatic shirt of car ownership on this forum?

I'll be posting a bit over the next few weeks in order to make sure I get advice on the right car to choose and where/how to get the best deal.

Cheers for now.

Alan

 

[clowesa]

Hi Alan and welcome to the forum. Now THAT is some change. Running costs running away with you perchance?

 

[drabux]

Thanks for the welcome. How did you guess? 12 mpg around town ain't fun. Neither is waiting for the next £1500 repair bill. 30 years ago a fast car was fun on British roads. Congestion, tight management of speeding and fuel costs have taken that pleasure away. So, I admit defeat in the face of the growing anti-car lobby. Besides, there's something pleasurable in driving a light, simple car.

 

[clowesa]

Well everyone on here will definitely say you've made the right choice. Those that are lucky enough to already have their up!s absolutely love them and those of us who are still waiting are seriously excited to get ours.

The upside (sorry, no pun intended) of waiting is that we're all totally addicted to the forum

 

[911sse]

I am going from 911 to Boxster S to an up! All for the same reasons. A wee light nimble car will be fun tootling about the city and country roads. No more track days but no more hefty bills and tyres!

 

[drabux]

911sse you sound just like me. In all honesty, as I get older (42 years) I feel that I've done the speed/track day thing and, anyway, remember the smaller, slower cars of my youth as being at least as much fun to drive.

Quite looking forward to going from king of speed to king of hyper-miling

 

[waterwagens]

Welcome aboard !!!
I have a 450hp Audi b5 s4 (the best ones

) which i use on weekends so the up is great in the week as i get about 40mpg better with the up and chicks dig it lol !!!



I still have a 300se w126 merc lowrider which does 22mpg but that does 2 car shows a year so that doesn't count anymore !!

 

[drabux]

Very refreshing to see such a broad minded approach to cars. A few of my friends with big BHP cars think I've lost the plot getting an Up but I think they fail to understand that interesting cars to own and drive come in all sorts of configurations.

 

[move up!]

Welcome, drabux

Light and simple is the way forward, plus you will still have fun! Taking a bend will feel more thrilling at 50mph in the up than in the beast of a Merc, and as you say, you can't enjoy big cars with all the congestion and fuel costs, etc. The three cylinder sound is quite rorty, too

 

[timbo58]

Glad I am in such esteemed company, going to a 75 horse High up from a tuned Audi 225 quattro TT, 27mpg at best and £600+ a year to maintain, £500 for tyres every year.

Lovely car, but not the least practical.

 

[luckyjimmy]

That's quite a jump (or should that be drop?) drabux but just think of the extra cash in your pocket. These days, I think there are so many more'worthy' things to spend money on, than a speedy car. If you just want simple, comfortable transport that's quite fun to drive, you can't go far wrong with the Up.

 

[drabux]

LuckyJimmy, if you are as old as me and can remember the '70s sitcom The Good Life, you'll remember the theme about the 'down-shifting' couple who lived a virtuous life by living a minimalist life (who were next door neighbours to wealthy and snobbish neighbours). Guess whose side you are on?

Well, moving to an Up is a bit like this. The massage seats, radar cruise control etc etc did nothing for me, whereas the simplicity and frugality of the Up interest me much more.

Alan

 

[wigit]

i totally get your logic, i actually got a small car so i could justify keeping something with a bit more performance orientated for when i want to go for a drive, doing 20k a year in something with serious power is just not cost effective

a few took the p'ss on the 500 then have become converts when they've been out in it, however, if i didn't have it i'd probably run some boring diesel BMW?Audi

for me the VW Fox is a truly awful car but i the Up they have come up with something similar in spirit to the Lupo (Mini and 500) that is one of those cars for all classes and a car you'd want to own