Well, I just returned from a week home with the family in Ireland,
and spent a good deal of time keeping an eye out for French cars in
general. But first some background.
I was at home for a week. My parents had sold my car from when I
lived there, a 1986 Renault 5, so I rented a Ford Fiesta. Anyone who
remembers the Fiesta as a nasty tin box with a gimmicky grille should
put that image out of their head: the current car (mine was a 5-door)
is very nippy (the same 1.25-litre Zetec as used in the Ka helps),
comprehensively equipped (A/C, CD Player, power steering, brakes, and
windows), quiet at speed, and generally well-put together. My only
real gripe was the poor rear suspension, which left me longing for
the R5 on unsettled bends. However, it started on the first turn of
the key in -12degC weather and held the snowy/icy roads well.
Ireland is experiencing a huge economic boom. New car registrations
in Dublin topped 100,000 for the first time last year; nationally,
over 200,000 new cars were registered in 2000. Given that roughly
1.2 million people are licensed to drive, this means that one-sixth
of the country bought a new car. Pretty impressive by any standards.
Also due to the economic boom, people are buying larger cars. I saw
a lot of 206s, but the 306 and 406 were more common. No 607s,
though, and dealers flat out cannot sell the 806: nobody wants it,
and I don't blame them. The Citroen Xsara and Xantia were also
popular, and the Berlingo and Picasso were also evident; the Saxo is
pretty much a non-seller. Renault was doing well, with Meganes
(mainly hatches and Scenics, but also a couple of RX4s) and Clios all
over the place and a decent number of Safranes and Lagunas to show as
well.
I stayed with friends in the west who had recently replaced their
aging fleet of Renaults (a 25 and an 11 van) with a 406 and 306
Sedan. Both cars drove extremely well, and the 406 is definitely a
progression from the 405 but an infinitely better car in terms of
fit, finish, and overall road manners - especially in the noise
department. The 306 was some flavour of diesel, but was peppy and
also well-mannered. It clattered like a cupboard full of plates
dropped down the stairs in the cold weather when first started, but
was otherwise acceptable once it got up to temperature.
406 Coupes are popular, to say the least. I quit counting them after
I saw 12 from the bus between the airport and City Centre. Older
cars are disappearing: no 505s or 504s, and only a few 309s
(thankfully - that was never one of Peugeot's better cars). The
economic boom is undoubtedly partly responsible for this, but the
introduction of a national biannual roadworthiness inspection has
taken a lot of cars off the road permanently.
I did get the chance to speak with a couple of people who had bought
406s, and both had previously owned 405s. Interestingly, they both
made the same comment: "this car is so much better than the 405, and
I really liked that car". All the cars I have mentioned have been
getting good marks in the press for reliability, so I'll stick with
their opinion on this as I really can't make a reliable judgement as
most of the cars were too new to start having problems.
Other interesting vehicles: the new Fiat Punto (really a good-looking
car), Hyundai Atoz (I'd never buy one, but at least it doesn't look
like a Hyundai), and diesel Cherokees and Voyagers.
And, if the massive amounts of office buildings and homes going up in
South Dublin weren't proof enough that times are good, the government
dropped the rate on VAT from 22% to 20%, and I counted four Ferraris
(1 456, 3 355s) on the N7 when I headed out to the West.
Now... If you don't mind right-hand drive, tax-free exports are
possible ;)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon 01 Jan 2001 - 04:25:08 UTC