A2_ornot_A2
Member
Hello - thanks for all the information on the site, which I've been reading over the past few days.
I am thinking of replacing my current car, and rather like the idea of an A2 - but I'm not sure if it will fit my needs - I currently drive a Xsara Picasso, which is too large most of the time (we are a family of 3) but only just big enough when we go camping; although we do get everything inside the Picasso bar the bikes, which go on a two-ball mounted rack.
So for most of the time the A2 would be perfect, because most of our driving is within 20 miles of home. However, we do need to do long journeys (6 to 7 hours) every now and again, and, of course, there is the camping equipment issue. I gather from here that the roof load limit is only 40kg - is that for all models? I've bought roof bars and a roof deck for the Picasso this year so that it isn't so squashed inside the car, and the stuff I'd want to put up there is over 40kg (not much - adds up to c.50kg and I guess I might be able to swap some things around to get lighter stuff up there) This leads on to another issue though - the heaviest camping item is the table and chairs (11kg together) but theses would be too long to go on the boot I suspect, as we'd need a five seater for occasional grand-parent transport, and also because the kid likes to sit in the middle of the car so she can see out the windscreen better.
Anyway, these are the issues I'm juggling with - will the A2 be able to cope on the 5 - 10% of journeys where we need to take lots of stuff? I do own a trailer that I've never used - am I right in thinking it's about £300 for fitting a towbar?
The other issue is reliability - I want a petrol, so a 1.6 I think would be best (especially if we do tow) but it has a lot to live up to. I like to buy cars cheap and run them a long time (no point spending money on a depreciating asset after all) - the current Picasso has 170k miles on it and has cost about £300 in repairs over 2 years/25k miles, including a precautionary new cambelt on purchase. There seems to be a lot of 1.6 FSI issues on here, but then I suppose no-one starts a thread to say 'my 1.6FSI is really reliable' do they
Thanks again - I've much more to read, and when we go camping this summer I'll try and work out a better way to pack - it will be January when I'll be looking to buy, although given my specific requirements (5 seats, cruise, tow-bar, electric rear windows, ideally leather) I may be looking forever
I am thinking of replacing my current car, and rather like the idea of an A2 - but I'm not sure if it will fit my needs - I currently drive a Xsara Picasso, which is too large most of the time (we are a family of 3) but only just big enough when we go camping; although we do get everything inside the Picasso bar the bikes, which go on a two-ball mounted rack.
So for most of the time the A2 would be perfect, because most of our driving is within 20 miles of home. However, we do need to do long journeys (6 to 7 hours) every now and again, and, of course, there is the camping equipment issue. I gather from here that the roof load limit is only 40kg - is that for all models? I've bought roof bars and a roof deck for the Picasso this year so that it isn't so squashed inside the car, and the stuff I'd want to put up there is over 40kg (not much - adds up to c.50kg and I guess I might be able to swap some things around to get lighter stuff up there) This leads on to another issue though - the heaviest camping item is the table and chairs (11kg together) but theses would be too long to go on the boot I suspect, as we'd need a five seater for occasional grand-parent transport, and also because the kid likes to sit in the middle of the car so she can see out the windscreen better.
Anyway, these are the issues I'm juggling with - will the A2 be able to cope on the 5 - 10% of journeys where we need to take lots of stuff? I do own a trailer that I've never used - am I right in thinking it's about £300 for fitting a towbar?
The other issue is reliability - I want a petrol, so a 1.6 I think would be best (especially if we do tow) but it has a lot to live up to. I like to buy cars cheap and run them a long time (no point spending money on a depreciating asset after all) - the current Picasso has 170k miles on it and has cost about £300 in repairs over 2 years/25k miles, including a precautionary new cambelt on purchase. There seems to be a lot of 1.6 FSI issues on here, but then I suppose no-one starts a thread to say 'my 1.6FSI is really reliable' do they
Thanks again - I've much more to read, and when we go camping this summer I'll try and work out a better way to pack - it will be January when I'll be looking to buy, although given my specific requirements (5 seats, cruise, tow-bar, electric rear windows, ideally leather) I may be looking forever