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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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 Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| nobbyken wrote: |
Coming from the UK, I also had the notion that automatics were for big luxury cars or people with gammy legs.
Just started driving one here, and it is so good.
So much tight parking, starting stopping, traffic jams, etc.
Try one for a few weeks if you get the chance.
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I drove an auto for several years in Japan - same as here, hardly any manual cars around - and whilst I could see the advantage people claimed like what you mentioned, I found it so frustrating to drive out of town, especially for overtaking. In a manual, a quick change down and you'd easily zip past a slower car. In an auto, unless it was a really big engine, it was foot to the floor and pray the car you're passing doesn't cheekily speed up.
Also, in spite of the extra convenience in town of the auto, you pay for that at the pump.
Still, I don't expect I'm convincing anyone here  |
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3MB
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Is overtaking an issue though? In Korea? Most out of town driving is done on highways where you really don't have overtaking issues as far as needing to quickly overtake another car. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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Far from it. I'd love a manual car. My Kia Carens has a kind of manual option. You can flick through the gears when you move the gear stick over to the manual mode.......but it's not the same as a true manual.
As for fear of LPG.......not justified. I've been driving the Carens (Rondo in the States) LPG for 2 years now. We've never had any cold start problems or trouble finding a gas station.
Think about it. Just about every taxi in Korea is LPG. Why? Because they have cleaner emissions and are more economical.
IMO, you'd be mad to buy a regular gas car unless it was a real performance car. For normal people doing their daily thing in Korea, LPG makes sense. The savings on the gas bill are about 40%.
And, yes. The Rodius is the ugliest car ever made. But then, just about every Ssangyong car is the ugliest ever made. |
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Juregen
Joined: 30 May 2006
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| nobbyken wrote: |
Coming from the UK, I also had the notion that automatics were for big luxury cars or people with gammy legs.
Just started driving one here, and it is so good.
So much tight parking, starting stopping, traffic jams, etc.
Try one for a few weeks if you get the chance.
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I drove an auto for several years in Japan - same as here, hardly any manual cars around - and whilst I could see the advantage people claimed like what you mentioned, I found it so frustrating to drive out of town, especially for overtaking. In a manual, a quick change down and you'd easily zip past a slower car. In an auto, unless it was a really big engine, it was foot to the floor and pray the car you're passing doesn't cheekily speed up.
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Normally, with an automatic, pump the gas twice very fast and it will automatically shift to a lower gear to help you accelerate faster. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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As I have recently learned from another poster, and was confirmed by a Korean coworker, many LPG cars are only allowed for sale to senior citizens and the handicapped in Korea.
That one was new to me. Anyone know why?
There are a few models that are still allowed to certain individuals, but most models you see for sale can't even be sold to you. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| bassexpander wrote: |
As I have recently learned from another poster, and was confirmed by a Korean coworker, many LPG cars are only allowed for sale to senior citizens and the handicapped in Korea.
That one was new to me. Anyone know why?
There are a few models that are still allowed to certain individuals, but most models you see for sale can't even be sold to you. |
Wrong.
The Kia Carens LPG and Kia Morning LPG is openly for sale to anyone. Why only two models by Kia are being openly sold in LPG form, I don't know. But they are. And you can buy one. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| bassexpander wrote: |
As I have recently learned from another poster, and was confirmed by a Korean coworker, many LPG cars are only allowed for sale to senior citizens and the handicapped in Korea.
That one was new to me. Anyone know why?
There are a few models that are still allowed to certain individuals, but most models you see for sale can't even be sold to you. |
As eamo said, not true.
There is a reason for this common misconception, however. The restrictions you mentioned apply to converting a non-LPG car to LPG (and perhaps also to used cars that have been so altered).
Regarding cold start problems, I know that the new (i.e 2006 onwards) Carens has an LPI engine, specifically intended to address this (and other) issues. With older LPG cars, it might still be a problem though.
I'd agree you pay a lot less to fill up with LPG. But at the same time, the same size of car will also use more LPG than petrol/diesel to go the same distance, and a hell of a lot more if it's mostly city driving. So it MIGHT save you money to get an LPG car, or it might NOT, depending on your own situation. I really liked the new Carens and seriously considered getting one when I was car shopping. But when I did my sums for the driving I'd be doing, I reckoned that I'd either be saving very little or nothing with LPG versus what I would for the initially less expensive petrol cars I was considering. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
| bassexpander wrote: |
As I have recently learned from another poster, and was confirmed by a Korean coworker, many LPG cars are only allowed for sale to senior citizens and the handicapped in Korea.
That one was new to me. Anyone know why?
There are a few models that are still allowed to certain individuals, but most models you see for sale can't even be sold to you. |
Wrong.
The Kia Carens LPG and Kia Morning LPG is openly for sale to anyone. Why only two models by Kia are being openly sold in LPG form, I don't know. But they are. And you can buy one. |
Thanks, but as I said, "many" cars. Not all models are restricted. There are exceptions. Would love to know more about this as far as what models are and are not accepted for sale to us.
I bet B-class nailed it. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| bassexpander wrote: |
Would love to know more about this as far as what models are and are not accepted for sale to us.
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I'm pretty sure that ANY regular new LPG car is available to anyone. With Kia, there's also the Opirus and Carnival that you can get in LPG form.
With a used car, not 100% sure on this, but I reckon it'll perhaps depend on whether it was originally an LPG car when bought new, or if it has since been converted for LPG use. |
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Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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| hey b-class is your name from the b-class Mercedes? or something else? |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Xuanzang wrote: |
| hey b-class is your name from the b-class Mercedes? or something else? |
No, no, not at all. Just a pretty stupid private joke (about our relative walking speeds) between me and a couple of other British guys I worked with some years ago. |
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gteacher
Joined: 24 May 2007
Location: Ghost in the machine
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
Gteacher, what size engine does your Gentra have? I think they come with 1200 or 1600 engines, don't they? And is yours the sedan or the hatchback?
400km per tank is a little less than I'd have expected. Is that because it has a small tank or do you fill up well before the gauge is nearing the E.? In my 1600 petrol i30 I easily get 550-600km just doing city driving and have had over 700km on one tank for long trips. The tank is fairly big though - about 55 litres, IIRC - and that's reflected in the amount I pay to fill up. When prices were at their peak a few months ago, I was paying close on 100,000won to fill up. In fact, in the places where I've lived & owned cars other than in Korea - i.e. Western Europe & Japan - I can't imagine many people thinking of the i30 as a particularly "small" car. In those countries, there are probably as many cars on the roads smaller than it, as bigger.
The offer of a test drive to the OP is a pretty handy one in Korea. It's funny how few (if any) Koreans do this before buying a car. When I asked at the Hyundai showroom, I was just given a straight "no, not possible, period". I'd thought Japan was bad in that regard where the showroom has a special 'testdrive' course that nearly always involves just a 3 minute drive around the block. |
Small tank - 40L, to fill costs between 40,000 and 60, 000 depending on fuwl prices.
I have the 1600 sedan.
They don't let people test drive cars here, unless you are lucky enough to sign up for a special test drive session. back home I wouldn;t buy a car without test driving it and I don't mind helping someone else make a sensible decession when it comes to buyinga car. those of us who are here long term need to stick together and help each other out when and how we can. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 2:20 am Post subject: |
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| When I bought my used Matiz about 3 1/2 years ago, the guy let me take it out for a test drive. He rode along with me. I bought it from a dealer in Suwon who had advertised on www.encar.co.kr . |
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ulsanchris
Joined: 19 Jun 2003
Location: take a wild guess
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:41 am Post subject: |
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I think you shouldn't dismiss the SM3 out of hand. It is a decent car. My wife and I have had one for almost a year now and not a problem. its a nissan car so it is a step above most korean cars. Don't get a rexton. I was in one that was a few years old and it felt very cheap inside and had a rough ride.
Sm3 has a better ride than the gentra too. |
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