Getting a car

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Am getting a brand new car in the next couple of months,never thought would ever get the chance.
Am not paying for it like normal,as it's from the Motability scheme ,they take it out of the high rate mobility part of/DLA.
A man from ford is coming next week with a book full of different cars and colours they have to pick from,so it has to be a ford car.
Am hoping to choose a pale green/blue? focus as used to go out in one a lot to country parks with another Autie,and they are very nice to be in but staff are saying it';s too big just for am and staff,they're saying to go for the new fiesta instead as it looks like a focus but is smaller.
It will be insured to all the staff at home [think thats' also paid for by DLA or Motability] so will always have drivers.
One of the guys who lives here recently got his motability car,it's a ford focus but in a people carrier style as his had to be customised to fit his wheel chair,he spent months waiting for it,and they didn't customise it enough,his legs are squashed up,dont think he can give it back.



Are there any fords that should avoid,or are worth looking at?
Am remember hearing a lot about the ford cougar and puma on watchdog and they were favourite car shapes.

Was going to suggest a Fusion, but then noticed your UK location... and that's a wagon model over there... yuk... and the European Focus is completely different than the US model. In fact it's pretty sharp. Fiesta looks good too. US doesn't get those. Or the Ka.

*internal rant about US vs world models and what our government thinks is good for us...

Good luck with the choosing.

Thanks SuedeIII.
The US doesn't get the Fiesta? is there any reason why a country wouldn't get a specific car?
It sounds as petty as the way computer games are released [or not depending on location].
Did the cougar and puma get released in the US?

Don't think have seen a fusion before-is that the same one as the c-max?
It is on Motabilitys' car list and haven't heard of it before [it's also got better reviews than the focus or fiesta].

Motability says on the diesel cars they offer,they tend to be noisy,do know how noisy they would mean by that? have never been in a diesel car before don't think,so not sure what would expect.

Is diesel more expensive or less to get than the 'normal'...stuff?

diesel cars are more expensive to buy, but use less fuel. my support worker has a diesel car and it is more noisy than a petrol car, especially when the car is stopped at traffic lights.

what sensory difficulties do you have with travelling in cars? and would it just be you and a driver, or do you need another support person there? if you regularly have more than 2 people in the car a fiesta might be too small.

other things to think about: you might get a choice of interior, do you think a light or a dark interior would be better for you? it's even possible to get dark tinted windows, but if you want that then do check with the drivers first as obviously it makes the car harder for them to drive at night. another issue can be how high or low you are sitting in the car, the higher up you are the less distracting the movement of the outside world is (to put it another way, the lower down you are the faster is appears that the car is going)

do you have problems when the car goes over speed humps? if you do then a bigger car would be better than a smaller car. small cars can also wobble around a lot at high speeds on fast roads. larger cars generally use a bit more fuel though. do you know how much you will be using the car, how many miles per year?

hope some of this helps!

Not the current one. But a little research reveals the North American model of the Fiesta will be here for 2010. It's much the same as your example, in the name of "safety." We never got the Puma. The Cougar was designed for the US market but also sold in Europe (based on the Mondeo platform, we never got that either). Sometimes we get the nameplate, but not the full line of features. Escort comes to mind. Rest of the world has a little turbo screamer available called the Cosworth, we get a turd. But I digress.



US Fusion:


Euro Fusion:




Modern diesels are relatively quiet, but are slightly noiser than their gas/petrol counterparts. They run much more efficiently as well, but the fuel costs a small bit more.
BIG added bonus (for me, anyway) is that a diesel engine can be run on practically any vegetable oil (with a little work), or biodiesel can be homemade for a fraction of the cost of the stuff at the pump (not practical for most, I realize, but I'm into that sort of thing).

SuedeIII, careful with that BioDiesel ! !

I wanted to do that, but chickened out when I realized how poisonous the igredients are. By the by, running a diesel car on pure vegetable oil is a Urban Myth. It has to be distilled into BioDiesel, and most cars will require quite a lot of source oil.

Nope... once it starts and gets up to normal operating temp (on regular diesel) it can continue to run on pure veggie oil afterwards, then must be stopped on regular diesel as well. Great for long hauls, not so much around town. Check out Greasecar.

And nothing used to make biodiesel is dangerous when handled properly.

THAT'S like saying Plutonium is safe when handled properly ! !

Ask for a Focus SVT; and then complain when they tell you there hasn't been a Focus SVT since 2004.



In lieu of that, an Escape Hybrid? Or how about a little Ranger?

(Seriously though, please post info/pics when you get your car. And congratulations!)

Good fortune,

- Icarus is a Shelby GT kind of guy...

Maybe, but methanol and lye are a far cry from plutonium. Wear gloves, goggles, and no sparks or open flame. That easy.

Sorry KOR, not trying to hijack. Got a little bit of a passion for biofuels.

I apologize also.
(Was just told by my Greek Mercedes mechanic that older diesels can be run on veggie oil, but not the newer ones.)

Icarus,
that SVT looks a very nice shape,and so shiny,think it's a great name for the car [focus] as am always end up focussing on it's shape.
Would like an SUV very much!


Thanks DivaD!

Am have major sensory difficulties with cars [both in touch/feel and noise,but the first one will have to come second] although for the noise side find it worse on motorways,do wear earplugs and eardefenders which blocks some of the noise but have never tried a diesel car so wouldn't no what to expect.
Am often have 2-1 support [and always 1-1 at other times] so will need space for more than two definitely, am also hoping to use it to collect the diabetic cat from family home and dad when they need to go vet,so back seats will need to be good for one cat travelling box thing and one adult at least in back.

Interior colour won't matter as long as it's not iluminus green/pink/yellow etc,is there a choice of the chair coverings? if not,am would have to get a throw/sheet to put over,wonder if motability would change the seat coverings if ford wont? need to check out changes they do as havent done yet already.

Humps...get headaches from going over them,especially when going longer distances.
Will be using every day,mostly for going to shops probably,but also for going a bit further out to bolton [think thats the nearest one] to pets at home for cat stuff] and to country type parks.
Not even sure how much this car will take up of the mobility component,whether it ends up being all or not.
Is it possible to get reduced cost if ask to take out the cd player? it is not something am will ever use as its in an enclosed space,would rather have better seat covers.

SuedeIII,
the lines and shape of the US fusion looks a lot better,the euro one looks like a very cheap nasty looking one have seen here before [might begin with a K?]



And SuedeIII and Prof_Pretorius,no need for apologise,for car newbies it also helps.

If you don't like bumps, stick with a car, not a SUV. They're also more difficult to climb into.
On the whole, Ferraris are always a nice choice ....