Richard Yarrow’s opinion for www.startrescue.co.uk, providing low cost Car Breakdown cover.
A question has been stewing in my mind. When was the last time I drove a car that didn’t have an audible warning to tell me I was about to leave the headlights on? I’ve been mulling on this since an incident yesterday – erm, me leaving my lights on – which very nearly resulted to a call to my breakdown cover provider for a jump-start.
The car at the centre of this debate is the Proton Savvy (pictured), an £8k city runabout that’s been on sale in the UK for the last five years. It’s got a decent enough 1.2-litre engine that’s at least as good as many of its rivals, and while it’s a bit noisy, it’s revvy and eager and you can comfortably cruise at 70+mph on the motorway.
So why is the Savvy such a rare sight on UK roads, to the point where other guests at the Volvo event I was at yesterday wanted to come and have a look around it?
The answer is simple; there is a class of buyer – mainly the more mature customer – who wants a cheap, honest and reliable motor. But even he or she can see that the Savvy is hopelessly outdated. Sure, it’s cute enough from the outside, but it’s on the interior and spec where it’s massive let down.
It’s not a place you’d want to spend time. Trust me, I did 300 miles in it yesterday. The dashboard is made from horribly hard and ugly plastics, the seats are totally unsupportive, there’s no adjustment on the steering wheel and a piece of handbrake trim came off in my hand. It’s got air-con, but you only get two airbags. Every rivals has at least four these days. And then there’s the lack of a headlight warning chime.
A quick check on the Auto Trader website reveals three used Toyota Yaris for sale within 20 miles of my house for the same money. One only had 17,000 miles on it. A far better bet.
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