oldcajun

After our cruise around the British Isles, my wife wanted to spend some time in the Cotswolds area so I rented a car. My prime requirements were a large trunk and auto transmission. The wife doesn't do packing light, and I don't shift well with my left hand. The car they came up with was a Vauxhall Insignia which is the basis for our current Buick Regal. It looked almost identical to the Regal, but had the steering wheel on the right side and Vauxhaul badges. Power was a 2 liter diesel and it had factory navigation which was touch screen.

The good part is that the car handled very well and the body was very tight with no squeaks or rattles even after 22,000 rental car miles. The nav was not high tech, but was easy to use and follow. The ride was a little "jiggly" but not uncomfortable. The trunk was very large and easy to load.

The bad part was noise and vibration. The tires were so noisy on coarse roads that it hurt my ears. The engine was rough, noisy, and short of power. The car was actually a bit too large for many of the country roads and small village parking lots.

I was really surprised this morning when I got in my '16 RX350 to drive home. It was so smooth and quiet I had problems staying within speed limits. I can't even think what it would be like to drive something this big on the back roads, but it would have been great on their Motorways.

As I was turning in the car at Enterprise at Heathrow Airport, there was a Bentley convertible for rent. I asked the lady doing our check-in and she said it was about 1000 pounds ($1250) per day. Oh well, maybe next time.
Steve

davyjordi

oh, god, more about buicks.

mmarshall

Thanks for the write-up. I noticed the same build-solidness with my Buick Verano, which is a redone Opel Astra. The noise and vibration would probably not be as much of an issue on the American Buick Regal version of the Insignia you drove, because of the extensive "Quiet Tuning" sound-insulation that Buick adds. You might (?) have also had different (and somewhat worn) tires on the version you drove, adding to road noise. The "jiggly" ride you experienced may have been from a sport-package, if the car was so-equipped, more or less the same as the American Regal GS, which, despite its turbo-4, is considered a sports-sedan.

Toys4RJill

My 86 year old neighbour in Toronto just upgraded his black Buick Verano into a white Buick Regal with turbo. Although the color does nothing, the car is in fact really nice.

It would be really nice to know what kind of tires were on the OP's rental.

mmarshall

Get used to it, friend. This forum is CAR chat, not just LEXUS chat.

You are also welcome, of course, to bring up discussion of any vehicle or brand you want.

mmarshall

The color DOES help keep it cool in the summer.....although Toronto is generally not known for the kind of summers we get here in D.C.

Agreed. I mentioned that in my last post.

Coleroad

There's a fair amount of road noise coming from the continental tires on mine. Glad it's only on some roads, and not all the time. More road noise than I got from my A/T tires on the Land Rover. None of my convertibles tires sound that loud with the tops down.

davyjordi

i'm used to it, pops. i'm no new kid on the block -- i've been an avid reader and participant of clublexus, car chat included, since 2010.

mmarshall

Hey, I don't mind being called Pops.....given my age, there is at least some truth to it LOL.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

oldcajun, i've found a lot of cars in europe to have minimal sound proofing compared to the u.s. Also, much of the road surfaces are very coarse.

mmarshall

Coarse road surfaces are often done for safety (anti-skid) reasons......especially if and when it is not feasible to slant (crown) the road surface for water to drain off.. The grooves and pores in the road keep water from building up under the tires and causing hydroplaning...but they also, when dry, allow for sound waves to echo in them.

davyjordi

in spain most of the roadways are very smooth compared to some other EU member states.

oldcajun

I didn't pay a lot of attention to the tires, but they appeared too new for 22,000 miles. They were Ziex which I think are Falkens and the size was 225/50X17.

I did get a sample of a really great European car. We took a ride with a friend who drives a Macan S with all the toys. His had a 3 liter turbo diesel which was quiet, very smooth, and fast. The interior was great. I could live with this car, but the cost was nearly 100,000 pounds sterling.
Steve

Toys4RJill

I am assuming these tires are not the greatest. Never seen them on any mainstream brand in the USA. Could I be wrong?

Yes, the Macan S is pretty sweet. We have a delaer located inside a popular shopping mall where I am. I sometimes check out the cars when I am there, it is a nice car. But the diesel must be past $125k.

Coleroad

It's a falken tire, and falken is owned by sumitomo. Not the best of tires unless you're talking about their wildpeak A/T 3 W, and wildpeak M/T. There's definitely worse brands out there, like sunny tires.