Which Lupo ? :S

[Lupodude]

Hi :

I am thinking about buying a lupo and i have heard that the 1 liter lupos are a little underpowered and was wondering if it is worth the extra insurance and getting a 1.4 liter ?

Also it would be nice if anyone could shead some light on what the classifications of lupos are : Lupo E , Lupo S , Lupo SE ect

Thanks

Josh

[Gib_]

if its your 1st car I'd play it safe and get a 1 liter. cheapish insurance.

[Silver!]

Make sure it's one you can afford.

1.0 is fine and ours regularly makes trips to Glasgow, Edinburgh and into the glens, but if you can afford it go for the 1.4.

I personally would recommend that you keep away from the Sport and GTi for a couple of years, though some people have had a Sport as a first car and seem to manage.

You wouldn't want to spend all your money on buying and insuring and then not be able to afford to enjoy it.

[simpo]

I more than agree with the above, but also remember it would be cheaper to buy a better model a keep it standard for a while, than a lower model and then modify it, as insurance companies love to take your money when it comes to modifying.

However I haven't managed to do this yet as I cant help but go car shopping.

[EaRNi!]

lol, just remember you cant polish a turd

[Lupodude]

lol, just remember you cant polish a turd

Well i've never heard that one before !!

Thanks for your help its appreciated

I was going to buy a CAT D write-off to bring the cost of the car down

me and my dad are very mech minded so all of the work can be done our selves .

If anyone could give me some sites for accessories and body panels that would be brilliant

Thanks guys !!!

[heartagram]

1.0L would make a good first car. I always think slow cars make better first cars because you have to pay more attention to what your doing. If you buy a GTI as your fast car and take it out on the motorway you can zoom in and out of lanes no bother. If you have a 1.0L you have to be a lot more aware as it'll take a bit longer to get up to speed. It basically makes you work a bit harder and pay more attention which is what you want when your a new driver. I think something like a GTI just encourage you to drive fast which is fine when it all goes to plan but when it doesn't you may no be able to control it and may result in you crashing.

Thats just my 2p anyway.

[Guest Lauryn]

I would push and get a 1.4S. Not a huge difference in insurance groups, and has that little bit extra of pull! I had a Renault Megane Coupe (1.6 16v) which I bought for myself on my 18th birthday, and then 10 months later bought the Lupo Sport, and I managed fine! Just make sure you do quotes etc on different models/cars and you will know what you can afford!

Lauryn

[heartagram]

I'm not saying if you buy a fast car you will be a bad driver. But having something slow means you have to anticipate things more, which can only be a good thing.

[dlyall]

1.0 is fine as a first car. We had one as a second car and did about 39k over 4.5 years with very few issues. It's quite capable of staying with motorway traffic but it does lack overtaking power so if you do lots of A/B road driving you may want a 1.4 but the insurance will be quite a bit higher. We sold ours to a 20 year old girl from London and the cheapest quote she could get was £800. IRC, she couldn't even get a quote for a 1.4 so that may be an issue.

With regards to the designations, E is the base model - manual windows & mirrors, no rear speakers, no central locking. If it's an older one it'll have black mirror housings. Ours was a 2001 and had body coloured mirrors but black door handles

S got electric windows & mirrors, more speakers, central locking, possibly opening rear windows and a different tilt mechanism for the front seats to aid access.

SE I think might be a very limited edition and have no idea what it included.

If you have a look at Parkers website you can get a full rundown of the specs.

HTH

Dave

[charlie-says]

1.4S here and it's great, the little extras like leccy windows etc really make it.

[cardaft]

Asuming it is your first car: Id go with the 1.0, i agree with Kam, slower cars are much better first cars. They make you think more, you need to plan ahead a bit more and make you a safer driver. Also 1.0s are so light they handle really well, the suspension on my 1.0S Arosa is much firmer than my TDi, it hadles better, great around town and ive done many a long trip in it and its fine. Once your up to motorways speed it sits there very well (much better than some other 1.0 cars ive driven!) It will also plod along nicely at 90ish without much fuss (not that you should ever go that fast! )

The lupos/arosa handling so so predictable you would have to be a total idiot to crash one, they tell you exactly where the limits are, once you know how to tell the signs - so its a great first car for that reason too. Insurance will be a bit cheaper (why do you want to give insurance companies more!?? its a rip off as it is).

Once you have had a 1.0 for a while you can always sell it, having built up no claims - and more importantly experience that the slower car has tought you, and buy a bit faster car.

When i passed i drove a 1.1 Saxo, 1.0 Ax and then my 1.0 Arosa, which i had for two years (still have it!) and bought my TDi which ive had for over two years now. So im building it up, very slowly!

The main thing i find with the 1.4S is its gearing, it sits at 3K at 70 where as the 1.0 sits at nearer 4K (same as the sport actually), Which does make the 1.0 a little rev happy at speed, but its made for that and it leaves it with a bit of overtaking pull as its doing a fair amount of revs. Obviously the 1.4 has a bit more pull, but at times it feels just like the 1.0 to drive! I do like the 1.4S for its gearing, its quite refined.

I find it so hard to drive a petrol car now though, they are so much work and never feel like they get anywhere fast! My TDi has made me lazy, and torque dependant

Purely taste thing, but i much prefer the arosas looks, however from a first car point of view you dont get any spec on a 1.0 lupo, but you do with the 1.0S Arosa.

Ok, you wanted a bit of info on spec:

1.0 engines are all either E or SE spec

1.4 (75) E, Se, S

1.4TDi - Sport

1.4 (100) - Sport.

E is basic, you dont get electric anything, no cental locking or anything. You do get one or two airbags depending on the year and a radio cassette.

SE is actually the next step up, and not above the S. It gets 14" alloys, green inserts on the setas, pop up front seats with extra leg room, leather steering wheel, gearknob and handbrake cover, a few chrome bits inside.

S Has pop out rear windows, electric windows and key operated central locking.

The Arosa 1.0:

Basics are just called 1.0s, they have the same spec to a 1.0E lupo. Howver:

The 1.0'S' model, has 14" alloys, remote central locking (you only get that on a GTi Lupo!) electric windows One or two airbags depending on the year, pollen filter, CD player (year depending) and a few other neat touches the arosa brings. Not to mention the fact the headlight look much better but work extremely better than the lupos!

Good luck with your search!

[Guest Lauryn]

I'm not saying if you buy a fast car you will be a bad driver. But having something slow means you have to anticipate things more, which can only be a good thing.

I know what you mean, when I had a 1.6 as a first car, it was the biggest/fastest car out of all my mates, and I suppose I showed off a bit in it. Ended up with a crash and 6 points only 6 months into driving, so wasnt the best!

[Little Green Giant]

im going to say what i always say! if driven properly, you can have a lot of fun with the little 1L i love mine, and they are surprisingly nippy! i love it!

[Jowey]

can vouch for the 1.4s being great fun, real punchy out of junctions awesome visibility

My Mum had a 1.0 Arosa mk1 and i was going to buy it from her when she sold it

but I found the 1.0 Arosa was about £300 more a year to insure than the 1.4s Lupo i was also looking at, at the time