Kris' 1997 Peugeot 106 independence 1.1

Everyone should have a car like this at least once in their lifetime, a car that you are not so much the owner of, as the temporary custodian for future cash strapped motorists. You rarely buy these cars by choice, but rather out of a necessity for personal motorised transport on limited funds. In fact you rarely actually pay money for them at all, and if you do, it's more likely to be the price of a flat screen tele, the insurance will cost three times as much. Quite often they bare an incredible resemblance to the first car we or one of our mates had, sharing a lot of the same attributes, more often than not acquiring simple nicknames, and ending up engraved on our hearts. These 'stop gap' cars often have at least one significant mechanical flaw, maybe even several, and plenty of minor faults and foibles that should leave you in disgust, cursing the day you ever clapped eyes on the blasted thing. Yet years later we still regale happy tails of former ownership to anyone who will listen, should we spot one in the street.

Purchased for the princely some of £100 from a colleague by Kris' sister Suzanne (her with the Focus TDDi) as a work tool back in June 2009. Regularly borrowed by their dad Eddie throughout 2010, by the summer of 2011 finances finally permitted the Ford purchase, so custody was handed to Kris who needed a cheap motor for commuting to his night shifts. In the best 'stop gap' fashion, Alan is a special edition, and not just any special edition, but an especially cheap french special edition. The recipe is simple enough, take any base model small hatchback, throw some gaudy fabric at the interior, add a limited choice of bright paint colours, liberally cover with model badges of questionable taste, maybe a tilting sunroof, and voila, one infinitely more desirable sales success. Well a car that is cheap to build coz of the limited model variations, and that can be revised quickly for the cost of a new sticker design and a quick change to the paint supply order.

And that is exactly the formula used to create this face-lifted phase II Peugeot 106. An 1.1 XN 5 door in an eye searing metallic electric blue, with equally bright blue and black weave pattern seats and trim, a raft of 'independence' badges make it hard to forget that this is a special edition, but at least that tilting sunroof adds some serious luxury! Basic by late 90's standards meant wind up windows, no air-con just a fan heater, a radio cassette player (stereo with FM mind), and manually adjusted wing mirror controls. Scrapping the snow off to head out for a run reveals many battle scars. On the nearside there is trim missing from the front wing, the side mirror is held on with gaffa tape, and the rear door is dented. The offside has suffered too, all the trim is missing from that side, including a bit of the rear bumper. Poor Alan looks like he's been through a hedge backwards.

Climbing inside and the hard black plastics have faired a little better, but not much. The rubber buttons on numeric keypad for the immobiliser have worn through, the soft touch plastic on the steering wheel is pitted and worn, and nearly 16 years of use have thankfully dulled those seat fabrics down slightly. Going to adjust the offside wing mirror, the lever moves around but the mirror doesn't, the nearside lever is missing altogether. Several aftermarket accessories are scattered across the dash top, including various cup-holders and air-fresheners. It's quick a nice place to be though, space is okay, and a good seating position can be found, even in spite of pedals that are heavily off set to the left because of the encroaching wheel arch.

Turn the key in the ignition and nothing, oh yeah, that immobiliser code. Beep, beep, beep, beep, the red LED goes off, a green LED comes on, turn the key again and the 8 value four cylinder churns into life, all 59bhp and 67lb/ft of it. The engine sounds healthier than I'd expected, the exhaust however is blowing a bit, thanks to Kris' gun-ho speed-bump technique. Selecting first reveals quite a lot of play in the gear linkage that I think is down to age rather than poor engineering. Driving up the coast through Whitley Bay and the brake pedal seems a little spongy. Kris has topped up the power steering fluid recently so the steer weight is near perfect and for now at least works quietly. Out on the A193 through Hartley, Seaton Sluice, and towards Blyth, a health cruise can be maintained, although that exhaust does start to get noisy at speed.

The basic nature of this car is endearing, a large buttoned single DIN stereo tops off the centre console, next down are two sliders and a dial to controls the ventilation, a neat row of five large round buttons and a large ashtray (that refuses to stay shut) more or less completes the gadget list. To the left is a decent glovebox and yet another independence badge, to the right, the airbag fitted steering wheel, with a nicely shaped instrument panel behind. Even that is basic, with a large round speedo on the left and a large analog clock on the right, a semi circular fuel gauge above them, and a row of warning lamps across the bottom. The rectangular air vents look strangely old skool compared to the retro round items found in a lot of modern cars. Those round push buttons, the interior door handles, and the nifty map lamp all remind me of my old 205 GTi.

Todays snow covered roads don't really allow for much exploration of the handling, but I've had a fair amount of previous with various base spec phase I 106's in the early 90's, and had regular access to a near identical Citroen Saxo in the mid and late 90's (Paul with the Yaris had one with the inclusive insurance deal). Even these basic 1.1's encapsulate a lot of the entertainment capacity that made the 205 GTi legendary. It's the way the suspension absorbs the bumps whilst still allowing you to carry substantial speed through the corner, that and the purity of the steering. 8v engines were a bit old hat by the late 90's but they deliver a handy amount of torque lower down the rev range, and there's not that need press on to the redline like you do with 16v units. The skinny 155/70 R13 tyres grip well, but match the available power nicely, so that you can play around with the level of grip, all without breaking the national speed limit.

Alan and his ilk are just so enjoyable to drive, and are able and willing to be driven as hard as possible without drawing too much attention to themselves. Sitting in the back is no great hardship for a short ride to the pub and the amount of gear we could get into the back of Paul's Saxo was amazing. When you start to think about how cheap these cars can be to buy, insure, and run, then even a petrol-head like me starts to wonder about downsizing. Maybe a 1.4 petrol or the 1.5 diesel so that overtaking isn't so nerve-wracking, or perhaps a 106 GTi or a Saxo VTS, but no, the costs and spec start to rise, and the anonymity starts to disappear. And that is probably what makes these 'stop gap' cars so loveable, our expectations start out low, and budgetary requirements force us to accept certain fault, but in spite of their basic, humble, and often rundown state, we end up adoring them for the freedom of mobility that they deliver. Too all the Alan's of this world, we salute you.

Thanks to Kris for the loan of his car.
ⓒ Dan Ewing 2013

Jan's 2012 Nissan Juke Tekna 1.5 dCi 2WD

The country roads within the Bedford, Luton, Milton Keynes triangle have been hit hard by the scourge of blanket 40 and 50mph speed restrictions, but not all of my old favourites have been scuppered. The Christmas festivities have drawn me south to visit my brothers family, so I've taken the opportunity to head out in my sister-in-law's car for an hour or two, as much to escape the delights of shared family-time, as to write this article. Like an M.P. who is duty bound to declare their 'interest' in a discussion to avoid later being accused of swaying the debate for personal gain, I must admit to having extensive prior connections where Nissan is concerned. I did work for Nissan at their Technical Centres in Cranfield and Sunderland, my brother Matthew still does, and he gets not one but two company cars. So I am more than familiar with and have had regular access to a fair chunk of the Nissan range, past and present.

Being a Tekna this Juke started off near the top of the spec tree and has hit most of the option branches on the way down. There's a good quality leather interior, with a very clever touch screen Sat Nav-Audio system that seems able to connect with all the latest gadgets. The small steering wheel has a raft of audio and phone controls as well as cruise controls. There is a very neat centre console that switches between climate and driver info controls. Headlamp and wiper stalks all have auto modes that reduce the frequency with which you need to reach for them in the first place. Outside there's quality metallic paint, funky alloy wheels, privacy glass in the rear set of windows, and a nifty keyless entry system that means that as long as you have the keys on your person, you can get in and start the car.

These Jukes seem to look bigger and bulkier than the measurements would suggest, the high bonnet and waistline feed into shapely rear wings beneath the a narrow glass house and pinched roof. It's certainly a very fresh new design that steps away from the oft tread retro small car route. I like some of the styling details but find others vaguely annoying. I love the high mounted front lamp clusters, especially when viewed from the drivers seat at night, but am disappointed to discover that only the side light and indicators shine out from them, the dipped and full beam both come from the lamp lenses in the bumpers. The roofline in itself would look good on a low slung 3 door coupe but seems a little odd perched on top of this 5 door sudo SUV body. And it seems a shame to make these cars without 4WD, even if it does enhance the economy.

The 1.5 turbo diesel engine is a Nissan-Renault alliance stalwart with a healthy 108bhp and 177 ft/lb of torque, that combined with regular shifting of the six speed 'box, delivers decent pace at any speed. Steady driving seems to deliver healthy fuel consumption of nearly 60mpg and even the heavy footed will get figures in the high 30's. The performance feels brisk rather than rapid, but a good cross country gait can be easily achieved. The steering seems very sharp and direct, although there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of feedback through the wheel. The ride is on the firm side, but not too harsh as it never seems to get overwhelmed by bigger bumps or potholes, which is impressive considering the fairly short wheel base. The firm ride also aids the handling which feels reassuringly good, although the combination of high seating position and a fair amount lean through the corners does leave you feeling a little prone when pressing on.

Over lunch Jan starts quizzing me as to what I'm gonna write about her car, and my response is a little flat. The Juke seems to be a very popular car, you see them around everywhere, and Nissan's Sunderland factory can't make them quickly enough. In purely objective terms, it is a very competent, practical car, with plenty of useful features and details, and only a few compromises in the name of style. Yet I can't quite seem to gel with it, I can't quite engage with it on a favourite stretch of road in a way that leaves me wanting to double back and do it all over again. I like some of the visual details, yet can't help but feel that as a whole, it ends up looking a little odd and fussy.

Maybe it's the whole crossover thing, and the fact that these cars aren't really aimed at someone like me, who rates dynamics and feel over efficiency and practicality. This is the newest and most valuable car I've tested so far, and I'd bet that nobody, myself included, could find much to complain about, if they were given one of these Juke's as their runaround. It's just that given the same amount of money to choose for myself, I'd be swayed by a more conventional coupe, or if practicality really dictated, a straight forward executive estate car. But that is the beauty of the raft of automobiles available to us the consumer, the end user. What I might see as small, cramped, dull or weird, others will lord as compact, cosy, easy to drive, and striking. Likewise my ideal of a powerful, discrete, and capacious car, others will chastise as a gas guzzling, drab, barge.

I can't conclude that the Nissan Juke is a bad car, or even that Nissan need to make some changes to improve it to suit me more. It is a good car, and for many people, like Jan, it will be a great car that does everything they want well. Am I right? Is Jan wrong? The answer to both questions is the same. Our requirements are just different and so our evaluation of this and any car will always differ. There will never be one perfect car, that does everything superbly, and everyone rates equally well. The vast variety of user requirements, the evolution of technology, even the changing environment in which we live, will always drive forward and change our view point of any given car new or old. And so it should do, variety is after all the spice of live.

Thanks to Jan for the loan of her car.
ⓒ Dan Ewing 2013