Calling All European Oppos

"Amoore100" (amoore100) 02/22/2017 at 02:06 • Filed to: Good Night, Oppo Asks, Mystery Car

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What the hell is this car?

Spotted on Google Streetview in Berkhamsted, UK.

At first I thought it was a Fiat from the rear, probably a Stilo Estate, but the front screams ‘Ford’. The rear also seems a bit Nissan-ish, but everything they sold in Europe at the time (pre-2008) was ultra-curvy and sculpted, nowhere near this drab. So what is it? I’ve been searching for about 30 minutes now and everything has me stumped. I honestly thought I could figure it out, but your boring-ass black wagon has beaten me. ;)

Honeybunchesofgoats > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 02:17

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Edit: Nope.

Svend > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 02:27

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Kia Carens. Circa 2003.

They were never really popular as such but Kia back then were really cheaper motoring and quite well built.

These days a 2003 will set you back £390 for a 1.8LX with 90,000+miles on the clock.

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 02:27

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That is a 2000-2006 Kia Carens. It’s like the Rondo we had a decade ago.

Amoore100 > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 02/22/2017 at 02:35

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Wow, I had no idea this facelift existed! From what I gather, you’re a U.S. opponaut so bonus internet points for you! If I may ask, how did you come about knowing the existence of such an odd Korean rectangle?

Amoore100 > Svend 02/22/2017 at 02:37

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Makes sense now, thanks! I thought the first gen Carens looked like this:

so it’s quite a discovery for me to realize that there was a facelift I never knew existed! In my opinion, that facelift practically changed the look of the entire car so I would never have made the connection on my own (and the Wikipedia page is nearly as unhelpful! )

Come to think of it, the post-facelift Carens has quite a Forester-ish look to the rear...

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 03:13

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I am indeed a US Opponaut, but I was born in Colombia. My family and I go every summer. These are relatively common there. I rode in a Carens once. I’ll try to never do that again.

If you Google “odd Korean rectangle”, you’ll probably get redirected to the search results for the Kia Carens.

Svend > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 03:13

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I always thought the Kia Carens were a bit Toyota-ish at the rear.

Like the Toyota Carina.

The generations get mixed a little. In Europe there tends to be a lot of facelifts before the next gen comes out.

Take the Fiesta and the Focus.

The Fiesta were on the eighth or ninth generation and the Focus were on what the fifth generation but there has been facelifts in there also.

Svend > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 03:36

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The Focus the U.S. initially got at the same time as Europe.

1998.

2017

The same is with most cars sold in Europe. It’s always trying to keep the customer stimulated into wanting to buy a new car.

Amoore100 > Svend 02/22/2017 at 03:39

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Meanwhile in Australia...

The Fifth-gen Falcon:

Five. freaking. facelifts. for. one. car.

Svend > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 03:43

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Lol. The first three are like a spot the difference competition.

Amoore100 > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 02/22/2017 at 03:51

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Makes sense! South America is an odd amaglam of almost every car market there is with Chinese-market PSA products being sold alongside brand new Skodas so it’s no surprise really that petrolheads familiar with that area know just about every corner of the international automotive landscape!

And no, I think this takes the cake:

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Svend 02/22/2017 at 05:25

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Suzuki Cappucino!!! :D

duurtlang > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 07:07

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Hyundai H100! Those used to be common, my neighbors in the 90s had one. Haven’t seen one of those vans in ages, they weren’t that durable as far as I know.

RT > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 07:15

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Everyone else just beat me to it, though it doesn’t matter after all, the Carens didn’t get good until the 3rd gen.

rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 07:26

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US Oppo here and my first thought was Camry wagon.

Amoore100 > RT 02/22/2017 at 11:33

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Oh come on, we got the second-gen here and it was perfectly decent!

Amoore100 > rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI 02/22/2017 at 11:34

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Svend beat you there, he noticed it looks quite similar to the Carina E(euro-Camry) wagon...

RT > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 11:45

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Yep, it was decent, but it wasn’t competitive - at least here where there was a much larger selection of compact people carriers at the time.

The second gen Carens still gets the job done as basic transport, but if that’s what you’re after, you can get a whole lot more for less.

It was an improvement for Kia though, baby steps.

Amoore100 > RT 02/22/2017 at 11:48

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True, here they were reviewed favorably but that’s because we had no other mini-MPVs on the market at the time, only the Mazda 5/Premacy even came close.

Also, can’t forget my favorite!

Ah, such an ugly car. I love it.

RT > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 12:03

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Ah yeah, forgot about the Mazda5, another very practical car which manages to be fairly fun. Like if the V50 was a people carrier.

And the Xsara Picasso, definitely distinctive alright. A few years ago they were everywhere but now they’ve kind of disappeared. It was the symbol of PSA’s dark age in the 00s, with the extra flimsy plastics and all, but I do at least appreciate it from being different from the norm.

And now it’s evolved into this, which is one of the best MPVs on sale right now. It all paid off in the end.

Amoore100 > RT 02/22/2017 at 12:18

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You’re not the first one with that idea!

I thought PSA was ok back then, reliable but kind of boring. Nowhere near as exciting as Renault’s offerings like the Laguna ;)

Definitely a lot more stylish today though!

RT > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 12:51

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Well, around that time Peugeot was moving into the -07 cars, and the only really interesting Citroën was the C6. That was when there was a quality decline. Cars didn’t break down all the time, but it was the end of tough cars like the 406, and the beginning of plenty of vehicles which could be described as ‘flimsy’. Even the sporty models of this generation were heavy and down on power (good thing there’s a return to form these days).

As for Renault, well the Avantime was awesome and their Renaultsport cars nailed it, but even then their ordinary cars were pretty mediocre. The Laguna was a legend in BTCC, but as a road car it was like a French Chevy Malibu. More cheap plastics all round really. Only now both are starting to make competent ‘normal’ cars again, though every era has their gems.

Amoore100 > RT 02/22/2017 at 13:05

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Ah, I was thinking more of the turn of the millennium cars like the Xsara, Saxo, 206, and other -06 cars; boring and reliable, but with a bit of French flair. Indeed, the -08 cars are considerably better and thankfully the Cactus line-up over at Citroen is improving fun somewhat.

Well I was mostly referring to the excitement involved in the Laguna I’s tendency to break down every other day, not to mention the unreliability of the Scenic I. Renault’s new offerings are nice from the outside but oh so depressingly dull inside!

It looks like something PSA would have made seven years ago, not today!

RT > Amoore100 02/22/2017 at 13:18

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Oh right, then I think we can agree. I was thinking of the -07 cars while you were on about the -06s. Not surprising since they made the Xsara Picasso for so long.

Renault interiors are definitely behind, though the latest PSA stuff is a tad heavy on the touchscreens. I do like the Clio which you can ‘change the exhaust sound of’ though, not a fan of these gimmicks but this pushes it so much that it’s amusing.

Video:

Excited for the new Alpine either way.

Amoore100 > RT 02/22/2017 at 23:13

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Yep, the Xsara Pic kinda transcends the generations since it was so popular and made for so long.

I find it somewhat disappointing that they aimed for concept-car looks on things like the new Tali and Scenic yet they didn’t try at all inside.

Agreed, that’s just Renault being their cheeky selves! And I do hope they aim to bring Alpine back to the States if only for the A120 in a low-volume way as the Alfa 4C was. Just having a few here is good enough for me!