Reply to: This rocked my world

[DimPrawn]

I'm speechless...........must have been the ultimate

Pretty much the best Allegro in the world.


Which is like saying, I've just done the best tulip in the world.

[DimPrawn]

Wifey had a Rover 114GSi at one point. A 1.4 engine in a Metro and it was still pants.

Don't know if you remember the Metro Turbo.

They added a Turbo and this of course produced lots of power and torque. Unfortunately, the British designed and manufactured gearbox couldn't cope, so they solved it by fitting a bypass valve so that the Turbo power was wasted.

Simple solution! Turbo that doesn't add any power and risk breaking the car.

Now, why did they go bust?

[MrMarkyMark]

I'm speechless...........must have been the ultimate

[DimPrawn]

No body kit?
You should have got this Metro, instead, Pukka:-

No, it was more like this:

[LondonManc]

Wifey had a Rover 114GSi at one point. A 1.4 engine in a Metro and it was still pants.

[MrMarkyMark]

1.3 A-Series engine. I changed the steering wheel to a "sporty one". I added a blue stripe down the side and fitted some alloys from a scrap yard.

Motoring heaven!

No body kit?
You should have got this Metro, instead, Pukka:-

[DimPrawn]

And a square steering wheel?

1.3 A-Series engine. I changed the steering wheel to a "sporty one". I added a blue stripe down the side and fitted some alloys from a scrap yard.

Motoring heaven!

[SimonMac]

WTF are you on!?!?!?!

A moka pot doesn't make anything even approaching an espresso.
Gaggia is very much on the toytown end of espresso machines - not to mention the two you mention are bean to cup machines, no hipster barista would be seen dead using a bean to cup machine.
FFS Money no object!!! at about £1300 HA!

Look up Speedster, Elektra Belle Epoque or Slayer if you want a real espresso machine.
Oh and a decent grinder could cost circa £2000+ on its own.

AYSYACOTBAC

If you want the full blown hipster just get some Kopi Luwak, although to be fair when I tried it I was disappointed, its good but not "Worlds Most Expensive Coffee" good.

Ignoring the Elektra Belle as that is just naff, the other two are professional coffee shop models, a bit OTT for someones kitchen, remember always use the right tool for the job

[vetran]

FTFY

wipe clean for a reason.

[LondonManc]

Saab dash boards are only of use if you have a plastic fetish!

FTFY

[cojak]

WTF are you on!?!?!?!

A moka pot doesn't make anything even approaching an espresso.
Gaggia is very much on the toytown end of espresso machines - not to mention the two you mention are bean to cup machines, no hipster barista would be seen dead using a bean to cup machine.
FFS Money no object!!! at about £1300 HA!

Look up Speedster, Elektra Belle Epoque or Slayer if you want a real espresso machine.
Oh and a decent grinder could cost circa £2000+ on its own.

AYSYACOTBAC

I've found a very nice grinder for £35 in Lakeland, but I can get a fiver off that with a voucher.

It'll do for me.

[MrMarkyMark]

I owned a white Allegro for several years.

Did it have go faster stripes, what was the spec like, we need more detail, please

[Dactylion]

Anything from a pod is a waste of time, plain and simple get a Bialetti moka pot for the perfect espresso, if you want a full range of milky coffee's has to be the Gaggia Brera (or the Gaggia Accademia if money is no object)

WTF are you on!?!?!?!

A moka pot doesn't make anything even approaching an espresso.
Gaggia is very much on the toytown end of espresso machines - not to mention the two you mention are bean to cup machines, no hipster barista would be seen dead using a bean to cup machine.
FFS Money no object!!! at about £1300 HA!

Look up Speedster, Elektra Belle Epoque or Slayer if you want a real espresso machine.
Oh and a decent grinder could cost circa £2000+ on its own.

AYSYACOTBAC

[greenlake]

Saab dash boards are like a qwerty keyboard!

Ah yes, PEBKAC.

[PurpleGorilla]

My honest appraisal of the SAAB 9-3 2.0T Convertible 2003.

A good looking car. Before the facelift, when SAABs started looking like they were the original SAABs but with anaphylaxis encroaching from a bee sting.

The leather interior is very comfortable and I can clean spills easily. (I tend to balance a costa coffee or wild bean café hot beverage on the passenger seat as the cup holder is broken).
The clocks look very amateurish, and the night panel feature is a gimmick, but I like gimmicks and use it on long motorway journeys when it's dark.

The console is cheap and nasty, and I'm considering buying some wood/walnut trim and replacing it, as it's letting down what is otherwise a nice interior, with good quality carpets.

The roof goes down at the touch of a button, so I get that "Oh you utter " look from pedestrians and motorists alike when I decide to put the top down.

The car is fast. Very. For a low spec, low budget car it competes well with it's German counterparts in that it's lighter, faster and more fuel efficient. Even at motorway speeds the acceleration is strong, which with the standards of British drivers is a must for evasive manoeuvres these days.

The ride is very stiff, so you feel every pebble. I guess they went for handling rather than comfort. This lets it down, the BMW gives a comfortable ride with excellent handling. The handling on the SAAB isn't as good so the compromise on comfort isn't worth it really. The best handling I have experienced is in Audis.

So I find the car querky, and daft. The window buttons are behind the handbrake, so you need to reach for them while driving, and crane your hand like you've got carpal tunnel. I really can't explain it, but I fell instantly in love with the car, and I am very smitten with SAABs.

Saab dash boards are like a qwerty keyboard!