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[Entwood]

Ah....the Marina/Ital.......a time when Britain was the world leader in cutting edge car design.

Well, I was always cutting the edge of the front mud flaps, as the body roll was so horrendous that they kept dragging on the ground!

The Marina/Ital is obviously a far superior car to any BMW.    I have fond memories of my Marina Coupe 1800TC! 

I believe this one came with the arthritic lump from the MGB.

??

For its time a very "tuneable" engine, certainly I had many hours fun with both the Marina 1.8 TC and the MGB that followed it, some carb changes, needle/seat changes and the judicious use of a couple of "colourtunes" and a carb balancer ... in the days when you COULD play with engines ..

[zirk]

The most sumptious I think was the leather in the 2.9 scorpio

Yea agree, when I had my old Cosworth 2.9 Ultima, the Leathers in the Front were comfy, the Leathers in the Back where just heavenly, people used to sit in the back and just fall in lone with the seats, shame the rest of the Car wasn't built the same. 

Mind you, the back seats were handy when the car broke down and you needed a pair of stockings off someone to replace the Cambelt. 

[Sir Tigger KC]

Ah....the Marina/Ital.......a time when Britain was the world leader in cutting edge car design.

Well, I was always cutting the edge of the front mud flaps, as the body roll was so horrendous that they kept dragging on the ground!

The Marina/Ital is obviously a far superior car to any BMW.    I have fond memories of my Marina Coupe 1800TC! 

I believe this one came with the arthritic lump from the MGB.

Mine probably was arthritic as it was well used before it came to me and only cost me £50, but it still had plenty enough poke for a reckless and horny 19 year old! 

All I did to it was drive it and shag in it!!     

[cem_devecioglu]

As always cem, you leave no choice but to disagree.

Those models are considerably more than any omega. A few more years on the omega and that might improve.

I'd need a significantly more substantial reason than "oh I feel like a change" to justify the costs of those. Bar a few head unit inputs, don't expect any more toys or comforts either.

Fact is, head gasket failed or not, almost any repair is cheaper than any of these models.

While it's always nice to have a newer car, are we really getting a better car than an omega given the extra outlay?

infinity is in a different league Chris..   almost in every detail..

[05omegav6]

As always cem, you leave no choice but to disagree.

Those models are considerably more than any omega. A few more years on the omega and that might improve.

I'd need a significantly more substantial reason than "oh I feel like a change" to justify the costs of those. Bar a few head unit inputs, don't expect any more toys or comforts either.

Fact is, head gasket failed or not, almost any repair is cheaper than any of these models.

While it's always nice to have a newer car, are we really getting a better car than an omega given the extra outlay?

infinity is in a different league Chris..   almost in every detail..

I suspect that is due to the oldest European Infinity models being a good 8 years newer than the newest Omega, and typically 100k miles less abused, rather than their American build quality...

[Mr Skrunts]

I learnt to drive in a HA van and BMW 2500 auto so not much difference there .    I think the BMW is where my love of big cars started.  I have also had a Granada 3000, 4.2 jag, 4.2 Daimler sovreign

Couple of cars to add to the list to consider are the Jag XF and BMW 730D, sadly the beemer interiors to me seem sad and dated, the interior of the 300C is nothing to write home about looks wise either.  Last time I was hankering after a BMW it was the 535i with the twin centre exhaust (X reg)

The merc is leading so far,  on paper I need it to be capable of 50+ mpg,  I need the extra width and comfort to help my health issues, I have damage in my legs which has knackerd my circulation and cause me quite a lot of issues, and limits me to a couple of hours max driving the car, but if I can jiggle about abit and keep changing my seat position then this helps my health issues.(this is where some cars with the hand brake down the side of the seat dont help.

Mark DTM made a good point, no good for short journeys, this is one of the reasons behind the better MPG and comfort, with the right car and feeling ok on a good day I can just jump in the car and nip to the coast, have lunch, bit of canoodling watching the sun go down and then when I get a bit bored go take a steady trip home via the country side or a blast down the M180/18

Intention is to keep at least 1 of the mig's, probably the 2.2 as a run about, maybe even one of the V6 motors as well.

Budget?  good question, 7 years old, 70K max mileage, full electric leather seats and a sunroof is my target, seem some nice cars as low as £7000, don't know if I really want to spend that much, but then I don't smoke or drink, and anything that returns 40MPG+ on a run makes for a nicer car in the long run, if I want newer then I just need to save longer. 

Only thing I have'nt looked into yet is the insurance, which might be a good idea before test driving any of them 

[Kevin Wood]

Ah....the Marina/Ital.......a time when Britain was the world leader in cutting edge car design.

Well, I was always cutting the edge of the front mud flaps, as the body roll was so horrendous that they kept dragging on the ground!

The Marina/Ital is obviously a far superior car to any BMW.    I have fond memories of my Marina Coupe 1800TC! 

The similarities are almost uncanny...

The reasons behind BMWs purchase of Rover suddenly become clearer

Indeed.

[Mr.OmegaMan]

Was tempted by the E60 535d but I've heard too many horror stories 

For me at least it has to be the Lexus LS430 mini facelift model 2003-2006... Large RWD V8, Reliable, More toys than the Omega, Comfy and silent and smooth, Not forgetting 0-60 under 6 seconds... Anywhere from £3,000 - £8,000.. Shouldn't be much if any worse on fuel than a 3.2 Omega... I've also heard the Insurance is also cheaper on the LS... Whenever the LS430 is mentioned they first thing people mention is the looks, Personally I like them. That's the only issue people seem to have with them.

[chrisgixer]

As always cem, you leave no choice but to disagree.

Those models are considerably more than any omega. A few more years on the omega and that might improve.

I'd need a significantly more substantial reason than "oh I feel like a change" to justify the costs of those. Bar a few head unit inputs, don't expect any more toys or comforts either.

Fact is, head gasket failed or not, almost any repair is cheaper than any of these models.

While it's always nice to have a newer car, are we really getting a better car than an omega given the extra outlay?

infinity is in a different league Chris..   almost in every detail..

I suspect that is due to the oldest European Infinity models being a good 8 years newer than the newest Omega, and typically 100k miles less abused, rather than their American build quality...

Oh I thought he was talking about the budget for a second.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Ah....the Marina/Ital.......a time when Britain was the world leader in cutting edge car design.

Well, I was always cutting the edge of the front mud flaps, as the body roll was so horrendous that they kept dragging on the ground!

The Marina/Ital is obviously a far superior car to any BMW.    I have fond memories of my Marina Coupe 1800TC! 

I believe this one came with the arthritic lump from the MGB.

??

For its time a very "tuneable" engine, certainly I had many hours fun with both the Marina 1.8 TC and the MGB that followed it, some carb changes, needle/seat changes and the judicious use of a couple of "colourtunes" and a carb balancer ... in the days when you COULD play with engines ..

Ah, yes...........the infamous colourtune.

I spent many frustrating hours trying to set up the twin SU carbs on my Triumph 2500S with one of these.

I could only get the car to run sweetly if I set it up 'super rich'.
The result was something like 8 MPG around town and barely 13 MPG on a long run with the car striding along in overdrive top.

[cem_devecioglu]

As always cem, you leave no choice but to disagree.

Those models are considerably more than any omega. A few more years on the omega and that might improve.

I'd need a significantly more substantial reason than "oh I feel like a change" to justify the costs of those. Bar a few head unit inputs, don't expect any more toys or comforts either.

Fact is, head gasket failed or not, almost any repair is cheaper than any of these models.

While it's always nice to have a newer car, are we really getting a better car than an omega given the extra outlay?

infinity is in a different league Chris..   almost in every detail..

I suspect that is due to the oldest European Infinity models being a good 8 years newer than the newest Omega, and typically 100k miles less abused, rather than their American build quality...

its the japanese build quality..

[Marks DTM Calib]

Interior space is inversely proportional to safety features. 

[Kevin Wood]

Ah, yes...........the infamous colourtune.

I spent many frustrating hours trying to set up the twin SU carbs on my Triumph 2500S with one of these.

I could only get the car to run sweetly if I set it up 'super rich'.
The result was something like 8 MPG around town and barely 13 MPG on a long run with the car striding along in overdrive top.

The major flaw with the Colourtune was that you could only set the mixture at idle. great for getting it through an MOT emissions test. Rubbish for getting it to run OK. Although, in theory, once you've tuned an SU carb at idle, it'll work OK throughout the range, add a bit of wear to the needle and jet and it was anybody's guess what it was doing under load. Thankfully, fuel injection came along and we got the much more driveable and efficient cars we have today.

[Kevin Wood]

I believe this one came with the arthritic lump from the MGB.

??

For its time a very "tuneable" engine, certainly I had many hours fun with both the Marina 1.8 TC and the MGB that followed it, some carb changes, needle/seat changes and the judicious use of a couple of "colourtunes" and a carb balancer ... in the days when you COULD play with engines ..

I often wonder what would have come of the MGB if they'd fitted a less undersquare engine more deserving of a "sports" car. The B series was ideal only for the Sherpa van IMHO. 

If the O series had ever made it into an MGB it would have been an improvement.

[aaronjb]

Jag XF

For me if the Omega was like sitting in a comfortable arm chair, the XF was like squeezing my whole body into a sheepskin glove.  Quite comforting but ultimately not exactly roomy!

Probably fine if you're built like a racing snake, though.