Which spec to buy?

[MetManMark]

Afternoon all

So having test driven the civic tourer this afternoon we have decided to go for the Auris TS hybrid. The question now is which spec to go for. We will be buying second hand (nearly new) and intend to keep the car 10-15 years.

The toyota that we test drove was the Design option and it felt good on the road. The Icon spec has everything that I think we want apart from cruise control. We don't particularly want the sat nav or the heated seats (Business Edition out) or all the toys that I don't think we really need on the excel (I am able to turn on / off things like wipers and headlights!). Which leaves the Design. I note that on the specs it seems as though going for 17" tyres hits the consumption. Is this the case in practise? If this is the case it puts me off the design as well as the excel.

The other thing is the cruise control itself. I have never actually had one on a car and don't do that many long journeys. But when we do go on a long journey I think that cruise control would be useful. What  are people's experiences with cruise? I remember last time I thought about installing cruise control on an old saab 900 (I loved that car)  people said that cruise control was a bad thing as it negatively impacted fuel consumption by slowing the car down when it went down hill and then accelerating up the hills (as opposed to keeping a constant throttle opening)..

Thoughts (as ever) welcome as I'll be phoning dealers over the next few days to place an order - just need to decide what  :).

Thanks

Mark

[eygo]

cruise control isn't just for motorway journeys ,i use CC around town especially when i know there are speed camera's around

its an insurance policy against points,i bought kath a 13 plate icon in may for her birthday without CC and i retro fitted CC took

15 minutes or so to complete the job and retro fitted the toyota navigation system again it only took 30 minutes ish to fit

so you can get the parts after if you then want them.

only you can make up your mind about the spec you buy make a list of whats important to you and buy the model that

tick the most boxes, the Lexus CT (auris based) has 16" & 17" wheel options and the 16" does give you better fuel economy and a more comfy ride.

[Heidfirst]

CC isn't necessarily more efficient as for the most part they don't (yet) anticipate road conditions (i.e. hills) & react accordingly.

When you are looking don't narrow your focus too much, keep your options open as occasionally a good deal may pop up - I went looking for a 1.8 petrol (cheaper to buy, dearer to run) or 2.0 D TR or & ended up with a 2.2 D TSpirit for the same money as local dealers wanted for the 2.0 D TR. I just had to be prepared to negotiate by phone/email & travel further afield.