Travel 45 minutes each way to work on coarse chip country roads. Tried a new Suzuki Swift sport today and was disappointed by the road noise. Is this a tire issue?. Can anyone suggest a economical quiet car for this type of use?
kazbanz,
Aug 15, 10:50am
Did you check what tyres were fitted? YES some cars will be quieter than others but equally some tyres are quieter. -Incidently a sport generally has lower profile tyres which transmits more vibe through the cabin
yendor,
Aug 15, 10:57am
The pdf from Suzuki I just downloaded states 195/45/17 as the size. Does not state the Brand.
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 15, 11:02am
Better to look at a small Citroen or Peugeot if those are our requirements. Also can be very good value for money. You won't believe the difference between one of those and the Suzuki when you drive them.
phalanax,
Aug 15, 11:21am
Shame you dont live in the states you could have the 2019 Caddy Escalade 8 seater, 4wd,420hp ,10 speed. Im pretty sure that would be very quiet on them course chip country roads. lol
kazbanz,
Aug 15, 11:28am
You will find the "non sport" version a bit quieter but I would go up a size to a demio or mazda 2 but not a sport.
trouser,
Aug 15, 11:51am
You will not find satisfaction with small cheap Japanese cars, and hatch backs especially. Euro would be the way to go or maybe a falcon.
pettal,
Aug 15, 12:02pm
Just turn the Stereo up .
tamarillo,
Aug 15, 12:07pm
As above. I have found that getting a cheap car even in highest spec doesn't add sound insulation and quietest cars are up market and larger. In comparitive tests VW seem to always be said to be quieter and more refined on open road so is polo a possibility? Tyres do make a difference but won't cure the noise of a city car. Personally I'd rather a low milage late model used larger car over a new city car for open road use.
sw20,
Aug 15, 12:16pm
New Lexus ES300H.
msigg,
Aug 15, 12:24pm
Get a new corolla. these are great cars, economical great for open road driving, nice and smooth and quiet, most reliable car out and will hold it's price. Best take a test drive to see.
kazbanz,
Aug 15, 12:49pm
ACTUALLY--for your main purpose -long distance open road commuting I do agree that a small car is false economy. for mostly open road use you are going to get the same sort of fuel economy --and be a truck load more comfortable in a bigger vehicle. Given you are looking at new or nearly new stuff my thought would be to go for a corolla sedan or a variation on it.
vtecintegra,
Aug 15, 12:57pm
The Corolla sedan is a significantly worse car than the hatch IMO - while they both have the Corolla badge here they're very different cars aimed at very different markets.
Anyway they aren't especially refined either - obviously better than a Swift but nowhere near as quite as a Camry or whatever
panicky,
Aug 15, 1:07pm
Pretty sure the new Swift Sport has Continental Sport Contact 3 tyres on it. The previous model Sport ran Bridgestone Potenza's. They are both 195/45R17
rovercitroen,
Aug 15, 1:09pm
I have a Swift Sport. Ride quietness at open road speeds is not one of its plus points. Some great suggestions above.
matarautrader,
Aug 15, 1:44pm
I drive 100km round trip on a daily basis and I use a 07 Falcon. Relatively cheap, comfortable, quiet, and surprizingly economical. I recently achieved 7.4 litres/100 on a trip to work, but usually its 8.3 litres/100km
intrade,
Aug 15, 1:47pm
the problem more often is the road surface. for noise . i driven my bora on the shitty brigstone my tyres and at times i was thinking my new weel bearing had failed. then good road came and it was quiet as can be.
flack88,
Aug 15, 1:53pm
Lexus LS 430,those new Corollas are bad for road noise rumble.
This shows a current Polo as being 3DB Quieter at 70mph than a 1.2 Swift. Each 3DB is technically double the noise.
db.price,
Aug 15, 4:25pm
Please note the "when you drive them" because they will be in getting fixed quite often lol
,
Aug 15, 4:26pm
How many kilometers is your trip each way?
vtecintegra,
Aug 15, 4:31pm
That won't necessarily translate to our coarse chip roads
djrandomguy,
Aug 15, 4:34pm
205 GTi owned three years, only stopped driving when a blind dutchman ran a give way sign and totaled it. 106 GTi, one issue in 3 years, replaced O2 sensor in exhaust to cure poor idle 306Hdi, owned 8 years, traveled 250,000 kms, replaced speed sender in gearbox, fuel pump and frost plugs. Still own today, brilliant on long trips. 206 1.4i manual. Owned 4 years, cambelt, servicing and rear exhaust replacement [we live by the sea] . Still own and drive, load space impressive for a small hatch, road noise an issue as it's the base model and lacks sound deadening found on higher spec models.
get the wrong psa car and sure, you'll have issues, get the right combo of engine and trans' and save thousands against a similar jappa and no matter what people will tell you, they do not ride as well. Comparisons, brother in laws rav4, brother in laws civic, flatmates accord euro, mum's SX4, mother in laws Corolla and my brothers Jazz. Peace.
vtecnet,
Aug 15, 4:37pm
Its ok to give you an idea though, of what might be quieter, one the quietest cars I remember from back in the day was a 1997 BMW 750il with double glazing and an S Class Mercedes. neither were my cars, but I remember being impressed with how quiet they were, none of my cars are that quiet, 1997 WRX = loads of noise. 2001 Audi S3, quite a bit. 2004 Audi A3 3.2, least noise, but good tyres seem to help, I only use Michelin Pilot etc.
,
Aug 15, 4:49pm
If your open road trip is 120km or less per day (there and back) and you want the absolute quietest car you can get , buy a 30kw generation 2 Nissan Leaf. Silent except road noise, plenty of power (all torque from 0 rpm) about the same weight as a Camry with a very low centre of gravity and with your daily commute you'll save around $5000 per year in fuel. I do 100km per day to work and back in mine almost all open road, they're the ultimate commuter.
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