....in case anyone should want to know!

I got it on Monday - a bit of a wait given that it was in stock in the UK, but that was so that it could be brought on a transporter, so fair enough. All credit to Greenoaks of Reading for making the whole exercise a pleasant experience (apart from saying farewell to my much-loved Audi - but the B200 CDI is £100 cheaper per month because of M-B's special offer).

(Hard to believe but the monthly payment is £50 cheaper than a Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI estate.)

So far I like:

- Lofty driving position and very good seats
- Lighter steering than the A4 (too light for some people but I prefer it)
- Mostly good visibility - better than an A-class, even at the back
- Performance promises to be lively, although I fully expect it to take up to 10,000 miles to give of its best, as with most diesels
- Lots of room front and back, and back seats fold flat. Front passenger seat backrest will fold down (for when I take a dislike to a passenger....).

I don't like:

- Engine noise - the drone is probably typical of 4-cylinder diesel automatics, but it serves me right for being rude about Mercs as German taxis all these years - this one sounds very like a London taxi when accelerating

- Over-complex information display - much more info than I need and harder to get at. Audi's version is much more intuitive.


Not sure about single column stalk for indicators and wipers - everyone else uses two and I can't see the point of combining them all.


Others I test-drove:

Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI - very impressive all round and I would have seriously considered it if I could have got a better PCP deal

VW Golf Plus 2.0 TDI - much noisier than the Octavia for some reason: lively but not much more room than an ordinary Golf. VW should have done a Mark 5 estate - the Mark 4 was excellent.

BMW 320d - lovely to drive - steering response and handling as superb as always with BMWs, but it was no cheaper than another A4 and it didn't quite suit my driving style. You have to concentrate hard to get the best out of a BMW, and I like to relax while still getting a move on.

Ford C-Max - good to drive but the impression was of flimsier build quality, and they lose their value faster than the others.


Well, I hope that lot was interesting to some - if not, too bad! Read more

From the DVLA site:

Vehicles with an engine capacity of 1549 or above (registered before the 1st March 2001) which fall into the Private Light Goods tax class will have their annual rate of duty increased by £5.00 to £175.00

Does anyone know what the duty is for below 1549cc (pre March 2001)


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I've got a 3 year old astra 1.6, only done 22K. Engine light has just come on (steady). The handbook says could be an emmission problem. The oil looks a bit grubby and it is due a service, been used on short runs mostly. Has anyone any advise.

Thanks Read more

Auto Express had releases a few comments about their Driver Power 2006 survey (lots in the magazine I'm sure)

www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/65609/driver_power_2006...l

Just a few things that most of us already know (and some of us act on when selecting a car):

11 of the 12 most reliable cars are Japanese

nine of the 11 models suffering from the most mechanical breakdowns are from French and Italian marques, most unreliable is the Peugeot 307.

Lexus is best manufacturer but Honda has 3 out of the 4 most reliable models.

Skoda has done well and Kia has a model in the top 10. Read more