I have been tempted to buy show plates for the car in a design that still can be read. I see numerous plates on a daily basis that are not road legal. Yet the police and DoT seem to turn a blind eye. What is the penalty for being stopped with non-standard plates?
Either we are all allowed to display any type face we like or the powers that be stop any of these show plates from being displayed full stop.
In fact I feel in the minority having standard plates. As long as they can be read from a certain distance, properly, why don't they relax the rules. Read more

I've been lucky enough to have a brand new Focus CC this week on a 2 week loan so thought I would share my views on it. My normal car is a Focus 2.0tdci titanium so gives me a good perspective to compare from!

I picked it up the other day brand new (16 miles on the clock) and have done around 500 on it this week of motorway & town.

First impressions were that it looks great both inside and out. Pininfarina who designed it have done a great job and I think it looks better than its rivals (Astra twintop / Megane CC / etc). Much better than the standard Focus hatch.

Inside it is excellent. This model has full heated leather and lots of extras and it really does feel luxurious inside. The seats are excellent and the dash is high quality. There are bits of metal around the dash that are not there in the normal Focus but other than that it is similar. The switchgear largely is very good and gives a high quality feel, though the Sony 6 CD changer lets down in this area as the buttons have hardly any tactile response at all.

To drive it is also excellent. It feels every bit as stable and composed as my normal Focus hatch with or without the roof down (though have only tried with the roof down briefly because it's too cold!). Ride is surprisingly smooth despite 17" wheels (not noticeably worse than my Focus on 16s). The engine is not the fastest and has to be worked to get anything out of it. Top end of the revs it is ok but quite slow at the bottom end. It is a heavy car I guess though. Would love to see them put the 2.5 ST engine in the car. I certainly would not want the 1.6 engine which this also comes with. The 2.0tdci might be better.

Boot space is large especially with the roof up, but back seat space is limited.

I think rather than being lightning fast it is meant to be a luxury tourer / cruiser which it does very well. I need more space in my car otherwise would be very happy to be driving about in one of these. A great car! Read more

i am looking at this for a friend - he had the immobilser by-passed by his local garage. A ignition-switched supply was connected to one of two leads to the fuel-cut off solenoid - behind the cover on the lucas fuel pump. Several other wires in this region (not all) were cut at the same time. At the same time, a "miss" developed when under load.

There is a four way connector that connects in front of the solenoid. It connects to an unknown electronics module hidden at the back of the fuel pump, close to the block.
i think only one or two of these wires remain connected due to the immob bypass. When this plug is disconnected, the car does not start.

does anyone know what the module at the back of the pump is? i don't really want to take the pump off to find out, although I might have to if it is faulty. i'm guessing that the modified wiring to this component is responsible for the irregular missing when driving.

Am i on the right lines?

many thanks

Andy Read more

Well, it's been a year with the Grand Scenic now, so just a quick summary of the story so far.

Bought it in March 2007 (1.9 dCi Dynamique in Ottoman Blue metallic) with 35,000 miles on the clock, and it's now showing 51,000. It's had 16k of hard use, been filled with all manner of family paraphernalia, anything up to 7 people, and generally worked hard. The fault tally has been a popped glowplug (complete with a scary "Check injection" message on the dash, two blown headlight bulbs, and a failed electric window regulator just outside of warranty (for which Renault UK picked up the bill). Other than that, it's behaved perfectly. It also suffered a minor misfuel in the hands of SWMBO, although it was just 7 litres of Unleaded, and it wasn't started. A local garage recovered the car and did the tank draining honours for £125. This cannot be held against the car in any way.

The Renault 1.9dCi engine comes in for so much stick from people but, and touching a big bit of wood, so far I consider it one of the finest four cylinder diesel engines I've ever experienced. It has proven itself to be frugal, reliable, punchy and beautifully smooth and refined. It uses about half a litre of oil over 9,000 miles, doesn't smoke at all, and bursts eagerly into life, on the button, in all weathers. A little clattery when cold, it soon quietens down, and transmits not a hint of rumble or vibration into the cabin. I've driven petrol engines that don't spin as sweetly or smoothly to their redline, and it never feels rough.

Costs so far - a glow plug at £8 (and 20 mins with some test cables and a pair of water pump pliers) to identify the failed plug and swap it), and the 36k "major" service which set us back £260 at the local Renault dealer. Being deeply sceptical of Renault's 18k service intervals, I also dropped the oil and replaced the filter 10,000 miles later, using a service kit from Opie Oils consisting of 6 litres of Motul X-Cess synthetic oil, and a Purolator filter, costing a total of £46. It's also needed two new front Michelin Energy tyres at £150, and a pair of wiper blades at an eye watering £42. It passed the first MOT at 46,000 miles with no advisories at all, as it should have done of course. Headlamp bulbs were standard £4 items from the local factors, and were fitted DIY fairly easily (this is possible, despite the horror stories)

The standard of build is mixed. The paint is even, deep and lustrous, panel gaps tight, and there's a good quality feel to the main dash panels and the seat fabric. Many of the more minor fittings such as the boot floor panels and the door trim however are quite cheap and flimsy, but in fairness nothing has actually broken. The biggest gripe on this front is the gearknob which has now lost about 80% of the shift pattern information, and a huge swathe of its silver colouring. This is poor on a 51,000 mile car. The seatbelt has also chafed against the cloth trim on the B-pillar causing visible wear - a bad design fault. On the whole though, given a good clean up, it still looks good inside. Rattles are minimal - a creak from the front panoramic roof blind in hot weather, and the odd minor rattle over really sharp bumps. It still feels like a fairly new car overall.

The car itself is a joy both to drive and to live with. On the road it's perky, refined, comfortable and quiet. Controls and suspension are optimised for comfort and ease of operation rather than feel (numb electric PAS and well overservoed brakes, for example), but in the context of this kind of car it's fine. Inside, there's plenty of space, huge versatility with its three independently sliding / tumbling / removable rear seats, and the two "jump seats" which fold out of the boot floor, and which are provided with proper 3 point safety belts. Kit is generous with electric windows and mirrors (the latter with fold function), full keyless operation, auto lights and wipers, CD changer, auto dipping rear view mirror, electric panoramic roof, ABS, brake assist and fuel computer (accurate to within 1 mpg too). I also love the design of the interior, being light, airy and modern.

It's going to need front pads and discs around the next service, and I'm toying with the idea of bringing the timing belt change forward slightly from Renault's recommended 72k, but other than that, I am not aware of any forthcoming bills. It's been a great family car which we have not regretted buying for a second so far, and based purely on my experience so far, I would recommend it to anybody.

Cheers
DP


Read more

I have just replaced both front and rear brake pads on my Vauxhall Zafira with no problems on fitting. However, I am now experiencing excessive brake pedal travel. I have tried to rectify this by bleeding the front brakes which has helped a little. I have checked the brake fluid reservoir level which appears high. I understand that new brake shoes take a while to bed in. Is this situation normal or do I need to take further action.
Just as an afterthought, the old brake shoes were well worn and I had to retract the brake pistons fully to enable the new shoes to fit. Read more