May 2009
After weeks of consideration and a couple of test drives the Mrs and I are back from a head to head test drive of the two cars.
Before the test the Fiat was the favourite. Cute looking, stylish, well equipped, perky and "fun" - the Mrs was almost ready to buy one without driving it.
After the test drive it got a thumbs down. She is fairly small and I am fairly tall - the seat was too high for her and she had to "reach down" to get the handbrake while I had no headroom in the passenger seat. What was most odd was the size of the seat squab meant that it was always pushing the back of her calves as she used the brake and clutch peddle. She was struggling to drive it anything like smoothly and felt claustrophobic, finding the retro dash up close was not so nice. The 500 was noisier, particularly transmission noise and the ride was fidgety.
The i10 was quieter and enjoyed a better ride. It had much more space and the interior is pleasantly styled. The plastic steering wheel in the base model was nasty and has forced a climb to the top spec model and the leather wheel - however this brings a host of goodies missing even from my new A3 sport like heated seats and sunroof. It is also much cheaper than the Fiat, but gains two doors and more boot space and has two years more warranty. I doubt it will withstand depreciation as well however. Delivery is suggested as mid June - which is quicker than I expected.
It will be sad to see our Mazda 323 go - 6 1/2 years and 60k miles of good service but the suspect CAT, non functioning boot, rusting wheel arch and numerous scrapes mean it is worth more as a £2k scrapper than a cheap and simple runaround. Read more
We like to go off road cycling. If not every weekend certainly every other one. About three or four years ago I bought a cheapo set of roof bars and three bike racks off t'interweb for a total princely sum of something like £80. They fit a treat on the roof of my Mondeo diesel estate. They have never failed on weekend use and have even managed to haul the bikes down to the Med a few times. They were not any brand I've ever heard of and to be honest I can't remember what they were called. Anyway, they work and have never let me or our slightly ridiculously expensive bikes down.
I was idly browsing about the market for these things and noticed that you can get very fancy ones and expensive ones these days, ones that lift your bike up for you and so on if you are prepared to invest small fortunes in them. I also note that you can get "Aero" versions which are allegedly, and may well be, more economical on fuel.
Now, admittedly, the mpg of my Mondy drops dramatically from the mid 40s to the low 30s when the three bikes are on the roof, especially if motorways are involved although the effect is much less marked when pottering around the typically country lanes we seem to find ourselves on when seeking out new places to get cold, tired and muddy.
Thing is though, I can't imagine that the cost of these things could be even vaguely re-couped in fuel savings given that no matter what shape or weight your roof kit is the biggest drag must be coming from the bikes which are attached to them.
Anyone tried these posh ones and do they make any difference ?
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what about bike holders that fit onto the boot lid? surely the aerodynamics would be much better as the cross section of the car covers them?
I am interested in recovering a motorbike I once owned from new.
How do I start to trace that vehicle please? Read more
My old bike is still taxed - D registered. Had to sell it in 1972 or thereabouts. Student loans hadn't been invented, no parental financial assistance. I couldn't afford a new chain and set of tyres. Now quite rare as there were few Norton ES2 Mk 2 made before the gates were shut - it was a rebadge of a Matchless 500 single - so despised by some!
Some may recall that towards the end of August start of September 2008 (looking at the receipt for the purchase date) I was twittering on in here in another thread (not even sure if I started it too!) about what tyres to fit to my vehicle and eventually I went with the Riken made by Michelin.
I cannot find that thread though.
Within the context of that thread a few of you asked me to give feed back on how that Riken tyre progressed, wear, handling etc., over the coming months.
9 months and 11k later, rear axle, inflated to 28 to 35psi (depending on loading) it still has 6.68mm of sound tread across the face of the tyre and it is doing just fine - so fine I procured a 2nd Riken replacement for another tyre that had less than 2.3mm of tread left today and paired them up on the rear axle.
No problems with wear and I do not 'hang around' when it comes to making safe progress on the roads. Not once have I had any issues with loss of grip.
Tyre has been used urban, rural (dirt tracks Scotland!) off road (I do a lot of fishing) and motorways. Read more
Yes DD - that one!
Went back to ATS as they bettered the price by £10.00 on the same make, size & type of tyre they sold me last year and beat all competition in my area by several pounds too.
Its new tyre time for my focus. 2 new rears are needed
it seems conti premium2 are very good for my car and so is the goodyear excellence but has anyone had any experience of these tires on a focus or any recommendations on what to buy my tyre size is 205/55/16/v
i have currently michelin premacy hp on the car at the moment and would ideally like less road noise and comfort , sporting performance is not required but i would like the best tyre available
any thoughts
Tony Read more
I used Avon ZV5s on the front of a Focus, they were 205/55/15 and performed very well. Best thing was they were only £45 each from my local tyre fitters.
Hi all, i need some help on this.... My citroen xsara 2.0 hdi 110 is giving me some odd problems,
When i am driving, the battery light will start flashing/ beeping when the car first hits 2500 rpm, then it flashes/beeps almost constantly while the engine is revving above 1800 rpm (approx). I can 'ease' the situation by putting the fan on maximum in the cockpit, and putting headlights on. Strangely enough, the fan goes off, and the lights dip when the battery light comes on??? I drive 80 miles a day, and have no starting problems, so i assume the battery and alternator are ok.
The other problem is the boot switch, when i unlock the car with key fob, the boot switch activates, i press boot release button 10 times and am ok for my journey, if i just open and close boot, it opens when i start car, please point me in the right direction, it's driving me mad,
Thanks
Gareth
{post amended to remove all the SHOUTING!} Read more
Matt, You are a legend!
read your thread yesterday at 5.00pm, by 5.20 I was done, the boot now opens when I say, not when I open door, at some point I will change switch, but that's only if I feel the need to, it still opens on the key-fob.
Thanks a million for your help
Gareth
Amusing scene today.
A car park, somewhere in Surrey.
Returning to our car, we hear a woman shouting. Put on my spectacles, open the windows.
It soon emerges that the woman a dozen or so cars up has developed a minor scratch (such as might be done with a key or possibly a faint glance by a car door) on her new black BMW X5. She is somewhat past her best, and has a small child in the back of the car (barely visible through tinted windows). The woman she is shouting at is middle aged, and is driving a well-presented P Reg VW Golf GT. Her responses are not audible, and looking at her, you would not suspect her of anything.
Anyway, the blonde woman is trying to ensure all people within half a mile can hear and shouts "When I left there was nothing, I've come back, you're parked next to me and now there's a scratch there. It wasn't there before. You're going to HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS" This continues in the same vein, very loudly, the BMW woman shouting, the other's response inaudible.
Eventually BMW woman degenerates into abuse, the other woman apparently having admitted nothing "Is it because I've got a brand new car. Is it because I've got a brand new BMW? Are you jealous? Is that it?". (Doesn't seem like the best tactic, if the other woman was not persuaded to hand over her insurance details by the aggressive shouting, then trying to tell her than she's inferior because she does not have an 09 plate X5 is really not going to do the trick.)
At this point I am driving past and am tempted to fire an insult in BMW woman's direction, but think better of it (or perhaps it is because I failed to come up with anything sufficiently pithy and amusing in time).
As it's a one-way street, I turn around at the next roundabout and on returning see that BMW woman has driven off. I guess it's practically impossible to prove anything in these situations anyway.
Although when I get into my next destination, the supermarket at Sainsburys, I can't help thinking that the owner of the Aston Martin Vantage parked in the last 'parent & child space' is almost inviting somebody to do the same to him.
I guess in both cases, arrogance is a combination of the owner and their vehicle. Read more
So it's not just me.Similar scenario. Taking the little man to Toys r Us in the wifes car. Park well away from the entrance. Dozens of empty spaces and yes you guessed it.Came back to the car, still loads of spaces in a near empty car park but some dozy idiot has parked so close to me that I can't get the rear door fully open to get him into his child seat.
have the glow plug light flashing on dashboard
i have had the plugs checked and they were dead so got them replaced but still had the problem of lack of power,poor starting from cold
have also checked the injectors (run off test)and they are ok
today i cleaned the egr valve and hey presto got the power back
the only problem i have with the car now is the flashing glow plug light
does anyone know how this can be turned off without having to take it to fords as my local ford garage is run by a bunch of monkeys Read more
This applies only if you have the electronically sensed EGR it uses the ECU in the actuator but you are correct I should have stated that because with the earlier vacuum system it did not happen .As a matter of interest the actuator cannot be purchased seperately you have to buy the whole turbo Garrett turbo and hella actuator retail is £670+vat.If the EGR is removed to clean or replace then you need to take of the plastic inlet manifold and clean that or you will be back at square one in no time most garages just change the valve pointless exercise.
Hi All
I purchased a mondeo tdci ghia x yesterday and that evening found out that when turning the healights on that the dash lights arent working all bar the mileage lcd. All outside lights are working fine, tail lights, plate lights and even interior lights.
The ones that arent working are speedometer and rev counter lights,climate control back light and mpg lcd back light.
I've checked all the fuses and couldn't find a problem and also tryed the dimmer switch.
Any ideas what this could be?
Thanks in advance for any help/advice
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Yeah, it's prob just the bulbs, they have a habit of all going at once,
Got my 05 Mondeo last year. Didn't notice it had no dash lights till a couple of weeks later.
I'm sure it would be easy to fix yourself, but due to lazyness i took it to a local garage, charged me £30.
Out of interest I rang Ford who told me it would cost me £75 to plug it into the computer to tell me what was wrong.
Afternoon all,
I've got to drive a van to Munich on Saturday. Am going through the tunnel, and I have the option of breaking the trip, although I need to be there by lunch on Sunday.
Anyone have ideas on the best route? Obviously the usual fun on the autobahn is less relevant in a 105 bhp Transporter, so least hassle / most pleasant is the criteria.
Cheers,
Gord. Read more
>>I think (my German is not perfect enough to be sure on legal stuff) that the ADAC
information on Munich also states that holder of disabled badges are exempt,
irrespective of the vehicle type
My understanding as well - I did a check on the other thread and the links mentioned on that one and found that the town I'm staying at has one of the garages that issue these things so I'll wait til the Monday and get one - a relaxing day on the Sunday will come in handy anyhow!
Heres the link for more info:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=70...7
Good choice I'd say - putting myself in your buying/use criteria 'shoes'. Also, non-metallic red is a good colour - bright & cheerful, suits the slightly cheeky nature of the car, with the advantage of being easier to repair/match in the event; and of course, cheaper too!
The heated seats will be a real boon - I didn't rate such things once upon a time, but the near instant comfort & ease they provide on chilly mornings can't be underestimated. At least 5 years of totally worry-free motoring ahead for you.
When I tried a FIAT 500, apart from the initial blow-your-socks-off looks, the ride thing & slightly strained engine note did concern me - latterly even the looks begin to look a bit cheesy & cliched too.