June 2020
I'd gone on long enough about the Corolla, so let's start again.
The Kuga PHEV sounded like another one for the shortlist, and so it proved. The helpful salesman at Edwards Ford in Salisbury let me have an hour with it on my own - this was enough and I did about 40 miles of good mixed driving.... Read more
Just because I was bored, I looked up on the Mazda wesbite to see what, if any, deals could be had for new or delivery miles showroom/pre-regged cars, not that I really can afford a new one (I technically can, but I really shouldn't at the moment, given I'm not working/earning).
Oddly enough, my local dealer had very few 'proper deals' on such vehicles, especially the Mazda3 or CX-30 (my preferences).... Read more
The last three posts are nothing to do with the subject of the thread, but to answer the question, HJ himself is no longer anything to do with this website. He continues to write his column for the Telegraph.
Ths site is now owned and operated by Heycar (I am a volunteer and have no connection with them). Although they have connections with some car manufacturers, they bought this site because of its reputation for impartiailty. There would be no point in the purchase if they didn't intend to maintain the impartiality....
This Top Gear clip is still remembered by many and still makes a Peugeot salesman s job so difficult.
... Read more
This was the image of a Peugeot driver at the time of the 406
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There are a few traffic ideas I've noticed while on holiday in other countries, and one or two of them could easily be incorporated into Britain with minimal inconvenience. My top five "Why don't we already do that?" innovations would be:
1. From Greece: advance warning of a red light at a junction is given on many winding major roads by means of alternating amber lights mounted overhead. Trains used to be regulated by single then double (fixed) amber lights before the red in a similar fashion. This obviously encourages drivers to ease off and prepare to stop, saving petrol and brake pads, although Greek drivers still tend to overshoot the stop line to the extent that they can't see when the red light has changed to green!
2. Spain still has radar-activated red lights in the approach to many towns and villages: exceed the speed limit and you get a red, but keep to 30 (50 km/h) and you sail through on green. Observance is not quite 100%, but linking it to a speed camera would do wonders for the tranquility of sleepy villages.
3. Four-way stops are common in the USA and South Africa and they work well on quiet junctions where a roundabout would be a major upheaval. Everyone stops on the line, and if there are 2 cars or more, the first one to reach the line and stop is the first one to move off.
4. Flashing amber ("proceed with caution") traffic lights replace the red/amber/green on many habitually quiet junctions at quiet night times in Italy and Spain. Bring them on!
5. Many states in the USA have a "free right turn" (left in the UK) which would allow you to turn left against a red light at designated junctions, once you've stopped and checked it's clear. Is there anything more annoying than a pointless stop at a red light?
And finally - If most of the USA can master zip-merging, why can't Brits do it? (Hint: obsession with queuing?)
I suspect that the prevalence of automatic transmission has led to a much wider acceptance of many of these ideas, but we'll all be driving automatic electric or hybrid cars before too long, so...
. A motorist actually had to transport an injured person to the nearest designated first aid post until not so long ago.
Sometime impossible to carry out....
Hi guys,
I found a good deal on a 2007 Fiat Ducato 86k and wanted to buy asap. All was working great with decent service history. however when performing a blow by test (taking the engine cap off when running engine on idle) it was producing a fair amount of smoke..No smoke coming out of exhaust at all.
Is this normal or way to much to be healthy? Could it indicate failure of injectors, valves?
Video links attached. ... Read more
After looking at the video again, it appears the injectors are seated externally of the crankcase, a design i prefer and always have because blow by is obvious and doesn't cause sometimes catastrophic carbonising of the engine oil i referred to previously because any leaks are not inside the crankcase, sorry to have misled you there.
However you still have blow by and yes it is quite bad, it might be worth investigating if there's a crankcase breather on the engine that has become blocked, that pressure has to go somewhere and by the looks of the oil gathered around the rocker cover its possible that pressure has blown the cover gasket....
Hi all,
So I’m looking for something new and seem to have narrowed it down and wondered if someone could help me decide. MPG is a massive thing for me with the distances I cover so checking this website and personal preference these are the cars I have in mind. Thinking around the £10k mark.
A class, was thinking the 1.8 auto
Seat Leon 2.0 FR manual
Golf GTD
I really like the golf if I’m honest. It’s a car that I’ve just always liked the look of. I don’t drive stupidly or anything. Anyone have a GTD and can comment on real MPG if drove with ease. Any thoughts or ideas?
Thanks all Read more
Thanks for the advise. Best thing is I’m in no rush. So I appreciate all the advise and I can take my time to find the right car for myself. I’m open minded. Although I just don’t like the look of the civic. My dad owns one believe it or not. It’s just not my type of car. Been looking more into it. What’s people’s thoughts on the 1.5 Diesel engine Ford Focus. I’ve seen the ST line model with good mileage and around the 15-16 plate for the price I’m looking for. Didn’t know if that would maybe be a suggestion from anyone?
The 1.5 diesel engine in the Focus is a derivative of the previous 1.6 diesel. That engine had a somewhat chequered reputation for reliability. Maybe not deservedly, but because of what i have discovered about the old 1.6, i'd be reluctant to go for the 1.5 unless buying new and mainaining it diligently.
For me, 2nd choice after the Civic would be the Kia Ceed. £10k would get you into either a lower spec 2018 car or a high spec 2017 car (both use the same 134bhp 1.6 diesel). Either way, assuming the car has full dealer history, you will have the balance of Kia's 7 year warranty....
Hello, I was the poster Samthefootball. I just want to apologize for the way I acted on here. Having seen now that driving lessons can resume I feel much more positive and hopeful and I am going to start applying for my provisional licence Read more
Absolutely, FP.
This forum is NOT the place for petty bickering, let alone bullying. I have up to now been tolerant in support of free speech. But this sort of thing is now spoiling the forum for the rest of us, and in future I will close any thread that descends to bickering or insults....
abc13.com/nearly-1-3-of-pakistani-pilots-have-fake.../
The staggering revelation that in Pakistan nearly a third of commercial pilots never actually passed their tests – when are we going to have a similar conversation in the UK about similar abuses with driving licences amongst certain “communities”? Anyone involved in testing or licensing in the UK knows this is happening on a huge scale – but just like in other well-trodden examples – authorities are too afraid to tackle it. People are undoubtedly dying because of this but as usual political correctness comes ahead of human life. Read more
Any word on what will happen to reciprocal licence swaps post-Brexit? To be honest I always thought it was quite a nice gesture but a bit odd that as a British (then EU) resident in Spain I was allowed to do a straightforward swap for a Spanish licence without needing a test, or my level of Spanish ever being queried. Spain has treaties with (left-driving) Japan as well as Cyprus, Malta and Ireland, but not with (right-driving) Gibraltar, although a Gibraltarian can move to the UK and swap to a British driving licence.
The problem of bogus licences is never going to be eradicated whilst there is no legal obligation for a driver in the UK to actually carry a driving licence whilst at the wheel, which must be a unique situation in the world.
Yesterday AM I sent an enquiry to CarWow for a quote on a Toyota Corolla Sport Tourer 2 litre Design in white.
Yesterday afternoon I had received 6 quotes, that was quick. 5 were for the selected car, the other was for a used Sport Tourer 1.8 Excel in silver (actually the photo showing the quoted reg was black).... Read more
Its definitely not an issue now but a huge case of Deja vu.
Back in 2008 we were swapping the Focus and I fancied an Auris 2 litre diesel. Looked great value for money, bigger inside than a Focus and plenty of kit. Toyota were offering 24 hour test drives so I booked one and was given the contact name at the dealer. So phoned him to be told that they had sold all the demonstrators and would not be getting any more until after the 24 hour deal was over. So I contacted Toyota only to be told that dealers can do whatever they like and at the time they could not (or would not) book me with another dealer. So I bought another Focus....
Now that lockdown is being eased and we can at least plan for holiday trips, I've realised I have an issue with my spare fuel cans.
When I tour the remoter parts of Scotland I usually take 2x 10 litre steel cans with extra diesel which gives me longer range between fill-ups - but my new(ish) VW Touareg has a "misfuel prevention" device in the fuel filler which requires a 25mm nozzle, no more no less - this is the size that all car and HGV diesel pumps are in UK so not a problem at the filling station but my existing spare fuel cans have nozzles which are too small to operate the misfuel device.... Read more
Buy a refuelling nozzle from any Ford dealer! Specially designed for restricted fillers.
Thanks - that seems an obvious solution...
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I'm wondering if that 'elastic band' steering is like some of those car simulator arcade games like 'Out Run' where the steering wheel was spring-loaded to return to the centre position if let go. It always felt very strange when playing the game (which was otherwise very addictive!).
I've never been much of a fan of those 'driver aids' that you can't turn off in some cars like lane keep assist, given how we're supposed to drive on motorways and dual carriageways.