November 2021
There is an interesting question in the Frequently Asked on this site. I have copied it here for ease of explaining
"" am purchasing a Kia e-Niro and my current electricity supplier has given me a choice of the three home EV chargers on their approved list, all around the £600 mark after the Government grant. This resembles blackmail as my initial choice wasn’t any of these. Is this legal?
What happens if I wish to change to a different supplier in future, could the new supplier then refuse to take over one of these approved chargers?"""... Read more
OK I've had an EV for a couple of months now. Just wanted to pass on my conclusions about costs. I had a pretty economical petrol car doing 41mpg on supermarket unleaded. I also have a smart meter that tells me the cost of power used charging the car. I know how far that charge is going to take me. So....I can work out given a litre cost of 1.40 my petrol car would cost me 19quid to drive the same distance my EV costs me 7quid. Or put it another way...and I like this one. Everytime I recharge the EV I save 12 quid. Everything else going pretty well , still have not used a public charger, or managed to run out of juice. In fact...my wife has just ordered a Fiat500e 42kwh......purely on the basis of how my Mokka e experience has worked out.
Recently bought 2nd hand Kia venga and all was fine. But the battery was changed as part of the deal. Now the radio doesn't work, at all. Everything else is fine but there is no power to the radio and no where to input a code. I was wondering if any wires get connected directly in to the battery compartment or anyone else had similar experiences.
... Read more
ty, it's going back for diag, but in the meantime ill try that
While in dealership today for MOT, I was looking at Kia Xceed and Kia Sportwagon.
I liked the boot space of the sportwagon and marginally higher ground clearance of the Xceed.... Read more
It's always worth checking manufacturers' specifications - some SUVs have lower ground clearance than some jacked-up estates, eg Subaru Outback
Just returned from a short trip to Germany. While I was there , thought I’d take a look in the swish MB showroom. Brand new 2022 Eqs full electric on display. Sales person asked if would like to take a seat in side . Opened the door, and ground to a halt . Couldn’t get in , the roof line is so low , no way was it an easy entry . I’m only 6ft tall, so no giant . Inside , the dash looks like a games console . £100 k ,? I think I’ll pass on this model . Read more
Two things come to mind - was the seat in a raised position. I, rather painfully, cracked the side of my head getting into a car I’m very familiar with simply because someone had left the seat in its highest position. Being in Germany, I’m assuming it was wrong hand drive? Lots of years of muscle memory getting in left leg first mean getting in right leg first can feel clumsy and awkward.But we're all used to getting into the front passenger seat of right-hand-drive cars, so I don't think muscle memory has much to do with it!
Not all of us - very rarely do I sit in the passenger seat and I always find it all a bit odd.
I have recently purchased a Toyota Celica 7
1.8 vvt-i and has no users handbook.... Read more
Many cars use the same recommended tyre pressures regardless of wheel rim size - as the tyres are sized to give the same overall diameter.
I have reported on this before, but as its getting cold I have to fix my cars lack of heating, a large has quoted £500 for a heater matrix fully fitted, though others have quoted upwards of £1000 saying its a pig of a job. A number of you tube videos seem to suggest that the entire dashboard does not need taking out and that it can done from the footwells only removing parts of the lower dash. As a first step I will try a cooling system flush and see if that makes a difference. One garage quoted me £250 for a flush - trying it on!! I have used a temperature probe and a 30C temperature difference between inlet and outlet pies that feed into the matrix was observed. I will try a reverse flush. Is it worthwhile putting some cooling system flush directly into the pipes that feed the matrix or should cooling flush be added into the header tank?
Thanks for replies.... Read more
The garage noted the temperature difference between the two pipes that feed the heater matrix; car seems to warm up fairly quickly to 90 and stays at 90 when driven at speed. I assume its the matrix.
Hello
As the car market looks as it's crashed in terms of cost of used cars and waiting availability on new I thought I could use this in my favour. I am currently on a PCP with a 2018 Swift which is now out of Warranty. I've valued my car on many sites which is telling me consistently my car's worth over a grand more than the remainder of my deal. Some of these sites will buy out my car out of its contract. The wait for new Swift's aren't long as in the UK I wouldn't say they're nearly as popular as others. Do I let a company buy out my contract and would it be a good idea to get a brand new one which would cost abit more a month but has its Suzuki Warranty with it and all the new features such as the tempting hybrid engine. What should I be wary of if I proceed with this? Just a rough thought at the moment. Thank you for reading. ... Read more
Thanks for all that useful info, chaps. So it is partly regenerative braking, and hardly a 'hybrid' at all in the true sense ?
A mild hybrid (MHEV) is the very smallest of baby steps towards an EV. That is not to say they area waste of time because they aren't, the economy benefit is very real. Obviously that can and will vary from car to car, but a fairly relevant example is regarding another Suzuki using the same running gear as the Swift....
Many cars (hatchback, saloon, SUV etc.), when viewing from side, appear as front end lower than back end.
Is it a deliberate design? If yes why so? Do they expect rear end to go down with passengers over time? ... Read more
Proof that the nose down look isn't everything . . .
I must admit that I never knew the designers at Vauxhall had such a sense of humour.
Find the shark!... Read more
Near the oil filter?
No and not on the exhaust either (still haven't found that yet) it's on the area you stick your phone . Under the dashboard
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If it was about getting people to take more environmentally forms of transport, they'd have banned the vehicles from entering the city centre outright....