November 2023
I’m looking at buying a 4 year old 2 series active tourer, and can’t decide between the 2.0 petrol or diesel variant, both automatic, I cover up to 15000 miles a year, quite a lot of short journeys during the week but 2-300 mile journeys at weekends.
What would be the most reliable car?
Thanks Read more
Hello everyone,
I'm seeking advice regarding my Peugeot 5008 1.2 PureTech (2018 reg plate, mileage 46,327). After a safety recall check at Perrys, Milton Keynes, I've had issues and concerns about the servicing and follow-up. Notably, the car has been out of manufacturer's warranty since August 2022. The last service was in April at a private garage, where the oil filter was replaced with a Mann filter and filled with Shell Helix Ultra ECT 0W-30 Oil. Here's what happened.... Read more
<< As stated above its the belt breaking down that contaminates the oil. Simply by changing the oil you only solve part of the problem, the belt still degrades and needs replacing. >>
Yes, but you are only 'better off' if you install a belt that doesn't degrade - another the same will repeat the problem. Plus the fact (as I believe) the belt change is more costly than an oil change ?
Hi team,
I am confused on which trim to go for in a 2014-2016 Mazda 3.
At the moment the only thing going against sport nav model is that it has low profile tires.
Things I love with sports nav are Bose speakers and front parking sensors. I can lobe with out from parking sensors, but would like to know if speakers in se l nav version is good enough or not.
Also is the tire noise in sports nav versions so bad?
Would love to know your opinion.
Thank you Read more
I've owned two Sport Navs over the last 9 years from new, a 2014 year was the 165hp version and a more recent 2018 was the 120hp model. Enjoyed both, not too much difference in performance, only noticeable high up in the rev range. Regulary got an average of 42mpg, up to 50mpg on a longer run. Apart from one faulty door lock actuator they were both totally reliable. Easy to work on, I do my own servicing. One good feature on the later facelifted version with the electronic parking brake for servicing is that you can retract the caliper pistons with a sequence of throttle and epb button presses, no need for an OBD tool. Well built, although body panels are quite thin, as is the paint. Beware of the soul red, it looks superb but apparently is a nightmare to paint match. I agree, the only merit of the 18 inch wheels is cosmetic so go with an SEL. I did try the 16 inch wheels and they do offer a slightly better ride. These previous gen models use an abs based tyre pressure monitoring system, so if like me, you run a spare set of winter wheels it's a straight swap, easy peasy. By the way the Bose audio doesn't have a sub woofer in the boot well so you can use a space saver if required, dont know if the latest version is different though. The audio was okay but a bit boomy lacking a degree of clarity. An all around good car.
Evening, so .... at the moment I am bombing around in a 2018 kia picanto GT. It's been great and I can drive with confidence knowing the accelation/turbo is there especially on motorways. I am looking for a small automatic now that doesn't scream when I'm trying to overtake up a hill and has decent acceleration to get out of trouble. I have driven a mini Cooper automatic that was quite impressive but has a hefty price tag. Parent had Picanto automatic that was not quite up to par. Does anyone have any opinions/suggestions please. Thanks Read more
No need to buy new when Toyota offer a year’s manufacturer warranty every year if you service it at a Toyota dealer up to ten years or 100,000 miles.I think we should inform readers more facts about the Toyota 10 year warranty.
I agree its probably the best out there and when we get the Yaris we will be keeping it serviced within the network whilst we own it thus keeping the warranty going....
I've been driving around this week in a Hyundai Kona "Mild Hybrid" hire car. I'd had a few other mild hybrids recently and all seemed to be just glorified "stop-start" but this one was a bit different.
The most odd part was that it had a manual gearbox, but the engine would completely shut off sometimes when you took your foot off the accelerator with the car in gear and the clutch engaged, even at motorway speeds. The only way I think that could be achieved mechanically is with a second automatic clutch in addition to the normal foot-operated one. This got me thinking, why did they bother doing this and not just fit an automatic gearbox instead?... Read more
The "Sailing" as I now know it is called felt like it was near useless when driving normally. It only engaged when I wasn't touching any pedal, which meant unless the hill was a very specific gradient the car would either speed up or slow down. Equally, once it had been "used" in the coasting to slow down on approach to traffic lights, the engine restarted as I touched the brakes. Then, with the car stopped, the engine didn't switch off again as it would with start-stop, presumably because it had only just started and was protecting itself.
It seemed to be most efficient, in terms of the engine being off when it wasn't needed if I ignored everything I've ever been told about how to drive and knocked it into neutral and lifted the clutch before even starting to slow down. The engine would then mostly switch off while the car was still moving and then stay off until I dropped the clutch to select a gear to set off....
Hi all, assuming that the performance figures of the Octavia phev are given with both battery and engine at maximum tilt, how is the performance affected if the battery is discharged? Does it drop off to that of the basic 1.4litre engine so my car becomes a sluggish drive ? Thinking of buying one but can't find any data on this. I guess this is true of all PHEVs? Thanks for the help and advice. Read more
The maestro he commented was so slow the hgv would overtake him
Some exaggeration there! It wasn't slow and would cruise at and above motorway NSL easily. it was very economical and handled well, probably because of the fatter tyres it had, no doubt to support the weight of that diesel lump up front. It just had poor acceleration and I got used to following stuff at 50MPH on single carriageways as it didn't have enough grunt to safely overtake.
In the recent HJ article on carparks, we read this quote
"Sadly, there is no easy solution. Cars are unlikely to become smaller any time soon, while rebuilding hundreds or thousands of car parks across the country is just as unlikely,"
Surely it is possible in most larger carparks to simply repaint the lines with more space? Obviously there would still be some "small car only" spaces. but in most cases, a row of ten spots could be repainted to create nine larger spots - how hard is that? And yes, it would reduce income somewhat (many are rarely, if ever full), but a small increase in rates could cover that
It is surprising to me that large supermarket carparks don't already offer a section for larger vehicles. They have special parking for disabled, parents with children, online order collection, etc. Why not provide some larger spots as well? It's like the housebuilders who add a new garage that only fits a 1970 Mini...
www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/owning/2023-11/modern-ca...s
Read more
<< Greek, Turkish, Italian, Thai, etc etc were largely regarded as "foreign muck". The dominant UK fast food was fish and chips - in fairness there are probably less today than then. >>
While perhaps true, none of that shows that 'restaurants are expensive', just that the choice of foreign muck is much wider. Food now is a relatively small part of a family budget, accommodation is usually the big expense.
The other day I had the misfortune of being a rear seat passenger in said car. Admittedly Northamptonshire country roads are not particularly smooth, but the experience reminded me of bad patches of Belgian pave. Is this jiggly cheap and cheerful Korean offering renowned for its harsh suspension? With five up it was barely bearable - goodness knows what it's like when lightly loaded. Read more
Re Renault 21 Savanna - I had a 2.0 circa 1991 as a company car. Good car in some respects especially the engine and the ride was "compliant" but rear passengers usually complained of car sickness. However the biggest issue for me was the drivers seat, which initially seemed soft and comfortable but on a run longer than 100 miles it gave me terrible back ache. I regularly drove from Yorkshire to Basingstoke and at the end of each journey it took me 20 minutes to stan up straight.
...
I've had the Karoq for a year and about 10,000 miles now, so thought it was time for a quick update.
Two very minor problems when I first got it:... Read more
12v sockets weren't working....
Hi all. A friend has offered me his Mk1 2004 2.0T petrol Volvo C70 cabrio for free. He bought it as a weekend car, but has decided it's too big. The car has about 65k miles (MOT history indicates this as genuine), and the roof works. The service history is patchy at best, but my friend had it fully serviced after purchase and had a new cambelt fitted. I appreciate fuel economy hovers around 30, but I don't drive much. On previous MOTs. it has only failed on tyres, never on corrosion. What are your thoughts on this car-be honest! What do I need to look out for? Are these relatively dependable cars? I have read of electronic throttle module (ETM) issues with the C70, but from what I can gather, this only affects cars up to 2002. Thanks in advance, Alfie. Read more
Even if you have to spend a few quid it's a bargain, I always liked that model.
Browse
.jpg)
