A continuation of the discussion which is now locked and can be found here:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=62228&...3
For some reason Volume 1 was invaded by the dreaded "quoting" virus. Hopefully you are now resistant to it !
PU
Edited by Pugugly on 17/04/2008 at 00:33
|
|
I have a dream that one day we get half decent forum software and thus don't need different volumes for threads..
|
I have a dream that one day we get half decent forum software and thus don't need different volumes for threads..
>>
I suspect you will have to dream on.
IIRC the split into volumes is to be friendly to those who, for whatever reason, do not have broadband (and or a low power PC) and would like a reasonble response time when viewing.
|
That's exactly it, Henry, we could leave it as one big thread but people would complain. Or we could keep begging Steven to install vBulletin which allows pages for threads, but as has been said before, pork might grow wings.
>2) Ipod interface.... that gives naff all functionality. No track names or artist name >display. And I have to put all my songs into one of 5 playlists. RUBBISH!
YES! Someone else feels my pain!
|
vBulletin which allows pages for threads
vBulletin is just as slow when there are a few pages worth built up to flick through.
I've been trying really hard to come up with something that annoys me about my Vectra, but the only 3 things I can think of so far is not being able to change the default sat nav voice to something else, nor being able to include greed cameras as 'points of interest'; and the front nearside fog light condensates up every few months (common fault) resulting in having to remove the bulb access cap on the bottom to drain the water out of it and leave switched on for 10 mins to dry out.
Even the indicators don't annoy me.
|
|
|
|
Having just put another 1,000 miles on mine in the last few days, including a trip to Scotland (on the way there, up my beloved A68) I'm in a good position to say 'not much (VW Golf V 2.0 TDI estate).
I've come back to be amazed how many posts there were on the first thread, some things subjective but so many of them silly things that designers could so easily have avoided with a little more thought and consultation.
With the Golf - just two things: automatic lights come on a bit too slowly in murky weather, and I find I'm turning them on manually - I could also do with a light on the dashboard saying the lights are on. Also iPod kit is extra - I load iTunes onto CDs but had been thinking of getting an iPod - but PoloGirl's experience may put me off!
The handbrake is the other side of the bottle/cup-holder, but it falls readily to hand and has never bothered me.
More importantly are the infuriating things that, bless it, the Golf DOESN'T have, and that lots of cars I test-drove last year did:
- Keyless entry - what happens to obsessives like me who sometimes go back to check it's locked
- Separate starter button - OK if you want keyless entry, but what's the point if you have to insert a key as well?
- Space-saver spare wheel (which seldom saves space) or even worse, none at all
- Idiotic rear-end styling with the bodywork kicked up where there should be glass to see out of
- Electronic handbrake - just something else to go wrong - an answer to a problem that doesn't exist.
- Buttons on the steering wheel - in my book the wheel is for steering with.
So well done VW.
|
"Buttons on the steering wheel"
I love buttons on the steering wheel. It'll be a deal-breaker on the next car, it absolutely has to have 'em.
|
|
I hate buttons on the steering wheel. If we must have remote radio controls etc. then put them on an arm behind the steering wheel, at least they're always in the same place, and easier to find by feel.
|
|
First came across these on the 330d for radio, phone mute, cruise. For the first week they brightened the cabin a touch at night after that got bored of them, but they cost a packet as extras !
|
|
You lot will buy his modern stuff!!
|
|
There are twin candle holders on the Skoda's steering wheel
|
I can't stand gimmicks on the steering wheel either; there was a fad for many years where some truck drivers would bolt a fork lift truck turning knob onto the wheel.
If i used someone's truck with one of those things i'd always unbolt it before use. Invariably they never refitted the monstrosity. If i was DOT i'd have gone ape.
(I'd like to have seen them spinning that wheel round on and old truck without the power steering, not that long ago either)
Remembered a couple.
My merc 124 coupe, when they fitted passenger airbags to this model, they did away completely with the main glove box, and instead you have a tiny lockable box between the seats..unbelievable.
Also, the 2 door mirrors are completely different, the passenger side is square and convex, the drivers is oblong, too small and flat glass...terrible for blind spots, and no one makes a convex replacement.
I still love this car though.
|
|
|
|
Pugeot 406, where to start? :)
Useless handbrake
Stupid indicator stalk that always auto cancels onto the other direction, or won't stay on at all
Radio that refuses to save stations and always reverts back to fuzy white noise after ignition turned off.
Air con that also won't stay off after ignition turned off, always turns back on.
Radio (again) that goes into economy mode after 20 mins. (I have a 30 minute wait after I finish work for SWMBO to finish work)
Terrible MPG for a HDi 90, 38mpg and I don't welly it much.
Idiot parts technician in local Pug garage (not really the cars fault though).
All in all though the ride makes up for it and its still been the best car I have owned so far.
|
Hyundai Coupe 2001 "Gen 2" - poor Sony radio which flatly refuses to tune into Radio 2 and has silly flipdown panel to disguise the fact that it also plays CD's!
Drivers seatbelt which has to be carefully stowed, doesn't retract well.
On the plus side, nice to drive, I love the styling and it has excellent rearward vision for a car of this type.
|
>>Drivers seatbelt which has to be carefully stowed, doesn't retract well.
I cured this, albeit on another car, by pulling the belt all the way out, cleaning it with a damp cloth, and when it was dry spraying very lightly with a silicon(e) spray, furniture polish in my case.
This was a tip recommended on this forum.
|
What annoys me about cars in general (and I can say hand on heart that *most* cars built in the last ten years are afflicted with most of these annoyances...):
1. Controls scattered all over the place. Fine once you're used to it but change to a hire car and all intuition and confidence go out of the window. Hired a Fiat Linea last week (dreadful dumpy, booted Bravo-thing only for southern European markets) and found myself more than once "tooting" with the Microsoft Blue and Me control. Grrrr...
2. Utterly unnatural counter-intuitive gimmicks (electric handbrakes, self-returning indicators, the list goes on)
3. Wipers that squeak, judder, don't clear properly; aren't set up for LHD RHD or any HD at all!; those that don't synchronise wipe with wash; rear wipers which DON'T engage automatically when reversing (my Astra estate only has intermittent unless I hold the stalk back. Why? Why? Why? The Montego estate had this 20 years ago!! Doh!)
4. Annoying beeps, bongs and chimes (I know the key's still in the ignition; I put it there, stupid!)
5. Pathetic peepy horn on most new cars, especially hired ones (those costing under 300 quid a day, at least) Thinking of the Lithuanian HGV driver who can't see me or my lights or hear me, I might as well drive straight under his wheels and be done with it...
|
Only two gripes about my Toyota Avensis....
1. If you want to retract the door mirrors, you have to do it with the ignition on, which means you can't use the mirrors to keep an eye on what's coming up behind as you get out of the car! Why Toyota couldn't link it to the central locking I don't know.
2. You can't get a beeping sound out of the central locking system - you actually have to turn round and look at the trafficators to see if the car locks itself.
|
|
The metal shield that covers the oil filter and impedes access. It just fine in its new location though, a drawer in the shed.
|
"Microsoft Blue and Me"
Do they really call it that ? I suppose its marginally better than "Microsoft Blue and Myself"
|
|
I have just one beef about my Series III coupe; surely one should get more than 162 horsepower out of a 2.7 litre quad camshaft V6? Still, I expect it keeps it insureable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Audi A4 Avant B7
The fact that only the drivers door unlocks with 1 press of the fob annoys me hugely, as I still keep forgeting, and trying to open the rear door only to pull the tips of my fingers off.
The other thing is the idiosycratic climate control, which works okay, but is very noisy unless you select air to the footwells instead of elaving everything in Automatic. This is a hangover from the previous model which had exactly the same querk.
|
I've got to pick up on the iPod / VW / Audi A3 comments. Am guessing this must be model specific but I paid for the music interface thingy with my new A6 Avant - yes it cost an additional £200 (but it's a co car so didn't make much difference to me) - and the interface with the iPod is brilliant.
Can search by artist, album, etc etc just like on the ipod. All done through the scroll wheel in centre seat consol and displayed on 7 inch screen. Can also scroll through current album / artist tracks using steering wheel controls and small screen inbetween dash dials. Wouldn't go back to a single CD player again (as I've always had in previous cars).
SWMBO didn't know what all the fuss was about when ordering car - now she raves about it (had the same thing when getting Sky+ - one of those things you just have to get her to try rather than trying to explain it!).
Other than that and back on topic.... not really much to complain about other than silly electronic handbrake. Oh, and the one press of remote fob to open only drivers door or all doors.... option to change in car settings somewhere - drove me nuts at first too.
|
|
I bought an Alpine head unit with a proper iPOD interface around 3 years ago (if not longer), now transferred to the Roomster it works well and is less distracting than the original VAG fit, has liberated a DIN sized space for oddments, the only thin I don't like it used to leave my iPOD visible to the public, slightly better with the iTouch as its black.
|
|
|
Can search by artist album etc etc just like on the ipod. All done through the scroll wheel in centre seat consol and displayed on 7 inch screen.
You're lucky. On the A3 you pay the same amount and get zero functionality. You have to store all the tunes you want to listen to, in one of 6 play-lists. The stereoi then treats the 6 playlists as 6 CDs (i.e it thinks the iPod is a CD changer).
No track/artist info, no search capability, etc.
Very poor indeed.
*(That said, Audi did pay for a brand new iPod (video 80Gb) for me because the iPod I had wasn't compatible despite their literature saying it was)
|
the iPod I had wasn't compatible despite their literature saying it was)
The trouble is that most people, including yourself, have fallen into the same old trap in believing that the iPod is the best mp3 player, which it is not. There are several better makes out there including iRiver which have much better specs and applications (I believe).
|
|
Whoopwhoop, that's mad that they appear to have different systems in play, and all for the same cost! Have to say I was worried that it wouldn't be fully functional, having had colleagues saying they'd had similar problems with other manufacturers, but I am pleasantly suprised and pleased with the set up.
|
sq
I shouldn't complain really (but I will!).... when my car was delivered and I discovered the iPod nano didn't fit, Audi sent me a big fat cheque so I could go out and buy an 80Gb iPod video (£300 if I recall correctly). They also refunded the cost of the option.
I'd only just bought the Nano so I took it back and got a refund..... but sssssh! don't tell anyone ;-)
So in summary I ended up with a free ipod and a free ipod interface.
Still doesn't change the fact that it's functionality is poop though.
Edited by Pugugly on 17/04/2008 at 17:03
|
|
|
|
The trouble is that most people including yourself have fallen into the same old trap in believing that the iPod is the best mp3 player which it is not. There are several better makes out there including iRiver which have much better specs and applications (I believe).
You've made an incorrect assumption there oldgit.
I've not fallen into any "trap". I'm very much aware that the iPod leaves a lot to be desired. In fact I could write nearly as many complaints about the iPod as I did about my Audi, but I fear you would go into terminal melt-down if I did, so I won't.
The only MP3 interface available for the Audi (when I bought it) was for an iPod. I therefore ordered the option and went out and purchased an iPod.
There may well be better mp3 players out there. But if they don't fit the Audi then they're a chocolate fireguard as far as I'm concerned.
|
>> You've made an incorrect assumption there oldgit.
>>There may well be better mp3 players out there. But if they don't fit theAudi then they're a chocolate fireguard as far as I'm concerned.
I was, of course, referring to mp3 in general and not that your choice was Audi-specific. I assumed, wrongly, that you used your iPod elsewhere and not necessarily just in an Audi.
It still remains a fact, that people tend to favour the iPod where form over function seems to be the order of the day. Just look at what's happened to that awful iPhone in its first incarnation - they'll be giving them away soon.
Anyway, my new Golf to be ordered towards the latter part of this year will also have that very limited mp3 player interface, as standard but I don't think that I'll be buying an iPod!!
|
It still remains a fact that people tend to favour the iPod where form over function seems to be the order of the day.
Its called fashion :-) and no, I own a creative, won't have that apple muck touching my PC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
