VW Scandal

[pwdrive]

I hate to think what my Land Rover does to the gallon, vehicles are going to do what they're going to do, engines are x% efficient and that's about it, for an engine/weight class there's not going to be a lot between them unless the manufacturer has made a technological breakthrough, I never worry about fuel consumption, just repair costs.

The emissions malarky is a joke though, as to mileage claims it's always been that way, just like watts, music watts, peak watts, transient watts, bandwidth, internet speeds, download speeds, my mower's better than yours etc.

Lawrence.

[Murphyv310]

Well said that man!
Made me chuckle  

[Pat Pending]

My comments on fuel economy were based on my real world experience, albeit on "flat" Norfolk roads (A47), driver only, constant speed (mostly) and another car on similar journeys that could only attain 50% of it's posted mileage, (that's not just driving style, is it) I expect if I drove my car on rural roads in Yorkshire the economy would plummet! I don't think I could afford to run the eco friendly Kia in that instance. Lawrence hit the nail on the head, when he said you get what you get, and things haven't changed much, the last petrol car I had was built in 2001 and had similar thirst to one I owned with similar body and engine size built in the early seventies. Despite motor manufacturers claims, you still have to obey the laws of thermodynamics,  but they sometimes turn out a real lemon, then refuse to fix it for the poor sap who's just given them all their cash.

[Yorkie]

Warning - might induce drowsiness - burn before reading!

I always find it a little odd when motorists - including myself - obsess about MPG, as though the marginal difference in fuel costs between one car and another or between stated MPG and actual MPG is a significant factor in the running costs of a car, which it isn't. By far the biggest factor is depreciation, followed by servicing, (unless you do it yourself, which few do on modern cars), followed by insurance. If motorists were truly concerned about minimising fuel costs, they'd drive in a very different manner from that which most do - they'd read the road better, anticipating traffic light changes, they'd accelerate more gently, keep their speed down, keep their distance, and brake less and so forth. But they don't. (Though I dare say that all of us on here will say that we do!).

Let's assume that a car driven carefully would do 45mpg, the driver does 12,000 miles a year, and petrol/diesel costs £5.00 per gallon. That's 266 gallons a year- £1,333. But then the driver is always in a hurry, and drives as though he's sat on a pineapple, so that it ups his consumption by 10%. That would add to his fuel bill by £133 a year - £2.50 a week. During that year, his car will have depreciated by several thousand pounds, or if it's several years old, and has little residual value, will probably have mounting repair costs - types, exhausts, batteries, clutch, etc, so £2.50 a week saving by having a lighter right foot isn't going to be at the forefront of his mind.

I think that most of us rationalise our buying decisions, believing that we're objective, shrewd, and wise. Fact is that the psychology of car buying decisions - brand image, brand loyalty etc, isn't very rational - it's highly subjective and largely based on 'cognitive dissonance', which is why discussions about cars and branding generate more heat than light. Few of us are likely to be swayed into believing that we weren't so wise after all:

http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitiv...nance.html

Luxury brands put a lot of effort into reducing what's known as PPCD' - 'post purchase cognitive dissonance', to reassure buyers that they made the right decision.

It's not a new thing - marketeers have been at it for donkey's ages:

https://abranddayout.wordpress.com/2010/...s-honesty/

Radio wise - Frank Murphy was at it  back in the 1930s: 'A First Class Job', 'Murphy Mad' etc. But then he was in advertising before he was into radios.

As to Skodas, my Fabia is - like Keith's Yeti - on the list of models that will require 'tweaking'. I recently took it in for its 30,000 service and asked if they could do the mod at the same time. The rely was 'no - it won't be until early 2017 at least'.   So I won't have to worry about that as I'll be changing the car in September when it will be three years old. I've rarely kept a car longer than that as I think they're past their best. Nothing to do with the economic arguments for and against that decision.  It's a 1.6L diesel, and has averaged 54 MPG. Unlikely to get another diesel - might get another Fabia though, ('small car of the year', 2016) but they're 1.3L 3-cylinder engines now, which seems a bit whacky.

The number of variants on any make or model of new car cars is now just ludicrous - you have to go through a 'configurator' process: Bluetooth yes/no, cruise control yes/no, rear radar yes/no/ electrically adjustable heated wing mirrors yes/no, auto-dipping rear view mirror yes/no, spare wheel yes/no, metallic yes/no, and on and on and on... I've just looked at a Vauxhall Astra on their website - ludicrous process, just don't have the time to faff about.  And no - I'm  not bothered if it 'features' a 'leather 3-spoke steering wheel' - why would I be?

Waffled and dribbled Yorkie.

[Pat Pending]

Quite so, all perfectly valid points David, but again my point is that if the salesman tells you x mpg and you find out that it's only capable of half of that figure and they give you the "middle finger" when you complain you are within your right to be upset perhaps? Nobody told me when I bought my Skoda that it would do 78 mpg, or win the British grand Prix, or even get women throwing themselves at me,(not even the wife) and surprise surprise... it hasn't! And I'm not disappointed as a result.

Re the three cylinder engine David, just think of it as being 25% more reliable!

[ppppenguin]

3 cylinder? Don't know if the analogy is a good one, but electricity is always 3 phase, never 4 phase. 3 gives nicely balanced machines with minimum number of phases.

(I know there was 2 phase used at one time but it was never very satisfactory)

[Radio Fixer]

Agree on mpg, our mileage is so low it doesn't matter. But people don't like being conned and that's what VW did.

As to brand loyalty, well only if previous experience has been great. If bad or poor then its never again as it was with Rover many moons ago. Unlike you David we have kept Honda cars for more than 10 years and never had a break down and spent virtually nothing on parts, other than those needed for servicing. So its a perfectly rational choice and nothing subliminally planted by sales men or advertising.

Our next car will most likely be a Mazda 2 which have a good record from a friend who's family has driven Mazda for years. Main reason is where we live the roads and parked cars make a smaller vehicle easier to drive and park. The good thing about the 2 is that they haven't gone small engine boosted by turbo but kept it simple. Need 1500 cc as it has to be automatic and they do that with 6 gears in the box.

Gary

[Radio Fixer]

As David said a bewildering list of add on's when buying a new car

One worth having is front and back radar. My wife wanted it after a small shunt into another vehicle and now I've used it I find it a good feature. The car came with it as it was one year old but buying from new its usually a fairly pricey fit. I wouldn't do what a friend does though and buy the new car and then have it fitted by an auto electrician. How do they get the wires from back to front, under the carpets maybe? But it is possible that all wiring is there and he just plugs the kit of parts in: that would be OK.

The built in Sat Nav beats the stick on the window ones, it has so many good features and clearer instructions but again is expensive as are the software upgrades. Wonder why that is compared to the after market?

Gary

[Yorkie]

My Skoda Fabia has rear radar, which has a dashboard display as well as an audible warning.  When I engage reverse gear, it mutes the radio (if on), shows a sort of bar-graph display and beeps with increasing rapidity. When I get one continuous beep, I'm 2 feet away from whatever is behind - car, bollard, tree wall etc - time to stop! It's proved very useful. The sale of satnavs has rapidly declined as more and more people just use smartphones. I use a Garmin with lifetime updates, a 5" screen and pictures of major junctions as I approach them. Unless a built-in satnav had free updates, it wouldn't be a feature I'd want. Dash-cams and rear cams are now so cheap, (under £50) and with such good clarity that I'm surprised they haven't been added as a fairly standard item.

Why do they make such a big deal about the many styles of alloy wheels? All I'm interested in is how easy they are to clean - the plainer the better.
 
I went to a Vauxhall dealer for a brochure for the New Astra yesterday, and was advised by the salesman that as a retired employee of BG and a member of the Centrica pension scheme, I can get a Vauxhall at cost price - the same price as the salesman could get a new car at. Don't know if it's because BG vehicle fleet is Vauxhall or whatever. Interesting to see how widely the insurance groups vary from one model to another in a range.  

I feel a bit sorry for car salesmen - it's evident that few have had any sales training on the steps they need to take to secure a sale - they just seem to pick it up as they go along. They just leap straight in, and tell you what the deal is if you buy now, because the offer end in March or whatever and you won't want to miss out.  I went with my wife and they didn't ask if we both drive, how many miles a year we do, what features and benefits particularly appeal to us. Didn't get us to sit in a car or outline the key features, didn't explain the warranty terms or other possible benefits such as free RAC/AA cover.

We're both tall, so want a car with plenty of headroom and a high seating position. Not underpowered as we do lots of motorway driving, but not too large either, for ease of parking. Not interested in leather steering wheels, top speed or how long it takes to get from 0-60MPH. Not interested in gimmicks like rain sensors or automatic lights and don't want electric rear windows.  Want cruise control, air-con, rear radar, (front would be good too), 60/40 rear seats, and a proper spare wheel - not a get-you-home puncture outfit. Happy with or without keyless start and stop/start.  

Not interested whether it's zero RFL or £170 if it ticks all the boxes, but probably wont go for another diesel due to major cities talking of imposing 'pollution zone' charges. Not interested in MPG figures which are fiction anyway. The salesman doesn't know any of this - we came away with a glossy brochure full of blurb pandering to the vanity of potential buyers on page after page, talking about the sleek lines of the vehicle, but not giving any dimensions.  Is it wider, taller, longer than our present car? Haven't a clue.  

Oh, and one last thing - heated steering wheel and heated front seats - what's that all about? I live in Hull - not Helsinki!

Ho hum...

[Nick]

Google maps is pretty good on a smartphone or tablet.

Just got a Nexus 5X to replace my aged Samsung SII - excellent device.

Recently used it in the Jabal Akhdar mountains in NE Oman and it was spot on... no need any more for a dedicated GPS...