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Post by Humph on Jul 18, 2024 9:59:14 GMT
Yes, or a Toyota Hilux maybe. Same reasons.
Oh heck, I feel an Autotrader moment coming on…
😬
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2024 10:07:16 GMT
Land Cruiser better for sleeping in the back than a Hilux.
Would be my choice too, but I seem to remember someone with very strong opinions calling them a PPoS.
And yes, all the questions asked above about Graham's journey are answered in the book... I should ask for commission.
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Post by Humph on Jul 18, 2024 10:15:24 GMT
If we’re talking about the same guy, he couldn’t even get home safely on an electric scooter, so what did he know eh?
😉
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Post by EspadaIII on Jul 18, 2024 10:29:27 GMT
Land Cruiser better for sleeping in the back than a Hilux. Would be my choice too, but I seem to remember someone with very strong opinions calling them a PPoS. Yes but the PPoS was a newer model with a lot of plastic. I suppose that for such a journey, despite the economy drag, you would take a low compression, naturally aspirated petrol engined model rather than a diesel? |
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jul 18, 2024 10:37:33 GMT
2008-09, I see. So Beijing Olympics, not Sydney. All feels a bit last-century to me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2024 10:52:47 GMT
If we’re talking about the same guy, he couldn’t even get home safely on an electric scooter, so what did he know eh? 😉 I don't remember that. Have I missed out on a good laugh? |
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Post by Humph on Jul 18, 2024 10:56:29 GMT
It was something along the lines of using the scooter to get home from the pub and taking a shortcut down an alley which turned out to be a steep downward set of steps…
Didn’t end comfortably as I recall.
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Post by Humph on Jul 18, 2024 11:07:36 GMT
…Alternatively…it could be a fab swansong trip for the faithful old Merc. Stick some chunky rubber on it, rooftent maybe and a sump guard etc.
🤔
Anyone up for sponsorship?
😉
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2024 11:38:25 GMT
Jacked up suspension and big off road tyres and you might be on to something there. Millions of 3rd world taxi drivers can't be wrong.
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Post by Humph on Jul 18, 2024 12:44:12 GMT
Hmmm…something along those lines occurred to me too. More to follow I expect. 😜
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Jul 19, 2024 14:56:27 GMT
Driving from Modena to Lucca tomorrow. I've downloaded the calimoto app which I saw on one of Harry Metcalf's videos. It's primarily setup for motorbikes thought I'd give it a go for an interesting cross-country bash rather than boring Autostrada.
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Post by Humph on Jul 20, 2024 12:43:29 GMT
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Jul 20, 2024 14:04:53 GMT
Sadly, I don't have a BBC budget. The ZTL and pedestrian zones mean we'll have to play our own version on foot.
The drive down over the Apuan Alps was very enjoyable, would be better if oversized SUVs were banned. Idiots parking their precious vehicles in the middle of the road, four feet away from the nearside kerb and expecting everyone else to work around them. 👺
San Pellegrino is a beautiful, remote village mobbed by tourists.
The drive up had the engine oil bubbling away at 110°C though the water and transmission oil were sticking to 90°C or thereabouts. The car never felt stressed, the weather, altitude and turbo making the oil work for a living, it's due a service next month so not too concerned.
Panoramic roof is great at home, use it most days I drive. Here it's a glass ornament. Without a blind would be unbearable.
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Jul 22, 2024 8:37:11 GMT
This year, on holiday, I've seen fewer EVs compared with last year. PHEVs from Denmark rather than the almost standard subscription Model 3 seen last year, not seen a single Model 3 this year.
A couple of EV6 on UK plates, 3 Ioniq 5s on German and Austrian plates, one or two Italian registered Citröen SUV EVs and around 10 Model Ys.
The first hotel near Maranello had three 7kW charge points, one a dedicated Porsche point. Last year it was branded Tesla.
Hotel in Lucca has one charge station with two parking spaces, also 7kW each @50 cents/kWh. The car parks at each hotel capable of taking 70-100 cars being 60-80% full most of the time.
I'm going to wait a while before committing to a second EV given it will be the main car. There will be, hopefully, significant developments/improvements between now and when I need to change.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jul 28, 2024 14:25:27 GMT
Cambridge and back on Saturday with Boy1 and his kit, including the bikes on the towbar. Easy enough trip, and I got to see his new home, which is remarkably nice. Slightly awkward to reach from the southwest, as it’s on the east side of town, away from the A10 and M11, but no big deal. Got a nice dinner in a Sri Lankan restaurant too.
A couple of iX observations I’d not made before. With the towbar deployed, the tailgate releases on the key and in the door pocket are disabled. Makes sense, given what might be in the way. More unexpected is that the blind spot warnings in the door mirrors also stop working, perhaps because the sensors are in the rear bumper and obscured by the load. There’s an ergonomic point here that I don’t like. Of course, I don’t rely on the warning system, and the blind spot itself is minimal, as anything car-sized or above appears in my peripheral vision before it disappears from the mirror, but if the car has taught me that a blank mirror means ‘nothing detected’, the same clear mirror ought not to mean ‘not checking’ just because the towbar is in use.
I’d prefer a ‘detector active’ symbol in the mirror — a hollow yellow triangle, perhaps, nothing green — when the sensor is operating normally but detecting nothing alongside. That could then fill in yellow or orange when it detects something. And its absence would then be a reminder when the sensors are not working. Nobody should be relying entirely on a sensor system, but if there is one, it should not give ambiguous results.
Very nice journey otherwise. When I brought the bikes back from Southampton, I got the impression they made very little difference to efficiency, and I saw the same this time. Of course, I probably drive a little more slowly and smoothly to compensate for the load, but I did that in the CLS too and still noticed a fuel consumption penalty. The iX is a little wider and, being taller, puts more of that width at height that shields the bikes from the airflow; I couldn’t see a wheel in either door mirror. If I listened hard, I fancied I could hear a little extra noise from the back of the car, but it was very slight.
York coming up this week. Less stuff, more people. And it will need a charge at the other end, which wasn’t required in Cambridge.
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