WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 17, 2017 15:40:23 GMT
Well, I've always fancied a Vel Satis or an Avantime, but either would have been 'a courageous decision, Minister' when it was new; now they're 15 years old - well, you'd have to like backstreet garage coffee a lot more than I do.
But those things have character; other big Renaults just try to do what a Passat can do. Only a Passat won't break down or catch fire before it bores you to death.
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Post by Alanović on Mar 17, 2017 16:16:35 GMT
Yeah, there hasn't really been a big Renault, other than the MPV-like ones you mentioned since the Safrane. Which was excellent, but they're very old now. Loved the 20, 30 and 25 also. Class. And of course as we discussed already, no Talisman coming here. Sniff.
I want to think Renault were selling a car bigger than the Laguna after Vel Satis production stopped, and before the introduction of the Talisman. Obviously didn't sell it in the UK, but either I'm making it up or I just can't put my finger on the name.
EDIT: No, I'm not making it up. The Latitude, it was. Lovely.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2017 20:08:31 GMT
Had a 330e hire car this week. It's 4-pot 2.0L turbo petrol with an electric motor bolted onto the back and a load of batteries in the boot but it drives, and at times sounds, like a diesel. From standstill up to about 50mph with a gentle right foot it uses electric-only mode which is supposed to have a range of about 20 miles from fully charged. In reality though, unless you are in nose to tail slow moving traffic, you will need a heavier prod on the gas pedal which automatically brings in the petrol engine. The electric motor and engine work well together and the torque is quite impressive at all legal speeds but one problem is that the engine can sound a bit gruff, particularly between 1000 and 2000rpm which is where it will spend most of it's time since top gear equates to about 40mph per 1000rpm. Once above 2000rpm though, it settles down and seems more relaxed.
The one I had was fitted with the optional Indicator Package and the M Sport suspension package which is a bit firm and can be a bit jarring on poor road surfaces. I also found it impossible to get a comfortable seat and steering setup where the wheel wasn't obscuring the speedo.
Just over 500 miles (mostly motorway) it averaged 41.2mpg which isn't bad considering I wasn't hanging around most of the time.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 17, 2017 21:55:57 GMT
I have that steering wheel problem with my older 3. At least, I thought it would be a problem but two years in, it hasn't been. Actually quite like having the wheel a little higher as it makes getting out of a two-door car in a narrow space a little easier. (The E gets around this by having shorter front doors and an 'American Belly' package that lifts the wheel out of the way when I remove the key.)
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Post by lygonos on Mar 17, 2017 22:45:54 GMT
Probably? By an order of magnitude I'd suggest.
Also it's 2 Fluences cheaper at a tad over £20k.
This whole 'battery rental' bollocks needs to be jettisoned by the manufacturers (read: Renault) - batteries are reliable - very reliable - compared to high pressure diseasel engines with injector/pump/turbo issues, and DMF/DPF and so forth they are insanely reliable.
Even electric motors are far more serviceable than the ICE equivalent.
The problem is the cost of batteries still, although they are around £150/kWh now compared to nearly £1000/kWh 10 years ago so the demise of the pure ICE appears almost inevitable.
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Post by Alanović on Apr 26, 2017 12:54:22 GMT
Saw my first Tesla Model X in the flesh this morning, on Basingstoke Road in Reading. Dark blue one.
Ugly bleeder, but I'm not enamoured of the SUV in general. I are disappoint.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Apr 26, 2017 16:12:02 GMT
You do wonder how they could bring to market such an ugly car.
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Post by lygonos on Apr 26, 2017 19:50:44 GMT
Due new car on May 8th - being delivered since it can't drive from Nottingham to Scotland on one charge :-)
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Post by Humph on Apr 26, 2017 20:43:01 GMT
Stuffed if you hufty take it back to Nottingham for warranty work then eh? Still, if you let me know where you are when it runs out of electricity on the way down, I'll bring you a flask and some sandwiches if you like !
😉
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2017 20:54:51 GMT
You could at least take him a couple of AAs.
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Post by Humph on Apr 26, 2017 20:56:34 GMT
Or a can of petrol, oh wait...
😅
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Post by lygonos on Apr 26, 2017 21:33:09 GMT
I have a MB dealer within pushing distance.
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Post by Alanović on Apr 27, 2017 9:26:54 GMT
Is that gonna have an "F" number plate then Lygonos? Pity. Bit brexity. I like an "S", although both of mine are currently "L", which is acceptable.
I got absolutely blown away again this morning by the white Tesla I see on my way to work most mornings. I deliberately try to get alongside it at traffic lights so I can marvel at the show, today I managed it at the Black Dam roundabout, exiting west on to the A30. Absolutely bloody mental acceleration this bloke indulges in, every time. I seriously feel like I'm driving a 19th century steam powered brick next to it. Gotta try one some time. He must have to pick his teeth out of the headrest when he gets to the office every morning.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Apr 27, 2017 11:54:33 GMT
Yes. I didn't dare round West Drayton but my demo driver gave it the full electric boot on a sliproad (she did ask me first) and off it went like an electrocuted leopard. Not silent either - just a whine like a jet engine spooling up. A sound I could happily get used to.
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Post by Hofmeister on Apr 27, 2017 14:29:43 GMT
Saw my first Tesla Model X in the flesh this morning, on Basingstoke Road in Reading. Dark blue one. Ugly bleeder, Yup, when I saw it in traffic it was white. I expected it to be followed by Captain Ahab on the bow of the Pequod trying to harpoon it.
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