New Toy - hot hatch

I've requested an A250e saloon and XC40 T5 Hybrid for demos. Will have to wait for the dealers to open up. Spec wise you get a lot more on the Volvo in Inscription Pro trim than an AMG Line A250e. But then list price reflects that.

Fun new car times but you'll miss the RS for sure.

I've had a few cars built much quicker than when ordered. Last one was meant to take a good few months longer than it did but I couldn't have it until the October anyway. It was sat in a compound a five minute walk away and I got to see it when it arrived. Lucky I did because a small trim/order mix up meant I got it cheaper.... or had to wait another 3 months for another to be built.

Another car I got earlier and was surprised was a Golf GTI. I thought the lease company would want to take it a few weeks later when the plate change happened. I didn't want it early because I was going to the US for 2 weeks and it would be parked up. But I got to drive it for a week or so before jetting off.

So, three weeks in with the new warm estate.

I've covered about 700kms, the car has been back to have some work done on the tailgate spoiler which was vibrating.

Performance is not what I had obviously, but not a million miles off. Being an automatic is great for my aching left knee though the driver aids take some adjusting to. The intelligent cruise control has three settings two of which I can see the point of. Either use it as a conventional cruise with manual overrides or have it drive to the posted limits and adjust speed according to limits and traffic around the car. There's a third option of automated driving so it will speed up and slow down with the prevailing traffic and maintain a preset speed regardless of the posted limit meaning set it to 100kph and it will do that in a 30 if left to it I'm not sure what that is for ?
I like the intelligent mode but wish it would slow to the posted limit rather than jam the brakes on once in the new limit. If I was setting up a speed trap I'd do it 2 feet inside a new limit and catch all those intelligent systems which don't talk to the satnav which knows the new limit in advance.

Self steering is another solution I didn't know was an issue I had to have a solution for. Where I live the road markings are patchy at best, leave the car to it and amber warnings flash up quite frequently saying it doesn't know where the road has gone and for you to take over. I've also had a few pre-collision alerts flash up when people run across the street in front of the car.

These new toys I've played with and will now be consigned to the bin with the off buttons.

Average consumption is now creeping up towards 30mpg, not bad for a new engine which has had some exercise on the autobahn. The hound loves his space and gets quite excited when I reach for the keys and very upset if he is not coming along for the ride:

It's "Fantastic red" darling, *mumbles bloody sales and marketing*. I do like red cars and blue. Silver is OK though the one I had the paint peeled off the front bumper. the white Volvo I have is dirty within two days of washing while standing still, I won't entertain black as that's dirty at the front before you've finished washing the back.

The red on this car does not have as many metallic flecks in it is the blue of the RS had. That blue really sparkled in the sunlight. It's also quite a soft lacquer and scratches very easily. The rear bumper has marks where I took a wet sponge to wipe off some mud. Not 900€ worth of paint is my impression.

Nice red. But not 900 euros nice!! Although I am probably out of touch. I guess it’s just another £20-odd supplement to the monthly payments for many buyers though.

Never had a red car. Nearest I got was a bright yellow Lupo about 20 years ago...!

Bother.  I think the effects of low use have been a concern for most of us.  I've noticed three things:

• The Aygo seems pretty impervious to neglect.  There was one time when the remote locking refused to unlock, but it still started and ran at the first attempt. Not much mass for the starter to turn, I suppose.  The radio lost its presets and clock setting (the only clock in the car) too.  Bigger problem is clearing all the tree detritus that collects on it in its regular spot, although yesterday's downpour helped with that.
• The CLS gets occasionally grumpy after ten days without a run.  It can sound a bit laboured on starting but still fires on the first turn of the key.  The ECO light stays off, though, so stop-start (never the greatest in this car) doesn't work until it's been run for a bit, then stopped and restarted with the key.
• The i3 ... sorry, what was the problem supposed to be? 

Of our cars, the i3 naturally gets the most use, in the sense of most outings.  The other two get used either when the i3 is already in use or when I (and it is always me) contrive an excuse to give one a run for exercise.  The Aygo takes me to cricket matches occasionally, especially when I'm not sure how far out of hitting range I can park. The CLS is just a nice thing to be out in if I'm going far enough to justify starting it up.

Hope all is well again soon, BPG.

I tried to get to the bottom of why our Seicento battery would be flat if not driven for a week or so. Wanted to sort before I gave back the 330e because that was the last resort jump start if too flat.

I figured out it was not the alternator not charging because it would read 14v and charge the battery. Never did figure it out but I drive it more now and it's not had a problem so far. When we went on holiday for 2 weeks I disconnected the battery just in case and being a dumb car it would not effect anything. Unlike in something more modern. Okay the ECU in this might do some relearning but it's a 1.1 litre Seicento