CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)

CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: THE Car thread (positive posts about cars) http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: THE Car thread (positive posts about cars) en Fri, 19 Jun 2026 12:59:19 +0000 Arellcat on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746&page=2#post-118961 Mon, 22 Jul 2013 10:29:17 +0000 Arellcat 118961@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Like Arellcat, had a Rover 620i at one point ('upgrading' later to to 618Sli) On a point of pedantry, mine was the 620 ti, from which there was no upgrade except I suppose to the 800 Vitesse. Wilmington's Cow on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746&page=2#post-118955 Mon, 22 Jul 2013 10:08:39 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 118955@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Gorra 2011 Mini Clubman Cooper S (after a 2009 Hatch Cooper S, and a 2005 Hatch ONE - that has been on Monza and the Lingotto rooftop test track in Turin that was used in the Italian Job...). Perfect for our needs, plus fun to drive. In truth I'd probably go back to the hatch if they devised a sensible bike carrying system that didn't involve holes drilled in the roof, or I could find a rear carrier that didn't dent the roof (tried two, both did) - and a tow bar isn't possible cos the hatch S has central exhaust pipes). The Clubman, with the roof rails, is perfect. Like Arellcat, had a Rover 620i at one point ('upgrading' later to to 618Sli that was rubbish in comparison performance wise, but had alloys and leather trimmed seats). Paying to be taken for a spin in a Lamborghini Countach a few weeks back at a classic car show has just deepened my love for that particular mad supercar. Love the 70s/80s Aston DBS, still have vague plans to work the way up the classic car ladder that would include original Mini, Spitfire, Stag, 70s Merc SL, TR3, Mustang... Last year had an Austin Healey 3000 for a couple of days, and an MGB Roadster. The big Healey is one of the prettiest cars around (sorry, but I prefer it to an E-Type), driving it was... an experience. The MG was much more 'fun' to drive, but nowhere near the looker. Saab 900s, legendary turbo-lag allegedly caused many a rear-end shunt. neddie on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746&page=2#post-118869 Sat, 20 Jul 2013 19:58:13 +0000 neddie 118869@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @algo Thanks for the tips. I've been meaning to get the diagnostics read. I think I can find the mass-airflow sensor, not sure where the EGR is (is that exhaust gas regeneration?). Also, not sure it's OK to clean a CAT - how would you do that without damaging it? Thanks. wee folding bike on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746&page=2#post-118806 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 17:10:17 +0000 wee folding bike 118806@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Reversing lights on the Chevette worked but the synchromesh on 2nd didn't and the gear stick sometimes came off. Front wings were news paper and putty. 1981 Volvo 244DL had broken reversing lights which could be fun when out in the wilds at night. The dizzy baseplate was held down by a tiny screw. Sometimes it came loose and stopped the whole thing working. Roibeard on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746&page=2#post-118805 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:48:15 +0000 Roibeard 118805@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @wfb - I remember that too... I remember my Escort driving contemporaries being pleased to demonstrate hand-brake turns, whereas I liked to keep both hands firmly on the wheel! However, the rear-wheel-drive, featherlight tail of the Chevette could be encouraged to step out with judicious use of the accelerator. I may (still) not be able to do a hand-brake turn, but I'm well familiar with rear wheel skids and power (!) slides. My Chevette's reversing lights were also manually operated - great fun for discouraging tailgating... Robert Greenroofer on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118804 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:32:49 +0000 Greenroofer 118804@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ 58-plate Skoda Octavia Estate diesel. It looks like a taxi. It sounds like a taxi. It's extremely practical, and I like the shape of the bonnet. It's the new shape but before it was facelifted with the newer wraparound headlights. The back of the car isn't great to look at, but there's something about the shape of the grille, headlights and bonnet that I think is just right. It was all going swimmingly until a few months ago when we started having a problem with the gearbox not going into first after it had been on a long run. However this is meant to be a positive thread about cars, so I won't go into that. EddieD on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118801 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:20:46 +0000 EddieD 118801@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Currently a 10 year old (although I've had it for 7 of them) year old Focus (with only 33k on the clock) - it's a good car, handles well, but, unlike my old Rover 216 which I loved until it turned to rust - I can't fit my recumbent inside, so alas, the joys of some of the more remote bits of the west highlands are now bentless :( wee folding bike on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118799 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:14:04 +0000 wee folding bike 118799@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Chevette had its horn on the right hand stalk so you would hit it with your knee getting in. That was far from its biggest problem. Kenny on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118792 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:47:55 +0000 Kenny 118792@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ 2012 Ford Galaxy and 2008 Ford Escort. Galaxy especially useful for transporting wife, three daughters, two dogs and lots of bikes. Previously, I've owned Fiestas, Corsas, a Renault Scenic Grand and a Maestro. The Galaxy is like a space-age machine in comparison to any of those. The fact it lives in my garage for about 166 hours a week (outside of school holidays) is starting to make me wonder whether I really need it. But when I need it, holy crap does it come in handy. Now I think about it, it also gets used as a removals van quite a lot. Maybe 164 hours per week in the garage. Coxy on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118778 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:10:52 +0000 Coxy 118778@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Saab 95 Estate. Bit of a run of saabs now: old 900, later 900, and now the tank. Agree with SRD, hard to move away from them... In the past though - Mk3 Cortina, Spitfire, Herald 13/60 Convertable, Volvo 144s Used to love cars, but when I moved to Edinburgh I couldn't afford to run one, and soon realised I didn't need one. Kids meant I do now (realistically for us), but now I just see them as sometimes-useful tools; expensive, dangerous and usually not enjoyable to drive. MeepMeep on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118777 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:02:38 +0000 MeepMeep 118777@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ My first car was a Vauxhall Corsa. Mr MeepMeep said he saw it in Edinburgh earlier in the week though with a rather large dent in the front which, oddly, made me a little sad to hear because she certainly wasn't sold on like that... We put a lot of money (for us) into a good-spec 2006 Seat Leon three years ago. It's a shame that the car can often go weeks without being driven because it really is a pleasure to drive. Sporty enough, nice to look at without being pretentious, handles beautifully. Suspension and seats incredibly firm so can't say comfortable, but wonderfully responsive. I would be the first to admit that cycling being my primary mode of transport has made me a far better driver than I ever was before. I'm more forward-thinking, more alert, more patient and I like to credit a lot of that to being so acutely aware of how vulnerable some other road users are. Roibeard on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118773 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:46:53 +0000 Roibeard 118773@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Yep, I'd have been pleased to have a 101 too - great people mover, when a bench seat was considered the height of comfort... I lodged for a few months near the owner of a 101, and I eyed it up daily! I did the same at another point with a Lightweight, and the owner finally put a "For Sale" on it. I looked at it quite seriously, until I discovered that they weren't all on "Q" plates, and that the Q probably meant it wasn't a single vehicle... I have forded an XC90 to the bonnet (courtesy of Volvo, not the wife's car!), whereas the Land Rover Experience would barely let the Defender get its feet wet - and I've been bogged down in a little Suzuki whose driver had attempted the "Land Rovers only" route and then suffered the embarrassment of being extracted by a proper off-roader. That said, I've also bogged a Discovery to the extent that a tractor was required for the recovery - clearly somewhere I shouldn't have attempted as a tractor later was bogged down in the same spot! Interesting about the "V" memories - I also learnt in a Chevette, then moved to Volvos, bar the 1.0 Metro that came with the wife at the point of marriage. That had cruise control on the motorway, simply place your foot to the floor and leave it there, with speeds varying up to 70mph depending on the gradient! The Chevette was written off - I nearly avoided T-boning a new driver that attempted to turn right from a side street as I approached on the main road. "Nearly" in that I removed everything forward of her radiator... My parents bought a Volvo after that! Robert cc on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118767 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:35:45 +0000 cc 118767@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Vauxhall ('78 Chevette) My partner started on a Chevette and all these years later still sometimes tries to turn on the indicators using the right hand stalk. Arellcat on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118765 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:27:18 +0000 Arellcat 118765@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Would quite like to try a 101 Forward Control but you don't see them very often these days. A friend of mine has a 101 fitted with a 3.9 V8. The fuel consumption must be horrendous. Much more imposing than the Series II FC models too. wee folding bike on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118747 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 13:26:27 +0000 wee folding bike 118747@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ I've yet to own a car which didn't start with a V. Vauxhall ('78 Chevette), VW and Volvo. I've also yet to own a bike which wasn't built in England although the Ti bits of Brompton were made in China. cb on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118744 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 13:19:03 +0000 cb 118744@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ VW Golf here to add to the VW list. It has an instantaeous MPG feature but I find it's next to useless as it fluctates so much. I keep it on trip MPG (resets after the ignition has been off for two hours). Pretty unexcited about cars generally; used to quite like Land Rovers though and have driven a Series III LWB fairly extensively and a Lightweight less extensively. At least the Series III had some pretences of creature comforts like a speedometer that was actually in front of you. Mind you speedometers in stupid places seem to have become fashionable again. Would quite like to try a 101 Forward Control but you don't see them very often these days. deckard112 on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118738 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 12:53:11 +0000 deckard112 118738@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Lots of Volvos, VWs and Saabs on here so wonder what that says about the demogrpahic, interesting. So I'll add to that.. 2013 Volvo V40R-Design - I have to have a car because of my job but I opted for this earlier this year as it's low emission and does 80mpg. My employer actively encourages low co2/economic vehicles (we dont offer gas guzzlers as company cars now). Also got Volvo to fit two bike racks which appear to be good quality Thule brackets but were surpisingly cheaper (branded Volvo instead of Thule). Oh..my favorite feature is the dashboard is entirely LCD display. V.cool! SRD on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118707 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:27:52 +0000 SRD 118707@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @baldcyclist. I think not but it was many years ago...what I mainly recall is comfort of seats and manoeuvrability. wee folding bike on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118702 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:23:03 +0000 wee folding bike 118702@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ No fancy shmancy ports on mine. The computer flashes a pattern on a wee LED and you look it up on a list. Baldcyclist on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118663 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:12:39 +0000 Baldcyclist 118663@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @SRD Saab 900, was it a turbo engine? What a lovely lovely gurgalicious lovely noise a Saab 900 turbo makes, doesn't even have to be the 'Sporty' one, any turbocharged Saab engine. Me, I've never had anything so lovely as that. I like Volvos, have a V70 now, love it. Comfy, Soft, lovely inside compared other 'more expensive' European apparently 'quality' cars. Tried a VW Passat for a while, hated that, think the "Once you've had Volvo" saying is true, nothing else will do. This time I bought the estate (S60 last time) for the sole purpose of getting my bike in, in the S60 I had to take the front wheel off every day, annoying. Now the bike just 'lives' in the car, get home, drive into garage, no need for racks and fiddling with clips, and straps every day. Chuck it in, drag it out, done! Only negative is it has the 2lt 136bhp Diesel engine, it's a bit underpowered. Maybe should have waited a year and got the 163bhp D3 engine. Never mind £400 to have it 'chipped' will sort that out and give it the same performance as the D3. My piggy bank is getting nearer to the £400, just need to stop buying bike things for a couple of months.... algo on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118653 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:54:27 +0000 algo 118653@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @Dave - you can do that if you have an OBDII port (which you should if it's 2003) - look up scangauge or scangauge 2 - they come up pretty cheap 2nd hand sometimes. All OBDII signals are standard - so it'll know how much fuel is being injected and what the crank setting is - all you have to do is to put the wheel size in and then fiddle about with it (before you set off ;-)) bdellar on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118651 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:46:53 +0000 bdellar 118651@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ I've only owned one car. Me and two friends went thirds on a VW Golf, for £30 each. It lasted a summer, and we paid £50 to get it scrapped! algo on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118647 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:38:56 +0000 algo 118647@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ I had a vw T25 (T3) which I put a modern tdi engine in - drove beautifully and got us all to France and Spain several times with the bikes on the back, somewhere to sleep and somewhere to warm up if we'd taken it up north. I loved it, until one day my woeful engineering skills let us down and the cracked modded engine mounts caused the crank seal to go covering our bikes (on the back) in oil. As fimm correctly points out about such vehicles- one of the reasons I loved it was because I spent more time fixing it than driving it. The other half's patience wore thin though and I'd already had the engine out on the street enough times to annoy the neighbours. I'm currently building a T4 syncro for the same purpose - it's amazing to have something to return to after walking or cycling where you can warm up and put on a cup of something hot. (@edd1e_h - all sorts of reasons for low-end misfire - clean your EGR and CAT, clean the Mass-Airflow sensor with brake cleaner, pump timing, injector balance.... but first off get your diagnostics read to see if an error code exists - I have a pretty rubbish multi-purpose code reader that *sometimes* works if you want to borrow it) Dave on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118645 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:29:49 +0000 Dave 118645@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Sorry, this was meant to be positive about cars :-) so, let's see, the most fun thing about the current car is the trip computer. Never has my driving changed so radically as when I first dialled up the instant MPG meter on the dashboard. This is something we don't have but would be a must on any new car. It drives me nuts that I can't test experimentally whether we burn more fuel ticking along at 20mph or 30mph. fimm on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118640 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:18:47 +0000 fimm 118640@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ I've never owned a car... A friend has a Lightweight Land Rover. It is older than he is. I think he spends more time repairing it than he does driving it (I think this is why he likes it...) Travelling in the back in the middle of winter is an excellent test of one's heavy duty winter hillwalking kit - in fact I have a set of thermals that are too warm for walking in but are useful for travelling in the back of the Land Rover... cc on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118639 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:16:27 +0000 cc 118639@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ The most fun car I ever had was my first, a VW Polo, way back when they were small. The old one with the wolf on the steering wheel to show it was made in Wolfsburg. 0-60 in about a fortnight but I loved it to bits. I was following in a family tradition, my Dad got a VW Beetle in the 1950s and adored it, drove it to Germany for holidays. These days its current replacement is used mostly by my partner who can't cycle. Nowadays I hate driving; there's nowhere safe to get enthusiastic about it, all I see is potential accidents in front of me. Some years ago I moved house in order to be close enough to walk or cycle to work. Sorry, this was meant to be positive about cars :-) so, let's see, the most fun thing about the current car is the trip computer. Never has my driving changed so radically as when I first dialled up the instant MPG meter on the dashboard. Arellcat on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118638 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:11:30 +0000 Arellcat 118638@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ I'm fossil fuel-free, car-wise, but still have my big enduro motorbike. I once had a Toyota MR2 - the original one, which was quick and fun to drive, but was cramped, rusted like mad and was useless for carrying anything, not least of all bikes, thanks to pillarless doors and a spoiler the size of an aircraft carrier. After hours and hours of derusting, welding, painting, more derusting, more welding, more painting, I sold it and swore I'd never buy another car. Then I bought a Rover 620 turbo, which was just beautiful on long motorway journeys to southerly places, often with my Windcheetah strapped to roof bars. Walnut, leather, Recaro seats, lovely speed-sensitive power steering, oodles of power. I kept it for nine years, by which time it had depreciated to less than the price of a good set of cranks, which was a quite depressing signal of a disposable society. Dave on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118633 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:50:14 +0000 Dave 118633@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ We have a 2003 diesel Astra. Being an estate means that we can put things in the back pretty easily. The mileage is also pretty good, at 55mpg (you can do better). Alas, it has needed quite a bit of work doing over the last few years: springs (twice), alternator (twice), new brakes, handbrake (constantly). I worked out the other day that it costs us around £2k a year, not including driving it anywhere (would be interested to know how this compares). Not sure what we'd replace it with. We could have more or less whatever we liked, but it only ever gets used and weekends, and that rarely - so I find it hard to justify spending much. SRD on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118630 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:42:40 +0000 SRD 118630@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ I learned to drive on a Saab 99, then a 900 (both acquired secondhand). Never felt as comfortable driving any other sort of car since. Darkerside on "THE Car thread (positive posts about cars)" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10746#post-118629 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:39:08 +0000 Darkerside 118629@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Reading up-thread, Land Rover defenders are far and away the least comfortable things I'ver ever spent time in. They assume the driver has no right arm and that nobody in the vehicle is over 5'8". They also roll about like a banana on tarmac (although I've only ever driven ambulance versions with a big box on the back, so potentially normal ones aren't quite so bad) Clearly built for a purpose, but that purpose definitely is not being on the roads!