Might be time to change the car blues

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

Posted by fizzy on 02/08/2016 13:05:50:

Im a bit confused – you say that the broken springs were replaced by OEM springs, so they should be spot on?

No because the other manufacturers have extra windings in the ends of the springs

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

Posted by Ian S C on 02/08/2016 14:50:51:

How come refitting the broken springs cured the rattle, did you see the "broken" springs?

Ian S C

yes I am still using the broken spring. It does not have the extra turns in the end ( actually the end of one is missing altogether)

When I took the vehicle back they immediately drove it to hear the noise then put it on the ramp & changed the springs whilst i watched & drove it to see the noise stopped. They then had another set delivered in 30 mins from another supplier -while i waited – & it also had extra windings in the end unlike the original Renault ones. They swoped them – they rattled so they put the broken one back on as it had only cracked on the very end.

What i like about the garage is that every thing stopped & my car was looked at immediately & i was invited to stand & watch whilst they examined it even though I turned up unannounced

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 02/08/2016 15:02:58

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 02/08/2016 15:04:20

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 02/08/2016 15:07:56

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by Sam Longley 1 on 02/08/2016 14:59:09:

Posted by fizzy on 02/08/2016 13:05:50:

Im a bit confused – you say that the broken springs were replaced by OEM springs, so they should be spot on?

No because the other manufacturers have extra windings in the ends of the springs

You really mean after market springs I suspect. OEM original equipment manufacturer. However especially on European models that may not mean that they will be exactly the same as the ones that were fitted originally.

Personally I would check with Renault however long I had been dealing with a particular garage.

A solution to your problem might be a good coat of 5th wheel grease that has been well worked in.

John

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[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

Posted by Ajohnw on 02/08/2016 15:13:29:

Posted by Sam Longley 1 on 02/08/2016 14:59:09:

Posted by fizzy on 02/08/2016 13:05:50:

Im a bit confused – you say that the broken springs were replaced by OEM springs, so they should be spot on?

No because the other manufacturers have extra windings in the ends of the springs

You really mean after market springs I suspect. OEM original equipment manufacturer. However especially on European models that may not mean that they will be exactly the same as the ones that were fitted originally.

Personally I would check with Renault however long I had been dealing with a particular garage.

A solution to your problem might be a good coat of 5th wheel grease that has been well worked in.

John

–

Sorry

I was careless I meant that they were NOT oem's but other manufacturers. I am having a " bad hair" day- Actually more of a week than a day !!!!!

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Hi All,

Anyone got any thoughts on the VW Tiguan 2.0HD? A pal has the Toureg but too big for us so maybe the Tiguan looks a good bet. We normally run £2k cars then throw them away but now we are looking to spend £15k and have some comfort and be a little higher up in the air! Other contender is Honda CRV?

Regards,

martin

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

Bought the wife a petrol Honda CRV ( Hates diesel) new 2 years ago & she loves it. 42 MPG There has been no trouble & it runs very well

Bought it via the internet & it worked very well. Paid for it 24 hours after it arrived & got best discount by far. Will do it for her next car

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 02/08/2016 17:36:49

[VicParticipant @vic]

Posted by Martin King 2 on 02/08/2016 16:43:24:

Hi All,

Anyone got any thoughts on the VW Tiguan 2.0HD? A pal has the Toureg but too big for us so maybe the Tiguan looks a good bet. We normally run £2k cars then throw them away but now we are looking to spend £15k and have some comfort and be a little higher up in the air! Other contender is Honda CRV?

Regards,

martin

My old next door neighbor had either a Toerag or a Tiguan and got rid of it due to silly fuel consumption, 17 mpg if memory serves. She replaced it with a Honda CRV which she loves. Check the claimed mpg and then deduct 25% before you even look at the VW. Personally I wouldn't touch a diesel as its only a matter of time before they start increasing the fuel duty on it due to the pollution issue. Suzuki might be worth a look as well.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

After owning over a dozen Hondas, I've had to change to BMW due to the fact that Honda have stopped selling the Accord in Europe. The only vehicles they now sell here are the Jazz or a range of Civic-based vehicles including the CRV. In N America they sell all manner of Accord-derived vehicles including SUV (Pilot), pickup (Ridgeline), MPV (Odessey) and crossover (Crossover). Clearly they didn't have enough market share to justify continuing with the Accord. Looking at reliability and owner satisfaction led me to either BMW or Mercedes. Time will tell if that was wise!

Modern diesels are so much more powerful, refined, efficient and clean than the beasts of 10 or more years ago. It's a pity VW played silly b*****rs as they did. At the very least it will put back the adoption of diesels in the US by decades.

I seem to get around 40mpg with the 520d estate (8 speed auto). The Accord estate diesel used to manage 45mpg and apparently if you kept the speed below 70mph you could manage 50mpg. I did that once (in the interests of science) and sure enough I managed 50mpg. Clearly that was unsustainable though.

Merry

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

The computer on my mondeo currently claims 50.4 over a month or so's driving in all conditions and from having done my own calcs based on refilling the tank and counting miles I have no reason to doubt it. Nearer 60 mpg for cruising in 6th gear for a long motorway journey. Very little difference in MPG between different roads – I was surprised to get such good figures for urban driving.

Neil

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Posted by Martin King 2 on 02/08/2016 16:43:24:

Hi All,

Anyone got any thoughts on the VW Tiguan 2.0HD? A pal has the Toureg but too big for us so maybe the Tiguan looks a good bet. We normally run £2k cars then throw them away but now we are looking to spend £15k and have some comfort and be a little higher up in the air! Other contender is Honda CRV?

Regards,

martin

 

I am now on my second Tiguan, both have been: 2L Diesel, Manual box, 4WD, Match specification.

In my opinion they are really good cars, the 2L Diesel engine is "gutsy", the seating is good and they are pretty good off the tarmac as well.

I get a long term average consumption of 42 mpg (car indicator), have to say that I've never been known for a particularly economic driving style though.

It may be a good idea to check on the emissions modifications situation before buying a used one.

The Wife's friend owns a Mazda CX5, which she rates very highly and the Wife reckons it "wafts" along, that maybe another one to consider if it falls within your price range.

Edited By V8Eng on 02/08/2016 22:30:50

Edited By V8Eng on 02/08/2016 22:31:33

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 02/08/2016 21:10:54:

The computer on my mondeo currently claims 50.4 over a month or so's driving in all conditions and from having done my own calcs based on refilling the tank and counting miles I have no reason to doubt it. Nearer 60 mpg for cruising in 6th gear for a long motorway journey. Very little difference in MPG between different roads – I was surprised to get such good figures for urban driving.

Neil

Lend it to me Neil and I'll soon show you it will just about manage an long term 40. Less actually if you don't have the 2.2L.

John

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[DodParticipant @dod]

KIA Picanto shows 62.4 mpg, been like that for the last 9 months

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

KIa and Hyundai make good cars. To be honest I would probably favour them over VW. They even provide a link to how the fuel figures are derived.

**LINK**

It's pretty clear that one of them wont relate to motor way driving a lot of the time and the other one assumes that traffic does get up to speed now and again in an odd sort of way.

Me well I choose cars based on 100bhp per tonne as I know that is likely to keep me happy performance wise. I have had cars that were significantly more powerful than that but to be honest don't think there is much point really. I also go for a size of car that suites my needs. These days they tend to weigh about 1.5 tonne.

I live in an area that has a fair amount of traffic at times. It's not that unusual for me to spend 10 min or more travelling a few hundred yards when ever I go out. After that it varies but can be stop start for several miles. On motorways I will usually be travelling at what ever speed the outer lane is running at. A & B roads in my view are intended fo 60mph where it can be done safely. If I am travelling a moderate distance I am perfectly prepared to follow some one who is doing 40 or 50mph but if 40 would be very likely to overtake if I could. Longer distances and I want to be doing 60.

Unlike many I am aware that corners and hills need a bit more gas to maintain the same speed. I merge with motorways at motorway speeds. Most slip roads are long enough and problems except when there is just too much traffic are down to people who don't do that.

None of this is good for fuel consumption but I choose cars on the basis of fuel costs when I travel some distance and find for instance that if my x-type had been a 2L I would drive it harder and use more fuel. The makers have come up with a new idea though. Same bhp out of smaller engines. I've driven several recently. If you want to drive like I do don't get sucked in. There is a distinct lack of lower rev torque. My Forester shows some signs of that. Slight but it's still there. I noticed it going up a very steep hill in an overtaking lane. The next one was miles away. Some are nvg, cured by using a lower gear but bang goes the apparent fuel saving rather quickly.

When I started towing a caravan I was rather surprised by the number of people that travel at sub artic speed limited speeds in the near side lane. While these people may be getting spectacular consumption figures they are wrecking other peoples. When towing I travel at typical artic speeds. Only fair really as it's a pain for them to need to overtake so if I need to speed up a bit as speed limiter vary I do. I often follow one as that reduces my fuel consumption. I don't believe in holding up traffic even if that means exceeding the speed limit when overtaking

Yes I am a wonderful driver. We all are aren't we.

John

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[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Johnw,

I drive like you but would disagee with one thing, I have a company supplied renault trafic dec 65 plate and it has a 1600 turbo, when I swapped it for my 61 2000 litre vauxhall vivaro I thought I was in for a rough time. Its the same horse power as the vauxhall its slightly longer with the new shape and pulls like a train particularly when I tow my two ton trailer with a ton of engines in it, im in Portsmouth this week and the drive down gave me 50 mpg driving between 65 – 70, with the trailer 35 mpg. It stays in econo all the time and never seems to struggle

[steamdaveParticipant @steamdave]

Posted by Vic on 02/08/2016 18:58:39:

My old next door neighbor had either a Toerag or a Tiguan and got rid of it due to silly fuel consumption, 17 mpg if memory serves. She replaced it with a Honda CRV which she loves. Check the claimed mpg and then deduct 25% before you even look at the VW. Personally I wouldn't touch a diesel as its only a matter of time before they start increasing the fuel duty on it due to the pollution issue. Suzuki might be worth a look as well.

It's interesting that here in Ireland, Diesel is much cheaper than petrol by as much as 9c / ltr. With that differential, the added cost of buying a Diesel car over petrol is soon nullified.

Certainly notice the added cost of fuel when I go over to England.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by martin perman on 03/08/2016 15:10:43:
Johnw,

I drive like you but would disagee with one thing, I have a company supplied renault trafic dec 65 plate and it has a 1600 turbo, when I swapped it for my 61 2000 litre vauxhall vivaro I thought I was in for a rough time. Its the same horse power as the vauxhall its slightly longer with the new shape and pulls like a train particularly when I tow my two ton trailer with a ton of engines in it, im in Portsmouth this week and the drive down gave me 50 mpg driving between 65 – 70, with the trailer 35 mpg. It stays in econo all the time and never seems to struggle

Much depends on the turbo charging and the engine management Martin. They get up to all sorts of tricks such a limiting torque so that engine transmission parts don't break. I mostly based the comment on a Mitsubishi ASX compared with my X-Type. I also drove the more powerful ASX, chalk and cheese. All I meant really is if some one thinks of buying one of these lower capacity same bhp I'd advice trying it up a hill, a steep one. In the ASX it was Mucklows Hill that really showed the lack of torque. It needed buzzing.

Turbo charging can produce lots of power and torque, way more than most companies use. Renault have exploited that in the past more than some. Also Lucas was working on a diesel management system until the company gave it to some one else – it looked good and they may have had to start making it. Can't do that sort of thing if they want to fold the company up. When towing they had concluded that if it was better to provide the extra power when needed rather than stick to the normal mapping. They can pick this sort of thing up from the data they have available. I don't know how far that sort of idea has spread but often various companies come to the same sort of conclusions for much the same reasons. Saab also gave some extra bhp purely for overtaking so it's not exactly a new idea.

I might as well also add that Saab were offering an engine management upgrade that offered more power and also if driven reasonably they claimed that consumption would be better.

John

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Edited By Ajohnw on 03/08/2016 16:55:27

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Posted by steamdave on 03/08/2016 16:20:52:

Posted by Vic on 02/08/2016 18:58:39:

My old next door neighbor had either a Toerag or a Tiguan and got rid of it due to silly fuel consumption, 17 mpg if memory serves. She replaced it with a Honda CRV which she loves. Check the claimed mpg and then deduct 25% before you even look at the VW. Personally I wouldn't touch a diesel as its only a matter of time before they start increasing the fuel duty on it due to the pollution issue. Suzuki might be worth a look as well.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

 

Dave.

The Tiguan and Toureg are two different vehicles altogether, whilst I do not have loyalty to any make, I do feel that care should be used when comparing things.

V8.

Edited By V8Eng on 03/08/2016 22:15:45

Edited By V8Eng on 03/08/2016 22:20:30

[steamdaveParticipant @steamdave]

Posted by V8Eng on 03/08/2016 22:12:04:

Posted by steamdave on 03/08/2016 16:20:52:

Posted by Vic on 02/08/2016 18:58:39:

My old next door neighbor had either a Toerag or a Tiguan and got rid of it due to silly fuel consumption, 17 mpg if memory serves. She replaced it with a Honda CRV which she loves. Check the claimed mpg and then deduct 25% before you even look at the VW. Personally I wouldn't touch a diesel as its only a matter of time before they start increasing the fuel duty on it due to the pollution issue. Suzuki might be worth a look as well.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Dave.

The Tiguan and Toureg are two different vehicles altogether, whilst I do not have loyalty to any make, I do feel that care should be used when comparing things.

V8.

V8

I don't know anything about VW vehicles (or Hondas for that matter). I was just saying that Diesel fuel is cheaper in Ireland than petrol.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Dave.

Please accept my apologies, while composing my post I slipped up with the fact that the Touareg/Tiguan thing was down to Vic not yourself.

V8.

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