AndyC's car guide...

[davids]

1997 Astra - 2001 Astra Club Estate

Suzuki Samurai 1993?
road tax free lol

 

[SerenityNigh]

Toyota are probably the leading proponent of Hydrogen technology at present as they've reduced their interest in EV technology due to being so far behind Tesla. That said, there is talk of a Tesla/Toyota collaboration on an EV Rav4 type SUV, so who knows where that might lead.

What are your thoughts on hybrid technology? As an outsider, and someone who does a lot of driving where gas is cheap, Toyota has seemed to produce this very well and it seems to fit a real void in the marketplace. Overall it seems under appreciated and undersold--probably a very viable technology for the next 20 years or so until EV infrastructure is sufficient.

 

[SerenityNigh]

I think they're 6.2 hemi.

The hellcat engine is available in the Grand Cherokee too, though I'm not sure why an SUV needs 707hp?

They now also sell the Dodge Demon. It's definitely available as a Challenger, maybe a Charger. Completely pointless 840hp for a rwd road car. Eye watering stats. 2.1 to 60, (That's faster than a Chiron, faster than a Tesla P100D with ludicrous mode) sub 9.5 seconds 1/4 mile.

Seen a couple on the road here but I'm yet to see one spun off the side of the desert highway. It won't be long.

Dodge have forever liked to build cars you can wrap around a tree easier than drive, the automotive equivalent of the gym rat who skips leg day. A perfect car for Yanks, I'm surprised they sell so poorly here.

 

[AndyC]

What are your thoughts on hybrid technology? As an outsider, and someone who does a lot of driving where gas is cheap, Toyota has seemed to produce this very well and it seems to fit a real void in the marketplace. Overall it seems under appreciated and undersold--probably a very viable technology for the next 20 years or so until EV infrastructure is sufficient.

Having worked for Toyota for a couple of years, I am very impressed with their build quality and engineering skills.

As far as hybrid technology, in my opinion, they are ahead of many of the other manufacturers who have gone the hybrid route. Hyundai hybrids are very good too, the Ioniq is an excellent product and right now, on a level par with the Toyota Prius and Auris hybrids.

I think the fact that Toyota are leaning towards Hydrogen Cell for the future strongly suggests that they've accepted that in terms of EV technology, they're behind the likes of Tesla... and Hydrogen Cell is well worth developing as the big alternative to EV vehicles.

 

[AndyC]

How would you rate its cyclist killing capabilities?

I've asked Stuttgart to incorporate a Bruce Wayne detector in future production

 

[SerenityNigh]

Having worked for Toyota for a couple of years, I am very impressed with their build quality and engineering skills.

As far as hybrid technology, in my opinion, they are ahead of many of the other manufacturers who have gone the hybrid route. Hyundai hybrids are very good too, the Ioniq is an excellent product and right now, on a level par with the Toyota Prius and Auris hybrids.

I think the fact that Toyota are leaning towards Hydrogen Cell for the future strongly suggests that they've accepted that in terms of EV technology, they're behind the likes of Tesla... and Hydrogen Cell is well worth developing as the big alternative to EV vehicles.

I've only owned two Toyotas, but my current one was built at Tahara and I am beyond impressed with the build.

 

[AndyC]

I've only owned two Toyotas, but my current one was built at Tahara and I am beyond impressed with the build.

I worked for Toyota in Sudan and believe me, with the state of the roads in Sudan, Toyota were the hardiest cars on the roads and their suspensions got a severe testing on a daily basis.
Even the Auris models handled the potholes really well, the LandCruiser and Fortuna SUVs were awesome on and off road

 

[AndyC]

Don't forget the noise button.

Needs a Bruce Wayne quieten button too

 

[AndyC]

6.2 Hemi

No wonder the mpg isn't too good

 

[AndyC]

Following on from the two Range Rovers reviewed on Tuesday, today's offering is one of the Mercedes equivalents - the GLE300d

As you'll see from the partial number plate, today's review is a 20-plate Mercedes-Benz GLE300d - roughly the MB equivalent to the Range Rover Sport.

The GLE isn't quite as tall as the RR Sport and so the driving position appears that bit lower but, it still offers excellent visibility, it is after all a big SUV.
As you would expect from a car of this marque, it's powerful and silky smooth, and has impressive acceleration.
Like the Range Rovers, the GLE loves to cruise along - 70mph on as little as 1600rpm - meaning it will eat up the miles easily without needing regular fuel stops. A full tank on the GLE offers over 600 miles, considerably more than the Range Rovers that generally offer 450-470 miles on a full tank of diesel, and on a long drive, the GLE outscores both the RR Sport and Vogue on mpg.
The Range Rovers average around 40-44mpg depending upon how you drive on a long journey, the GLE will easily reach 50+mpg as you can see from the second photo on today's run from Bridgend in South Wales to Warrington.

The central satnav/entertainment screen is large and easy to operate, and when in satnav mode, when you approach a turn or a roundabout etc, it automatically flips into front camera mode on the left hand side with the map remaining on the right hand side until you've negotiated the turn. The camera resolution is exceptional and crystal clear.

Steering, suspension and brakes are all excellent again, as you would expect from Mercedes, and the interior finish feels slightly superior to that of the RR Sport but, not massively better - in the end, that all comes down to personal taste I guess.

Overall, I find the build quality on the GLE is superior to that of the Range Rover not in massive ways, it just feels better put together, and that is not to knock the RR SUVs at all.

The boot space is more than capable of taking a full set of family luggage and the car has at least 3 USC charging ports as well as a mobile phone charging pad in the front of the centre console.

My marks out of ten...
Comfort 8
Fuel Economy 7
Performance 8
Reliability 9
Practicality 8

As an edit to this review... I took the same car to London this morning driving exactly to the speed limits as I wasn't in a hurry, and it returned a very creditable 52.7mpg.

 

[Chewbacca]

My next daily will almost certainly be a plug in hybrid. Can plug in overnight on cheap tariff and 90% of journeys are sub 40 miles so will use no/ very little fuel but I do want the capability to drive 250 miles without stopping to visit friends who don’t have a plug-in capability.

I then won’t feel guilty about running a V8 at weekends.

 

[AndyC]

My next daily will almost certainly be a plug in hybrid. Can plug in overnight on cheap tariff and 90% of journeys are sub 40 miles so will use no/ very little fuel but I do want the capability to drive 250 miles without stopping to visit friends who don’t have a plug-in capability.

I then won’t feel guilty about running a V8 at weekends.

Check out the Hyundai Ioniq mate, for the price it's a very, very good specification and a nice drive. Two of my mates have bought them and rave about them.

 

[Chewbacca]

More likely to be the new Tucson. The missus likes sitting up high.

 

[AndyC]

@AndyC have you ever driven one of those AMG C63 Mercs, i see a lot of them about and they sound like they are almost NASCAR levels of loud and seem pretty fast for a 4 door car

See today's review mate... C43 AMG

 

[AndyC]

Today's quick review is the Mercedes C43 AMG

A two-door, convertible with a powerful engine, enhanced by twin turbos to give it plenty of oommph.

For a car with a soft top, it's surprisingly quiet inside, the Stuttgart engineers have made it so with the roof on, there is practically no wind noise through the side of the soft top at all, in fact, what wind noise there is sounds more like it's coming from the rear drop windows.

Plus points: given the AMG enhancements, the car really does like to shift and irrespective of how fast you're travelling, if you hit the gas, it responds... 70 to 100 is far too easily done, especially for the numbers of speed cameras on roads in the UK.
Brakes and steering are excellent, but, I find the suspension to be a little stiff and if you hit a pothole or a bump in the road, you know about it !!

In-car entertainment and sat-nav are the usual high quality from DBAG but I do wish they'd continued to build in USB as well as USC ports. And for a two door convertible as against a family saloon, the boot space is impressive, big enough for a couple of suitcases and to squeeze in a half set of gold clubs.

One disappointing thing to note for a car of this ilk, why have Mercedes not included fully electric seats? To move the front seats backward and forward is by a manual lever although the seat base and backrest can be electrically adjusted - just seems like a bit of an oversight not having forward and backward adjustment electric too. That said, the seating is comfortable, though some people find Mercedes seating a tad on the firm side compared to others.

Given the 3-litre, turbocharged motor under the bonnet, fuel consumption can be on the heavy side, particularly around town or in stop-start traffic where it can drop below 20mpg... get it on the motorway and cruising, and with the occasional burst of acceleration to get past slower, middle-lane hogging blerts, and if you can see from the third picture, high 35+mpg can be achieved.

As to the exhaust button discussed in other posts, on thus car if pressed, it's the button that allows or enables you to change the driving mode from comfort to performance, and it does indeed make the car roar that bit louder when in performance mode. As I said in those other posts, to me personally... with a 3-litre turbocharged engine, you really don't need a performance mode, it's more than quick enough in comfort mode... and the extra exhaust noise really isn't necessary either.

My marks out of ten...
Comfort 7
Fuel Economy 6
Performance 9
Reliability 8
Practicality 6.5