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Post by mick on Feb 18, 2024 10:38:21 GMT
Well, not actually new - but new to me. It's about three years old.
You will remember that my 17-year-old, 220k miles, vehicle was deemed beyond economic repair and had been scrapped. I've replaced it with a three-year-old Japanese model.
The purpose of this thread isn't to extol the virtues of a particular make, but to express my amazement at the electronic wizardry that's embodied. Remember, I've been used to 17-year-old 'technology'.
It's a hybrid, and watching the dial that tells me what's happening is mind-blowing. It swaps from engine to battery, back again and from engine charging to regenerative charging quicker than I can type this. I have to turn off that display because it't too riveting!
The adaptive cruise control is really clever. It keeps me at my chosen distance from the car in front, adjusting the speed to do that. If a car pulls into 'my' space but is going faster than me then it ignores it. If a car pulls into my space and is going slower then it reacts. If I signal to overtake, it automatically speeds up. I have to admit that it reacts fractionally later than I would but by the time I've had the "is it going to work" thought then it's doing its stuff.
I can manage lots of functions through voice control.I keep finding quite clever stuff that it can do!
A bummer is that the built-in SatNav is pretty clunky.
Finally, it's the easiest car I've ever driven.
I won't go on. I realize that I'm probably describing a pretty ordinary car by today's standards but the advances over the years have clearly passed me by, and I've entered a wondrous world!
Mick
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Post by peterob on Feb 18, 2024 11:11:26 GMT
Well, not actually new - but new to me. It's about three years old.
You will remember that my 17-year-old, 220k miles, vehicle was deemed beyond economic repair and had been scrapped. I've replaced it with a three-year-old Japanese model.
The purpose of this thread isn't to extol the virtues of a particular make, but to express my amazement at the electronic wizardry that's embodied. Remember, I've been used to 17-year-old 'technology'.
It's a hybrid, and watching the dial that tells me what's happening is mind-blowing. It swaps from engine to battery, back again and from engine charging to regenerative charging quicker than I can type this. I have to turn off that display because it't too riveting!
The adaptive cruise control is really clever. It keeps me at my chosen distance from the car in front, adjusting the speed to do that. If a car pulls into 'my' space but is going faster than me then it ignores it. If a car pulls into my space and is going slower then it reacts. If I signal to overtake, it automatically speeds up. I have to admit that it reacts fractionally later than I would but by the time I've had the "is it going to work" thought then it's doing its stuff.
I can manage lots of functions through voice control.I keep finding quite clever stuff that it can do!
A bummer is that the built-in SatNav is pretty clunky.
Finally, it's the easiest car I've ever driven.
I won't go on. I realize that I'm probably describing a pretty ordinary car by today's standards but the advances over the years have clearly passed me by, and I've entered a wondrous world!
Mick
Adaptive cruise control is widely misused and is my current pet motorway hate - folk setting it to 85 and sitting in the middle lane grrr! Anyway, that's not you, but beware that it can eat your rear disks/pads compared to an old style cruise control that controls the fuel and lets air resistance do the rest. I discovered the other day that I could set cruise to 20 mph if I also put the auto-box in Sports mode. It won't accept 20 in Drive mode. |
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Post by davem399 on Feb 18, 2024 11:34:21 GMT
Almost an identical scenario to me.
I have just replaced my 17 year old SEAT with a three year old VW and the advancement in the technology is quite impressive. Also, it’s my first automatic after 50+ years of driving manuals, and still getting used to not needing a left leg!. Keyless entry, electronic handbrake and push button ignition are also new to me.
I’m still near the bottom of the learning curve regarding all the features, adaptive cruise control, sat nav, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, park assist and smart phone mirroring, and goodness knows what else I’ve yet to discover.
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Post by peterob on Feb 18, 2024 11:53:58 GMT
Almost an identical scenario to me. I have just replaced my 17 year old SEAT with a three year old VW and the advancement in the technology is quite impressive. Also, it’s my first automatic after 50+ years of driving manuals, and still getting used to not needing a left leg!. Keyless entry, electronic handbrake and push button ignition are also new to me. I’m still near the bottom of the learning curve regarding all the features, adaptive cruise control, sat nav, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, park assist and smart phone mirroring, and goodness knows what else I’ve yet to discover. Autos with electric parking brake may have hill-assist. If you find the car often rolls back a bit on a hill-start when you move your foot from brake to accelerator then try a short extra hard press on the brake pedal when you stop. I'd been driving my "new" car for 8 years before I found out about it. Old autos never used to roll back but new ones seem to a bit. I used to put the parking brake on at lights/junctions if it was a steep hill. |
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Post by davem399 on Feb 18, 2024 12:45:02 GMT
Almost an identical scenario to me. I have just replaced my 17 year old SEAT with a three year old VW and the advancement in the technology is quite impressive. Also, it’s my first automatic after 50+ years of driving manuals, and still getting used to not needing a left leg!. Keyless entry, electronic handbrake and push button ignition are also new to me. I’m still near the bottom of the learning curve regarding all the features, adaptive cruise control, sat nav, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, park assist and smart phone mirroring, and goodness knows what else I’ve yet to discover. Autos with electric parking brake may have hill-assist. If you find the car often rolls back a bit on a hill-start when you move your foot from brake to accelerator then try a short extra hard press on the brake pedal when you stop. I'd been driving my "new" car for 8 years before I found out about it. Old autos never used to roll back but new ones seem to a bit. I used to put the parking brake on at lights/junctions if it was a steep hill. Yes, it’s got a hold button which stops it rolling back on hills. My mate also has a VW, and he suggested it as one of the first features to find and activate. |
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Post by geoffr on Feb 18, 2024 13:21:03 GMT
Almost an identical scenario to me. I have just replaced my 17 year old SEAT with a three year old VW and the advancement in the technology is quite impressive. Also, it’s my first automatic after 50+ years of driving manuals, and still getting used to not needing a left leg!. Keyless entry, electronic handbrake and push button ignition are also new to me. I’m still near the bottom of the learning curve regarding all the features, adaptive cruise control, sat nav, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, park assist and smart phone mirroring, and goodness knows what else I’ve yet to discover. Lane assist/lane departure warning on a loan car last year was most distracting, move out to pass a parked car and it tried to turn back into said parked car. I had blind spot monitoring on a Jag about 10 years ago, great for warning about motorway bridges and crash barriers that were trying to overtake, I really hope it has been improved since. The current annoyance is tyre pressure monitoring. On Friday I got a warning about the left rear tyre, checked 20 minutes later and it was 1 psi above the right rear, they were hot so I just reset the pressures. Having been involved in removing the TPIS from a fleet of A320 family aircraft, because it was so unreliable, my scepticism for tyre pressure indication/monitoring knows no bounds. |
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Post by mick on Feb 18, 2024 14:53:07 GMT
There's always someone who doesn't like something!
This car has run flat tyres and no spare. That makes me nervous.
It has a digital speedo (which I like) and next to the indicated speed is the designated speed limit, which turns bright red if I'm exceeding the limit. I've noticed that the display changes very rapidly indeed when the actual limit changes. No idea how it's done or whether it gets updated.
Then something that makes me laugh. In 'sport' mode it sounds like a real sports car, but there's a button that turns the sound off and the car is all but silent. Can't imagine that anyone would choose that.
Mick
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Post by spinno on Feb 18, 2024 15:32:00 GMT
Then something that makes me laugh. In 'sport' mode it sounds like a real sports car, but there's a button that turns the sound off and the car is all but silent. Can't imagine that anyone would choose that. Nobody here, but I bet we all know "Little Willy"  |
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Post by davem399 on Feb 18, 2024 15:56:06 GMT
This car has run flat tyres and no spare. That makes me nervous. Likewise, my new to me car has run flat tyres and no spare. I have found that I can get a space saver spare and jack and wheel brace, which I’m considering. |
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Post by willien on Feb 18, 2024 16:08:47 GMT
This car has run flat tyres and no spare. That makes me nervous. Likewise, my new to me car has run flat tyres and no spare. I have found that I can get a space saver spare and jack and wheel brace, which I’m considering. I am planning on sourcing the same when the run flats that came with the car wear down. Guiven the mileage I do this may not happen for some time. |
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Post by peterob on Feb 18, 2024 16:21:13 GMT
This car has run flat tyres and no spare. That makes me nervous. Likewise, my new to me car has run flat tyres and no spare. I have found that I can get a space saver spare and jack and wheel brace, which I’m considering. Mine has a space saver spare. I picked up a screw in the tyre and decided, rather than pull it out, that I'd change the wheel and go down the tyre shop. Now I can't remember how many years it has been since I changed a wheel, or for other reason jacked a car up, but, on my drive in full daylight and with the handbook, I had one hell of a job finding the jacking points. In the dark and rain at the side of a road I'd have been in real trouble. |
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Post by andy on Feb 18, 2024 16:36:58 GMT
Then something that makes me laugh. In 'sport' mode it sounds like a real sports car, but there's a button that turns the sound off and the car is all but silent. Can't imagine that anyone would choose that. Mick Does the "real sports car" sound come from the audio speakers inside the car? |
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Post by Chester PB on Feb 18, 2024 16:52:32 GMT
Well, not actually new - but new to me. It's about three years old.
You will remember that my 17-year-old, 220k miles, vehicle was deemed beyond economic repair and had been scrapped. I've replaced it with a three-year-old Japanese model.
The purpose of this thread isn't to extol the virtues of a particular make, but to express my amazement at the electronic wizardry that's embodied. Remember, I've been used to 17-year-old 'technology'.
It's a hybrid, and watching the dial that tells me what's happening is mind-blowing. It swaps from engine to battery, back again and from engine charging to regenerative charging quicker than I can type this. I have to turn off that display because it't too riveting!
The adaptive cruise control is really clever. It keeps me at my chosen distance from the car in front, adjusting the speed to do that. If a car pulls into 'my' space but is going faster than me then it ignores it. If a car pulls into my space and is going slower then it reacts. If I signal to overtake, it automatically speeds up. I have to admit that it reacts fractionally later than I would but by the time I've had the "is it going to work" thought then it's doing its stuff.
I can manage lots of functions through voice control.I keep finding quite clever stuff that it can do!
A bummer is that the built-in SatNav is pretty clunky.
Finally, it's the easiest car I've ever driven.
I won't go on. I realize that I'm probably describing a pretty ordinary car by today's standards but the advances over the years have clearly passed me by, and I've entered a wondrous world!
Mick
How much did you have to pay for all these 'must have' features, and how much is the insurance? |
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Post by kate on Feb 18, 2024 17:26:54 GMT
But does it take photos?
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Post by mick on Feb 18, 2024 18:56:57 GMT
Andy, yes I think so.
Kate yes it does - sort of. SWMBO negotiated the fitting of dashcams before we bought it..
Chester how much I paid for car and insurance is my business so I won’t be answering that question. AFAIK everything I’ve mentioned bar dashcams comes as standard.
Mick
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