|
Post by Martin on Feb 16, 2024 5:30:53 GMT
We only did 150km in 10 days, but that’s broadly what we expected. It cost £5 times to fill it back up, normal unleaded is only 34p a litre. That’s mid 30s mpg, not bad for the driving we did, but the trip computer is showing close to 50mpg over the last 1500 kms.
Did the job, all the luggage (3 cases + 3 hand luggage) went in the boot easily and it was comfy enough for the miles we did. Sixt were very good, met us at departures to save the walk from the multi-story and no issues on return.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 15, 2024 11:54:15 GMT
We’re watching a movie. They arrive in Bali. W2.1 looks at the scenery and says “I need to get back to browsing again: I’ve got 63 windows open on my phone of different holidays.” Going to be a stressful couple of months as she makes up our mind…. Bali is a strong possibility for us in August 2025 as we’ll be back to working around school holidays and most of the Far East isn’t great at that time of year. I haven’t been since 2001 and could combine it with Singapore, which is one of our favourite cities. Flights aren’t cheap though, probably 30% more than Thailand / Malaysia / USA.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 14, 2024 9:40:52 GMT
Thanks Martin. I will have to try one as long as it is anywhere apart from Glasgow Porsche - the only garage to make me feel as if I shouldn't be there because I couldn't afford it! Will make a nice change from trudging around dealerships looking at EVs! That’s poor to say the least. When we bought the Boxster, it was the cheapest car Porsche Silverstone had for sale and it felt like we were buying a new 911. Which is how it should be. You should have asked the salesperson what their personal car was……
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 14, 2024 8:54:34 GMT
I know the question wasn’t to me John, but having had a good drive in one back to back with a Panamera, it still feels SUV like to drive. Not Range Rover like as it does handle nicely and feels pretty well tied down, but it’s not just the driving position that makes you think SUV. Nothing wrong with that and I did like it, but the Panamera was more enjoyable to drive quickly and I assume the M5 will be on another level again. Refinement and quality of the Panamera is a step up as well. . Despite the updates the interior still feels a bit dated, mine is hardly bang up to date as it was launched in 2017 (but it does have the latest 2022 infotainment) and I don’t understand why they’ve removed the shortcut buttons. Motorway refinement is OK and the gearbox is good but it felt a bit jerky at low speeds.
I felt the Panamera was well worth the extra £20k, which will end up being more than that as I’m sure it will be worth less in a couple of years time. I wouldn’t make a different decision if I was buying now. Unless there was a nice spec Turbo S available!
As always, the only way to really find out what it’s like is to drive it as we all have different tastes / requirements.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 14, 2024 2:37:42 GMT
I don’t mind the exterior, the rear isn’t great but it does look more modern. I’ll reserve judgment on the interior until I’ve seen one, but it doesn’t look as special as the old ones. We made the point not that long ago about how you differentiate interior design with a big screen, at least it’s circular, but without the toggle switches and other nice touches it’s too similar to a cheap Chinese EV. Maybe the materials will help it as Ed suggests.
At least some manufacturers are keeping physical controls and hopefully others will follow. I like what Aston have done with the DB12 and new Vantage, buttons and a properly integrated screen. Porsche have reduced the buttons a bit but have kept the particularly nice controls on the latest Panamera, although they can’t be forgiven for removing the analogue rev counter.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 14, 2024 2:29:06 GMT
Reducing the spec and the quality at that price point is a poor show. The only positive I can think of is at least they are still making a big estate. Agree with the positive comments about the separate rear screen, I used it quite a lot on my 5 series, every time I wanted to drop a coat or small bag in as it was so easy with the load cover powering up out of the way. I agree with Racing about Porsche build and material quality, it’s a step up from both the 7 series and Range Rover for sure. But I can’t agree that any sort of door closing ‘whumph’, muffled or otherwise sounds expensive, soft close every time!
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 13, 2024 7:29:28 GMT
Interesting convoy earlier this morning. 991.2 GT3, GT4 and 4 x Civic Type R one of which was the latest one. They were heading North past the reservoir, looking at the map, I can see why they chose this road. It’s out best way to the airport, so will experience it in a fully loaded lesser Honda at the end of the week….
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 12, 2024 2:55:09 GMT
Had a text from my 18yr old last night, he’s going to Berlin for a couple of days with his mum. She’s just bought a new Mini Electric (but can’t afford to contribute to driving lessons…) and it was such long journey from Swindon to Stanstead. Traffic wasn’t great, but they had to stop twice….its 130 miles OK, to be fair, one of those was at the services by the airport so they had a full battery for when they arrive back and 99% of her driving will be short journeys, but even so, that’s not great..
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 9, 2024 9:37:25 GMT
Innocent until proven guilty. I don’t like Horner either, but I do t agree with condemning him at this stage and hope it isn’t game playing.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 9, 2024 8:21:05 GMT
Could the steering wheel cover not go in the door bin too? I tried to gently remove it, but it wasn’t coming off unfortunately. I don’t think I’m missing out on any steering feel….
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2024 14:13:10 GMT
Ooooh, classy steering wheel! And I see they did it to the door handles as well. I wonder if it's some local market thing to stop you burning yourself on a hot day? Or do Malaysians just like naf steering wheels? That’s the matching headrest cover which went straight into the door bin. I think it’s because it doesn’t have a leather steering wheel and it’s Sixt Malaysias idea of added luxury.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2024 14:11:45 GMT
I had figured that out Ben! It had a matching headrest cushion, which went straight into the doorbin.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2024 9:31:01 GMT
How about this for a bit of luxury…. It could do with spacers on the rear
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2024 7:13:52 GMT
Penang - down near the waterfront and close to Fort Cornwallis ? Memories..... That’s it Chris.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 8, 2024 0:03:21 GMT
It looks better than the saloon, but thats a very low bar.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2024 12:44:28 GMT
The Taycan is going to be a whole lot cheaper soon, as the facelift car has just been announced with a bigger battery, much better range, faster charging and more performance. Not that it needed more performance! The base RWD car gets to 60 in 4.5 seconds and the Turbo S is down to 2.3 seconds with power up to 938hp when using launch control.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2024 9:51:57 GMT
Yes, Malaysia. Might be more about the room, although it’s not exactly parked by the door! They do have some nice cars, but they are eye watering expensive. The Porsche dealer in KL had a base engined Panamera for sale which was £215k. I’ve seen a couple of current Bentleys on the island and there’s a Brabus C class and a newish Cayman S at the hotel. A Cayman S starts at £120k before options.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2024 8:33:35 GMT
How the hell would anyone know what that is without reading the badge? I know. I’ve seen quite a few Chinese EVs in the last few days. I’ve no idea what most of them are, this is just another one of them.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2024 8:31:23 GMT
Latest holiday hire car. I booked a City because we had one back in 2018 (this is a new model) and it was OK to drive but the main reason was it’s a small car (ideal for the islands) but with a huge boot. I think it’s bigger than a non hybrid 5 series, but because of the shape, you can get even more in. The 3 x cases plus 3 x hand luggage bags than meant I had to release the luggage cover in the Panamera, went in with ease. Unlike the last one, it isn’t the basic model so along with cloth instead of vinyl seats (a massive benefit in the heat), it also has a screen / CarPlay, climate control, keyless entry/start, reversing camera, alloy wheels, folding mirrors etc. It has a 1.5 litre 4 pot with 120hp but unfortunately it’s coupled to a CVT gearbox. This one has ‘gears’ and paddles. It feels painfully slow, but the highest speed limit on the island is 50mph so not a major issue….it only needs to out drag a moped. It’s OK to drive, comfy enough and has enough space for the 3 of us. What ruins it to drive is the steering wheel, for some reason they have fitted a ‘luxury’ cover which feels awful and makes the rim in a BMW M Sport feel slim…. Will have to get a picture. It’s a nice colour, really sparkles in the sun and it’s in pretty good shape for a hire car, 4 x pristine wheels is unheard of. The most astonishing thing is the price, it retails for £15,000 and road tax is £15 a year! The valet has given it ‘pole position’ rather than moving it to the car park, but it’s going to be roasting in there so not sure it’s a good thing.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2024 7:47:36 GMT
The first Eletre I’ve seen on the road. I’m not sure how car taxes work in Malaysia as the price isn’t that much different to the UK (£115k), whereas a base petrol engined ex demo Panamera I saw in KL was listed for £215k! It’s not for me.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 4, 2024 1:29:40 GMT
So much better!
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 3, 2024 9:54:49 GMT
Looks nice Alex.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Feb 2, 2024 14:25:07 GMT
For absolute perfection I would want a sunroof and to swap the interior carbon trim for wood, but that is very nice indeed. For perfection I’d also add Comfort plus pack and the B&W stereo, full Merino as well but that’s super rare.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Jan 31, 2024 22:07:55 GMT
Can’t believe this was taken 10 years ago today.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Jan 31, 2024 18:41:52 GMT
As much as I hate lining their pockets, I will probably pay the extra to avoid them. +1. I can’t stand adverts.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Jan 31, 2024 16:53:19 GMT
I'd have an auto in the Z4 as well. Choosing the auto means you can have shiny green (San Remo) paint with a tan (cognac) interior
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Jan 31, 2024 12:22:23 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Jan 29, 2024 13:48:53 GMT
I guessed what it was (helped by assuming it was Italian) but can’t remember the last time I saw one. Just had a look on Autotrader and there are nearly 300 of that shape for sale, can’t be any in private ownership! It’s cheap to buy, they start from under £5k and 3 year old cars are c£10k.
Fingers crossed for a reasonable bill on the Alfa.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Jan 29, 2024 9:22:10 GMT
That is lovely, but I agree that the price is a bit much for a car without the comfort and technology plus packs.
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Jan 26, 2024 21:27:40 GMT
You can get yourself into a 5.0 RHD Mustang for less than 25% of the cost of that Chris. You should.
|
|