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Post by rodge on Nov 27, 2019 5:50:34 GMT
Test drive one of these today at a dealership.
Finally at the stage where we are looking at changing the van for something more economical but still has room for 5.
The problem is in the good ole US of A, efficiency isn’t really a thing, at all.
Mrs. R is looking for something way more efficient than the 300 miles to a tank Van that we have, so I was near a dealers that had one of these. They also had a Golf TDi Wagon.
Thoughts, well the C-Max isn’t a bad car. It ticks all the boxes she has for practicality and is a more useful size than the golf, which has terrible rear space for 3 teenagers but I liked it from the inside a lot more.
Driving it, it’s decent to drive and pulls well enough. Handling and ride were good and the FG in it was ok.
It’s not new either, and the outside of the car was well taken care of.
The inside however, had boot marks on the seats, was filthy and there was something wrong with the dashboard that the salesman “didn’t know what happened but it could have been due to hot weather” - not something you want to be telling a guy who lives in a city that has temperatures over 100f for a good 2 months of the year!
I made my excuses and left and have just found a better model on sale that we’ll look at soon.
Also got to drive my boss’s Toyota Tundra again today and as it started snowing while I was in work, got to floor my RX300 in the car park and have a ton of sideways fun.
Then got a call from my mate who finally got the chip upgrade for his F-250 7.3L diesel. He came right over to mine and I took it for a test drive.
It adds 100bhp and it’s very noticeable.
Under hard acceleration, it sounds like a diesel train and moves like greased lightening.
Fantastic upgrade that can be switched on and off from the cab.
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Post by johnc on Nov 27, 2019 7:56:27 GMT
7.3 litre diesel!!! You would be ostracised and have your house surrounded by eco warriors if you had that kind of thing in the UK. In fact the Councils would probably introduce a ban on it using any roads..................meanwhile the old buses and taxis trundle on leaving a black mist behind them.
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Post by ChrisM on Nov 27, 2019 8:34:59 GMT
If my C-Max had had a bigger boot, been a bit more stylish, had more power and wasn't white I would probably have kept it instead of trading it for the Kuga.
Grand C-Max didn't do it for me, too ugly especially at the rear 3/4. If only Ford had developed decent replacements for them along with the current Focus.....
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Nov 27, 2019 8:38:34 GMT
^ No demand for them though. People have moved onto SUVs.
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Post by ChrisM on Nov 27, 2019 10:48:40 GMT
^ No demand for them though. People have moved onto SUVs. .... and I still cannot figure out why. SUV's in general squander their height and make much poorer use of interior space than MPVs, but I guess that most people value the image of their vehicle over its practicality and versatility (sigh). SUVs: A triumph of marketing over common sense |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Nov 27, 2019 11:21:32 GMT
^ No demand for them though. People have moved onto SUVs. .... and I still cannot figure out why. SUV's in general squander their height and make much poorer use of interior space than MPVs, but I guess that most people value the image of their vehicle over its practicality and versatility (sigh). SUVs: A triumph of marketing over common sense I can tell you exactly why; most people hated having to buy an MPV - it was a purchase made out of necessity, nobody ever dreamed of driving a MPV. It said you'd given up any hope of enjoying your motoring ever again and were going to spend the next 3 years smelling slightly of baby sick and driving with one eye on the second rear view mirror so you could see the kids in the back. And there was no escape than that, even when driving alone many felt it was like driving around with a large sign saying "Given Up" on the roof. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2019 11:29:30 GMT
What are the power and torque figures pre- and post-upgrade, I wonder?
Re the people carrier - no ability to suggest to others that you lead a white water-rafting, mountain-climbing and generally rugged existence, either...
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 27, 2019 11:37:41 GMT
.... and I still cannot figure out why. SUV's in general squander their height and make much poorer use of interior space than MPVs, but I guess that most people value the image of their vehicle over its practicality and versatility (sigh). SUVs: A triumph of marketing over common sense I can tell you exactly why; most people hated having to buy an MPV - it was a purchase made out of necessity, nobody ever dreamed of driving a MPV. It said you'd given up any hope of enjoying your motoring ever again and were going to spend the next 3 years smelling slightly of baby sick and driving with one eye on the second rear view mirror so you could see the kids in the back. And there was no escape than that, even when driving alone many felt it was like driving around with a large sign saying "Given Up" on the roof. Exactly. |
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Post by Roadrunner on Nov 27, 2019 12:48:58 GMT
I can tell you exactly why; most people hated having to buy an MPV - it was a purchase made out of necessity, nobody ever dreamed of driving a MPV. It said you'd given up any hope of enjoying your motoring ever again and were going to spend the next 3 years smelling slightly of baby sick and driving with one eye on the second rear view mirror so you could see the kids in the back. And there was no escape than that, even when driving alone many felt it was like driving around with a large sign saying "Given Up" on the roof. Exactly. Which is why my choice of family car was an MG ZTT, followed by a Mercedes E320 estate. Family motoring need not be boring. |
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Post by rodge on Nov 27, 2019 17:15:53 GMT
What are the power and torque figures pre- and post-upgrade, I wonder? Re the people carrier - no ability to suggest to others that you lead a white water-rafting, mountain-climbing and generally rugged existence, either... I’ll ask him. He’s been wanting to get this particular upgrade for a while. The guy tailors the software to the vehicle and matches tyre sizes and inlets, piston rings etc based on the vehicle. It can be set back to the original tune in about 4 minutes and can be adjusted to add 20,40, 100, 120 or 140 bhp, but he recommends maxing it at 100 as the engine hardware hasn’t been upgraded yet. The difference is crazy. Being a commercial truck it doesn’t have great acceleration but can tow anything. I’d say acceleration has gon from about 10 seconds to 60 down to 8, and the gear changes are extremely smooth (also optimized for the vehicle). |
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Post by scouse on Dec 10, 2019 10:21:24 GMT
7.3 litre diesel!!! You would be ostracised and have your house surrounded by eco warriors if you had that kind of thing in the UK. In fact the Councils would probably introduce a ban on it using any roads..................meanwhile the old buses and taxis trundle on leaving a black mist behind them. Where can I get one?! Seriously, if I ever were to win the lottery, I'd buy a full fat Hummer and ONLY use it for trips to town and to go see universities for LS1. Oh and on world earth day or whatever such nonesense is called. |
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Post by rodge on Dec 13, 2019 15:57:21 GMT
So my mate returned the tuneup kit.
It worked really well but the constant engine remapping wasn’t what he wanted. Every time he wanted to boost performance, he had to stop for 5 minutes and he was looking for it for overtaking situations.
He’s getting one that will modify the engine on the fly now, and will give him a boost of up to 60bhp when needed.
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