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One thing strikes me as odd, in the quest for greater EV range, is the size of cars being offered. Nearly all seem to be big(ish) SUVs and the like. Even the ID3 comes in on the chunky side. Why not make ’em normal or small saloon size? Less weight should mean more range? That said, the Mini EV and Honda E-thing ARE small in size but with small range too. Is it lack of space for batteries? Am I missing something?
Well said, Goodo. If the PIP scheme is enabled to provide Motability vehicles then, basic criteria met, why on earth censor particular vehicles with “sexy” names like GTi or VRS? Also agree with Harry. Polo GTi should be on scheme; hits all the Motability criteria and was perfect for my needs. But it’s censored so I had to choose another car which came close to needs; one which is more expensive, faster, and with an out-and-out sporting reputation but without “GTi” tacked on. Damn silly.
Weather: chucking it down all day. Rubbish.
Kitchen: Busy. Crab-apple thing has set fine. Seems to taste OK. Shall inflict it on neighbour and see what she thinks (one of our original Miss Marples, perhaps, at 86 yrs, the most adventurous though – flown in Tiger Moth and Spitfire, just ‘cos she could.) I am in process of making tomato chutney. Had to use up the whingers somehow. Seems to be thickening??
Must agree about Adsa bakery. Quite the best of the lot; from thick crusty sandwich loaves to sweet pastries.
Still vote for the Skoda Superb for all the knobs, bells and whistles – how can you not love the umbrellas, one in each front door?
It’s not just derv motors which can deliver bundles of torque. The BMW and VAG 2.0L petrol pull strongly from about 1,000rpm. I’ve had the BMW one in a Mini and the VAG one in a Superb, Both were very good with massive grunt. Best torque ever, though, was in a “dieselgate” 2.0L derv motor in Superb. Felt like it could go up mountains without ever reaching 1,500rpm!
Yup. Equally confused by Waitrose. However, Asda continues to deliver the goods so not too worried. Actually, quite looking forward to the collection thing. Good excuse to take the Mini out; be most interested to see if a normal shop fits in the boot!
Weather yesterday quite atrocious. Force 9 at least. Tilly becomes a pearhund with the windfalls. They are well under-ripe and hard as stone but she crunches her way through them, unless we can get to them first to ration out.
Just finished making some crab-apple jelly. It is in jars and, hopefully, setting. Could go quite well with roast pork, maybe..?
Harry, Mike – I stand corrected; had not read Civic reviews in detail, just checked figures. Will try harder in future. The real-world figures for the 1.5L seem pretty good! Would be nice if they could be back on scheme.
Glad you can get relatively trouble-free Waitrose deliveries, Georgie. It is getting impossible to get any deliveries at all from them. Even though Madam T was on govt list of Clinically Extremely Vulnerable from outset, even though Asda and Tesco put us on priority booking immediately, it took two months for Waitrose to put us on their list.
All worked OK for a few weeks then decayed to nonsense. Only way to get any delivery is to book four weeks in advance and then stay up until 12 midnight (very difficult for me, Ropinirole knocks me out by 11.15pm). Sign on exactly at midnight and book slot on day you want seconds after hitting log-on. Have checked back and ALL slots are gone by 5 mins past midnight. Sadly, Tesco have got themselves into same situation. So now, I have booked collect-slots, first one in two weeks time, and hope that they work safely. If a person can’t do collect, then I don’t know what they’ll do. Moreover, I’m not a newcomer to Waitrose. Been shopping with ’em for decades (in shops, when we could) to a good few grand a year.
Ho-hum
(Weather’s pretty crap too – had everything today – gales, torrential downpour, hot sun and various combinations thereof…)
@Harry No, that passed me by. Need to check performance figures/weights to see if it still delivers the goods..
Kebab was brill. Curious that little “St Mary Mead” classic English village should have its own Turkish/Cypriot kebab parlour but it does and the quality is superb. AND no cooking involved for first time in six months. Felt really weird.
Must try the Waitrose Char Siu. Their Salt Beef ready meal is really good. All this, of course, implies that I am able to place an order with them without undergoing a total red-mist breakdown. Unable to get delivery unless I stay up to midnight; gone for click-collect instead. Even checking out order is a nightmare when the Waitrose “computer sez no”. It lost a complete update last week and I had to re-enter all items. Then it refused to check out at all on day before delivery. If it gets any worse, I reckon it’ll be Tesco and Asda only!
@Harry Sorry, I missed your earlier post re Minis. Of your potential choices, I reckon the best engineering choice is the Countryman with 4×4. Acceptable amount of bhp and should handle perfectly, dunno about AP though.
@Richard SO agree about bhp limit, and not just for “sports” vehicles. I had two Superbs on the scheme, the last being the petrol 2.0L with about 240bhp; no way a sports model but drove brilliantly, under-stressed engine delivered the goods smoothly, safely and with no fuss. With weights of cars always increasing, we need more bhp for the heavyweights. (e.g. the original Austin Maxi is about same size as Countryman but weighs about half the tonnage!)Agree EVs leave much to be desired at present. Will be very interested to watch development of ID3 and to discover just when, and how heavily, government will start taxing us for motive-power electricity. Just changed Motability car and suspect that my present Mini will be last ICE vehicle on scheme. Next probably an EV; just hope the makers do something about dash/controls: look inside ID3, Honda E etc and all you see is touch screens to drag your attention off the road. Too many bleepy, flashy things is well dangerous. Give me a simple set of knobs and switches, thank you.
Char Siu Pork. Mmmmm. Sounds marvellous (I’m jealous of you cooking – dead stupid, I know, having cooked every day for six months, I’ll miss being in the kitchen this afternoon. How sad is that?). Do you make your own marinade for the pork? A Chez Tharg fave is jerk chicken and since Levi Root stopped doing the marinade paste, have to make me own.
Looked up Pharoah to discover it is a game. Lost on me, I’m afraid. Even though I used to write some columns about computer games, I was never any good at them.
Did our lawns yesterday and day before. Some pruning calls…
Nice weekend, all!
Absolutely, ChrisK. I quote the 0-60 figures because they are the only way to get a simple measure of the power-to-weight ratio. The Civic in question has not very much of the former and, potentially, far too much of the latter.
Weather here best described as “variable”. Light shower early on then cloudy and chilly. Now broken cloud and getting warmer.
Thanks again, Georgie, for the diet advice.Pleased to say that condition is receeding fairly quick now. Can handle quite warm (temperature) food now. Will find out about spices tonight as we have decided to take the plunge – after six months of denying ourselves a takeaway, we are going to risk a kebab from local scoffery. This may involve some chilli!
I take your point, Georgie but wonder if it would really be worth getting the “more powerful” 1.5L 182bhp version. It may be 2 secs faster to 60 than the 1.0L, but it’s still well north of 8 secs. The mk8 1.5L Golf delivers same performance from a lot less bhp and doesn’t look like it’s trying to win a gurning contest.
Apologies for double posting of snaps of Invacars. Finger trouble on my part!
Had same issue with Skoda Superbs; effectively only one proper service over three years. Couple of “checks” in between to set oil, fluids and washer levels. Asked Motability about this and official position seems to be that unless you do a really high mileage, servicing can be less frequent. Personally, I reckon the opposite is true – low mileage. stop-start driving and short journeys will add more wear, dilute oil more etc.
Thanks for suggestions, Georgie. Have tried most of ’em and you’re spot-on, they all work and are SO boring. Only one not to work is cheese – too salty. Whole thing is down to bloody Covid anyway. Offending antibiotic was for a thing called a paronychia; infection/blister on fingernail caused by washing hands too much which we’re obliged to do these days. Called “scrubber’s nail” or somesuch. Gob infection quite nasty – it turns one’s tongue black shocking relatives a fair bit. Have found a potent mouthwash specifically for the conditon and seems to work. Can now eat/drink warm stuff and will try home-made KFC tonight.
Just off to cut neighbour’s lawn – she’s even older and crumblier than we are so needs a hand. Good exercise; feel worthy. Keep well…
Excellent, Georgie. So pleased you had a good run out. Much shorter 30mile local wander for me along nice back roads: Long Furlong to A24 then towards Shoreham on A283. Very English Country Road situation. Surprised by eight-wheel tipper coming round blind corner too fast as I entered main road. First time I’ve used the Mini’s acceleration properly. Quite a lot of it. Impressive.
Boring dinner – got a mouth infection side effect from an antibiotic, Can’t eat anything hot, or even warm. No salt or spice. Everything hurts like hell. Salmon mayo sandwich with cucumber. Pah! Can’t even eat fruit – the acid feels like blowlamp making hole in gob. Will improve I’m sure. Keep well, Georgie.
Invacars were made by AC – yes, the AC which gave us the Cobra V8, so some models will be banned to satisfy the Flail:
The Cabrio GTi…
And the VRS Tribattro 3×3 V6 biturbo…
Invacars were made by AC. Yup. THAT AC as in naffing-great-V8 Cobra sports car. So some will be banned from the Scheme to keep the Flail happy…
The Cabrio GTi…
And the VRS Tribattro 3×3 V8 biturbo…
Weather here fine, bit cloudy but no rain. Quite warm and comfy. Nice day for a meander through the countryside in one’s Golf (hope to do same in Mini). Enjoy your outing, Georgie.
Given the lack of a proper ST, I’m with Harry and the 182bhp chappie. However, with the modest performance extracted from the engine, I’d be seriously thinking about a visit to a Mini dealer to test the Countryman Cooper S All4. Almost the same size overall, similar AP, similar enjoyable drive (but I’d guess more so with the 4×4), also similar bhp but the Mini outpaces the Ford comfortably.
Nice one, JS. Someone had to! Pretty accurate too – really chucking it down right now. No complaints from me or me lawn.
V brave of your sister. Know how difficult rescues can be – had a disaster of a Jack Russell some years ago. So bad that we swore we would not do it again. However, when introduced to Tilly and learning that she was to be destroyed unless found a home, we had to go for it. Not regretted it one little bit. Were worried that a “big and hard” Staffordshire Bull Terrier might be a bit of a handful. Well she is now officially a Staffordshire Wuss Terrier – softer than Lurpak spreadable and the gentlest, friendliest dog ever.
