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Cars: Audi, BMW, Mercedes

So, I made two testdrives with the Passat GTE this week. Two because the first time the battery pack hadn't been charged and because I was curious what my wife would think.

The Passat is an okay car. The hybrid technology works well and the engine is more civilized than my V60 D6. Fully loaded the E-range said 38 km. That's bad; my Volvo (3 years older) still has full range (50 km on the indicator, but in reality about 45 km). So I wasn't too sure about the battery pack. The Passat has loads of space, which is a great pre. The kids would have a lot more space and luggage cannot be a problem in the back (with the Volvo it can be). What really bothered me about the Passat is that it's just a plain car. It's absolutely not a premium car. It's just okay. When you step in an Audi A4 (we did also) it's a big difference. Nicer materials, better details. The same goes for the MB, these cars are really on a higher level. Rationally it doesn't matter, but emotionally it does. As the paint of the Passat wasn't our favorite, we decided to wait. We keep our eyes open for a fully loaded GTE in the right color ánd we look at a petrol A4 Avant. When one comes by, we'll see what we do. I'd really like to drive hybrid again, but I could also argue it will be the last petrol car I'll buy and go for the Audi...
 
tones said:
Mother Nature is much better at this chemistry business than we are (I guess a few billion years of practice helps). When you think of it, what Sue Pertwee-Tyr is suggesting is essentially what all that greenery around you is doing all the time, taking CO2, adding water and then assembling it into all sorts of wonderful things far more complex that mere fuels. Nature does this by employing enzymes, catalysts of mind-blowingly complex structure that catalyse very specific reactions. This implies that we need a biotechnological process of some sort will be needed - all we need is a bug to do it...
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The snag as was mentioned somewhere above is that the efficiency is horrible, so large swathes of land would have to be given over from food to fuel production.
 
davidsrsb said:
The snag as was mentioned somewhere above is that the efficiency is horrible, so large swathes of land would have to be given over from food to fuel production.
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We're also back to storage problems, here in Essex we get from c1 to a peak of maybe 5 units per day from winter to summer so we'd need to store a vast amount of fuel to cover the gloomy winter.

If the Sahara were safe and secure and we had the infrastructure it would be ideal. Plans for a big solar park and DC line to Europe have been on the board for ages.
 
davidsrsb said:
The snag as was mentioned somewhere above is that the efficiency is horrible, so large swathes of land would have to be given over from food to fuel production.
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I was thinking more of bioengineered microorganisms, where you simply put them in a large vat and feed them. The best known example (practised rather successfully for millennia) is brewing. People are already thinking along these lines:

https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319517285

although production scale is always another story.
 
tones said:
I was thinking more of bioengineered microorganisms, where you simply put them in a large vat and feed them. The best known example (practised rather successfully for millennia) is brewing. People are already thinking along these lines:

https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319517285

although production scale is always another story.
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What do you feed them?

I was thinking of algae converting CO2 to fuel using sunlight. The CO2 coming from air bubbled through or something like it.
 
dweezil said:
We're also back to storage problems, here in Essex we get from c1 to a peak of maybe 5 units per day from winter to summer so we'd need to store a vast amount of fuel to cover the gloomy winter.

If the Sahara were safe and secure and we had the infrastructure it would be ideal. Plans for a big solar park and DC line to Europe have been on the board for ages.
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Why DC line? And there are studies that warn of adverse climate effects if too much of the Sahara were given over to solar generation. Not to say it shouldn’t be done, quite the reverse, but with care for unexpected consequences.
 
The last real Volvo was the P2 V70, whose design was the last completed before Ford bought Volvo Cars.

Having now owned 3, it appears corners were progressively cut in terms of trim and QC, even if the driving experience improved with better suspension, gearboxes and more powerful, if complex, engines. I wouldn't rate any Volvo after this better than any other car in terms of build quality and recently bought what I expect will be my last P2 V70 (a ex-police 2006 6 speed D5 185 with lowish miles), as they are getting a bit log in the tooth now.

I drive loads of hire cars for work, so have driven all sorts of new cars and would not hesitate to lease a Mercedes e Class if I were in the market for a new executive saloon. Great cars.
 
foxwelljsly said:
The last real Volvo was the P2 V70, whose design was the last completed before Ford bought Volvo Cars.

Having now owned 3, it appears corners were progressively cut in terms of trim and QC, even if the driving experience improved with better suspension, gearboxes and more powerful, if complex, engines. I wouldn't rate any Volvo after this better than any other car in terms of build quality and recently bought what I expect will be my last P2 V70 (a ex-police 2006 6 speed D5 185 with lowish miles), as they are getting a bit log in the tooth now.

I drive loads of hire cars for work, so have driven all sorts of new cars and would not hesitate to lease a Mercedes e Class if I were in the market for a new executive saloon. Great cars.
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Interesting as I found the exact same. I moved from a P2 V70 to an E Class Merc as the later Volvo's lost that classic 'chunky' build they had.
 
foxwelljsly said:
2006 6 speed D5 185 with lowish miles
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The D5 185 is a great engine. I had one before (also 2006) and it's almost the same as in the D6. However, the older versions (e.g. 2006) are sensitive for EGR-problems; lots of short rides are killing them. I'd rather buy a high mileage D5 than a low mileage...
 
Bas V said:
The D5 185 is a great engine. I had one before (also 2006) and it's almost the same as in the D6. However, the older versions (e.g. 2006) are sensitive for EGR-problems; lots of short rides are killing them. I'd rather buy a high mileage D5 than a low mileage...
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I suppose low mileage is a relative term here. I bought mine at 125,000 miles. I sold my last (a 2002 auto 163) at 190,000 as I didn't wnat the slushbox failing on my watch.
 
Bas V said:
The D5 185 is a great engine. I had one before (also 2006) and it's almost the same as in the D6. However, the older versions (e.g. 2006) are sensitive for EGR-problems; lots of short rides are killing them. I'd rather buy a high mileage D5 than a low mileage...
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That's interesting, I'm mostly worried about the bloody swirl flaps as it's a massive job to replace them.

Totally OT here, but apart from the pipe getting gunked up, what other EGR problems might one have? The engine will work fine with the EGR pipe blanked, so I assumed it getting blocked would probably not be an issue.
 
I am not a mechanic, but I believe the problem was that every now and then the EGR-process starts. When it can't be finished, because you stop the engine, dirt stays in. If you drive a lot of short distances, the EGR-process will start over and over agin without getting finished. Then the dirt gets in the engine and scratches the cilinders on the inside. And that will lead to severe damage. One way to avoid this is to block the EGR, what lots of people have done. However this is illegal and very environmental unfriendly.
 
If you have an ca 2006 era Volvo with a proper Skövde engine the production was (in a small part) controlled by programs written by me. I can sign the engine, if you like ;):D or maybe :eek:

Actually, there where office staff who, when they ordered a new car, insisted on assembling the engine themselves. It was, with a bit off tweaking in the computer systems, doable. I would have thought the other way around, let the professionals do my engine.
 
RJohan said:
If you have an ca 2006 era Volvo with a proper Skövde engine the production was (in a small part) controlled by programs written by me.
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I had mine rewritten by Volvotune in the Netherlands :p

But we're getting off-topic here. On topic: the choice has been narrowed to the Passat Variant GTE and Audi A4 Avant or A5 SB. With a small chance for a Tesla Model S, as that seems to be the only car that satisfies my lady. It's just that we don't want to spend that much on a car (about 35K), as it's 'just a car'. At least, that's what we thought... :rolleyes:
 
Tony Lockhart said:
Tiny load space and its an SUV, not a car?
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The load space it not tiny though. Have you seen Tesla Bjorn's banana box test for the Ioniq 5?

As there was an EV on Bas V's list, I mentioned it as he could maybe afford a new one rather than a potentially ropey second hand Tesla.
 
NeilR said:
The load space it not tiny though. Have you seen Tesla Bjorn's banana box test for the Ioniq 5?

As there was an EV on Bas V's list, I mentioned it as he could maybe afford a new one rather than a potentially ropey second hand Tesla.
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Ok, for someone considering a Passat estate it's a lot smaller.
 
I wonder what other cars will come on by this time :D

The Hyundai doesn’t look too bad, but the basic battery is too small. And it’s not a premium car. Sorry, I’m more of a snob than I thought I was…
 
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