NeilMH

In terms of wear on the disc, can you feel a significant lip on the outside edge? Difficult to tell from photos.

Not helped by the probability that those close to him are almost certainly reluctant to diverge from his view of the world. Rather a lot of senior figures appear to have suffered from "Mystery Fall Syndrome" from balconies, hospitals and hotel windows.

Just watched bits of Putin's "speech". His audience seemed to have mastered what might best be described as a "neutral" expression! Some people argue that he is mad - but sadly I don't think he is - he is certainly clever with the propaganda - evoking memories of the Great Patriotic War, "who would have thought we would be seeing German tanks rolling through Europe", NATO intent on destroying the motherland etc etc - to which has been added the carrot of apparently wide ranging state support for veterans, workers at arms factories and so on. I wonder how much of that support will actually materialise, given the issues they appear to have had with supplies to the front line. I still struggle to get my head around the return of trench style warfare in my lifetime. A close member of my family is housing a Ukrainian lady and her 9 year old daughter. When she arrived at Gatwick the daughter wouldn't go into the multi-storey car park........ because on their way out of Ukraine they had to shelter in an underground car park to avoid shelling - very sad.

Could be a worn or loose drive belt (e.g for alternator). Typically that will diminish after a bit of driving and is worse when cold.

Fantastic looking cars - I nearly bought a black petrol one a few years ago but chickened out! Good luck with it. Ended up with an XK8 which wasn't exactly trouble free so maybe I should have gambled - wasn't a huge amount of money.

Strangely this has just started happening on my 30 year old Toyota -either a banging when starting the car or switching it off or a regular rhythmic banging when driving with no way of judging which is going to happen. I'm assuming it's something to do with the amplifier but would be interested in what you find out. Naturally I don't have any software or similar! And mine is loud as well.

Words fail me. I just checked it's not 1st April.

Wow - I can't believe how bad the dealer is - shocking. I guess 40psi is because the usual addition for winter tyres?

I can only imagine how annoying the inconsistency must be. I'd hate that. That's why I will keep one of my ultra reliable 30 year old Toyotas (although it will be used sparingly in view of the extension of ULEZ). So far my ULEZ compliant Rapid has been great but I've only had it for 2 months. I did consider a Zoe but I still remain to be convinced over infrastructure and real life inclusive costs.

Were the new drop links the answer to the suspension issues?

I can't quite work out where the top mount is for the spring in the second picture - it's probably just the angle. In the first picture one can clearly see the L shaped platform.

I know EVs are heavy but drop links in 3 years is interesting - although I know you said it had a hard life. I guess I would expect the knocking but it sounds a bit more than that - "rock hard, feeling like no suspension" etc. I don't know anything about EVs and to what extent the suspension is traditional or controlled by electronics (e.g. Body control module)? Good luck with it.

You are right. I have spent many happy hours under the Toyotas over the last few years to ensure the surface rust is kept at bay! Doing that has been the main issue as mechanically they have been pretty much perfect - 4AFE 1.6 engines with traditional auto.

Thank you for your comments. Fortunately I came across advice about DSG and the potential clutch slipping issue quite early on so have adapted accordingly. My experience with economy fits with what you have said. Strangely, I also have two 30 year old Toyotas (both Corollas) which are still going strong!

Overall really happy with my purchase – especially as it was done virtually (albeit with a lot of desk research) – this was because I can’t leave home for very long as caring for my wife but needed a ULEZ compliant car. Thanks to toot for advice about what to check /change etc – as the service history was a little “variable” although only 26k miles. All now fine and dandy on that front. My observations below are, of course, somewhat amateur and highly subjective. For what it’s worth….. Engine Perfectly adequate with very acceptable performance, albeit sounds fairly average. As I have been lucky enough to own some cars with really great engines it’s not fair to compare. DSG 7 speed gearbox Clever and really helps performance having the 7 gears. It may be my imagination but it seems to have got smoother in the time I’ve had it. Its only at low speed that occasionally it seems to get “confused” for a second or two. I’m also adapting to the fact it’s DSG not a torque converter auto. Ride and handling The handling is fine – after all I’m not taking it on a race track. I swapped the 16s for 15s and changed the tyres. By modern car standards (where the suspension seems to be made from concrete) the ride is pretty good – although the ride on my 30 year old Toyota is better (but not the handling)! Despite the generally good ride, if you go over a bigger bump or ridge there is more of “thump” – I am not sure whether that it’s the sound or feel I notice more – but not a big deal. Other stuff Brakes are fine. Steering is a little light for my particular taste but that just might be what I’ve been used to in the past. Love the giant boot. The plastics are better than I was expecting (although not as soft touch as others). Nothing rattles or squeaks at all – result! The seats are really comfortable – as good as any I’ve tried. Some of the positioning of the controls doesn’t seem that intuitive to me but I reckon that’s just getting used to it – I still seem to spend longer than I would like searching for buttons. The handbook leaves something to be desired as if non-one ever tried it out on an innocent party before printing! I have the Elegance spec and actually like the look of the car – particularly the front – I guess I’m a bit traditional though.