4 minutes ago, knfruitbat said:

Probably needed 4x4 about twice in the last 5 years, one on a very wet flooded grass car park near Tintagel in Cornwall, and the other a car show in Hertfordshire, again flooded field and not the norm. As Rainmaker says not really the need in the outskirts.

Don't really feel the need to boot it either, but am I pretty good judge of feeling for the grip. Used to drive rapid response car and motorbikes, so just happy to make steady rapid progress, driver and tyres make more difference than fractions of a second book 0-62 times.

 

 

Ambo? Always nice to add another advanced driver to the ranks. There's a few of us on here. 

15 hours ago, knfruitbat said:

Yes the government actively encouraged people to switch to diesel. Just look at road tax costs. And they reduced the gap between the price of diesel and petrol to practically nothing. Diesel used to be considerably more than petrol. I never said "forced". Neither did I make any mention of modifying the car which can, and judging by this forum is, done to any vehicle. Throttle response chip seems quite popular on DSG whatever the fuel. 

I have always wondered about the high price of diesel - my understanding is that it is much cheaper to produce as it comes off the cracking tower earlier in the refining process so it should cost less than Mogas, so presumably the extra goes to the taxman. I used to run a fast marine turbo-diesel on heating fuel (back in the days you were allowed to) with no problems - so apart from anti-waxing and a few other additives, there does not appear to be a lot of difference between that and DERV. I certainly never noticed any difference in performance between "UK red diesel" and the Gasoil supplied in French ports - which, by the way, was still cheaper than UK DERV at the time.    

Us humans emit CO2. Will we ever be fitted with filters?

Those filters are called "pants".

4 minutes ago, freelunch said:

Those filters are called "pants".

 

Hmm... You wear your pants in a different place to me, then. 

Oops! I confused CO2 with methane! Unless I was talking out my a**e.

Hello all. Good fun reading Briskoda as usual, so thought I might put my two kronors worth in the mix...

I came to this forum whilst still owning a front wheel drive VW Cross Touran (140tdi). Spanning almost 4 years and covering 100,000 km the car felt solid and drove well, and although a bit slippy at times in the long dark snowy winters, I can honestly say it performed fine. T-junction acceleration from standstill in winter was not always great, but I quickly learnt to adjust my driving style! From Nov to Apr we sat Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7's (studded).

The popularity of 4x4 here has grown significantly. As has automatic transmission. Petrol is making a slight comeback too, but diesel took over some years ago. Skoda Sweden have been running a campaign for the factory new Superb 190tdi 4x4 DSG with pretty much every extra thrown in for thousands of pounds/euros less than any other car in or around its class. Really great value imo, and on purchase price alone it is definately unbeatable. Tax and fuel are about the same, with a better return on l/100km consumption.

So to get back to the script, the petrol 4x4 is as said, only available in 280 format, and same equipment as my 190 would cost an extra £/€ 13000-That's Thirteen! Thousand! Pounds! Now if money were no object!!!...

....and the importance of 4x4? Seriously. What a difference! It is SO much more stable going forward than my old fwd. Acceleration in snow is great. I can 'creep' up icy mountain roads without worrying about sliding backwards if I meet oncoming traffic. The wife feels confident of the cars stability and grip on her daily 80km commute. (The car came fitted with Continental Winter Contact 5 studded btw). 

BUT. Were we still living in England I would not have been necessarily looking at 4x4. And although I've not driven the 220 petrol, the reviews sound really decent. I have no idea how prices compare, but for the most parts a brand new fwd car with separate summer and studless winter tyres would do the UK proud. Of course there will be times where a 4x4 would be better, but maybe not so very often.

Add to the equation that the 190 suffers from a little throttle lag (though I am training my foot to cope)...

But personally I am very, very pleased with my purchase. And yes, diesel is seemingly on its way out here. 10 years from now they are talking about battery/electric/petrol hybrids being the norm. But now is now and this was the best deal for us NOW.

Again, it's fun to read the differing opinions on here! Have a good evening all.

 

 

 

Uk Red diesel is not supposed to be used on the public highway, with the exception of road gritter/ice clearing and tractors that are hedge trimming. Farm Vehicles should only make short trips, such as across a road from one field to another if run on Red Diesel. I have seen Police stop vehicles checking for drivers using Red Diesel that was only meant to be used on farms. Was helping a friend at the Royal Cornwall show one year and the Police were testing cars and 4x4's. There are only minor differences between red and road diesel, apart from the Tax.

10 hours ago, facet edge said:

Us humans emit CO2. Will we ever be fitted with filters?

The simple answer is yes, we can be fitted with filters......

 

https://www.myshreddies.com/

On 3/8/2017 at 19:33, knfruitbat said:

Uk Red diesel is not supposed to be used on the public highway, with the exception of road gritter/ice clearing and tractors that are hedge trimming. Farm Vehicles should only make short trips, such as across a road from one field to another if run on Red Diesel. I have seen Police stop vehicles checking for drivers using Red Diesel that was only meant to be used on farms. Was helping a friend at the Royal Cornwall show one year and the Police were testing cars and 4x4's. There are only minor differences between red and road diesel, apart from the Tax.

It was out at sea when we still had the derogation.

On 3/8/2017 at 21:37, cnc said:

The simple answer is yes, we can be fitted with filters......

 

https://www.myshreddies.com/

When "they" work out how to tax us on breathing air is when our problems really start.

12 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

It was out at sea when we still had the derogation.

I am agreeing with you, only real difference is the taxman.