Go have a bit of fun mate if roads are quiet

Edited 11 July, 20214 yr by Mickvrs220

5 hours ago, VWD said:

since the introduction of the hazard test that idea has been passed down to the modern generation.

You're not wrong; that "test" marks you down for anticipating a hazard rather than driving up to it and reacting at the last moment.

Back from Wales, where after a rainy Start on Sunday and a little on Monday, we've been baked.

 

I took a thermometer down with me, and peak temperature in the tent was 42.4 degrees C, which meant we had to stay out of there until the temp dropped, and so spent plenty of time trying to dodge Cleg flies, or the "Biting B**tards" as I came to call them.

 

The driving was great, as the weather meant the roads and tyres were warm and grip wasn't any kind of an issue.

All my concerns over the way my Octavia would drive were laid to rest. It performed excellently. While it's not quite as involving to drive as my old Mondeo, (or my friend's Focus, which I also drove over the holiday), it does go round corners better (i.e. more quickly in a safe manner), with very neutral handling and far more grip than I was willing to try and test.

 

When I say it's not quite as involving to drive, I mean I don't get the same sense of exactly what is going on between the wheels and the road surface as I do with the Fords, but the fact is it gets me round corners safely and more quickly than I am prepared to drive, and if the XDS kicked in, it did so unobtrusively and it just felt like the car was going round the corner as I would like. So that's that settled for me.

 

Performance wise, the 190PS engine is great. My friend wondered if it has engine noise piped into the cabin. As far as I know it doesn't, but it does have a very pleasing engine note when pushed. Certainly overtaking was quick and safe. Best of all, my journey down to Wales (in the rain) returned 51.1 MPG, which I was pleasantly surprised with.

 

Interestingly, though I drove pretty briskly back home, the car still returned just over 45mpg, which was very good as far as I'm concerned, given the circumstances. (No screen shot for the return trip, though. I was knackered and forgot.)

(Edit: This might be a slight factor in economy so I'll mention it, I'm running on 97 octane fuel.)

 

Post script. On the return home, I noticed an Audi A1 behind me approach and pass me. I followed the A1 for a while and increased speed out of curiosity to keep up with the A1 and see how fast it was going. It turned out it was belting along happily at a little over 100MPH, not a speed I am happy to be driving along even very quiet motorways at, and so I dropped back down to a sensible speed, and the A1 pulled away and disappeared. I noticed the A1 was the small-engined "30" engined variety with the 999cc engine, and at the time, I assumed it was pretty much flat out. When I checked it later, I was reminded that even small engined cars are now really very quick, and the claimed top speed for the A1 Sportback 30 TFSI is comfortably over 120MPH. I still find it mind-boggling that so small an engine can achieve such performance. (Engine longevity may be another issue, though. )

Edited 29 August, 20214 yr by EnterName
Note added to mention 97 octane fuel

On 19/07/2021 at 08:00, EnterName said:

Back from Wales, where after a rainy Start on Sunday and a little on Monday, we've been baked.

 

I took a thermometer down with me, and peak temperature in the tent was 42.4 degrees C, which meant we had to stay out of there until the temp dropped, and so spent plenty of time trying to dodge Cleg flies, or the "Biting B**tards" as I came to call them.

 

The driving was great, as the weather meant the roads and tyres were warm and grip wasn't any kind of an issue.

All my concerns over the way my Octavia would drive were laid to rest. It performed excellently. While it's not quite as involving to drive as my old Mondeo, (or my friend's Focus, which I also drove over the holiday), it does go round corners better (i.e. more quickly in a safe manner), with very neutral handling and far more grip than I was willing to try and test.

 

When I say it's not quite as involving to drive, I mean I don't get the same sense of exactly what is going on between the wheels and the road surface as I do with the Fords, but the fact is it gets me round corners safely and more quickly than I am prepared to drive, and if the XDS kicked in, it did so unobtrusively and it just felt like the car was going round the corner as I would like. So that's that settled for me.

 

Performance wise, the 190PS engine is great. My friend wondered if it has engine noise piped into the cabin. As far as I know it doesn't, but it does have a very pleasing engine note when pushed. Certainly overtaking was quick and safe. Best of all, my journey down to Wales (in the rain) returned 51.1 MPG, which I was pleasantly surprised with.

 

Interestingly, though I drove pretty briskly back home, the car still returned just over 45mpg, which was very good as far as I'm concerned, given the circumstances. (No screen shot for the return trip, though. I was knackered and forgot.)

 

Post script. On the return home, I noticed an Audi A1 behind me approach and pass me. I followed the A1 for a while and increased speed out of curiosity to keep up with the A1 and see how fast it was going. It turned out it was belting along happily at a little over 100MPH, not a speed I am happy to be driving along even very quiet motorways at, and so I dropped back down to a sensible speed, and the A1 pulled away and disappeared. I noticed the A1 was the small-engined "30" engined variety with the 999cc engine, and at the time, I assumed it was pretty much flat out. When I checked it later, I was reminded that even small engined cars are now really very quick, and the claimed top speed for the A1 Sportback 30 TFSI is comfortably over 120MPH. I still find it mind-boggling that such so small an engine can achieve such performance. (Engine longevity may be another issue, though. )

 

The road from South Wales back to Midlands, A49 and M50 is both beautiful and quick from Ross to Tewkesbury. 

I have this friend of mine who had a mk 2 petrol vrs and he saw 150 in the Speedo on that streach.

Always take it easier on the A40 as lots of cops same as A44 and A5.

 

If your a cop and get caught doing over 150 you can get let off as your testing the car as one did on the A5.

@lol-lolHow long ago was that?

One might have been an Advanced Driver in an appropriate vehicle actually testing a vehicle.

 

There was an officer last year that got off in court with 16 charges against him when caught at 122 MPH on the way to a private meeting.

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-51452107

http://mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/policeman-who-drove-private-meeting-21470928

 

 

 

Edited 20 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

14 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

@lol-lolHow long ago was that?

One might have been an Advanced Driver in an appropriate vehicle actually testing a vehicle.

 

There was an officer last year that got off in court with 16 charges against him when caught at 122 MPH on the way to a private meeting.

http://mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/policeman-who-drove-private-meeting-21470928

 

 

 

 

About 15 years ago I recall.  Our wonderful Mercia police force.

 

159 mph,  pc mark milton.  108 in a 40 is probably worse than the 159 on the dual carriageway.

@lol-lolSo he got done, and then never learned from that and did it again.

All in the line of duty then though.

Edited 20 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

8 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

@lol-lolSo he got done, and then never learned from that and did it again.

 

I think he has been in court even more than this as he was in Worcester court as well as Ludlow and Telford.  It is not an easy job.  As one cop who stopped me on the bike he said we can travel at the speed of light as we have radio.

13 hours ago, lol-lol said:

 

The road from South Wales back to Midlands, A49 and M50 is both beautiful and quick from Ross to Tewkesbury. 

I have this friend of mine who had a mk 2 petrol vrs and he saw 150 in the Speedo on that streach.

Always take it easier on the A40 as lots of cops same as A44 and A5.

 

If your a cop and get caught doing over 150 you can get let off as your testing the car as one did on the A5.

As loathe as I am to admit it, I'm probably a bit too much of an old wuss to be blatting my car down a motorway flat out these days.

Not so much from fear of the physical danger of it (though I recognise that), but more from the increasing chance of getting done for it.

1 hour ago, EnterName said:

As loathe as I am to admit it, I'm probably a bit too much of an old wuss to be blatting my car down a motorway flat out these days.

Not so much from fear of the physical danger of it (though I recognise that), but more from the increasing chance of getting done for it.

 

pre covid, as prep for Brexit, I worked quite a bit in Germany and it seemed annoying to drive from the airport, drive at 220 or 240 kph to the works and then arriving back to Heathrow an and be limited to 120 kph on UK roads on quiet motorway, just feels wrong.

A "quiet" motorway does not exist in the UK at any time of the day or night.

31 minutes ago, J.R. said:

A "quiet" motorway does not exist in the UK at any time of the day or night.

I wouldn't go that far, but these days, driving at illegal speed for a sustained period of time is likely to end badly, one way or another.

1 hour ago, lol-lol said:

pre covid, as prep for Brexit, I worked quite a bit in Germany and it seemed annoying to drive from the airport, drive at 220 or 240 kph to the works and then arriving back to Heathrow an and be limited to 120 kph on UK roads on quiet motorway, just feels wrong.

Presumably the death-toll on unlimited German roads must be horrific, because speed kills, amiright?

12 minutes ago, EnterName said:

I wouldn't go that far, but these days, driving at illegal speed for a sustained period of time is likely to end badly, one way or another.

Presumably the death-toll on unlimited German roads must be horrific, because speed kills, amiright?

 

N ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, UK best in Euope.

 

Finland, Germany, Denmark Norway and Spain average at around 48 deaths per million.

 

Belgium, France, Italy, Eastern Europe worse at 56 to over 100 deaths per million.

 

How about a Kawasaki H2 at over 400 kph?

Just now, lol-lol said:

 

How about a Kawasaki H2 at over 400 kph?

I came off my last motorbike over 30 years ago and realised biking was just not my thing.

I loved it, but everyone comes off, sooner or later, and I found the road very unforgiving.

Ironically, I subsequently buggered-up my shoulder coming off a push-bike. I suppose I'm just not safe on 2 wheels.

On 09/07/2021 at 16:30, chimaera said:

You will probably run out of nerve before the Octavia runs out of grip, and you'll probably be going a good bit faster than is sensible for a public road at that point.

This is exactly what came to pass.

 

On 11/07/2021 at 13:06, Schtum said:

 

Possibly but I know that XDS+ was fitted to FWD VW cars such as the MK7 Golf GTI. 

I can't disagree with you as I really don't know. It would be nice to have XDS+, assuming it's better than XDS, but whatever it is I have seems to work well.

10 minutes ago, EnterName said:

I came off my last motorbike over 30 years ago and realised biking was just not my thing.

I loved it, but everyone comes off, sooner or later, and I found the road very unforgiving.

Ironically, I subsequently buggered-up my shoulder coming off a push-bike. I suppose I'm just not safe on 2 wheels.

 

I started riding in  1977 and back then tyres and brakes were awful compared to today and of course we have ABS on all new bikes over the last few years.

 

Road can be quite poor but the massive tyres we now have help as well as much better suspension too.  

 

Push bikes, horse riding and skiing all dangerous past times as well as motorcycling.  

 

Thankfully no law against acceleration so I can enjoy my sub 4 seconds on my Tracer 700 and the Tracer 900 which I test rode is sub 3 second to 60 and standing quarter sub 11 seconds terminally at over 120 which is cheap fun.

 

Odd I pay more road tax on my bike than I do on the Clio, Fabia and Octavia put together !  Almost too hot to ride at the moment with a temp at over 30C.

 

1 hour ago, lol-lol said:

 

Odd I pay more road tax on my bike than I do on the Clio, Fabia and Octavia put together !  Almost too hot to ride at the moment with a temp at over 30C.

 

I seem to recall bike tax being noticeably cheaper than car tax a few (okay 30) years ago. Can't be sure of that, though.

 

For one reason or another, Ive been driving my car more in the last couple of months, and it's really grown on me.

Today I had reason to go round a bend faster than I normally would, and on a less than ideal line.

As I went round I thought "I know full well the tyres on my Mondeo would have been chirping a bit at this speed, maybe even with a bit of understeer." but though the Octavia leant quite a bit during the turn, it went round cleanly, didn't slip or require any steering correction, and without so much as a hint of drama. (I really wasn't going round at a crazy speed though, to be fair.)

If I didn't know better, I'd take credit for my expert driving, but it's really just the difference between driving a 2006 car with no driving aids (bar ABS), and a 2019 car with a whole load of clever and effective driving assistance.

 

It's taken about a year to really bond with my Octavia, due to lockdown and not driving it much, but I've finally got to the stage where it feels natural to trust it, and to feel confident about taking the odd liberty chucking it about.

I realise this might sound a bit strange, but when you drive one car for a decade and then swap to another very different car as your main car, there is a fair bit of adjustment to make.

Feels good now, and I don't miss my old car as I did previously.

 

Oddly enough, I had a text recently from the guy I'd sold my car to (an old friend from work), just to mark the one year anniversary of his buying the car.

He'd driven up to Scotland in it, and is clearly enjoying it.

That gave me a happy feeling too. Much better than part-ex'ing it to Listers and them bunging it straight into auction.

1 hour ago, EnterName said:

If I didn't know better, I'd take credit for my expert driving, but it's really just the difference between driving a 2006 car with no driving aids (bar ABS), and a 2019 car with a whole load of clever and effective driving assistance.

And you apparently don't. You seem to have mistaken "lack of audio and tactile feedback" for "handling better".

23 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

And you apparently don't. You seem to have mistaken "lack of audio and tactile feedback" for "handling better".

How so? Please clarify.

9 hours ago, EnterName said:

How so? Please clarify.

What you described isn't "better balance"; it's the car hiding reaching its limits from you, by not weighting up the steering and/or squealing tyres as it approaches the limit of grip.

13 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

What you described isn't "better balance"; it's the car hiding reaching its limits from you, by not weighting up the steering and/or squealing tyres as it approaches the limit of grip.

Are you sure that's what I said?