Just wanted to rave about my Octy which, within an hour of the new year, has saved my @ss.

I was driving home from a party (having drunk a couple of pints of coke, I might add) along a country road, one full-width lane in each direction. The road is an old Roman road - dead straight - and I was accelerating from 30 as I left a village. I'd got up to about 55mph (+/-5) and saw a car pulling across the road at a cross-roads a little way ahead of me (I had priority). There was plenty of time but I noticed another car behind him.

I watched the other car (a big 4x4) and covered the horn as I approached, but he slowed and stopped. Then, at the last moment, he pulled right across the road in front of me. I sounded the horn and braked hard but the road was wet and there was no way I was going to stop in time. I steered into entrance of the road he had just pulled out of - and the car responded! (By now my previous car, an old Mondeo, would have been straight into the the side of the 4x4. I know about cadence braking and have practiced it but in the short time I had, I couldn't have competed with the ABS.) I had time to see that I was clear of the 4x4 but now heading for the trees, and steer back onto the main road, and again the Octy didn't miss a beat. All of this can not have taken more than a second or two.

I noticed the ESP light flashing during the swerve and, interestingly, playing it back in my mind, there was a moment when I first turned the wheel and not a lot happened. I guess at that point the computer took over, applied the NSR break while the ABS released the other three, and pulled the car around. (I think that's how it works.) I'm ever so impressed with the old gal, although it was definitely a brown-trouser moment.

glad your ok m8. :thumbup

no more rallying!

glad youre fine, i had a near modification the other night when a deer ran out in front of me and then stopped. Must admit the brakes are one of the best ive had and with the esp and abs kicking in i managed to get round what would have been an awful bonnet mod.

good ad for ESP, did its job exactly as it should glad you're ok......

note: on my private road, I've pushed the ESP into action on my car, and its very impressive.......

good ad for ESP, did its job exactly as it should glad you're ok......

note: on my private road, I've pushed the ESP into action on my car, and its very impressive.......

Ditto.

It's very good at keeping the rear in check, especially when fully loaded.

I hope you gave the 4X4 a piece of your mind, if not your car!

Nice one. Glad you didn't try cadence braking.... that only works when you don't have ABS, its a big no no if you do have ABS.

I hope you gave the 4X4 a piece of your mind, if not your car!

I'm afraid I was a bit too dazed at the time!

on my private road, I've pushed the ESP into action on my car, and its very impressive......

In the snow last winter, I had a play around in an empty car park, and it was a peculiar sensation. Equally peculiar was when I turned the ESP off, for comparison, the car would start to understeer, then the Haldex would engage (mine is the estate 4x4) and end up oversteering.

Going off topic a bit, but I remember reading somewhere that cars with a Torsen (permanent variable 4wd, e.g. Audi All-Road) have a tendency to fluctuate between understeer and oversteer and can be quite tricky to handle through corners until you're used to it, although they might have sorted that with the introduction of ESP and the like.

this is exactly the point of ESP and i am glad it helped you, everyone can think that they are the greatest driver on the road and i know most do at times but its the time when you don't have to think you jsut react that ESP does the thinking for you

its all well and good people saying they prefer to drive the car themselves rather than have some namby pamby computer "ruin their fun" but i'd rather be alive and get help thean have some fun and die or wreck the car

glad it all turned out nice in the end