Honest John’s Motoring Agony Column 22-06-2019 Part 2

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Fri 21 Jun 2019 18:32
- Engineer Andy
Re: Looking for flats

I'm staggered at how Honda now seems to be 'managing decline' by withdrawing the (according to HJ) excellent Honda Jazz Sport 1.5i VTEC Sport from their range after just 18 months on sale.

Yes, they are going to introduce a hybrid version, but I suspect it'll be yet another slow car, like the previous one. It's almost like they are trying to limit the market they are selling to.
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Fri 21 Jun 2019 20:40
- Zippy123
Parking sensors failing. These should be built to withstand the odd small stone hitting them, surely they are not fit for purpose otherwise?

Also, VW dealers charging for radar recalibration when its not required, this is fraud surely? Proving it is of course another matter, but I would be finding another dealer.
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Fri 21 Jun 2019 21:07
- ch3no2
Cracking tyres on the Toyota Verso- are the tyres really cracked and do they really need replacin? In my experience when a car is still in warranty and the dealer needs to get his sales up by some upselling they will pick up on consumables like tyres. I should get the tyres checked by a tyre dealer first. The fact that the after salesmanager doesn't want to talk to you speaks volumes.A Lexus dealer tried something similar on a 2 year old GSF by claiming that the inner shoulders were worn down to 2mm when in fact they were 4mm, about the same as the main tread.They won't be doing that again!
You often get some slight cracking on the shoulders (where the sidewall meets the treaded area) which can be due to UV damage or the stuff they black your tyres with in car washes.
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Sun 23 Jun 2019 10:27
Honest John’s Motoring Agony Column 22-06-2019 Part 2 - Captain-Cretin

I've never had a dealer try to con me over tyre wear/damage; the main con has always been brake pads/disks, which arent so easy for a layman to check.

My sister got charged for new front disks by a VW dealership 4 years on the trot, and I used to get "your pads need changing" advisories from a Ford garage EVERY YEAR at MOT time.

When independently inspected, my sisters car was still running the original, factory fitted disks, and I drove another 100,000 miles and sold the car with the same pads still in place.(they were brand new when the garage first claimed they needed changing).

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Tue 25 Jun 2019 15:41
Honest John’s Motoring Agony Column 22-06-2019 Part 2 - Twinks

I found that using wheel cleaner on the alloy wheels of my old Suzuki Swift had this affect - Do you use any acidic wheel cleaner ?

I complained and my Suzuki main dealers replaced the tyres FOC before I realized the real cause !

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Fri 21 Jun 2019 22:02
- Chris C
Torque converted - we have the 4 speed Hyundai i20 automatic which is well screwed together and equipped but a bit thirsty . However, the i20 now comes with a 7 speed DCT gearbox as the auto option.
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Sun 23 Jun 2019 09:07
Honest John’s Motoring Agony Column 22-06-2019 Part 2 - Falkirk Bairn

Complete new Jazz rumoured to have

1 ltr 3 cyl engine from the Civic (130BHP) - a better engine than the current 1.5/130BHP in the Sport (taken from the HRV)

PLUS a Hybrid Jazz along the lines of the CRV Hybrid being driven by an electric motor

For the Japanese market there could be 4wd versions!

New car, new engines & lots of electronic toys filtering down to the Jazz - mind you the touch screen will probably be trailing edge/poor response that lets down the CRV/Civic.

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Sun 23 Jun 2019 12:35
Honest John’s Motoring Agony Column 22-06-2019 Part 2 - Engineer Andy

Complete new Jazz rumoured to have

1 ltr 3 cyl engine from the Civic (130BHP) - a better engine than the current 1.5/130BHP in the Sport (taken from the HRV)

PLUS a Hybrid Jazz along the lines of the CRV Hybrid being driven by an electric motor

For the Japanese market there could be 4wd versions!

New car, new engines & lots of electronic toys filtering down to the Jazz - mind you the touch screen will probably be trailing edge/poor response that lets down the CRV/Civic.

The 1.0T can't be that good if it only gets the Civic from 0-60 in 10.9 seconds minimum. Yes, it's a big car for a C-sector hatch and the Jazz is obviously smaller and lighter, but still...

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Sun 23 Jun 2019 15:22
- jchinuk
Re : Looking for flats, the current Ford Ecosport has an adjustable 'boot' floor, which can be raised to the level of the folded rear seats. Obviously this loses a bit of space (under the raised floor), but does give a level floor. However, I moved from an Ecosport St-Line 140bhp to a Fiesta Active X 140bhp earlier this year, I suspect the Ecosport will feel a bit lumbering after a Fiesta. That said, the Ecosport seat / ride height might be more acceptable. I think the adjustable floor might be an option on Fiestas.
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Mon 24 Jun 2019 00:40
Honest John’s Motoring Agony Column 22-06-2019 Part 2 - aufdermaur

Not being funny, but who needs their Jazz to be fast? I have a mk1 1.3 petrol Sport and it's quick enough off the lights, goes adequately up all but the very steepest of hills, and will happily overtake if you drop it into third or fourth. Yes, it's nice to have a little more power, but the lack of a 1.5l engine wouldn't put me off getting another.

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Mon 24 Jun 2019 09:45
Honest John’s Motoring Agony Column 22-06-2019 Part 2 - Engineer Andy

I test drove its predecessor, the 1.2, and it was ok at best, and no better for overtaking than my old 1L Micra (which wasn't very good at that). Nippy it wasn't. Can we have practical AND nippy? We don't want to go on track days or drive at 100mph all day.

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Thu 27 Jun 2019 23:07
-
Recent article about the cost of replacement tyres.

Watch out for " Hidden Costs"

Inflate tyres with Nitrogen.........total rip-off !

atmospheric air is 80% nitrogen, how much more do you want ?

Saves tyre depot cost of running/ maintaining a compressor.

Cost of disposal of discarded/worn tyres ......................big differences in costs.

New Shraeder tyre valves......not always necessary ?

Wheel balancing.........costs vary widely.

Tracking wheels, can sometimes cause more problems than were present in the

first place, if the front tyres have an even,across the tread wear pattern the

tracking is probably OK.

If possible when getting an estimate ask for a " all -inclusive" estimate to avoid

unpleasant surprises
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Sat 29 Jun 2019 17:08
Honest John’s Motoring Agony Column 22-06-2019 Part 2 - Jezza Car Fanatic
I’m struggling to find anywhere on the net that confirms Honda are stopping the Jazz 1.5 Sport
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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?