As the car was to be left out in the open for a couple of months with no electricity available I decided it would be a good idea to disconnect the battery and keep it in doors.
A few months later the battery was replaced and other than having to put the radio codes in all was fine. A bit of rust on the discs soon got scrapped off but that was the only sign of the lay up. Fast forward a month and the car seems a different vehicle from the one I left. It seems far nippier and is certainly more economical.
This got me wondering if the disconnection of the battery for so long means that the ECU is reprogramming/relearning and every setting had reverted back to default factory settings. The difference is certainly noticeable and even the Mrs has commented on it.
I'm sure I've seen it previously mentioned that ECUs learn a particular driving style and resetting it once in a while can put it back to the "out of the box" setting again. A good practice to do when buying a second hand car and removing the last owners style of driving from the system.