My pals Disco Sport was backwards and forwards to the supplying dealer throughout its warranty period.
Once out of warranty I thought he’d get rid, but no.
Warning light to say the rear drive had failed, so left with front drive only. I’ve no idea of the mechanics of the failure but a four figure repair.
Shortly afterwards tailgate strut failed. £900+ repair.
And another friend had a similar fail on his Volvo XC40, with a similar repair price.
Neither had any goodwill payments despite full main dealer service history.
That would spoil my day.
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Shortly afterwards tailgate strut failed. £900+ repair.
I assume it was some sort of powered tailgate?
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Powered tailgate.
A lot of cars have them these days.....my two current cars don’t, so one less thing to go wrong.
I appreciate a lot of modern car features, such as blind spot indication in side mirrors, Head up display for navigation to keep your eyes on the road ahead, but stuff like swiping your foot under the bumper to open the boot I don’t see the point.
And both my cars have traditional handbrakes, not that I’m averse to electronic handbrakes.
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Sounds about right for a main dealer.
Re foot swiping to open the boot, aimed at families with hands full of shopping/small kids in tow coming back to the car to load up.
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My neighbour's Discovery 4 is on its third(!) engine. Fortunately all under warranty. I can't imagine him keeping it out of warranty.
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I'm surprised people keep buying them, as bad as French cars, put together with superglue. I guess they look quite sharp and have a good image/brand. Although I would have thought endless trips to the main dealer would become tiring after a while.
I was involved with running a fleet of 50 or so discos years ago, complete garbage never ending issues and we had x2 mechanics in house to deal with them.
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>>I'm surprised people keep buying them, as bad as French cars,
Aren't French cars OK now? My brother started as a motor mechanic and hated working on them back in the 70s. He's remained involved with cars and plant until he recently retired, and has always done his own maintenance. He's now driving a Citroen C4 Spacetourer that he seems to think is very good. It makes my Outlander feel very agricultural.
I know he wouldn't have a Discovery Sport at any price.
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>> >>I'm surprised people keep buying them, as bad as French cars,
>>
>> Aren't French cars OK now?
>>
My experience reflects your brothers - i.e. I've had no problems with the French cars we have in the family. Unlike the VWs BMWs and Mercs we've run which have had far more problems. Wouldn't touch a Land Rover with a bargepole though!
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>> Aren't French cars OK now?
I'm not sure the position across La Regie, PSA etc was ever as bad as some folks said it was and they've improved over time.
Since 1989 we've had BX *2, Xantia and Berlingo *2 plus a Pug 205 XLD.
The Berlingos have both been excellent.
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I suppose ymmv, from my experience and that of family and friends I wouldn't have a french car given.
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It's as if they cynically pile on features to pull in the aspiring buyers (what Alan Sugar used to call a mug's eyeful). They aren't alone. Maybe they just don't engineer them properly.
I am not anti technology by any means, but I am anti-complication.
Not quite apropos, but I read somewhere that Ford is prepared to remove features to save small amounts of money in manufacturing. They are dropping self-parking, they say because nobody uses it.
I love my MX-5 as some will know. As a relative early Mk 4 it is lacking quite a lot of stuff under the driver-assistance heading, which is why I think mine is better than a new one!
The owners' club forum now contains posts from people asking whether their i-eLoop, i-Stop, AFS, ALH, ASL, LDWS, RCTA, SCBS are working correctly or why they aren't, or why RCTA has been dropped (shortage of chips).
All of these are real features that my car lacks - even though it does have auto lights and wipers, and ASL, which I don't really care about, plus DSC and rear parking sensors which I value.
JLR goes well beyond these, naturally.
I can see the benefit of tailgate openers/closers for short or less able people.
Mazda's naming convention (non-exhaustive)
i-eLoop - capacitor that recovers energy on the overrun to reduce alternator demand
i-Stop - stop-start
AFS - adaptive front lighting system
ALH - adaptive LED headlights
LDWS - lane departure warning system
RCTA - rear cross traffic alert
SCBS - smart city brake support
ASL - adjustable speed limiter
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>> i-eLoop - capacitor that recovers energy on the overrun to reduce alternator demand
Where does it recover energy from? If it's a BEV or hybrid, then surely the traction battery will store energy (I presume you meant store and not recover).
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>> >> i-eLoop - capacitor that recovers energy on the overrun to reduce alternator demand
>>
>> Where does it recover energy from? If it's a BEV or hybrid, then surely the
>> traction battery will store energy (I presume you meant store and not recover).
The alternator charges the capacitor on the overrun and stores a modest amount of what would be wasted energy.
By using energy from the capacitor to power lights, HVAC etc the alternator load when under power is reduced. AIUI. It's not a hybrid and it doesn't have a traction battery.
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>>The alternator charges the capacitor on the overrun
I think I understand that, but it seems to me more complicated software and hardware (to go wrong) for a tiny improvement in emissions.
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I have something similar on my GTI... this is how VW describe it.
'Start-stop system with battery regeneration (recuperation - energy recovery during braking)'
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Proper regenerative brakes in an EV must make a difference to fuel economy - with a traditional set up braking turns energy invested in accelerating to heat. Much better to put some of the energy otherwise lost back in a battery.
However I am unconvinced by other systems.
Stop start adds complexity wears the starter motor, and does not always respond as quickly as I would like. I switch it off rather than enjoy the very small savings it gives.
Clever bits of programming to charge capacitors to run lights etc seems similar - lots more complexity for very little benefit.
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>> Stop start adds complexity wears the starter motor, and does not always respond as quickly
>> as I would like. I switch it off rather than enjoy the very small savings
>> it gives.
>>
...the stop/start on the (mild-hybrid) XC40 is entirely imperceptible. It's a good job, because on the mild-hybrid they removed the option to turn it off, so it is always (subject to battery condition) in operation.
The engine is fitted with a starter/generator, a combined unit replacing both starter motor and alternator, and utilised for both functions (effectively, I assume, by "reversing" the operation electrically).
It also provides regeneration to the hybrid battery under braking.
The start/stop operation on the previous X1 wasn't particularly smooth, and that on the Smart is far from so, but I've never found the need to regularly inhibit the system on either.
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>> >>The alternator charges the capacitor on the overrun
>>
>> I think I understand that, but it seems to me more complicated software and hardware
>> (to go wrong) for a tiny improvement in emissions.
My thoughts too. And extra weight.
Mine is 975Kg without driver. The 2023 equivalent is 996Kg. It all adds up and reduces the payload. The MGW of mine is 1215Kg which has been increased to 1230Kg on later cars but the payload has still dropped a bit and I don't imagine the car has been beefed up, just re-plated.
Hence preferring my 2017 car to a new one. The boss and I together weigh about 145Kg so we have 95Kg for luggage, in theory. I wouldn't be surprised if we used all of that when on holiday.
We're off to NI this year in it, we'll be away for 15 nights so we'll use every gram.
The car will do about 48mpg anyway, without stop start + capacitor.
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>>we have 95Kg for luggage, in theory. I wouldn't be surprised if
>> we used all of that when on holiday.
Where on earth do you find space for 95Kg of luggage in an MX5, (roof rack ;>)?
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>>Where on earth do you find space for 95Kg of luggage in an MX5, (roof rack ;>)?
It's not easy. Maybe we don't? That would be good. Maybe I should visit the weighbridge when we are loaded up.
Boot, behind and under seats, behind boot trim, and last year I ended up with a small bag behind my lower legs for a while.
I'm slightly concerned that the kerb weight might be optimistic.
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>>a small bag behind my lower legs
Is that your front lower legs, or your rear lower legs?
A bit like the supermarket customer who asked the check-out staff if the chicken legs they just bought were front legs, or back legs.
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For the avoidance of doubt, the lower leg is the part below the knee:)
I have slightly above the average number of legs.
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More importantly, where do you spend 15 nights in Northern Ireland???
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>> More importantly, where do you spend 15 nights in Northern Ireland???
Ha ha. Suggestions for NI welcome.
3 nights in West Yorkshire, 1 in North Yorkshire 1 in Kirkcudbright, 6 in NI (Moira), 1 in Cumbria, 2 in Northumberland 1 in East Yorkshire.
Catching up with a few people we haven't seen much of post-Covid,
It would have been cheaper to go by Pinky Ponk from Stansted and hire a car had we just been going to NI, although a bit self-defeating as it was conceived as a motoring holiday. The ferry is dearer than I expected.
Last edited by: Manatee on Mon 19 Feb 24 at 20:50
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Yeah did an Irish tour in 2021. Cairnryan Ferry was extortionate.
Then planned on touring for a week in B&Bs up and down the coast until eventually end up at my sister’s in Mullingar.
But we cut the trip short and went to hers after 3 or 4 nights when we realised an overnight with a meal and couple drinks was costing 200 euros at a time.
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I have booked what I think resembles a gite on a farm, it has very good reviews, for about £100 a night so we'll be mainly self catering there. Cheaper and healthier!
The rest is B&B so plenty of lovely hotel breakfasts. One will be a YHA breakfast as I have booked the youth hostel at Reeth, I bet Bromp has been there.
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>> when we realised an overnight with a meal and couple drinks was costing 200 euros
>> at a time.
>>
In contrast to that I’m going with a few walking friends on a 3 day trip to Chelva & Chullila early April…inland from Valencia. Roman aqueduct, gorges, spectacular part of the world. €50 half board each in a hotel, and includes half a litre of wine each with every evening meal.
Pay more than that for a B & B in the UK.
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I would guess that the Mazda i-eLoop is similar to the JLR setup and it is used to provide a bit of extra ooomph for the stop-start system. It saves on the weight and a few $ in cost to it's secondary battery equivalent.
Last edited by: Kevin on Mon 19 Feb 24 at 13:09
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Land Rover Discovery 4 - More JLR faults... - sooty123
