gjm

Matt Le Blanc wil be the front man for the next season of Top Gear, and will be accompanied by Chris Harris and Rory Reid. Eddie Jordan and Sabine Schmitz will make regular appearances as will (of course) The Stig.

Looks like a great car, and a good price. And with suspension I've not tried!

All true. However, those who put in the least effort are typically those who shout, scream, moan and whinge the most. They're 'too busy' to read instructions.

That's the issue. Not all cars are equipped to run ethanol-included fuels. And (sadly) the masses lack the automotive education to know this, or whether their car is suitable or not. They 'know' higher octane is 'better', are sold on the benefits of clean-running expounded by the fuel manufacturers, and so use it. Then their fuel system eats itself because it's made of the wrong stuff, and they get a big bill (or worse). Nothing wrong with ethanol. Or E85. Just so long as it is used appropriately.

Welcome to my world. Frustrating, innit? I replaced the nsf tierod on the 500SE. Was going to do both, but rain stopped play.

Not much info yet, but I really like this.

What benefits, other than increased power, does any one of these engines have over the others? Or, what drawbacks? At the moment I get the impression that the M43 is an 8v engine used in the 318i, while the M42 and M44 are 16v DOHC engines used in the 318iS, and they all have chain-driven cams. (That may be a little simplistic and I'm aware there are some slight differences in capacity.) Is the M43 more robust than the M42/4? Are there pitfalls with the 16v engines?

When we did run 98 in the 318i it did seem more economical, but not by the sort of margin you've experienced. Perhaps an extra 20-30km between fill-ups. It didn't feel any better to drive though, unlike current 95RON experience.

Interesting... We noticed very little difference between 91 and 98 in the 318i, but on 95 it definitely seems much smoother. While I doubt there is a boost in low-rev torque, the engine is so much smoother that 4th gear at 1500rpm no longer feels like the engine is struggling - it's smooth.

Gull have shaken pricing up no end. OK - many of their stations are unmanned, reducing overheads significantly, but taking diesel as an example, diesel at Hampton Downs is 26c a litre cheaper than at the Mobil at Mercer. Mobil in Drury is several cents a litre more expensive than Mobil on Gt South Road in Papakura. Buyers are obviously not sufficiently discerning, or prices would be a lot closer!

Therein lies the issue - until today, I'd not seen 95 available at any of the stations we frequently pass, so the choice was between 91 (not ideal) and 98 (at a significant difference - up to 30c per litre - in price). I remarked to the cashier at the station where I bought 95 today that it was nice to see it available. They seemed almost surprised, and certainly pleased, that someone was using it. 98 was 12c per litre more expensive than 95. Bearing in mind the simpler EMS on an M43, are we going to see enough benefit to make it worth using the higher octane fuel?

Don't see many BPs on my south (of) Auckland travels, and the ones I've seen only have 91 or 98. And BP are typically 5-10% more expensive than Mobil. Fingers crossed Mobil do sell non-ethanol 98. I know the Gull 98 does contain ethanol. We don't have what would be considered high-performance cars so while 98RON wouldn't necessarily be wasted, it'd not be of the same benefit as it is in an M3, for example.

I've been looking for 95 for a long time, and simply not found it locally, anywhere. Today was the first time I have seen 95 at a local station. 98 may be great, and definitely the right thing to use in anything performance-oriented, but it is typically hellishly expensive and the 10% ethanol can make a nasty mess of fuel system components in older cars. I'd hoped to find that 95RON was brewed differently and didn't contain ethanol. This is the case in the UK - 95 is petrol, 98 is often (but not always) a petrol/ethanol mix.

Mobil have (finally?) introduced a more widely available 95RON unleaded fuel. It has long - always? - been the case in the UK and Europe that unleaded petrol was available in 3 forms: a lower octane version, a good version (95) and a super version (98). This morning, we found 95RON at a local Mobil station. The Mercedes much prefers this, and so (I think) does Miss M's 318i. At 170.9 per litre, with a 10c per litre discount for spending more than $40 on fuel, I couldn't see a reason not to use it. We have been running 91RON, but the car seems smoother and generally happier with 95. More so than the occasions when it has had a tank of 98. I've spent a few minutes looking for details of the fuel specifications/compositions online but they appear pretty well hidden. All I found was reference to Mobil's 98RON fuels sold in the Wellington area potentially having up to a 10% ethanol content. Still... 95RON fuel = A Good Thing.

PM'd.

Personally, I prefer the look of the E34, too. And (I think) it will be a simpler car meaning hopefully lower maintenance costs.

Sounds like it's an option and something to look and check for, rather than expect. Thanks.

Do the rear seats in an E46 coupe fold down for through-loading from the boot, or even just for more load space?

Space 1999, Battlestar Galactica...

If I ever have to sit through any of that again, it'll be too soon!

Looks really nice, and I prefer the ACS rims. GLWS.

It's a pity that the gearbox has gone - that would be a key component of that car.

Today - nothing. It's persisting down, blowing half a gale and generally speaking, outside is not a place I want to be. I think I'll go and get my hair cut.

I saw the N42 bit and (perhaps unfairly) thought the same thing. I'm sure there are good cars with those engines around, but I doubt I'd buy one out of choice unless it was very cheap, and had something about it that I really liked.

Yup. You're guilty...