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Car and Driver (I think it was) timed it at 5.1

It would be a real bad idea to mix n match on any car

Did anyone see the test of the Merc S-Class ACC/crash avoidance system on Top Gear? - PMSL. (If you didn't see it, it didn't avoid the crash )

It doesn't matter, cos I was wrong, the spare is not part of the MOT at all

I would've felt luckier if I hadn't hit it at all :D but you're right, it could have been very nasty. T'was a Vauxhall Vectra (about 5 yrs ago). Incidentally, for the MOT I think if you carrying a spare it has to be legal, but if you don't have one at all it doesn't matter.

No, I didn't like the sound of it either (BANG) - scared the life out of me. Fortunately, only the tyre was trashed. The rim had a slight ding in it, but otherwise OK.

Is that legal Steve ? What would happen if you were pulled over, your car was just randomly checked and they found a can of tyre weld in the hole where your spare should be ? ← Perfectly legal, some vehicles come that way from the manufacturer. Personally I wouldn't like it, tyre weld will get you by with a simple puncture, but if the tyre is badly damaged then you're knackered. I once ran over a brick on the motorway and it tore the sidewall out.

Because, if you're unlucky, you can fry the ECU or cause other damage. It would be better to charge the battery with it disconnected from the car. If this will happen regularly, invest in a battery conditioner that will trickle charge the battery in situ.

Congratulations - it looks VERY nice (although I hate you for it :D )

Yeah, well, that's because I was too busy replying to WIM and I didn't actually notice your post until afterwards Anyway, I reckon it's time for me to STFU - life's too short :D

I would because when you then have to change the pads you have to drain some out because it would go over the maximum. Unless you have a leak the amount of fluid in the system will remain the same, no need to add any and by opening the reservoir you just let moisture in. ← Yes, that's a fair point, but it IS a check item on the service. You may also have a fluid drain/bleed/refill at any time that does not neccessarily corespond with having all new pads - most pad replacement procedures warn you to check the rising level for that reason. My point was that, for various reasons, the actual amount of fluid in the system is an unknown quantity, so you can't rely on it for measurement purposes - plus all the other stuff about uneven pad wear etc. Matt - I accept the stuff about Mitsubishi, not familiar with them so I take what you say at face value. The question was about the IS and the answer is still no, it doesn't have a pad wear warning lamp. I wasn't wanting to start an argument - I just don't want people to think they can rely on that light to tell them when their brakes are worn.

True Not true - the reservoir has enough capacity to allow from 0% to 100% wear plus some reserve. Don't forget that the "level" is subject to change due to ascent/descent and cornering attitude. Also consider that, as pads wear at different rates, you may have 100% worn fronts with the rears anywhere between 0 and 100%. The level therefore cannot be used to judge the wear of any particular pads. I would not consider topping up of brake fluid to be idiotic - it is a normal service check. The thing is, you CANNOT use the level warning lamp to reliably indicate the state of the pads - that's not what it's for.

I think that's misleading - pad wear will not usually cause a sufficient drop to trigger the warning light unless the level was low to start with. The level may also have been topped up at service in the meantime. Better to say it MIGHT cause the light to come on but you should not rely on it for that - you should inspect the pads.

The light comes on if the fluid is low, not for pad wear (see previous post).

The brake pad wear indicator consists of (to quote the manual) "a squealing or scraping noise while driving" - hi-tech or what

Did you have the air-con on when you parked-up? If so, try turning it off 5 or 10 mins before stopping, because otherwise damp air remains in the system and can condense onto the screen.

The device (laser, radar, whatever) HAS to be active to detect a speeding vehicle - the problem is, particularly with laser which has very little scatter/spread, it has to be aimed in your direction for your detector to pick it up. Obviously if it's aimed in your direction and you're the only one there, then you are the target.

Hydrogen sulphide (bad egg smell) is a normal product of the catalytic process and is most noticeable when giving it some beans.

Surely you would RAISE the tyre pressures (to stop them flat-spotting).

It is the "tiptronic" function - you push/pull the shift lever to change gear.

Well, no actually - although they liked the sharp turn-in and lack of understeer, they were critical of slightly tail-happy handling; "it wants to oversteer on turn in"...."the ESP system will quickly intervene, and in an untidy lurch you stay on the road" They claim this happened regularly during their (wet) test drive. They also state that the BMW is "unquestionably the better of the two to drive".

A head to head test in todays Autocar: IS250 Auto vs 325 manual. They couldn't get a manual IS to test. Main points: IS250 well engineered, well equiped but heavier, "impossibly expensive" feel to interior. Critisism of "form over function" such as instruments are nice to look at but hard to read. Firm ride at low speeds, over-sensitive steering. High levels of grip, much less understeer than BMW. Quieter, smoother engine but less torque and not as "nice" noise as the BMW. MPG about the same at 22mpg over the test. Small boot at 378litres. Overall "the BMW breaks it (the IS) down and eventually overwhelms it quite easily". So the 3 series wins again according to the journos - surprise surprise. They do like the new IS though and say it "very close" to the 3.

That estimated 7.3 goes along with the estimated 220bhp - I guess neither is right. I wondered if the 7.9 on the US website is for both auto & manual (although it seems unlikely). Just seems odd that they specify times for the AWD and RWD, and fuel figures for all variants, but no auto or manual specific 0-60 times.

You have PM

OK - delete that reply then :mat: