Well the Legacy went back to the dealer today for them to rectify the failed console lighting. They lent me a different car this time, a Subaru XV eBoxer. Considerably more up market than the one I had last time. This car was so full of tech I was wondering if I should have a pilot's license instead of a driving license!!
I think the story is best told with pictures and the single video which shows the functions of the auxiliary screen!
On the drive
A reasonable front design, for an SUV
Not too bad
Just to show the badging
Once you climb in the first thing that strikes you is the fit and finish quality, beautiful stitching everywhere:
The dash
The door
The seats
However as soon as you turn it on and survey your controls you begin to understand how complicated things can be when, in my view, they just don't need to be:
The steering wheel controls with hidden flappy paddles
Left switches
Right switches
Aux switches are to the right of the column
Auxiliary controls
Centre console switches
In the roof
In door controls
Climate controls
Then of course you begin to survey the screens, there are three, one in front of you as the 'dashboard', here showing the driving mode selected together with lane assist and cruise control information
Centre screen showing Sport mode
Lane monitoring
Then the main infotainment screen for doing your washing and making the beds, oh and showing radio and sat nav and numerous other apps which I did not have time to play with:
Map screen
Finally there is the auxiliary information screen sited on top of the dash above the main screen, a video shows its functions easier:
However the one good thing was the improved driver visibility over the previous loan car:
The driving position
All in all a comfortable ride though a tad too stiff for my liking, adequate performance but not great economy for a hybrid. I averaged 36.4 mpg over 100 miles. However if cars keep getting more complicated like this I shall definitely consider buying my next transport from Mr Delaney!!
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
mickthemaverick wrote: 09 Mar 2024, 18:21
I then turned my attention to the MX3's coolant loss and discovered it was leaking from the top hose to radiator joint. I fitted a new clip and ran it up to temperature and no leaking. However it still has a random misfire which I think may be residual moisture from the leak. I'll investigate that further on the next dry day!
Today was the next dry day so I pulled the MX3 into the garage to investigate, I opened the bonnet and removed the heat shield to reveal much as I had suspected:
What I found!
The surrounds to the plugs were well gummed up with coolant soaked grease.
I began the rescue by cleaning up the surrounds:
Cleaned surround
Then I removed the plugs and cleaned the ports and seats:
Cleaned plug holes and seats
I was quite pleased to have discovered the plugs at this point:
Old plugs
So I asked SWMBO to pop in to our local factors on her way to Tesco and half an hour later she returned with these (and collected her shopping list! )
New plugs
So I installed them, cleaned, reconnected and damp proofed the leads and it was job done! :
Job done
I'm pleased to say it started instantly and ran very smoothly so I took it for a 10 mile trial and it didn't miss a beat so definitely job done!!
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
I have a visitor in the garage at the moment which I am doing some preparation for sale work on. Nothing too complex and so far so good but it only just fits in!!
Mazda MX5 Mk1
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
I have a bit of a liking for the MX-5 I could have had one a few years back but whilst one might just fit your garage Mick, no way will one fit in mine and that ruled it out..
Back when I had a Saxo I found that wouldn't fit my garage either!
What an interesting cylinder head the Mazda (MX3) has! A 16 valve, but the plugs not appearing to be central (i.e. over to one side) but also seems in line with the exhaust port. Wonder if two separate passages which loop around the plug and combine just before transitioning to the manifold.
I don't have the car here at the moment, it is at the MX5 owner's house. From the plug exchange I can say that the plugs are deep set at around 45° and from the manual appear to emerge down the centre line as you'd expect.i'll put up a pic later! :-
PS Less of the 60's Skoda jokes about my car please
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
PS Less of the 60's Skoda jokes about my car please
There were a lot of those back before VW took over and they were pretty close to the truth. I once bought an Octavia at auction, looked good but was undriveable because the steering wheel turned half a turn before touching anything, took months to find a steering box for it and a month after I sold it the 'boy racer' who bought it rolled it onto its roof outside the local pub.
So how about the Mazda..........................Mazda lamps stay brighter longer.
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. (Albert Einstein)
The MX3 and my previous two 323F's have all had decent lights. I can't remember the Mazda 6 or the Miller but I don't recall them being bad which would stick in my memory like the ones on the MG Montego Turbo do, which were diabolical!!
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
mickthemaverick wrote: 17 Mar 2024, 14:27
Can't agree there Jim, neither of my XM's had poor lights!!
All of mine were positively dangerous Mick... Do you eat a lot of carrots
There's a well-known design issue with them. When they were new they were acceptable but the plastic dip beam inner lens, being made of plastic, yellowed over time and cut the light output significantly.
Early S1 Xantias had the same issue. Citroen realised there was a problem and updated them to do away with the inner plastic Fresnel lens. RHD Xantias quickly got these redesigned lights but as RHD XM production was so low, new design lights could not be justified, so the poor old XM soldiered on until the end with the problematic lights.
The reason for the original design was to give a very sharp horizontal dip beam cutoff and in this respect they were very good. The fundamental beam pattern on dip was very sharp and clean.
The plastic bit can be bleached using various methods but it's neither long-lasting nor a complete fix...
)
Seriously, yes, agreed, it does look a little unusual... This needs investigation. Can you shed light Mick?
