All Things V6...

[daviemck2006]

The 407 coupes are great cars. Ive just put front brake pads in mine, easist change of pads ever, and the only other expense of wheels and tyre was hardly the cars fault. I would keep it as the mrs daily, the c5 for yours and the activa for the fun bit and move on the rest if you get decent money for them. Then you will regret selling them and go buy something else

[DHallworth]

Then you will regret selling them and go buy something else

That's exactly the problem! Nail on the head there, Davie!

[CitroJim]

It's interesting that in any car cull we both opt to keep our Activas David... Says a lot about them I believe.

I nearly lost mine though... Thank goodness the sale fell through....

[DHallworth]

Well, it's time for an update... The CX was MOT'd last year and had a few outtings.

Reliability wise she was perfect, performance wise she was perfect, and the admiration she got everywhere she went was amazing. Parked at the Costa Coffee drive through locally she was getting positive comments, parked at the local car club breakfast meets she was getting loads of attention and pictures taken of her.

Unfortunately I'm just not gelling with her and I've decided that I'm going to be looking for a new home for my CX. I've got waaay to many cars here at the moment, I'm well into double figures and really need to thin the fleet down considerably. I also want to use my XM this year too.

The last time my XM was on the road was Drive it Day in April 2016. After that she was washed, waxed and put undercover in the garage. The Activa has been getting more use since it got a V6 conversion and my modern cars have been filling in the spaces much more over the last few years. The 3.0 HDi C5 and Supercharged Range Rover have really made me use my older cars less and less.

However, the good news is I sold the Range Rover in March when I planned to upgrade it but have never found one that's got all the options on it that I want so I'm intending to use the Citroen's more this summer. The CX is going to be looking for a new home so the XM will be getting sorted out.

Over the last two years she's been started regularly and allowed to warm through properly and it's had a run occasionally to the end of the drive and back to stop the brakes and things seizing. She still starts first time and sounds beautiful, she still has the new car smell in her and I can't wait to take her out again this year. It's always a pleasure taking the cover off as this car always makes me smile.

Mileage wise, she is currently sitting on 53k, you never know, she might see 54k this year.

The Activa saw another summer of use flawlessly including a 15 minute track session at Castle Donington, C5 and 407 Coupe are both behaving themselves impeccably at the moment. They both passed their MOT's without an advisory, and are a joy to drive. The C5 ticked over 80k last week and the 407 is now just north of 146k and rising steadily as Cheryl's daily car.

Anyway, that's enough rambling for now.

David.

P.s. Happy New Year to all FCF Members

[bxzx16v]

It's good to hear the fleet is behaving David . You must have plenty on with 10+ cars to keep in order , I was at my limit when we had 4 . I bet you can't wait for the weather to improve and get them out for a nice run .

Mark

[CitroJim]

It's good to hear the Activa and XM are permanent fixtures in your fleet David

I understand entirely what you mean about not gelling with a particular car... I had the same with the XM...

And it's no good trying to fight it either - you'll ultimately fail. Best to cut your losses and go with the ones you really deeply love...

Car love is just like any other love... It can take many forms

[Mandrake]

Well, it's time for an update... The CX was MOT'd last year and had a few outtings.

Happy new year and good to hear an update - I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you you've been so quiet.

Reliability wise she was perfect, performance wise she was perfect, and the admiration she got everywhere she went was amazing. Parked at the Costa Coffee drive through locally she was getting positive comments, parked at the local car club breakfast meets she was getting loads of attention and pictures taken of her.

Unfortunately I'm just not gelling with her and I've decided that I'm going to be looking for a new home for my CX. I've got waaay to many cars here at the moment, I'm well into double figures and really need to thin the fleet down considerably. I also want to use my XM this year too.

Shame it didn't work out for you! Was it anything in particular about the way it drove or just something you couldn't put your finger on ? It's 15 years since I drove a CX and I probably remember it with rose coloured glasses - I liked them but my frame of reference at the time was cars like the GS... I can see that it would be an acquired taste as it is very quirky and there are some shortcomings with it like the awful heater and the not very useful boot! Pity I didn't get time to see it when I had a chance for a bit of nostalgia!

Over the last two years she's been started regularly and allowed to warm through properly and it's had a run occasionally to the end of the drive and back to stop the brakes and things seizing. She still starts first time and sounds beautiful, she still has the new car smell in her and I can't wait to take her out again this year. It's always a pleasure taking the cover off as this car always makes me smile.

I'm starting to feel that way about my Xantia! I've found that I almost don't need it (gasp) with the smaller car doing 95% of our driving, so I'm actually having to go out of my way to make sure I start it up every 3 weeks to give it a quick run over a few miles so the battery doesn't go flat and everything doesn't seize up! I do enjoy driving it when I take it for a longer run, but I have to say the hassle of getting it started up, warmed up, defrosted, (it seems to be a lot harder to defrost and defog than the Ion) just for a short trip to the shops isn't worth it. The small EV definitely excels for the short trips like shopping runs!

[CitroJim]

Simon, you're getting like me in that you're discovering a great love of small cars

Welcome to the club!

[DHallworth]

Well, the Activa was MOT’d on Friday, again, another year where it was just a formality. Not even an advisory.

Last year she did 1500 miles, most of which was done in one weekend when I was visiting the CCC National and FCS.

Hopefully the weather will be good as I’m headed to the Northern Rally at Wetherby next weekend.

David.

[CitroJim]

Excellent David

Enjoy the Northern and fingers crossed for the weather

[DHallworth]

Well, another update...

The Series 1 24v XM has been rehomed to an XM enthusiast in Nottingham.

The Activa racked up 800 miles in a weekend when we went to the Northern and did a few trips whilst there, she continues to run beautifully. Despite the fact she only does around 1000 miles a year, she's the one car I can connect the battery to and rely on her starting and getting me anywhere.

The 407 is going for an MOT in the next couple of weeks, there's a clunk from the rear that I'll get sorted at the same time, then a good valet and she's going up for sale too, followed by the CX in a few weeks hopefully.

Cheryl has decided she wants to keep the C5 as her daily driver which makes sense seeing as it still has a warranty on it.

After months of looking, considering many different options including Ford Mustangs, Aston Martin V8 Vantages, Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio's and a few others I finally took the plunge and bought a car. The wildcard as such

I found a Jaguar XFR for sale at Stratstone Jaguar in Mayfair. It's a 2014 with 1 previous owner who went a bit mental with the options list and spent £10k on options. It's a 5.0 Supercharged with 510bhp, 0 - 60 in 4.7 seconds but it's wow factor comes in midrange. 50 - 70 is over and done with in a smidgen over 1.5 seconds.

What did amaze me was the economy. Sitting at a steady 70mph on the motorway with the cruise control on for 200 miles showed an average economy of 37.1mpg.

Hopefully this one will keep me amused for a while

David.

[Mandrake]

Petrol or Diesel ?

[bxzx16v]

Very nice David .

Mark

[DHallworth]

Petrol or Diesel ?

The Jag?

Very nice David .

Mark

Thanks Mark

[Hell Razor5543]

I have to say I prefer the 'face' of the later XF. The first series looked to me like a big cat that had just caught its nadgers in a door!