Honest John: advice on driving to France and Spain on holiday
If your car has developed a fault, or for consumer advice, turn to Honest John by emailing honestadvice@telegraph.co.uk
Spanish steps
We intend to take our Kia Sorento automatic to Spain for four weeks later this year. We have previously only driven hire cars once there, however, so are there any pitfalls to driving all the way in a right-hand-drive car? Are there any adjustments we need to make to the car to cope with French and Spanish roads? AN
Once you are over the Channel you have to be even more alert. You have to be especially careful at roundabouts because you negotiate them in the opposite direction from the UK. And you need to think carefully about which slot to take at complicated road junctions. Otherwise, just keep the bushes, fences, kerbs and footways on your right hand side. Adjust your mirrors to give you the best view of vehicles overtaking you, but you get a peripheral view of them from the left hand side anyway. Obviously, if your lights dip left fix them to dip right. If they dip down, no problem. Any worries about night driving, don't drive at night. Take high-viz vests for everyone in the car. You must carry the vehicle's original V5C registration document. Stay inside the speed limits – particularly in France at present.
First among E culls
I bought a Mercedes E-class estate from an independent dealer. The car fulfilled all requirements, with fully stamped service history and excellent bodywork and interior. I purchased it with an RAC three-month warranty. Three days later, one side of the rear suspension collapsed. The dealer told me to contact the RAC, which said suspension was not covered. The problem has occurred twice more, and now both sides are affected. The dealer is 90 miles from me, so I am reluctant to journey there for repair – assuming they would agree. What should I do? BC
I presume this was a failure of the rear suspension airbags. The dealer is responsible for this and liable. A warranty cannot cover a condition that was present or developing on date of sale, as this obviously was, but the dealer is legally obliged to and he knows that. Ask the dealer if he will authorise someone local to repair it.
Hike hitches guide
I feel that you are being somewhat over-optimistic regarding EV lithium-ion battery recycling. Technically they can be recycled, but only with considerable effort in power and cost, and there is still a lot of unrecoverable waste. The technical problems have not really been solved, and not enough batteries are yet available to have made their recycling a viable economic proposition. This is one of the unsolved problems that make the rush into battery electric power a risky business. The EV on-road charging network is still unreliable and sparsely located. Some of the fast-charging networked facilities, like Ionity for Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen and Mercedes, now charge as much as 70p per kWh – around four times domestic electricity costs. That makes the effective cost per mile around the same as fossil fuel cars. What do you think? VH
I meant that these batteries can be reused when their capacities are reduced, to store domestic electricity generated from solar panels and wind generators. Whereas it is vital that a battery retains enough power to give a car a reasonable range, this is not critical when storing excess home-generated power that the home owner does not want to donate to the national grid. A home then becomes effectively self-charging, like a self-charging hybrid car, generating and storing some, if not all, of its own electricity. See Euan McTurk’s excellent video on YouTube. The real issue is as follows. If the sale of internal combustion engined vehicles is to be banned from year 2032, why is the world still building high-performance, high carbon-consuming cars like Aston Martins, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces and Bentleys? Why (pre-pandemic) were people still taking holidays on cruise liners that burn vast amounts of fossil fuel?
Thrash metal
I’ve been given an 84,000-mile Renault Grand Modus for free. However, It has a number of issues including a problem with the alternator (£300 to replace), the rear fog light is on permanently and at times I can feel clutch judder when pulling off, which I imagine will mean an expensive clutch and dual mass flywheel (DMF) replacement. It could also have issues with the turbocharger, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system and diesel particulate filter (DPF). It does, however, have an almost full service history and I know all the former owners. Do you think it’s worth keeping, or should I trade it in? Ideally I’d like a sportier hatchback such as a Ford Fiesta ST, Honda Civic Type R or Renault Clio 197, but aren’t these likely to have been misused? Alternatively, I have been looking at more sensible cars, such as a Mazda2, Honda Civic 1.8 (FN), Toyota Yaris 1.3/1.8 or even an MG3, as they have depreciated heavily. What do you reckon? KC
Nothing is for nothing. The Renault Grand Modus is a reasonable older person's car, now deeply unfashionable. Pre-2011 it probably doesn't have a DPF, but the alternator, electrics, clutch and DMF will probably set you back more than the car would then be worth, which is why it is free. You then move on to Fiesta ST, Civic Type R or Clio 197, all of which are likely to have been thrashed and trashed. The Fiesta has the 1.6 EcoBoost engine that has been prone to cylinder head problems. The Clio isn’t the best companion for a 300-mile motorway run. And, though chain-cam, Civic Type Rs are a bit low geared and one for £4,000 could be trouble. Finally, the sensible Mazda2 in TS3 format (with the 1.3 rather than 1.5 engine) is actually nicer to drive than a Fiesta; the Civic 1.8i VTEC (FN) is quite a good, solid bet; the Toyota Yaris 1.3 might be a bit too sensible; and the MG3 can have a few problems.
Specs averse
I need a 1.6 non-turbo SUV with six-speed torque converter auto. The SsangYong Tivoli Ultimate fits the bill. Neither the SE nor ELX comes as a petrol auto, so the LE at £18,745 is the cheapest I can get. There are at least two problems. I don't want 18-inch wheels on our potholed local roads but the dealer says he cannot supply it with my preferred 16-inch rims. Why not? SsangYong fits 16-inch steel wheels to the SE, which has the same body and presumably the same brakes. Are they just being stubborn? RG
Unfortunately the cars will be fitted with the wheels and tyres that are Type Approved for that individual model, in order to meet RDE1 emissions regulations. To supply it with different wheels and tyres would alter the documented emissions. However, as long as your insurer approved a change of spec from the 18s to the 16s you could fit 16s after purchase, but it would be at your expense (about £1,000).
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