RE: Shed of the Week: London Taxi (!)
Discussion
Well I have been running one for the past 18 months. Automatic with the TD27.
Problem is it makes my Volvo 240 drives like a super car.
Ridiculously slow but surprisingly good at the lights. Cheap parts, brilliant turning circle and OK fuel economy. Direct steering, surprisingly good handling but horrific ride. Drives like a truck!
I did have people hailing me down which does get annoying and also forget about ability to get insurance if you live in London...only a handful of insurers willing to do it outside of London, unlike the FX4!
Problem is it makes my Volvo 240 drives like a super car.
Ridiculously slow but surprisingly good at the lights. Cheap parts, brilliant turning circle and OK fuel economy. Direct steering, surprisingly good handling but horrific ride. Drives like a truck!
I did have people hailing me down which does get annoying and also forget about ability to get insurance if you live in London...only a handful of insurers willing to do it outside of London, unlike the FX4!
Edited by MyYeti on Friday 22 April 17:32
MyYeti said:
Well I have been running one for the past 18 months. Automatic with the TD27.
Problem is it makes my Volvo 240 drives like a super car.
Ridiculously slow but surprisingly good at the lights. Cheap parts, brilliant turning circle and OK fuel economy. Direct steering, surprisingly good handling but horrific ride. Drives like a truck!
I did have people hailing me down which does get annoying and also forget about ability to get insurance if you live in London...only a handful of insurers willing to do it outside of London, unlike the FX4!
Why?Problem is it makes my Volvo 240 drives like a super car.
Ridiculously slow but surprisingly good at the lights. Cheap parts, brilliant turning circle and OK fuel economy. Direct steering, surprisingly good handling but horrific ride. Drives like a truck!
I did have people hailing me down which does get annoying and also forget about ability to get insurance if you live in London...only a handful of insurers willing to do it outside of London, unlike the FX4!
Edited by MyYeti on Friday 22 April 17:32
Is it purely economics? I can't imagine much of a worse vehicle to have as my daily drive...
bakerstreet said:
People have done it. Think there is an old TX4 shape rolling around with a V8 in it. I quite like the retro look of the TX4 and think they would make good hotrods.
.
There is a chap who has built a few hot rods out of London Taxis, a few with roof chops and Rover V8s plus a nuts pickup truck conversion that runs a >400ci supercharged Chevy lump..
http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/garage/taxi-based...
Edited by aka_kerrly on Friday 22 April 19:49
Ugh, massive no from me. Father in law drives one and it's forever going wrong. Has spent an invredible amount of time in the garage. Has improved slightly since they changed to a different garage so now it's being serviced a bit more thoroughly these days. But it shows that, like any car I guess, one that has had any neglect can quickly become a money pit. A taxi with half a mil on the clock seems like a massive gamble to me.
That aside, cant imagine much that could be more unpleasant to drive as your own car. Milk float maybe?
That aside, cant imagine much that could be more unpleasant to drive as your own car. Milk float maybe?
I've had the displeasure of driving one of these things more than once.
For the avoidance of doubt, if there were any - The engine is torquey but lacks any power, the brakes are akin to having blocks of MDF for pads, the suspension is spine splitting on rough surfaces yet it wallows like an overloaded cargo ship in the bends, the fuel economy is as bad as a 2 ltr petrol, the driving position would suit Quasimodo at best and engine/wind noise is an issue even at city centre speeds.
For a vehicle which is designed to be driven constantly, its vile. I can only assume the designers/engineers hated cab drivers!
For the avoidance of doubt, if there were any - The engine is torquey but lacks any power, the brakes are akin to having blocks of MDF for pads, the suspension is spine splitting on rough surfaces yet it wallows like an overloaded cargo ship in the bends, the fuel economy is as bad as a 2 ltr petrol, the driving position would suit Quasimodo at best and engine/wind noise is an issue even at city centre speeds.
For a vehicle which is designed to be driven constantly, its vile. I can only assume the designers/engineers hated cab drivers!
QuantumTokoloshi said:
Lots of these running around Baku in Azerbaijan, seems they got a job lot of London taxis for the city.
Bought in for the Eurovision song contest in 2012. Combination of brown envelope (allegedly) and the president's wife wanting the make Baku look a little less ex Soviet made that one happen.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff