Rare versions of common cars

[smarty156]

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

[Fastdruid]

smarty156 said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

I'm not totally surprised. It's a good 200-300Kg heavier than the Alfa and if used round primarily round town will absolutely guzzle it.

[thebigmacmoomin]

Fastdruid said:

smarty156 said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

I'm not totally surprised. It's a good 200-300Kg heavier than the Alfa and if used round primarily round town will absolutely guzzle it.

My Focus ST does 20mpg around town. Not as bad a my old E46 M3 on the same journey, that did 14mpg.

[Mike335i]

Fastdruid said:

smarty156 said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

I'm not totally surprised. It's a good 200-300Kg heavier than the Alfa and if used round primarily round town will absolutely guzzle it.

That and the fact that tee Alfa has a much smaller, more modern engine.

[JordanTurbo]

thebigmacmoomin said:

Fastdruid said:

smarty156 said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

I'm not totally surprised. It's a good 200-300Kg heavier than the Alfa and if used round primarily round town will absolutely guzzle it.

My Focus ST does 20mpg around town. Not as bad a my old E46 M3 on the same journey, that did 14mpg.

My "ST-max" does around 20 in town, and high 20's - nudging 30 on a motorway run.

I don't think it's too bad considering the weight it's carrying.

It's replaced a 4.6L V8 Petrol Land Rover as well, so fuel economy isn't too high on my list of priorities.

[jon_273]

e12mat said:

I wonder how many manual W8 estates were sold in the UK with the recaro interior.

Brilliant car, used as a daily for 12 months, petrol station owner and I are on a first name basis.

I love that. I have a friend with a Deep Blue Pearl manual saloon, no recaro seats though.

Interestingly, when VW driver magazine reviewed the manual version, they managed to improve upon the quoted manufacturer mpg figure. They got 30mpg on a steady drive quite easily IIRC.

[viggyp]

Mike335i said:

Fastdruid said:

smarty156 said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

I'm not totally surprised. It's a good 200-300Kg heavier than the Alfa and if used round primarily round town will absolutely guzzle it.

That and the fact that tee Alfa has a much smaller, more modern engine.

Th Alfa has a 2.9 twin turbo V6.

[smarty156]

viggyp said:

Th Alfa has a 2.9 twin turbo V6.

Correct. 2.5 single turbo (210bhp) versus 2.9 twin turbo (505bhp).
I'd say the type of driving is probably very similar between the 2 cars. Mix of round town or enjoying it on the open road.
Tended to average 19mpg in the S-Max 2.5T and 23mpg in the Quad. Quad obviously MUCH quicker though, when suitable. Then again, I can't get 7 people in it! Can't even get 5 in it.
The S-Max was quite a good stealth/Q car. Probably surprised a few people.

[ChemicalChaos]

Take one DaimlerChrysler era 2006-11 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Some people laughed at the interior plastics and live rear axle, and bought an X3/5 or Gen 2 Freelander.
Now add a larger, significantly more ugly 7-seat body to create the Commander. Most remaining people who needed 7 seats carried on walking and bought a Discovery or XC90.
Now offer a 5.7 Hemi V8 option alongside the standard Mercedes diesel. You'd have to be certifiably insane.

I am insane






Eta: According to Howmanyleft, only 177 were ever sold

Edited by ChemicalChaos on Thursday 1st February 20:34

[8V085]

How reliable are these Hemi Commanders?

[ChemicalChaos]

8V085 said:

How reliable are these Hemi Commanders?

Mine has so far lasted longer than my BMW V8 engined Range Rover did without going wrong.

The hugely simple and rugged construction everyone laughed at makes them a lot easier to maintain than more fancy rivals. The Dana live axle is legendarily tough and has no fancy 3d alignment to go out of whack on potholes.

The Gen3 Hemi was a brand new clean sheet engine in 2005, but still runs pushrods with no variable timing to go tits up, and in the Jeep the engine and gearbox have a cooling system borrowed from the even heavier duty Ram truck. The gearbox also has a specific towing mode that alters the map to stop it overheating when worked hard.
The only concession to modernity on the engine is cylinder deactivation for better economy, this is controlled by a solenoid that is both cheap and easy to replace should it fail.

The playmobil dashboard and shiny leather seats may look tacky, but they are much harder wearing than soft touch rubber and napa leather, and easy on keep clean.

Things like headlight bulbs are extremely easy to access and change.

Some parts are hard to find over here but have a huge thriving auto spares scene in America, you just have to swallow the shipping cost.

I do miss the much greater refinement of the Range Rover but I certainly don't miss the expensive and complicated repairs!

[daveinhampshire]

8V085 said:

How reliable are these Hemi Commanders?

There is an issue with dropped valves, I saw a couple when I bought my jeep listed needing new engines which put me off.

[8V085]

Cheers guys. I've always been tempted but never brave enough to get one.

[daveinhampshire]

I ended up with a LHD 5.9 Jeep Grand Cherokee, apart from a rebuild of the transfer box when I bought it I've not spent a penny which is a good thing, it only does 15mpg

[8V085]

That's the limited version isn't it? Did you import it yourself?

[AppleJuice]

Discovery 3 4.0 V6

Discovery 3 4.4 V8:



Discovery 4 3.0 SC V6 (LHD):



Discovery 4 5.0 V8 (maybe not sold in the UK?)

[Mike335i]

viggyp said:

Mike335i said:

Fastdruid said:

smarty156 said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

I'm not totally surprised. It's a good 200-300Kg heavier than the Alfa and if used round primarily round town will absolutely guzzle it.

That and the fact that tee Alfa has a much smaller, more modern engine.

Th Alfa has a 2.9 twin turbo V6.

It does indeed, I was thinking guiletta for some reason! Still a more modern engine though

[AppleJuice]

Volvo S60 / V60 / XC60 / V70 / XC70 / S80 / XC90 T6

[Fastdruid]

Mike335i said:

viggyp said:

Mike335i said:

Fastdruid said:

smarty156 said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

I'm not totally surprised. It's a good 200-300Kg heavier than the Alfa and if used round primarily round town will absolutely guzzle it.

That and the fact that tee Alfa has a much smaller, more modern engine.

Th Alfa has a 2.9 twin turbo V6.

It does indeed, I was thinking guiletta for some reason! Still a more modern engine though

IMO it's weight more than anything else. The Mondeo 2.5T is also much lighter than the S-Max and I get mid thirties on a run (to high 30's if sitting at 70) and my long term average is 25-26mpg. Although while most of my driving is urban its all pretty free flowing, when I've had to go into town and it gets more stop/start I've seen consumption drop into the teens.

[viggyp]

Mike335i said:

viggyp said:

Mike335i said:

Fastdruid said:

smarty156 said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

The S-Max's 2.5T engine was slightly de-tuned to 210hp I think rather than 221hp in the Focus.

We had one of those. It drank fuel at an alarming rate. We were averaging under 20mpg. Less than my current Giulia Quadrifoglio!

I'm not totally surprised. It's a good 200-300Kg heavier than the Alfa and if used round primarily round town will absolutely guzzle it.

That and the fact that tee Alfa has a much smaller, more modern engine.

Th Alfa has a 2.9 twin turbo V6.

It does indeed, I was thinking guiletta for some reason! Still a more modern engine though

Yeah, I had a feeling you may have and you'd be right as it has a 1.8 four cyl lump.