Electric handbrake tom-foolery

[Mr Tidy]

Funk said:

Dapster said:

I love it. I do a lot of city miles and I would never look at a daily without electronic handbrake, stop / start and auto gearbox.

Same, great invention.

I never did city miles, but tried to minimise my tax liabilities with a BMW 123d on a company car allowance.

It had stop/start and yet the coded AGM battery didn't manage 5 years - only cost £250+ to replace by the time it was coded (BMW wanted £300+).

Starter motor died in less than 7 years - a mere £600+ bill from BMW.

I now have a BMW Z4 Coupe that needed a new battery to replace the original that lasted 11 years, and as it wasn't coded the new one cost just over £100!

I'd never look at any car that had an electric handbrake, stop/start or an auto gearbox - I can't afford all that nonsense!

[Smiljan]

thiscocks said:

It saves so little fuel you wouldn't notice it unless you regularly sit at a stand still in traffic for hours at a time, for months on end. In which case I'm sure you would be better off riding a bike or walking. In that case you would probably turn the engine off yourself anyway. As for emissions- if you cared about that you wouldn't be driving an internal combustion powered vehicle in the first place (or certainly not own one for enjoyment). Its just a means by the car manufacturers to better their claimed combined fuel consumption lab tests and nothing else. Its called bull-st technology (much like the electronic handbrake - but to a greater degree). How someone can claim to like it or want it must just be fking brainwashed by the government by thinking they are saving the planet or just love the sound and vibration of their engine starting up.

I own a car with stop start and totally agree, it kicks in so infrequently that I can't imagine over the last 2 years it's saved any meaningful amounts of fuel. As for emissions, the petrol engine is so clean anyway the emissions at idle must be miniscule.

I'd agree it's mainly for manufacturers to improve their test results rather than a meaningful attempt to save fuel.

[healeyneil]

At least an EPB. Is better than the woeful pedal operated parking brake that Mercedes used to inflict on us. The only good thing about that was asking random pals to move the car, then watching their confusion as they couldn't find the release 😀