Happy now - A quick run out.

[@MARK]

So after getting off to a less than perfect start, my car is now a month old and nicely run in so yesterday morning at 7am my wife and my 8 year old son packed an overnight bag, got in the car and headed out south.

By lunchtime we were in a little town called Adinkerke.

By early afternoon the car was parked up in the hotel car park (having negotiated some very tight cobbled back streets) and the view from the hotel entrance looked a little like this.

So after spending the afternoon exploring Brugge, we ate, drank and retired.

This morning after a good nights sleep we settled for a traditional and clearly very healthy breakfast.

More sight seeing

and then we squeezed the car out of the hotel car park and headed West.

By lunchtime we were back in Calais where we hit the usual wine warehouses before boarding the train and heading home with a very full boot.

So that's about 500 miles round trip and the OBC is reporting 42mpg although we will get the real number at the next fill up this weekend.

The car has not skipped a beat and as I sit here right now, I am not feeling like a man who has driven across three countries (an back) in 48 hours.

Indeed I think it is fair to say that this one is even better than the last one as a effortless european cruiser with room for as much duty free as you could ask for.

I'm happy now.

 

[RichardM]

Looks like a fun trip. Not enough pictures of the car though

 

[MicB]

Trust me.......your car is not yet run in........it will get better and better and better.......my SL is now 8yrs. old and 70k miles on the clock and still getting better.
Any excuse for what looks like a good trip though.

Mic

 

[@MARK]

.
Any excuse for what looks like a good trip though.

Mic

Rumbled

 

[AJA]

That's a good first run out for the car matey.

Is it still worth visiting the Warehouses in Calais for alcohol? I was only thinking the other day about doing a Calais run for Xmas booze, but wasn't sure if it was worth it anymore?

 

[gIzzE]

I love Brugge, always great for a quick weekend away.

 

[Benzmanc]

Ah Adinkerke, you can get cheap baccy there

 

[@MARK]

Ah Adinkerke, you can get cheap baccy there

Why else would you even think of stopping there. The tobacco trade has totally destroyed what I am guessing used to be a very pretty little border town.

 

[@MARK]

That's a good first run out for the car matey.

Is it still worth visiting the Warehouses in Calais for alcohol? I was only thinking the other day about doing a Calais run for Xmas booze, but wasn't sure if it was worth it anymore?

To be fair, it depends on what you drink. For us the deals at the Eurotunnel terminal shop were better than anything we found in Calais. Likewise for cigarettes the 40 minute trip up the A16 across the Belgian border saw 200 B&H drop from €57 a carton to £42 per carton (and yes I mean pounds sterling).

I also have a taste for Pineau and I just can't get this in the UK so being able to get a few more bottles of that made it all worthwhile for me.

 

[Red C220]

This morning after a good nights sleep we settled for a traditional and clearly very healthy breakfast.

It's a little known fact that a Belgian Waffle does count towards your five a day.

 

[@MARK]

It's a little known fact that a Belgian Waffle does count towards your five a day.

And apparently it's not allowed on the carb free diet I am currently on. Likewise giving icecream to an 8 year old for breakfast is frowned upon in some circles but when in Belgium, just what are you supposed to do

 

[Dieselman]

So that's about 500 miles round trip and the OBC is reporting 42mpg although we will get the real number at the next fill up this weekend.

I'm happy now.

Is your OBD that far out?

29/10/11 36.3

 

[@MARK]

Is your OBD that far out?

29/10/11 36.3

Apparently so although it might have also been down to the 40 miles cross country sprint in sports mode on Saturday morning that reported an average mpg from start of just 23mpg

I simply can't help myself

I have noticed however that there is a huge different between cruising at 70mph and 80mph

If you look at my fuelly numbers for the previous tank you will see the average is just short of 40mpg. That included a run from Heathrow back home the other day with lots of stop start M25 traffic and several A roads.

Progress was steady but slow but even cruising I very rarely made 70mph.

Compare that to the last tank where my average speed for the tank was 50mph and the economy is down. Much of the tank was spent cruising at 130kph or 120kph on empty autoroutes with cruise control on.

As I said before, the trend is upwards which is good and it's the average that is relevant. A single tank tells us nothing especially when each trip can be so different from the last.

 

[Dieselman]

If you look at my fuelly numbers for the previous tank you will see the average is just short of 40mpg. That included a run from Heathrow back home the other day with lots of stop start M25 traffic and several A roads.

I did notice, but was particularly interested in your long trip after your OBD display showed 42mpg.

 

[A210AMG]

Did you bring back lots of chocolates also

Great at Christmas with the markets in Brugge.

Your car will get better, its still too new

Your right using the vrroooom makes a big difference. What I find hard on the toll roads when your slowed down on the two lane roads and then the slower car moves over.....is to plant it from what ever speed your doing then.....up to a slightly higher speed.

Overall though ours is pretty good. Booked to Go over to Europe in Feb and will do a tank to tank guage.

Does your Fuelly thing have an App for an iphone?

Compared to the 335 how would you rate the C350? as quick, smoother, more comfy?, nicer, worse,?

 

[@MARK]

Did you bring back lots of chocolates also

YES

Great at Christmas with the markets in Brugge.

Have done Berlin and Frankfurt (in Birmingham) in the last couple of years. Berlin was cold (minus 22) but Frankfurt (Birmingham) was better. Seeing how pretty Brugge is, I can imagine the Christmas market is awesome.

Your right using the vrroooom makes a big difference. What I find hard on the toll roads when your slowed down on the two lane roads and then the slower car moves over.....is to plant it from what ever speed your doing then.....up to a slightly higher speed.

For me at that moment in France I just re engage cruise control and I have noticed on the MB doing so does not result in the car accelerating as hard as it can to get back to speed.

Does your Fuelly thing have an App for an iphone?

No but it does have a mobile web page at m.fuelly.com so I can add the details at the pump no problem.

Compared to the 335 how would you rate the C350? as quick, smoother, more comfy?, nicer, worse,?

Different!

The engine isn't as smooth or quiet but the ride is smoother and more comfortable

On my cross country sprint yesterday on back roads that I know, the car felt quicker on the pick up. I suspect this is because the gearing is different so in different speed ranges the pickup is better rather than pure power. I did feel slightly more detached from the road than in the 3 but at the say time, every bump in the road didn't try and throw me into a hedge. There was also no more body roll than the 3 even though the ride is softer.

On the autoroutes and motorways the C is a better car than the 3 without question.

But there is one things that is obvious.

My son who is 8 has fallen asleep 3 times in the back of the new car in the last 4 weeks. In 4 years of owning the 335D he never ever fell asleep once. Not even close. That gives a big clue and is something that no test drive will reveal.

The C is certainly a more mature drive for me. Put it down to me getting older but comfort over pure performance is more important. I still want that effortlessness that only a big diesel can deliver but I am happy to sacrifice a little bit of speed in the corners for that.

So different. Better in some scenarios, not better in others but I don't believe you can make a better or worse call here.

 

[BenzedUP]

That's what MB do best!

Best of both world.

Think MB are pulling away from BMW now, they are getting back on top, I know allot of people going from BMW's to Mercedes now.

ohh god has anyone seen the new 3 series? or even the new 1? ugly doesn't tell the whole story!

 

[gIzzE]

I wouldn't say the new 3 series is ugly, just not moved things on enough, far too safe.


F30 3 Series Sport, Modern, and Luxury Lines detailed and compared - BMW 3-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST

Looks more like a facelift than a new model.

 

[Aswall]

I wouldn't say the new 3 series is ugly, just not moved things on enough, far too safe.


F30 3 Series Sport, Modern, and Luxury Lines detailed and compared - BMW 3-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST

Looks more like a facelift than a new model.

I hate the stupid pop-up nav screens Looks like everyone will end up adopting them now

 

[Dieselman]

I hate the stupid pop-up nav screens Looks like everyone will end up adopting them now

They have to be on the top of the dashboard, in the drivers sight line.