Recent content by Martin_374319553

One thing I meant to say was that the low range gear box can actually be very useful when manouvering a caravan, especially on slopes. Where I store my caravan it's up a steep slope in reverse. Had the clutch burning on my wife's manual S-Max trying it once and the auto box on my 5 series was...

I was looking for similar a few months ago. However, performance on the road (in terms of engine) and good road handling as well as a small amount of off road ability were my main criteria. I had a soft roader once and absolutely hated it as it was rubbish on the road. In the end I went for a...

I agree you can't really tell from forums. Generally, they will highlight lots of issues because people post them looking for answers. However, generally owners will never be disparaging about their current car as otherwise they're admitting they made a mistake. What is really telling is the...

Back to the title of the post, what is the criteria for being in TCOTY? I thought it had to be a new model that year. If that's the case, how come the article says the LR Discovery has won 3 out of the last 4 years?

John, I never said the tyre width had anything to do with side wall compliance or it's ability to resist lateral movement. What I said was a wider tyre would have more tread in contact with the road and would therefore offer higher levels of grip. You can't denied that is true. I was saying...

Like someone else mentioned earlier, I would think the extra tyre width had more of an impact than the lower profile. That wasn't a very scientific test changing 2 variables and then stating that 1 of them was the reason for the improvement. Also, only doing the test on one different tyre rather...

I've just put some "FlatFree" in my van tyres as a precaution. Saw a motorhome with a blow out on the hard shoulder not long ago and it had destroyed the wheelarch. Don't want that happening.

By the way, this is a different Martin to the original poster!

What about a 530D SE Touring? You can pick them up for sensible money now. Bigger than the 3 series and has self levelling air suspension as standard. Hardly any heavier than the 3 series as the front ends are all aluminium on the 5 series. Also has space for a space saver spare wheel in the...

Jonathon - we did exactly the same. 5 berth twin dinette to 6 berth with triple fixed bunks and twin dinette. So much better. Also a seperate shower which is great.

Or if you need to carry bikes etc get the best of both worlds with a detachable flange faced tow bar. Witter do them now and they're great.

Yes, the front seating is shorter but myself and my wife did sleep there without removing the chest and it was "adequate". Certainly not roomy. However, the centre chest just lifts out so next time we're away we will take it off and try it. We don't use all 3 bunks so will put it on there in the...

We use the Graco Pettite Bassinet for our 6 month old (first went caravanning at 3 months) and it fitted between the front seats of our old Abbey Expression 500L perfectly. To be honest though it was a right pain as there was no room to move around and our van was a 5 berth! We've since changed...

If you don't want to compromise on the washroom take a look at the Lunar Quasar 546. Same layout (triple bunk with rear dinette) but with separate shower cubicle in the bathroom. The bottom bunk also converts into a locker with an outside access door if you don't need it as a bunk.

I think you'll find that "comprehensive report" was actually an advertisement. Look at the edge of the page. Very sneeky I thought.