PlaneCrazy
Top Post Dawg
Well, not exactly in a TDI. We just got back from BC where we visited some family including my son who is studying and working out there, and also my wife's siblings who live there. Our mount for the trip was this, courtesy of Budget (BMW 328i X-Drive):
Not exactly a TDI. We drove from Vancouver through the Okanagan to Nelson, BC, then up to Revelstoke and Field, then up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper and the foot of Mount Robson where we went on an epic 25 km hike, then to Prince George where my son lives, then back down to Vancouver.
This photo, taken near Mount Robson with my iPhone 6, sums up the scenery and the weather we enjoyed on the entire trip:
A few notes on the car. The extensive drive allowed me to conclude that... I much prefer my Golf TDI. Although the handling was of course great, and the engine had plenty of torque and power (241 hp to be exact), and the fuel economy was decent (we averaged 7.2 L/100 km over 3200 km, which is close to 33 mpg), my observations are:
-The BMW 3-series is no longer the razor-sharp driver's car it once was; I find my Golf more "tossable" in the turns, flatter, better planted and with better steering feel;
-Construction quality is about on par with a Jetta: same cheap door hardware, big steel trunk deck hinges (no gas struts here either), flimsier feel than my Golf when slamming doors;
-Weird packaging, for example... no fold-down rear seats?????
-Great bi-xenon headlights. I want some...
-No trouble on the many mountain passes we had to cross;
-Seats nowhere near as comfortable as my Golf... they gave me a backache and I was never able to find a truly comfortable position
-The user interface. Oh my what can I say... IT SUCKS!!! Far too complicated, not intuitive to use. I much prefer my cheapo RNS-315 Nav in my car, as well as the simple but effective trip computer. Out of revenge, I change the settings to FRENCH for the next poor guy who rents it
A 3200 km road test that made me wish... I had brought my Golf. BMW has evolved a long way from the classic 2002... and not all in a good way. When I got home, getting in my Golf was like putting on my best pair of jeans. Still, it was a fun experience, and my wife was relieved to hear me say I preferred my Golf to the BMW
Though I did appreciate the BMW's power and xenon headlights which now make me covet... a Golf R (but I'd settle for a GTI).
A few observations on driving in BC: finally a place with sensible speed limits; good two-lane roads are mostly 100 km/h with some 80 and 90 zones where conditions warrant; excellent posting of reduced speed warnings for sharp curves; 110 km/h on 4-lane roads, and apparently 120 on some better 4-lanes though we didn't use those. The higher limits are kind of nice when a typical driving day was 800 km... Excellent road surfaces; Quebec is positively 3d world in comparison, especially Montreal. The roads leading out of our airport (and for that matter domestic arrivals at the airport itself) are an embarrassment.
Not exactly a TDI. We drove from Vancouver through the Okanagan to Nelson, BC, then up to Revelstoke and Field, then up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper and the foot of Mount Robson where we went on an epic 25 km hike, then to Prince George where my son lives, then back down to Vancouver.
This photo, taken near Mount Robson with my iPhone 6, sums up the scenery and the weather we enjoyed on the entire trip:
A few notes on the car. The extensive drive allowed me to conclude that... I much prefer my Golf TDI. Although the handling was of course great, and the engine had plenty of torque and power (241 hp to be exact), and the fuel economy was decent (we averaged 7.2 L/100 km over 3200 km, which is close to 33 mpg), my observations are:
-The BMW 3-series is no longer the razor-sharp driver's car it once was; I find my Golf more "tossable" in the turns, flatter, better planted and with better steering feel;
-Construction quality is about on par with a Jetta: same cheap door hardware, big steel trunk deck hinges (no gas struts here either), flimsier feel than my Golf when slamming doors;
-Weird packaging, for example... no fold-down rear seats?????
-Great bi-xenon headlights. I want some...
-No trouble on the many mountain passes we had to cross;
-Seats nowhere near as comfortable as my Golf... they gave me a backache and I was never able to find a truly comfortable position
-The user interface. Oh my what can I say... IT SUCKS!!! Far too complicated, not intuitive to use. I much prefer my cheapo RNS-315 Nav in my car, as well as the simple but effective trip computer. Out of revenge, I change the settings to FRENCH for the next poor guy who rents it
A 3200 km road test that made me wish... I had brought my Golf. BMW has evolved a long way from the classic 2002... and not all in a good way. When I got home, getting in my Golf was like putting on my best pair of jeans. Still, it was a fun experience, and my wife was relieved to hear me say I preferred my Golf to the BMW
Though I did appreciate the BMW's power and xenon headlights which now make me covet... a Golf R (but I'd settle for a GTI).
A few observations on driving in BC: finally a place with sensible speed limits; good two-lane roads are mostly 100 km/h with some 80 and 90 zones where conditions warrant; excellent posting of reduced speed warnings for sharp curves; 110 km/h on 4-lane roads, and apparently 120 on some better 4-lanes though we didn't use those. The higher limits are kind of nice when a typical driving day was 800 km... Excellent road surfaces; Quebec is positively 3d world in comparison, especially Montreal. The roads leading out of our airport (and for that matter domestic arrivals at the airport itself) are an embarrassment.
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