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stretch · 5th August 2006, 17:32

Just done 400+ miles and ready to fill her up so probably a reasonable time to give some more feedback on the car and the i-shift

Fuel Economy - Mpg as registered by the car is 40.8 not bad as I have the climate control on auto all the time and sat with the engine running not going anywhere for about half an hour when I first got it to get familiar wth everything (it was a hot day so ran the engine to get the aircon going), about half the miles was plying the west side of the M25 the rest a mix of fast and not so fast A roads and a bit of urban driving, expect the next tank to improve. This is pretty impressive for a 140+ bhp 1.8 petrol engine, the wife's Jazz with a 1.4 engine manages about 45-46mpg. Top marks for fuel economy.

Visibility - This was a concern when I test drove the car, after a week my old habit of using the interior mirror has been replaced by staring at the side mirrors which are excellent. Reversed it through some gates this morning which was easier than I thought it would be despite the big rear pillars, the side mirrors and parking sensors helped, these were narrow gates probably a couple of inches clearance either side of the door mirrors! Conclusion there are a few blind spots caused by think pillars but on the whole the big side mirrors really help. On the open road I don't feel the width of the car, in town the fast steering helps hide it as its easy to dive in and out of traffic quickly

I-Shift - I've run it mainly in auto mode since I got the car, its very smooth if you accelerate at a low throttle setting, try to hustle it a long and it lurches a bit from a standing start, I think having 6 gears doesn't help as they are closer together so the electronics tries to shift a lot more often than if the gears were further apart. The I-Shift does kick down with aplomb, the box seems much quicker going down the gears then going up, and makes a nice rasp when you floor the accelerator pedal. Unfortunately, running in auto mode does induce a feeling of helplessness sometimes when the i-shift decides to go up a gear too early, pressing smartly on the accelerator will force the ECU to kick down but if you then release the throttle a little the gearbox will try and shift up so going on and off the throttle quickly can induce a yoyo effect, for quick get aways from roundabouts or junctions manual mode is much better simply because you are and more importantly feel in control! Up shifts in manual mode are fast, not instant as it the wife's Jazz CVT but much quicker than I could manage in a conventional manual car, backing off the throttle a little as you up shift helps make it smooth, in manual mode you have to remember to downshift, (On the Jazz if you don't shift down, the electronics simply puts the box back in full auto mode) it won't stall but it doesn't shift down for you, the electronics shifts down much more smoothly in auto mode than I can manage with the paddles, ideally I guess a sport mode which holds onto each gear longer as well as the conventional auto mode might be helpful or simply a mode that let's you do upshifts with the car taking care of the down shifts. I-shift is not an automatic in the normal sense but its much nicer than than having to use a clutch but it needs more thought than the binary on-off throttle/brake driving approach you get away with in a "proper" automatic, another tank of fuel and I think I'd have it licked!

Priceless moment - I do a 25 mile or so commute everyday between Junction 20 and Junction 13 of the M25, I often do some extra hours when the M25 is doing its impression of a car park so on Friday my IT guy cheekily says to me "you staying late tonight" to which I said "nah leaving on time" he then said with a broad grin "so you're still getting home late the M25 is all snarled up" and I said "nah my new toy will take care of me", he looked puzzled, so I said "yeah I just jump in the new toy, shout go home at it, tell it to avoid the motorway and it'll sort me out", slightly in disbelief, he said "you've got sat nav" I said "oh yeah" he said "traffic master?" I said "oh yeah built in to the sat nav" then I left the office ...... warning you could become a really smug so and so driving a Civic!

Enjoy.....

5th August 2006, 17:32	#8 (permalink)
stretch Supporter Wheelnut Join Date: 13th July 2006 Location: Hemel Hempstead Posts: 58 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader: (0)	Just done 400+ miles and ready to fill her up so probably a reasonable time to give some more feedback on the car and the i-shift Fuel Economy - Mpg as registered by the car is 40.8 not bad as I have the climate control on auto all the time and sat with the engine running not going anywhere for about half an hour when I first got it to get familiar wth everything (it was a hot day so ran the engine to get the aircon going), about half the miles was plying the west side of the M25 the rest a mix of fast and not so fast A roads and a bit of urban driving, expect the next tank to improve. This is pretty impressive for a 140+ bhp 1.8 petrol engine, the wife's Jazz with a 1.4 engine manages about 45-46mpg. Top marks for fuel economy. Visibility - This was a concern when I test drove the car, after a week my old habit of using the interior mirror has been replaced by staring at the side mirrors which are excellent. Reversed it through some gates this morning which was easier than I thought it would be despite the big rear pillars, the side mirrors and parking sensors helped, these were narrow gates probably a couple of inches clearance either side of the door mirrors! Conclusion there are a few blind spots caused by think pillars but on the whole the big side mirrors really help. On the open road I don't feel the width of the car, in town the fast steering helps hide it as its easy to dive in and out of traffic quickly I-Shift - I've run it mainly in auto mode since I got the car, its very smooth if you accelerate at a low throttle setting, try to hustle it a long and it lurches a bit from a standing start, I think having 6 gears doesn't help as they are closer together so the electronics tries to shift a lot more often than if the gears were further apart. The I-Shift does kick down with aplomb, the box seems much quicker going down the gears then going up, and makes a nice rasp when you floor the accelerator pedal. Unfortunately, running in auto mode does induce a feeling of helplessness sometimes when the i-shift decides to go up a gear too early, pressing smartly on the accelerator will force the ECU to kick down but if you then release the throttle a little the gearbox will try and shift up so going on and off the throttle quickly can induce a yoyo effect, for quick get aways from roundabouts or junctions manual mode is much better simply because you are and more importantly feel in control! Up shifts in manual mode are fast, not instant as it the wife's Jazz CVT but much quicker than I could manage in a conventional manual car, backing off the throttle a little as you up shift helps make it smooth, in manual mode you have to remember to downshift, (On the Jazz if you don't shift down, the electronics simply puts the box back in full auto mode) it won't stall but it doesn't shift down for you, the electronics shifts down much more smoothly in auto mode than I can manage with the paddles, ideally I guess a sport mode which holds onto each gear longer as well as the conventional auto mode might be helpful or simply a mode that let's you do upshifts with the car taking care of the down shifts. I-shift is not an automatic in the normal sense but its much nicer than than having to use a clutch but it needs more thought than the binary on-off throttle/brake driving approach you get away with in a "proper" automatic, another tank of fuel and I think I'd have it licked! Priceless moment - I do a 25 mile or so commute everyday between Junction 20 and Junction 13 of the M25, I often do some extra hours when the M25 is doing its impression of a car park so on Friday my IT guy cheekily says to me "you staying late tonight" to which I said "nah leaving on time" he then said with a broad grin "so you're still getting home late the M25 is all snarled up" and I said "nah my new toy will take care of me", he looked puzzled, so I said "yeah I just jump in the new toy, shout go home at it, tell it to avoid the motorway and it'll sort me out", slightly in disbelief, he said "you've got sat nav" I said "oh yeah" he said "traffic master?" I said "oh yeah built in to the sat nav" then I left the office ...... warning you could become a really smug so and so driving a Civic! Enjoy.....