Claim's Cabbies Corner. Repo Revenge.

[Warren t claim]

After a couple of hours I manage to find the time to track down where the MG is parked to have a look. First impressions were that its black paint needed a wash ASAP but I walked over to see what I've let myself in for. I pust the button of the fob and open the driver's door. It's often said that opening the driver's door for the first time is the car's "handshake" and the first chance a car has to make a good first impression. In that respect the MG didn't disappoint, it seemed like a solid and reasonably well built car, more weighty than a Mk4 Mondeo and about on par with an Insignia.

The next big surprise was its interior. This MG6 must be pretty high up the Wongbridge food chain because it's furnished with a full leather interior along with fully electric and heated front seats. I slide my ample arse in and after a little bit of switch twiddling, I manage to find a really comfy driving position. Time to hop into the rear and see if I can sit comfortably behind myself. Although it's no Mk4/5 Mondeo (or i40 for that matter), I can happily sit behind a driver's seat set for me. The rear accommodation is pretty much halfway between an Ioniq and Insignia, even down to the rear doors that slope down at the back. I'm actually starting to warm to this MG!

Although my hire and reward insurance is on the TX I do have a fully comp trader's policy so I decided to take the MG for a short spin, short because the fuel gauge says that it's empty! It's parked pretty close to the car in front so I lob it into reverse and look over my shoulder so not to back into my TX. Fucking hell! Rearward visibility out of the rear window is comparable to a 1980s Italian supercar! I hope this thing has rear parking sensors. Well it does, along with a reversing camera which isn't quite as clear as those fitted to Toyota's and Ioniq's I've used certainly does the job. The clutch, although a lot lighter than what I'm used to in the E7 and TX hacks, does have one less than pleasant quirk. When fully pushed down it seems a little like it's stuck down. I first thought that the heel of my Timberland boot had somehow got caught in front of a car mat. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

On the move the clutch seemed fine in use and the six speed box is light and user friendly. The power steering is heavier that the system fitted to the Ioniq but feels nicely weighted and gave decent feedback through the quite large steering wheel. Chucking it into a roundabout surprised me, the handling is actually very good! Ride quality is about the same as an Insignia, you hear the bumps more than you feel them. The diesel motor sounds a little gruff and you'd never mistake it for a petrol but pulls better than you'd think.

Once back from our little joyride I have a look at the dash and controls. The MG6 really is overloaded with buttons, and most of them aren't exactly intuitive of logical either. The MG isn't a car where you can hop in and learn as you go along, it needs a good half hour for you to learn where everything is and set up to how you like it. One very annoying Mk4 Mondeo like quirk is the Bluetooth. Yes, it has it but it seems to be for phone only, no A2DP feature for streaming audio from your phone.

To be continued...

[Warren t claim]

My original plan was to start a new thread for this titled "Warren'll meet you when your BOAC lands, Fob to his MG will be in his hand" to paraphrase the opening line to the Bobby Bloom song Montego Bay which works well as I do cover a fair few airport runs.



So what went wrong then Warren?

Stay tuned!

[bub2006]

It's now Saturday,don't leave us in suspense!

[mercrocker]

It's locked him in, shut down and now his phone's died....

[Hooli]

TADTS.

Lucky it's got BL panel gaps so he won't sufficate.

[Undercover Shitter]

He's probably locked in some Chinese government run re-education centre/punishment dungeon for daring to imply anything made by them would be anything other than magnificent.

We'll know it's the truth if he suddenly starts praising the virtues of the car and signs up for a HP agreement on an MG5 upon his release.

[Warren t claim]

Funnily enough the TX has Started to lock me in.

[Warren t claim]

Where are we up to?

I try to phone the insurance brokers at 9am (after 90 minutes sleep) to get no answer. After another half hour I drive there only to find the place locked up and according to the Xmas opening hours posted on the window the place was closed yesterday and won't open again until the 4th of January.

I phone Philly and he assures me that Ray managed to speak to them yesterday and I believe him. Fuck knows how he managed to contact them the day before.

A couple of days ago I was due to make a payment to Martin for my E7. I visit my local Post Office to pay in the £150 only to have my cash refused due to money laundering regs! According to Barclay's I'm up to my £10000 pa Post Office paying in limit. This causes me a few issues. Firstly I have to go to Martin's house and pay him in cash. This wouldn't normally be a problem but I was trying to avoid meeting him in person as his wife passed away earlier this year and seeing him and his kids will be somewhat socially awkward at Xmas. Secondly, I have to pay £40 to my firm which meant that I had to work the rank and try to blag every punter to pay contactless until I had the £40 in my bank. Lastly, unlike most drivers, I use my own phone as my PDA and the £27 bill is due to be paid tomorrow and if I can't find a way to deposit the cash into my bank 3 will cut me off! Bollocks!

I still want the MG6 but it looks like I'll have to wait until the 4th of January to use it.

[Warren t claim]

Tomorrow is the big day. My temporary return to being a PH driver in an MG^.

Using my TRADEX perk, I took it for a decent blast and wash earlier tonight.

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[Warren t claim]

First impressions are pretty positive. It goes, stops and steers well enough. The heated seats take a while to warm up. It likes misting up inside and over the 30 miles of mixed motoring it seemed to average 47 mpg although that figure will drop during working conditions to about 42ish. 

Maybe it's a sign of me getting old, but I'm going to need to spend an hour or so in daylight going through all the kit to see how it works and ascertain what's faulty. For example, on my test run I couldn't get the cruise to work, that's either me being stupid or the clutch switch is shagged out. The central locking also needs a thorough Google as it seems to want to lock the rear doors from the outside. 

As I've said earlier, both front seats are fully powered. This is great for the driver but from my experience working a similarly equipped Omega Elite, a right PITA with regards to the passenger seat. The controls are on the far left of the seat and in this job it is often necessary for me to slide them forwards for a rear seat passenger. 

A worth mention has to go to the cupholder. It's simply the worst I've ever encountered. It's both flimsy and protrudes into the front seat passenger's legroom meaning that there's no way I'm ever going to reach for it when carrying a lady passenger in the front!