
Andrew Dwyer
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Electric Vehicles in Thailand
Andrew Dwyer replied to Bandersnatch's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
GWM have a thing called “ one pedal “ mode, basically using the accelerator as normal and when released braking ( can set levels ) occurs automatically to help with regen, many posters on FB struggling to adapt to this. I consider myself a cautious driver, having driven since 1977 in various countries and big cities, but I worry about the less experienced drivers who now maybe are getting an invincible sensation with all these “ aids “. -
Electric Vehicles in Thailand
Andrew Dwyer replied to Bandersnatch's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
A lot of newer cars now come with ADAS ( advanced driver assistance ) lane change detection, emergency braking etc ( GWM Jolion has a detection sensor which monitors your face and checks for drowsiness or your eyes straying from the windscreen for too long !! and alerts you, you have to okay a message on the info screen to reset which in itself seems counterproductive ). I tested ADAS briefly on my 70Mai dash cam and didn’t like it, my MG has enough bongs and bells already !! ( although I have managed to limit it to speed cameras now ). But actual physical reaction to possible problems, i.e. slowing into corners or pulling back into lane seems like a big jump for many especially as the road markings are not always perfect and it’s not uncommon to have someone driving inches from your rear end . Call me old fashioned but I prefer to be in control when behind the wheel especially on Thai roads, not sure i even want to try self parking mode offered on some new cars now. While the Australian “ expert “ and the poster posting the link might appear to be over reacting they have a point. It does seem the trend now is to load these cars with all the latest gadgets and gizmos available on the market but have they been fully tested for every eventuality ??, seems like these safety features are not always as safe as the selling propaganda makes out. Sure, some of these latest additions might be helpful and safe but I have my reservations about the whole package ………. jeez , i’m still getting used to power steering and electric windows ???? -
Electric Vehicles in Thailand
Andrew Dwyer replied to Bandersnatch's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
Car expert Josh Dowling said the Haval H6 (pictured) comes with a seven-year warranty, has good headlights, has a lot of space inside and is 'pretty nice' going over bumps Not a great quote from the “ expert “ !! But seriously I have been following a few FB Haval groups and this is a thing, mentioned often, the metal safety barriers on a bend are picked up by the safety features of H6 and Jolion ( haven’t been following Ora GC ) and reduces speed by 20 kph. Been reported for a while already. -
FWIW, IMHO posters names are NOYB .
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EV Owners … Real life experience & help thread
Andrew Dwyer replied to KhunLA's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
A slight off topic question with your permission @KhunLA , as this topic is attracting mainly MG owners i would like to take the opportunity to ask: As far as I am aware the radio on an MG ( and possibly GWM also ) starts automatically with the car . On my ZS (ICE ) If you wait until the info screen loads and the radio comes on all is good. If , like me, you are impatient and select reverse before the radio has started it comes on at full volume ( ear splittingly loud and the 1st time i jolted my neck ) and can only be stopped by deselecting reverse ( volume buttons and the screen are overridden ). Of course waiting for the screen to load and radio starts ( at normal volume ) is the answer but I am curious if any MG owner ( ICE or EV ) has experienced this. The dealership deny hearing of this before but I have my doubts. TIA -
and yet they do !
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Insurance for extension of Non-OA
Andrew Dwyer replied to Lim Yuan Hai's topic in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Unfortunately you have to leave the country with no re-entry permit to kill the OA extension. -
Insurance for extension of Non-OA
Andrew Dwyer replied to Lim Yuan Hai's topic in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
LMG historically was the cheapest with Pacific Cross not far behind, not sure if that’s still the case. I did have the most recent table from LMG but deleted it as recently dumped the OA retirement extension and converted to an O visa, the reason being my premium increased from 7,700 baht to 26,800 baht ( age 61 ). -
Pétanque or Boules is popular near me ( Ayutthaya ) , there’s a place near the old city where they have several “ courts “ and regularly have competitions, also a lot of old sets for sale at the Grand (flea)Market. We used to go on holiday to France when I was a kid and my parents were Boule mad !!, you could buy a set of plastic balls and fill them with water or sand from the beach, ideal for travelling. The idea is to get closest to the small white ball and putting backspin on means you can stop it dead in its tracks, sometimes landing on the Jack or cochonnet ( piglet ) as frenchies like to call it . ” By the 1920s, the growing popularity of boules in France created a demand that could not be satisfied using the available supplies of natural boxwood root, which were beginning to disappear. Paul Courtieu and Vincent Miles had the idea of manufacturing a ball made entirely of metal. Avoiding steel-based alloys (which were too hard and rust-prone) they developed an alloy based on aluminum and bronze, and (in 1923) patented a metal ball made of two welded-together hemispheres. “. Wiki.
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42 , that is sad ! Been to a handful of Thai funerals, some just the burning day but recently followed a death in the family closely from discovery of the body to the fifth day burning, next week will be the 100 day ceremony of scattering the ashes/bones in the river. My girlfriend’s sister dropped down dead suddenly ( suspected aneurysm ) at age 53. She didn’t appear for work or answer her phone so her boss called my gf and another brother, we could hear her phone ringing in the apartment but no other sounds, the brother immediately forced the door open but it would only open a few inches , it was hitting the soles of her feet !!. We were able to peak round the door and the sight I saw i will never forget, laid flat on her back, fully clothed, with a faint smile on her face, hands up level with her head and her pet canary sat on her chest . The canary, and deceased, got their 15 minutes of fame as a video of the bird attacking the paramedics quite viciously was shown on a few news channels. Needless to say we attended nearly all the 5 days ceremony and i was quite surprised by the amount of manhandling took place, especially the rubbing of gold leaf onto the arms, legs and neck of her body . I got to meet the last member of the extended family, brother number 1 ( of 10 ) , a long time monk in Roi Et but the star of the show was NASA the ,strangely named ,canary ! The partner taking NASA for one last goodbye:
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EV Owners … Real life experience & help thread
Andrew Dwyer replied to KhunLA's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
You can run a 16” emergency spare on a 17” car ( as long as you use it only for emergencies to get you to a repair shop and at below 80 kph ). I did try it out but I have used these smaller tires in the past. I have a ZS with 17” wheels ( the X model ) and ordered an emergency/donut , means I can still use the lower level of boot floor but did cost me 7500 baht. -
I have this on my short list for a change of car next year ( along with Honda HR-V, Corolla Cross and GWM Jolion ) and agree it’s too early to get any feedback about reliability. I’ve had a ZS for two years and would have to say the aftermarket service is erratic at best, still trying to solve an intermittent problem with reversing camera after 18 months !, but that could change with location. Your best bet is to join a Thai Facebook VS owners group to get the rundown, google translate struggles with some of the slang but you will get the general idea. I did see my 1st VS red plater out in the wild today and it looks really good in the two tone ( white body black roof ) model , plus I really like the interior, those 2 x 12.3” screens together works very well. Edit: there is a MG VS HEV Club group on FB but no worthwhile reports on there only adverts, still early days.
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What Movies or TV shows are you watching (2022)
Andrew Dwyer replied to CharlieH's topic in ASEAN NOW Community Pub
I’ll be watching this !! I lived , from 1995 to 2016 , 75 km from there and visited regularly as had a sil and bil who lived there. Don’t know about the authenticity of the ufo and alien encounters but they certainly took advantage of the fame !! -
How will Christmas be for you this year ?
Andrew Dwyer replied to Social Media's topic in ASEAN NOW Community Pub
Back in old Blighty belts are being tightened and ASDA has come up with a way celebrate Christmas without pushing the boat out during these economic times. Some might even be able to use hot water !! Me, will probably treat the gf to a meal at Yayoi . -
One way ticket.
Andrew Dwyer replied to Londinium's topic in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Use this site onwardticket.com. and book a flight from BKK to a neighbouring country a couple of days before your exempt entry expires ( now 45 days ), book it the day before you leave the U.K. It is a genuine booking and can be checked by check in staff, print it out if possible but not necessary. It will expire after 2 days so no need to cancel. Cost ? US$14 -
Any GWM Haval H6 or Jolion owners out there ?
Andrew Dwyer replied to Andrew Dwyer's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
Yes, if it lives up to its claimed 201 km range then it will be the best of both worlds, actually 150 km would do it !! In my research of the Jolion I’ve only come across good things said about the H6, albeit the hybrid. I wish you good luck with the car and hope to see some good reports about the H6 PHEV soon ,I may well become a convert !!. -
Any GWM Haval H6 or Jolion owners out there ?
Andrew Dwyer replied to Andrew Dwyer's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
So, what have i learnt from this thread over the last week, well not so much from owners on here but have surfed the , many, Jolion Hybrid FB groups and learned a fair bit. My attraction is for the Jolion Hybrid, I mentioned H6 in the OP hoping to attract more interest in the 2 hybrids available. According to the Thai owners on FB there are many happy owners, the complaints i have read so far have been: Lack of reach adjustment on steering. No short cut switches for air con and drivers modes. Short drivers seat with no lumbar adjustment. Adaptive cruise control taking corrective action ( reducing speed ) at bends in the road. Difficult navigation on infocentre screen. Lane changing and collision awareness alarms difficult to live with as too frequent bell sounds. In short not too many complaints but by far the biggest issue is mileage, updates have been issued but to achieve achieve any reasonable mileage, expected from a hybrid, conservative driving methods have to be adopted. ( one recent poster proudly posted his 23.1km/L mileage admitted that he achieved this by driving less than 85km/hr ! ). So, while the Jolion Ultra Hybrid , in white, imho, is a stunner and very good value for money i am disappointed with the mileage issue. Of course it remains to be seen whether driving at 100/105 km/hr gives a satisfactory mileage return and i will continue to search for more info. The resale value is not clear at this point but it’s not of great importance to me. Also, the Chinese factor is also irrelevant to me, I have driven a Chinese SUV for the last two years and have no qualms about buying another. Early next year is probably when I will change cars so have time to continue my search, others I am considering are the Honda HR-V, Toyota Corolla Cross and the new , and yet unknown, MG VS hybrid. -
Any GWM Haval H6 or Jolion owners out there ?
Andrew Dwyer replied to Andrew Dwyer's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
Seems to be spot on there @digbeth, I spent a few days going through the various Jolion Hybrid Thai groups on FB and the main chatter is about poor mileage figures. Some are claiming better figures, > 20km/l after a supposed update but a lot talking about 13km/l or less ! GWM claim 23.8km/l (or 4.2l/100km) Of course without the full details of type of fuel used, length of driving and speed plus whether city or highway driving it doesn’t give the full picture but there’s a lot of talk on this subject and even suggestions of changing driving modes ( Eco, Sport, Normal etc )whilst driving to improve mileage depending on conditions ( city, highway, mountain etc ) all seems a little desperate. Whether an update exists regarding this issue seems a little in doubt imho and was hoping to get some info from someone on here who owns one or has knowledge of someone who does. A little disappointed in these findings as my current non hybrid car gives me 14.5/15km/l with my driving style and i would hope to improve on that with a Jolion Hybrid without having to alter my driving style and car mode frequently during trips . The H6 does seem to be exempt from this issue. -
Yes, they do need wiring at each rung to keep the rails together. Use the thick steel wire you can find that is still flexible and run a length under each rung and round the rails at each end. I also found the rungs to be quite far apart and make for a nervous descent !