JBChiangRai

I didn't notice the make of the tyres on the Atto 3, but I was impressed that the tyres were wide and the wheels looked fairly big. Both the MG4 & EP+ could do with wider tyres, they both struggle to get the power down in the dry. The rainy season might be interesting...

On the MG4 regeneration is called KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), it defaults to maximum. Initially I hated it because it’s a new way of driving and it’s a pfaff to adjust it through the screens. But I have grown to like it, you can drive it in one pedal mode just using the brakes to bring to a final stop at walking speed. You can feather the regen with the accelerator so it’s not such a violent slowdown. I’m not sure where the autohold feature on the infotainment system is, maybe I turned it on a few months ago, but now it is engaged by giving a firm push on the brake pedal when stationary (which seems to be common on German cars), so you can pretty much set it and forget. My daughter MG EP+ has it on a switch, but it’s less useful, if it’s turned on then it’s difficult to maneuver for parking as it jumps off the line and has it turned off all the time. There seems to be a trend on EV’s to remove physical buttons and bury them in pages of menus. I don’t like it much. The Lane Keeping Assist is turned on by default, there is a button on he steering wheel that opens a “quick menu” where you can turn it off with lots of other settings. I don’t like the adaptive cruise control which slows you down on corners, but I have found a work around by setting it to limit mode instead. The lane keeping is not great, you can combine it with cruise control (they call it LJA) and the car will drive itself like a Tesla on major roads, but the car does try to kill you occasionally. Hopefully it will get better with OTA updates. The other issue I have with the MG4 is the tyres, sometimes the car struggles to get all the power down and it’s not unusual to get a few squeals all the way up to about 50kmhr with the traction cutting in and out. Ideally, I would like to replace the back tyres with bigger and better and I’m keeping an eye on the MG BEV forum in the UK to see what tyre combo’s they go for. I sometimes drive it fairly spirited and I’ve had it at the limit a couple of times and it’s quite forgiving, no great drama. I would describe the MG4 as a hot hatchback, reminiscent of the earliest Golf GTI’s. Lots of fun to drive. I don’t know anything about the Dolphin, what did impress me about the Atto was the wheels and tyres.

7Kw

EP+ is also LFP and a crazy price if you can find one.

The other benefit with LiFePo4 batteries is specific to Thailand, they perform well in a hot climate, they are not as good as other chemistries in cold climates, but they are currently the optimum for Thailand. They are also less fussy about charging to high SoC. Given a choice of LFP or other technologies, I would go for the LFP every time, even though their energy density is inferior. The launch date in the UK of the MG Cyberster is announced as summer 2024, pricing is expected to be circa 2.5M baht for the dual motor version, so I'm guessing a bit more in Thailand, though there is no reason it should be.

You will be happy with any of the MG BEV's. The MG4 is stunning.

As a Brit I enjoy watching our former colonies make a dog's dinner of running their country. I hope Trump wins, not because he's the best candidate but because I enjoyed waking up every morning and having a good laugh at what he had done the previous day. Please enjoy my post as the humour it's intended to be (note the correct spelling of humour).

Hiss Pizza came with Pineapple on it ... That would do it!

For most people a buffet is eat as much as you like, but if you're American, then it's eat as much as you can

I saw a couple having sex on the beach once, I think the girl fancied me. They stopped and she said I was a bit of a looker. Voyeur was the word she used if I remember right.

I have 2 biological adult sons in the UK and adopted 2 Thai girls (a few years apart) when they were 5 and 8, they are now 19 & 20. It's the best thing I ever did, incredibly rewarding and life changing. DNA has nothing to do with loving your kids.

Be careful to only buy one with Lithium type batteries. Most sold here are Chinese with Lead Acid batteries that will only last one year and in some cases cost more than the entire bike to replace. Chinese bikes in China only have Lithium batteries, Lead Acid bikes are purely for their export market.

Look at the slope on that bus!

That's not a fact, it's an assumption. We don't know whether he had smoked cannabis.

They didn't cut the corner off, I'll keep you posted in 3 weeks, traveling in Asia.

I took my Thai ID Card & Yellow Foreigner House Book, also certified translations of them, none were dated in the last year and they accepted them. I know you're not supposed to travel after applying for a new passport, but do you think you could?

The website says open Tuesdays & Thursdays, but they are open everyday except Sunday, you need to pay a lot extra for a Saturday appointment.

I went 2 weeks ago, they said 11 weeks but some people have got them within a month.

I have and yes I do

When I first moved here 17 years ago, I bought a top of the range Camry with Navigation, and all the toys. I bought it because it was more powerful, better equipped and a better car than the Benz C200 which was 50% more. Today, it's a very different story, the Benz C300e is plug in hybrid with a huge range and over 300bhp on tap and very well equipped, but the Camry has only improved a litte bit with Hybrid (not plug in) technology on some models. The Benz has moved into a completely different class, it's now a superb car, albeit at a premium price.

I gave up 35 years ago. I went from 30 cigarettes a day to zero overnight. It was incredibly hard, I had a really short temper for 3 weeks. Nicotine is highly addictive. I started again 10 years later and gave up the following year. Easier the second time because I had nicotine chewing gum to relieve the symptoms.

The Thais love their Benzes. I think they are considered a status symbol here.

I think it's inevitable. Right now they have the rush of eager buyers as Tesla is new to the market. Once that initial rush is over, they have to compete and right now they are anything but competitive. We have some stunning cars available now and even more stunning cars coming down the line. I don't see a Tesla Model 3 as a quality product. Also, I think past performance is probably indicative of future behaviour. The Chinese owners went mad when they discounted the cars and demanded refunds, I don't think it's in the Thai nature to do that, but they won't buy Tesla again after they've been burned. I think vision based self-driving is a dead end and I wouldn't be happy if my government said you must have Lidar, and I predict that is coming. The other problem with Tesla is Elon Musk, he's a loose canon who makes illogical decisions when he gets wound up. He also announces product too early, where's the roadster or cybertruck?

Yes violence on alcohol is much more common

Yes. Many more drink driving than drug driving. But many more possession crimes for cannabis.