Car Reviews (personal 'Thai' experience)

[KhunLA]

57 minutes ago, transam said:

If you buy another ZS it will probably have a 3-cylinder engine, I think it will be renamed "Morris ZS".....????

Next car would be an EV, 

 

Don't think I'd buy a 3 cyl or anything smaller than 1.5L, unless something like the Celerio, and for just around town.  Another ICE would be a bit redundant.

 

If there is a next car to replace the present ZS.  Actually just hoping for lower pricing on Wuling, Pocco, or even Baojun E300 if available here next year.  But now, they're a bit pricey for specs, ฿400k & 500k & ฿???, rated at 170 kms range, and all I need or expect is about 100-150 for around town.  Something to get out of the rain with, vs e-scooter.

 

Our MG ZS & e-scooter is more than we really need now.  The dog & I are actually on the scooter couple times a day, if not rainy.  Only drive the ZS for shopping once a week, if that.

[transam]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Next car would be an EV, 

 

Don't think I'd buy a 3 cyl or anything smaller than 1.5L, unless something like the Celerio, and for just around town.  Another ICE would be a bit redundant.

 

If there is a next car to replace the present ZS.  Actually just hoping for lower pricing on Wuling, Pocco, or even Baojun E300 if available here next year.  But now, they're a bit pricey for specs, ฿400k & 500k & ฿???, rated at 170 kms range, and all I need or expect is about 100-150 for around town.  Something to get out of the rain with, vs e-scooter.

 

Our MG ZS & e-scooter is more than we really need now.  The dog & I are actually on the scooter couple times a day, if not rainy.  Only drive the ZS for shopping once a week, if that.

Can't remember if it was you that mentioned battery not good on MG if left standing, my friend has an early ZS, 4 years old, battery gave up at 2 years, he is soon to replace this one, just in case.

Amaron batteries give a 2 year warranty, probably a good buy for rides that batteries pack up around 2 years...

Our weee Celerio has one, a year old, I tested it in the morning after being laid up overnight, showed 12.79 volts........????

[VocalNeal]

^ I note on Kaidee that very, very few Celerio's for sale in Northern Thailand. After I read that you have not tried yours in hilly terrain. 

Not sure if everyone up north who has one is satisfied and are keeping them or whether they are not 100 suitable for hilly country. 

 

Not a big deal just an observation as there is a dealer in town and my wife will only drive auto.  

[KhunLA]

20 minutes ago, transam said:

Can't remember if it was you that mentioned battery not good on MG if left standing, my friend has an early ZS,

It's as good as the low tech batteries are in Thailand.  Got 30k kms / 18 months, and still starts the car, quickly, with no problem.  MG simply advised it's on borrowed time.  If they didn't point it out, you'd not notice.

 

Push the button, and it turns instantly.  I'll wait till it doesn't before replacing.  Hopefully another 10-30k kms from it.  Batteries here are c r a p, nothing specific to MG.

[transam]

1 minute ago, VocalNeal said:

^ I note on Kaidee that very, very few Celerio's for sale in Northern Thailand. After I read that you have not tried yours in hilly terrain. 

Not sure if everyone up north who has one is satisfied and are keeping them or whether they are not 100 suitable for hilly country. 

 

Not a big deal just an observation as there is a dealer in town and my wife will only drive auto.  

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the power and torque for dealing with anything, unless you are carrying a load, it does have 5 seat belts. ????

 

The Celerio is a town car, they have got the torque just where you need it for the zipping around thing. It is also quite happy cruising along at 100kph.

But, I have wider aftermarket wheels, which makes the flying around thing just like the ol' Mini Coopers...????

Mini Cooper S tyre....145x10..

Suzuki Celerio tyre...165/70x14

My.........Celerio tyre...195/50x15 (The max size without altering shock position)        

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

 Batteries here are c r a p, nothing specific to MG.

 

You don't think it has anything to do with the climate? 

 

 

[KhunLA]

42 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

You don't think it has anything to do with the climate? 

Haven't a clue, but don't remember replacing my batteries within 2 or 3 yrs in the USA, and lived in Memphis, TN area last 5 yrs, (two 2nd hand cars) and don't remember replacing a battery there.  Temps half the year well about 30C and easily saw 35C for a solid month in the summer.

 

25+ of driving in USA, and I know  I haven't bought near 10 new batteries there, and all but 1 were 2nd hand vehicle.  I worked on all my vehicles, so tip top shape, and no unnecessary stress on them.

 

First couple cars I bought here didn't even have maintenance free batteries.  That's silly.  If I can squeeze another 6 months / 10k kms out of this battery, that's OK then.  Only 3k to replace, and a bit better CCA.

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

Just had to replace the Battery in my MG HS, 11 months old and it was starting to have problems staying above 12 V.  Drove it on Saturday parked  it on Sunday, and Monday AM battery down to 8.6 V.  Had the MG Service folks come out and jump start it.  Drove it to MG and after testing the entire system and checking the battery the meter and the test strip indicated the battery needed to be replaced.  Thankfully the Battery was still under warranty for another 14 days.  As it is an I-Smart vehicle and push button start the batteries needed are a little more money.  Had I had to pay for it it would have cost me around 13k Thb.  Checked the car today after driving it the past two days and the battery is sitting at 13.4V.  The Technician blames it on the heat and the i-smart app if your using it to check on your vehicle.  Only time i open up the app is to start the car to cool it before driving it.  Apparently the app will wake the car and it runs through the system thus using battery power.

[KhunLA]

3 hours ago, transam said:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the power and torque for dealing with anything, unless you are carrying a load, it does have 5 seat belts. ????

Car (new) only weighs 820 kg, how much torque does he (on ignore list) think you need ????

Power 67 bhp @ 6000 RPM

Torque 90 Nm @ 3500 RPM

 

The ZS squeezes out 150 Nm ... BUT ... also weighs 1290 kgs, and we've been on some damn steep inclines, and loaded up, so surely the Celerio does fine.

 

One of the steepest, and 4X4  ... oh please ... learn how to drive ????

 

[transam]

32 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Just had to replace the Battery in my MG HS, 11 months old and it was starting to have problems staying above 12 V.  Drove it on Saturday parked  it on Sunday, and Monday AM battery down to 8.6 V.  Had the MG Service folks come out and jump start it.  Drove it to MG and after testing the entire system and checking the battery the meter and the test strip indicated the battery needed to be replaced.  Thankfully the Battery was still under warranty for another 14 days.  As it is an I-Smart vehicle and push button start the batteries needed are a little more money.  Had I had to pay for it it would have cost me around 13k Thb.  Checked the car today after driving it the past two days and the battery is sitting at 13.4V.  The Technician blames it on the heat and the i-smart app if your using it to check on your vehicle.  Only time i open up the app is to start the car to cool it before driving it.  Apparently the app will wake the car and it runs through the system thus using battery power.

This is or could be a problem with all these new-fangled sales pitch gizmos. You only need one bleed to flatten the battery when parked up, if you can't find it, then a continuous problem..????

[Yellowtail]

39 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Haven't a clue, but don't remember replacing my batteries within 2 or 3 yrs in the USA, and lived in Memphis, TN area last 5 yrs, (two 2nd hand cars) and don't remember replacing a battery there.  Temps half the year well about 30C and easily saw 35C for a solid month in the summer.

 

25+ of driving in USA, and I know  I haven't bought near 10 new batteries there, and all but 1 were 2nd hand vehicle.  I worked on all my vehicles, so tip top shape, and no unnecessary stress on them.

 

First couple cars I bought here didn't even have maintenance free batteries.  That's silly.  If I can squeeze another 6 months / 10k kms out of this battery, that's OK then.  Only 3k to replace, and a bit better CCA.

 

 

Yeah, I grew up Los Angles and they lasted a lot longer there, but my sister in Palm Desert goes through them every couple years. The heat is hard on them, as is air-conditioning, short trips and traffic. 

 

Andthey cost about twice as much in the US as they do here. The last one I bought was less than 4K and dude (B-Quick) brought it out on a motorcycle and installed in in front of the house. Did a pretty good job of it as well. 

[steve187]

7 hours ago, transam said:

If you buy another ZS it will probably have a 3-cylinder engine, I think it will be renamed "Morris ZS".....????

 

 

i think the zs will go turbo 1.0 litre, the UK have a 1.0 turbo and 1.5non turbo version. if so that should reduce the price down to an eco car

[transam]

1 minute ago, steve187 said:

i think the zs will go turbo 1.0 litre, the UK have a 1.0 turbo and 1.5non turbo version. if so that should reduce the price down to an eco car

Yes, the 3 pot has a spinner to bring up the GG's......

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Only time i open up the app is to start the car to cool it before driving it.

Perhaps the alternator when the engine is idling does not really keep up with the AC until the battery voltage drops a bit and it idles-up. I think this would use more power/do more harm than running an electronics check. 

[transam]

7 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Perhaps the alternator when the engine is idling does not really keep up with the AC until the battery voltage drops a bit and it idles-up. I think this would use more power/do more harm than running an electronics check. 

On my Vigo I put a smaller pulley on the alternator so it spun faster at idle....

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, transam said:

On my Vigo I put a smaller pulley on the alternator so it spun faster at idle....

Did you do the same for the oil-pump? 

[VocalNeal]

14 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Perhaps the alternator when the engine is idling does not really keep up with the AC until the battery voltage drops a bit and it idles-up.

The idle increases when you turn on the AC. In days of yore it was mechanical now I suppose the ECU does it.

 

11 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Did you do the same for the oil-pump? 

Hmm???? belt driven oil pump? I must look out for one of those!

[Yellowtail]

28 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

The idle increases when you turn on the AC. In days of yore it was mechanical now I suppose the ECU does it.

"...until the battery voltage drops a bit and it idles-up." 

 

28 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Hmm???? belt driven oil pump? I must look out for one of those!

It was a joke. The engine gets a minimum amount of oil while idling.

 

Engines are designed (primarily) to function under a load.  

[transam]

12 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Did you do the same for the oil-pump? 

Eh...????

No need, no oil pressure problems....????

[VocalNeal]

16 hours ago, transam said:

On my Vigo I put a smaller pulley on the alternator so it spun faster at idle....

????Sounds like a police car fix

[transam]

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

????Sounds like a police car fix

On my fun ride it was the other way round, because of it's operating RPM's, and at times chucking V-belts on launch, I had to slow the alternator down a tad, so made a larger poly-V pulley system, as well as fitting a far superior Japanese alternator.....????

 

[VocalNeal]

On rally cars with lots of lights we used to put a AC clutch on the alternator, which was disengaged by a vacuum switch. This disconnected the load at high throttle openings to maximise car performance.

In the same vein we used to have a manual switch to disconnect the AC on a 1500cc Kijang in Indonesia. (Example below)

 

Mounted on the gear knob like an overdrive switch. Useful when passing logging trucks.

 

[Robin]

Bought a new Vios 4 years ago, after being disgusted by the 2nd hand rubbish I was being offered.

Bought from Toyota Phayao. who had no idea about customer service;

Getting any information about options was near impossible, and I wondered if they actually wanted to sell me a car.

Impressions of Vios:-

Low cost car for 3rd world markets; you get what you pay for.

Competent and reliable, as would be any modern vehicle, but....

I cannot believe that anyone in Toyota developments ever drove the car.

1.  Ventilation is hopeless, no through flow air when the windows are shut.  Demising hopeless unless the fan is run continuously.

2.  Dreadful wind noise and buffeting when driving with any window open

3  Impossible to read the minor instruments in sunlight.

4 Headlight alignment hopeless and Toyota seem unable to improve on this

 

So, should I have expected any better?  Typical of Thai "nearly right will do' attitude.

 

When I come to replace it I will no buy the same again but an 'international' model, probably a Honda Civic, which will, I hope , have the features I expect from a modern car, and also I will be able to purchase a serice manual in English, so I can find out how to do minor repairs

 

[transam]

10 minutes ago, Robin said:

Bought a new Vios 4 years ago, after being disgusted by the 2nd hand rubbish I was being offered.

Bought from Toyota Phayao. who had no idea about customer service;

Getting any information about options was near impossible, and I wondered if they actually wanted to sell me a car.

Impressions of Vios:-

Low cost car for 3rd world markets; you get what you pay for.

Competent and reliable, as would be any modern vehicle, but....

I cannot believe that anyone in Toyota developments ever drove the car.

1.  Ventilation is hopeless, no through flow air when the windows are shut.  Demising hopeless unless the fan is run continuously.

2.  Dreadful wind noise and buffeting when driving with any window open

3  Impossible to read the minor instruments in sunlight.

4 Headlight alignment hopeless and Toyota seem unable to improve on this

 

So, should I have expected any better?  Typical of Thai "nearly right will do' attitude.

 

When I come to replace it I will no buy the same again but an 'international' model, probably a Honda Civic, which will, I hope , have the features I expect from a modern car, and also I will be able to purchase a serice manual in English, so I can find out how to do minor repairs

 

Your Toyota was not designed in LOS, so the Thai knock is not needed in your case.

What you should have done was your homework on a ride to suit you.....????

[VocalNeal]

54 minutes ago, Robin said:

1.  Ventilation is hopeless, no through flow air when the windows are shut.  Demising hopeless unless the fan is run continuously.

2.  Dreadful wind noise and buffeting when driving with any window open

My vehicle is like this. I think all have been. I drive with the windows up mostly unless in town and understand that demisting is due to removal of condensation which requires dry air. I.e the AC running. 

[JOCKANESE]

On 4/11/2022 at 1:48 PM, Yellowtail said:

I've had four Toyotas ana I'm driving one of them now.

 

A bit of a random one but do you have any idea if Toyota have long delivery times due to supply chain issues right now ? (particularly the SUV range - Legenders or commanders etc)

 

 

 

[Yellowtail]

23 minutes ago, JOCKANESE said:

 

I think the Legender is about 30 days. Commander? 

[VocalNeal]

10 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Oh, you need a laugh-track, sorry 

No firstly I need to know if you know that one cannot "speed up" an oil pump. And secondly why anyone would want to do so?

On this website they walk among us. 

[Ralf001]

14 hours ago, Robin said:

 

So, should I have expected any better?  Typical of Thai "nearly right will do' attitude.

 

 

 

Designed and engineered in Japan so not sure why the dig at Thai's.

[CharlieH]

Reported petty nonsense removed.