The Rescars Weekly Round-up – May 31st
Welcome to the first Rescars Weekly Round-up.
This is a feature I’m hoping to start publishing every Sunday summarising the week’s content (providing I’ve produced enough of it) for those of you who either missed it or simply couldn’t be bothered to read it all!
We’ve covered a fair bit this week so I’ll dive right in…
How To Write The Best Used Car Ad
Just in case the title wasn’t clear enough, this is a guide to writing the best possible advert to make selling your car easy and make sure you get as much as you can for your used car.
I covered points detailing the basic information that should be included such as the make, model, mileage and asking price. I wrote about the importance of using high quality photos and included a gallery of my own photos to help with this.
I also mentioned writing about the car’s history (MoT, service, accidents etc), your experience of owning the car and what features it comes equipped with.
For more detail on these points, read the full article here.
Important Facts To Consider Before Buying An Electric Car
This was a guest post submitted by Giles Kirkland.
He covered the practicality of owning an EV – how far you need to travel, what sort of range EVs are capable of, how to charge your EV. He also discussed the financial aspect of buying an EV detailing ways in which they cost more, such as the initial cost of an electric car, and ways they will save you money.
Did you know that the average servicing and maintenance costs for an EV are 23% lower than a petrol car over three years or 60,000 miles? Nope, me either.
Find out what else you need to consider before buying an EV here.
BMW’s facelifted 5 Series and new-to-UK M550i
Earlier this week, BMW revealed what changes it has made to the current 5 Series line-up as part of its mid-life facelift.
Usual changes such as updated headlight and bumper designs were in order as were upgrades to the in-car equipment. The base-model 518d has been dropped from the line-up making the 520i and 520d your entry level options.
The 545e, a new performance plug-in hybrid has been added to the 5 Series’ PHEV range. In more exciting news, UK customers can finally get their hands on the V8-powered M550i.
To find out more about the 5 Series’ facelift, click here. If you just want to know more about the M550i, click here.
Updates for Mercedes E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet
Much like the 5 Seties, the facelift for the E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet consisted of minor cosmetic tweaks and updates to the car’s interior equipment.
Some new paint colours, wheel designs and new LED lights differentiate it from the pre-facelift model. Inside, you can upgrade your side-by-side 10.25-inch displays to 12.3-inch units. There’s new safety tech, too.
Unfortunately, we were dealt a killer blow when we learned that the new Coupe and Cabriolet will not be available in the E63 trim.
Mine and Dan’s hypothetical £50k garages
Dan and I were discussing what we would have in our dream garages when we realised the unlimited budget made it too easy. We decided to make it more of a challenge by giving ourselves a hypothetical £50k budget to find a family car, a sports car, a classic car and a track car.
I picked a lovely BMW 335d M Sport Touring for my family car, whilst Dan opted for the respectable, and arguably more more sensible, Skoda Octavia VRS estate. I beat Dan to the Toyota GT86 prompting him to find a tuned 2006 Porsche Cayman S.
Our classic choices included a Mk4 Golf R32 and a very interesting Ford Ranchero. We completed our lists with a RenaultSport Clio 182 Trophy and a racing-spec MX-5. Some very respectable choices.
Travis Pastrana taking over Gymkhana 11
This news was as much of a surprise to me as it was to anyone but thankfully, it’s not a permanent switch. Ken Block decided he wants a break so he’s handed it over to Travis Pastrana for the time being.
Pastrana, famous for some insane two-wheeled action and his work with the Nitro Circus, has big shoes to fill. Block seems to have faith in him, though, stating that “Travis gets wild in different ways than I do”.
His first move was to ditch Ford, the manufacturer Ken Block has associated with in recent years, and brought Subaru back into the mix.
The most annoying things about driving
This was my little rant about all of the things I see when I’m out in my car that really get on my nerves.
Not indicating, using a phone whilst driving, leaving main beams on and supermarket car parks all made the list. Old ladies and their Peugeots took the brunt of my moaning.
Found out what else I included here and feel free to tell me if I missed anything that gets under your skin.
Pirelli’s clever new tyre
Maybe not the most exciting piece I’ve ever written but I certainly found it interesting.
The new Pirelli Cinturato P7, which has been in development for over three years, uses what they’re calling ‘mechanical intelligence’. The use of special resins in the tyre’s compound allow it to change it’s characteristics depending on the temperature and driving conditions.
This has helped it to improve its performance across the board. Find out more here.
GT4 is “affordable” now?
Thanks to the ATS Corsa RR Turbo, racing in GT4 events such as the 24hr Series and International Endurance Championships is now “affordable”.
This 690bhp per tonne (725bhp per tonne if you pay extra for the Serie Carbonio) boasts an impressive 600bhp generated by a mid-mounted 2.0-litre turbocharged Honda engine.
It’s fast, it’s lightweight and it definitely looks the part. Click here to find out all there is to know about Italy’s latest racecar.
So that’s it for our first Rescars Weekly Round-up. Stay tuned this week for more exciting news and pictures.