Push for diesel

[pimento]

Ok, that may have been a recollection failure from the top gear episode where they tested all those Korean and Malaysian cars.

Edit: It's a VM Motori engine, the R315. No mention of a turbo..

[henk4]

Ok, that may have been a recollection failure from the top gear episode where they tested all those Korean and Malaysian cars.

Edit: It's a VM Motori engine, the R315. No mention of a turbo..

none of the VM engines there seems to have a turbo ...but in combination with a Common Rail, you would not think that they would not put turbo on it, especially as it has 90 bhp out of a 1300 cc.......my BX TRD Turbo had 90 BHP out of 1700 cc.

[wwgkd]

none of the VM engines there seems to have a turbo ...but in combination with a Common Rail, you would not think that they would not put turbo on it, especially as it has 90 bhp out of a 1300 cc.......my BX TRD Turbo had 90 BHP out of 1700 cc.

I may have misunderstood this bit, but why would they not want to put a turbo on a common rail? It seems to be fairly common in truck engines here.

Edit: Right, I missed a "not" the first couple times I read that.

[henk4]

I may have misunderstood this bit, but why would they not want to put a turbo on a common rail? It seems to be fairly common in truck engines here.

that is what I am saying, every CR diesel has a turbo. The fact that VM does not mention that is probably because it is so common.....

[pimento]

that is what I am saying, every CR diesel has a turbo. The fact that VM does not mention that is probably because it is so common.....

I'd say you're probably right. I hearby withdraw any mention of Hyundai.. :P

[group c n b man]

Only when you join petrol praise where it's due.

Ferrer, having just returned from your gorgeous country, it's abundantly clear to me that you must be in a minority where you come from with regards to diesel and petrol. There seem to be far more diesels in Catalunya than even here in the UK. You also don't like Audis (or am I confusing you with LeonOfTheDead) and I have never seen such a high concentration of Audis in my 18 years as in Calella de Palafrugell and Lla Franc. Unbelievable, every 4th or 5th car I saw seemed to be an Audi of some description.

[Ferrer]

Unfortunately Catalunya is indeed Audi territory, that's got do with Volkswagen (and therefore Audi) being Seat's parent company. And of course we buy a lot of diesels, altough the trend seems to be inverting somewhat. For instance our new police cars are turbocharged petrol-engined Seats.

It's curious that in places like Madrid, it's Mercs for instance that are far more popular.

EDIT That's right up in Costa Brava's heart. Best place in Catalunya. How was the AP-7? Fast?

[group c n b man]

Unfortunately Catalunya is indeed Audi territory, that's got do with Volkswagen (and therefore Audi) being Seat's parent company. And of course we buy a lot of diesels, altough the trend seems to be inverting somewhat. For instance our new police cars are turbocharged petrol-engined Seats.

It's curious that in places like Madrid, it's Mercs for instance that are far more popular.

Yes. Every single police car I saw was a SEAT Altea XL. Obviously, your roads are very suited to these modern diesels with VERY long straight sections inland a bit, and plenty of hills around the Costa Brava. There was definately a lack of Mercedes where I was though as well as SEATs. By far the most common car was the Audi A3 2.0TDI. What are your favourite roads around Catalunya by the way?

[Ferrer]

It's curious you should mention that, because in Barcelona the Exeo is a moderately popular choice amongst residents there. However furhter up north in Girona, which is a richer part of the country, you can hardly see any Exeos at all. What you see instead are the aforementioned Audis, but also BMWs and Saabs are popular too. Girona is a curious place, people there have money but they don't want to show it, so it's actually difficult to see flashy cars but it's easy to see good expensive cars. The Passat W8 for instance, seemed to be a car especially tailored for there.

As for great roads, my personal favourites are those:

-La Pujada als Angels, GIV-6703 just outside Girona to the east. 16km divided in two clear sections. The first half is a relatively smooth, slow section with many second gear corners and very narrow in places. The second half is faster, but very bumpy, and it can easily unsettle the car if you aren't careful.

-Santa Pellaia, GI-664 from Cassà de la Selva to La Bisbal d'Empordà, 24km. A very fast first few kilometres turn into one of the best of roads I've ever driven in. Lots of third and second gear corners, with some of them off-camber. Mostly smooth, but some hidden bumps in compromised places. At the end it opens up again before arriving to La Bisbal.

-GI-660, from La Bisbal d'Empordà to Calonge. 16km of a similar road to the previous one. Again fast at the beggining and then it closes and narrows down for a very twisty section, until arriving at Calonge. The tarmac is quite slippery at the end.

-GIV-6612, Carretera de Llagostera, from Calonge to the main road (C-65) that takes you to Girona, 15km. Quite a change from the previous ones. Moderately fast in the first half with many third and four gear corners and some straights. After the Santa Cristina junction and perhaps my favourite corner ever, an off-camber chicane which you can take at over 100km/h if you are in the mood, the road opens up to include high speed corners and straights.

-GIV-6641, Pujada al Montnegre. Only 10km, but the greatest thing about this road is that it doesn't really take you anywhere. So most of the time it is deserted. Slow, narrow and bumpy, with a moderately fast section of third and fourth gear corners. Gets narrower towards the end.

-Carretera de Rierada, BV-1468 from Valldoreig to Molins de Rei. Again a short one at only 10km. A slow start that gets faster as you progress down the road. Good tarmac, sensibly wide. Enjoyable sewwping corners towards the end, arriving at Molins de Rei.

And that's that for now. But I believe there many more great roads waiting to be discovered out here. I guess I'll just have to go out and drive to find them.

[group c n b man]

Unfortunately Catalunya is indeed Audi territory, that's got do with Volkswagen (and therefore Audi) being Seat's parent company. And of course we buy a lot of diesels, altough the trend seems to be inverting somewhat. For instance our new police cars are turbocharged petrol-engined Seats.

It's curious that in places like Madrid, it's Mercs for instance that are far more popular.

EDIT That's right up in Costa Brava's heart. Best place in Catalunya. How was the AP-7? Fast?

Do you refer to the area in which I was staying? I really love that area, 2010 was my third time and I'd go back in an instant. I was advised by several locals to go out there to work next year "porque tu hablas espanol muy bien y no tienes un accento ingles"

En realidad, no tengo la confianza y mi espanol es demasiado mal! I really enjoyed speaking as much Spanish as possible since I studied it in my last year in school.

The road surface in Catalunya is unbelievably good compared with where I live (Holes the size of craters). Unfortunately I wasn't driving and the car which my dad hired from the airport was a Kia Carnival, which would have been no fun anyway. However, those roads look like huge fun between Pals and Palafrugell (not to mention the twisty roads around Tamariu and other coastal towns) I feel an urgent need to go back next year and hire a good car with only a few friends to enjoy the roads with.

You really can feel proud of your country for the roads, scenery and people. El ano que viene, me gustaria mucho volver a Catalunya. Yo pienso que es uno de partes mas bonitos en todo el mundo. Las carreteras son mucho mas intersantes que aqui en Escocia. Tambien, las mujeres son mas guapas que en Escocia!

[Ferrer]

The road surface in Catalunya is unbelievably good compared with where I live (Holes the size of craters). Unfortunately I wasn't driving and the car which my dad hired from the airport was a Kia Carnival, which would have been no fun anyway. However, those roads look like huge fun between Pals and Palafrugell (not to mention the twisty roads around Tamariu and other coastal towns) I feel an urgent need to go back next year and hire a good car with only a few friends to enjoy the roads with.

You really can feel proud of your country for the roads, scenery and people. El ano que viene, me gustaria mucho volver a Catalunya. Yo pienso que es uno de partes mas bonitos en todo el mundo. Las carreteras son mucho mas intersantes que aqui en Escocia. Tambien, las mujeres son mas guapas que en Escocia!

Haha, Thank you.

And yes indeed, you won't enjoy those roads in a Kia van. Better get something else. (Most of the roads I mentioned are in the area you stayed).