It'd be interesting to plot a graph of these service station locations around the country, mapped against demographic of the residents there. Say, by income.

Sure, my old one had a V4 in it
Sacrilege to put anything other than another Ford engine in though

Oh, I see. I am quite impressed with the Picasso in terms of sheer practicality, if nothing else. The cabin design is very thoughtful.

Optimax and Millers CVL I think is the highest "pump fuel" octane provider.[/color]

Nah, BP do 102RON on the pumps down near... Silverstone, is it? Somewhere down-south-ish, anyway.

Can I take this opportunity to ask you, Dr Gaywood, why the hell you need a Picasso to convey only one child and two dogs when another estate would do that just as well and also be infinitely more pleasant to drive when you're NOT carrying the brood?

It's for proper track/tuner mentallers, for sure. £3.50 a litre or something daft Only £2.42 a litre!

Can I take this opportunity to ask you, Dr Gaywood, why the hell you need a Picasso to convey only one child and two dogs when another estate would do that just as well and also be infinitely more pleasant to drive when you're NOT carrying the brood?

I have no comedy answers.

Can I take this opportunity to ask you, Dr Gaywood, why the hell you need a Picasso to convey only one child and two dogs when another estate would do that just as well and also be infinitely more pleasant to drive when you're NOT carrying the brood?

Ain't that the fucking truth.

If it does what it says on the tin then that's not a bad price really.

However don't fuel companies have to meddle with fuel between Summer and Winter to keep it within UK spec. With that in mind I wonder how track regulations come into force if you use it.

How old and knackered is the V6 if they'll do it for that little?

Yeah, but you'd struggle to get a good engine for that price...

According to my MR2 owning colleague, Wood does good work for a good price.

On cars, I have a 55 reg Mazda 6 TS. It's a great car, but I've come to the conclusion that there is no way I need a car that size, and given the cost of petrol etc, it may be time to downsize, as it starts needing an MOT as of October and the warranty runs out.

I paid 10K for the Mazda, and reckon I can get £7000 for it now. I'm thinking about dropping to a Focus or something (I still want a 5d of some description), but I'm wondering if it's worthwhile - am I just going to lose out on the deal?

faultlessly reliable car

RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Yeah, but you'd struggle to get a good engine for that price...

Indeed. Hardcore Lotus Elise owners often like shoving a Honda Civic Type-R engine in their cars, and engine + fitting on one of those bad boys is upwards of £10k.

We got it repaired ages ago. The Mondeo is FWD, so I'm looking forward to lots of understeer.

[edit]Amusingly, the gearbox has an "Economy" setting, which I bet is just a "sport" button in "off" mode.

Can I take this opportunity to ask you, Dr Gaywood, why the hell you need a Picasso to convey only one child and two dogs when another estate would do that just as well and also be infinitely more pleasant to drive when you're NOT carrying the brood?

Why don't you go the whole hog and get a ST220 - they can't give those fuckers away due to the size of the engine and the repmobile reputation of the Mondeo model - that is a good car.

I suggested this as a good compromise, but he isn't made of money.

make your dogs sick

How old and knackered is the V6 if they'll do it for that little?

I thought the ST220 is an NA 3l V6?

So it is - quite wrong there, then. The performance figures are almost identical, though.