Yup. There have been tribunals because the insurance industry run themselves like it’s a cartel. Despite being an EU member state, we don’t have access to the free market for buying insurance, so we by far and away have the most expensive in the union. 

Thought I put in a reply earlier but it’s obviously been Kinja’d, but to give you a simple answer: economics. The costs are starting to build up. I pay €200 per quarter to tax the thing, versus my wife paying €190 per year on her 2016 Passat (yes, that’s €200 per quarter as opposed to €190 per year). It’s getting…

The simple answer is: economy. Insurance companies here are reticent to cover cars over fifteen years old, adding extra onto already hefty premiums, and at the moment I’m paying €200 per quarter on road tax (vs. my wife’s 2016 Passat costing less than 25% of that at €190 per year). Add on top of that the fuel economy…

I was hoping to replace my V70 with something newer as I’m actually in a position to buy a non-beater for the first time in my life, but the way the market has gone I’ll be lucky if my €15,000 will get me anything from within the last ten years. 

It was my second P2, with the previous being an 04 S60 that I drove for three years and my wife took over and drove until the past summer. They seem to get a lot of grief, and I did have a few more problems with the S60 than the V70, but considering I spent the equivalent of about U$3,500 on BOTH cars and got a…

I was born on the wrong continent   Currently, the Irish Volvo site doesn’t even list the S90, V90 or S60 , but at the moment a 2019 V90 momentum (not the XC and certainly not Polestar Engineered) with just shy of 100,000km will set you back €42,000, or twice what you paid.

I have Volvo envy

I don’t have a garage, but in my driveway is an unremarkable 2006 Volvo V70 (named Pandora) that, as of today, I have agreed to say goodbye to. 4,709mm of Swedish utility. 2 litres across five cylinders of forced induction mediocrity. And yet, with nearly 350,000km on the clock (more than two-thirds I put on in the…

I should probably clarify: I don’t mean solid wood floors, but a wooden veneer similar to what I’ve put down in my home.

It was an ideal for sound deadening I’m sure, and there are some cars where carpet would make sense I suppose, but a vehicle that is seeking to be practical would make sense to have a solid-floored option when there have been insulation advances made that will also minimise the sound. I opted for a sound deadening…

I don’t know why wooden floors aren’t a thing on vehicles like this. Modern insulation is good for heat and noise and having a floor that can be wiped would be so handy. Wooden veneer goes in other areas in automotive interiors. It goes inside people’s houses. I can definitely see the appeal but yet it’s restricted to…

I would genuinely prefer the Eagle

Oh… I hate auto start/stop on our new (to us) Passat (2016, 1.4TSi). Switching it off is part of my start up procedure every time I drive it.

Older cars with sunroofs can be horrendous though. The glass literally flew out of my old Volvo at 120 km/h despite the thing having never been functioning in the time I owned it. Got it replaced, but it was sitting proud of the bodywork within weeks. I’ll do my best to avoid having a sunroof in any future car…

Here are the options Google gives me. I can change the language, but not the accent nor different voices for that accent

I mean… you can’t, but okay!

How?

I find myself preferring Apple Maps lately. Apart from Google’s awful stern British accent, I find Apple’s UI much clearer to read at a glance. And I can have it in an Irish accent!

I knew about Wireless Access Protocol back when it was a thing. I’m all about that sweet, sweet 5G as my means of mobile connectivity now, though. 

Yup. I’m an actual troglodyte. Really not losing any sleep over it, either. Don’t think a 37 year old bloke living in Western Europe is really her target demographic. Both F1 and Martin Brundle have been around longer, and will continue long after Megan Thee Stallion inevitably becomes a has-been.