Warren Works... An MG6. In for test. Replacement taxi for you lot to enjoy!

[Popsicle]

21 minutes ago, SiC said:

@warren t claim know much about this case?

 

https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/out-of-area-private-hire-driver-fined-for-smoking-and-reported-for-vehicle-defects

 

A Corsa as a taxi? I thought there were minimum vehicle/engine sizes for private hire use?

I recently got in the back of a passat coupe taxi, never again, nowhere near enough headroom for me.

[angle]

Someone round here is running an Ignis with PHV plates.

[warren t claim]

Wolverhampton plated. 

[Rod/b]

10 hours ago, SiC said:

@warren t claim know much about this case?

 

https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/out-of-area-private-hire-driver-fined-for-smoking-and-reported-for-vehicle-defects

 

The case of the piss-poor “journalism”?

[Rod/b]

8 hours ago, warren t claim said:

Wolverhampton plated. 

There must be more Wolverhampton plated Ubers than there are residents of Wolverhampton.

[cms206]

On 25/03/2024 at 17:01, Popsicle said:

A Corsa as a taxi? I thought there were minimum vehicle/engine sizes for private hire use?

I recently got in the back of a passat coupe taxi, never again, nowhere near enough headroom for me.

One from a few years back from Renfrewshire; Glasgow at present does have a plated MG3.

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 26/03/2024 at 03:15, Rod/b said:

There must be more Wolverhampton plated Ubers than there are residents of Wolverhampton.

alot are in Coventry- seemingly cov won't issue plate to uber/bolt?

[warren t claim]

I suppose there's a difference between a car being small by size and small by name.

That Fiesta is probably bigger inside than the many Pug 306s I worked as a taxi.

[warren t claim]

Just after someone tagged me in this post my MG6 decided to develop a similar fault.

I first noticed that the indicators and hazards along with the central locking wouldn't work. It was only when I was driving to a place of safety and got stuck behind a white van I noticed the reflection of the hazard lights on the back of the van. Thinking that this might be game over for my MG6 I decided that if this fault includes the central locking I might as well hop out and use the fob to lock and unlock it. To my surprise this worked and normal service was restored.

[warren t claim]

MG6 is due its six monthly inspection and will need quite a few jobs sorting. I have this as a loan(?) car for a week or so.

265,000 miles and judging by the Cab Direct number plates, been working as a taxi all of its life.

I suppose I should let you all know what my first impressions are.

I should start by saying that my opinion so far is based on about thirty miles of gentle shuttling about on my Tradex policy. No combat miles as yet until I can swap my hire and reward insurance over tomorrow morning.

I'll start by saying that the seating position is VERY low. I'm sure that there must be the facility to raise the driver's seat but as yet I can't find it. This can be an issue as because I have long legs and therefore in Focus sized cars I like to raise my seat to allow a little more rear legroom. The seat also seems to lack any lumbar support either which means that I've had to position the backrest a little more upright than I'd like. 

It's not as fast as the MG but has plenty enough power for the job, whilst driving unladen I'm changing up the box at the same speed as in the MG. I've yet to try it with a full compliment of people and luggage. 

I can't yet gather any MPG figures as it came with a quarter of a tank.

The power steering has three assistance levels.

1. Very light.

2. Mk2 Punto with the "girly button" pressed.

3. 1977 XJ6.

The turning circle is a hell of a lot better than the MG6. In fact, the MG needs Costa Concordia levels of space to spin around so that's no surprise.

Ride quality is leagues ahead of the MG. The Kia rides as well as a modern Focus which is in stark contrast to the MG which absorbs bumps in a way that has me feeling nostalgic for my old XR3is.

Internal storage is miles better than the MG. Instead of having one flimsy pop out cupholder that eats into the leg room of a front seat punter the Kia has two sensible centrally mounted holders to not just house a coffee, but also another to accommodate a packet of Hob Nobs to dunk into the aforementioned hot beverage. The Kia also has storage under the armrest that's at least triple the size of that of the MG. It also has a large central cubby, a feature absent on the MG6.

The Kia lacks the automatic lights and wipers of the MG6.

The leather seat trim of the MG6 is more "punter proof" than the cloth seats of the Kia.

The Kia has a DAB radio. The MG6 has an AM/FM unit that doesn't work anyway. This isn't as bad as it sounds as I used a Bluetooth speaker to stream audio because the MGs Bluetooth isn't A2DP and only works for phone calls, not audio streaming. I've yet to check if the Kia is A2DP.

The MG has built in sat nav, a feature missing on the Kia. As the MG navigation unit is so awkward to input a destination into as you can't search by postcode, this isn't too much of a loss. Anyway, I'm a taxi driver who should know where he's going anyway! The only useful feature of the MG sat nav was the display automatically told me what road I was currently on.

So I suppose it's a case of swings and roundabouts. The next few days will decide which car makes the better taxi.