"Rod Speed" wrote in message
...
Just been trying to find a new car that will actually run the fancy cruise
control at a level above the current speed limit that you specify, and
automatically slow down in towns on rural roads and speed up again
as you leave them

You mean, it *automatically* overrides the value that you have set
(presumably using GPS) when you enter a part of the road that has a lower
limit. That's clever.

Ours (Honda CRV) allows you to exceed the cruise level (if you press the
accelerator when you need to overtake) and then returns to the set level.
That only works with cruise control, not with speed limiter.

For some reason, the cruise control only works for speeds of 30 mph or
higher, so you have to set the limiter rather than cruise control when you
need to keep to a 20 limit. Not a problem, but I get so used to using CC for
other limits that it catches me out for a 20 limit. Maybe they want you to
remain in more immediate control of the speed (using the accelerator) at low
speeds, rather than doing so by clicking CC off if you need to slow down.

and discover when reading owners manuals that
the VW Golf reversing camera does actually help you when backing
a trailer/caravan.

When my parents had a caravan (early to mid 70s) reversing cameras weren't
an option. The only way of seeing what was behind was extensions to the
wing/door mirrors and a periscope that looked through the front and rear
windows of the caravan and displayed its image near the normal rear-view
mirror.

My dad had to take himself off with the caravan and find a bit of open
ground (maybe a deserted makeshift car park on the site of a demolished
building) to practice reversing. He got pretty damn good at it, manoeuvring
backwards through a narrow street in Sedburgh (IIRC) when an oncoming lorry
(which should have given way to him) refused to reverse. Dad had almost
finished when a policeman arrived and "booked" the lorry driver for
contravening road regulations (priority to oncoming traffic sign) - shame he
wasn't there a few moments earlier!

I went an an advanced driving course which included reversing a caravan and
driving on a skid pan. I was fine on the skid pan, but I was the only person
in the group who failed spectacularly to reverse the caravan even in a
straight line, let along around a corner. The course tutor said some people
never manage to master it. He tested me by standing me in front of a mirror
and getting me to try to touch his hand which was behind my head so I could
only see it through the mirror; the fact that I found that difficult went
hand-in-hand with the fact I found reversing an articulated vehicle
difficult, he said.

Mind you, I manage parallel parking without any problem - as long as I have
the mirror on the kerb side of the car pointing downwards so I can see how
close my back wheel is to the kerb and so know when to start to turn -
fortunately the Honda automatically drops the passenger door mirror when you
go into reverse (which can be turned off if you want), and normally you park
facing in the direction of the traffic so it is the passenger side which is
close to the kerb.