Another Household Appliance

 

My bride took this photo on her way to sewing.

I'm in the habit of posting reviews of anything different I drive, and as we've been using a hired Toyota Corolla whilst the Kia's been at the panel beaters, I've decided to continue the practice.

The car in question is the base (hire car version) of the ubiquitous Corolla, available now only as a hybrid. This hybrid-only policy of Toyota as it relates to their sedans and SUVs is an interesting trend. They call such vehicles "PHEV", but I'm not entirely sure what the "P" in the acronym stands for. "HEV" is clearly "Hybrid Electric Vehicle". Usually the "P" denotes the capacity to plug the vehicle in for recharging, but this is not the case with tis particular Corolla.

Boot's a bit small because batteries.

It's a very basic, but entirely user-friendly vehicle, which seems to embody the time worn characteristics of Toyotas as very well put together and conservatively engineered.

Having said that, I had previously hired a Corolla a few years ago on a northern trip, and although it was essentially the same car, there have been some improvements.

Firstly, the driver assisting technologies seem to have been positively fine tuned. No longer does the lane keeping feature aggressively grab at the steering if it thinks you are wandering out of your lane. In this car, it was more of a nudge than a grab.

The wiggly jiggly bits. There's two motors. Count them.

I was not able to test the adaptive cruise control (ACC) as I didn't take it out on the open road, so aren't too sure how this works on the later model. As I recall the ACC worked well in the trips we took around Cairns in the other Corolla.

The hybrid drive train is seamless and very efficient. I put 8 lit into it prior to return, after travelling 56 kms around the suburbs. Unless my maths is dodgy, that's about 4lit/100km - not shabby.

A bit sombre.

According to AI driven searches, the Australian market Corollas are manufactured in Aichi, Japan, so the quality engineering and assembly should be maintained. This particular example seemed as tight as a drum.

So the household appliance is a very sound and rational means of transport, pleasant, if not fun to drive. You do pay a premium, even for the base version, compared (say) with a Mazda three (about $3000), but you'd probably recoup most of it in retained value.

Strangely perhaps, the controls around the proximity key and the HVAC are almost identical with those in my van.

Fitout Progressing

Progress...

The fit-out is progressing, and is at the point now where the vehicle is habitable.

It's very basic, and is limited by three factors. The first is my capacity to do the work, which is subject to aging and lack of joinery skills and experience. That process is largely trial and error, with more error than trial.

Other limits are cost and time. So far, the only cost involved has been the installation of the 240 volt connection allowing stopovers in caravan parks. That cost $500, and provided two interior sockets and a fuse, which is a standard caravan setup. 

I will eventually get an off-grid installation (second battery, inverter and charger) but need to research that further, and find an installer. I am OK with basic carpentry and joinery, but draw the line at electrical work. With my skills, the result would likely be smoke and ash. 

The steps were -

1. Installation of the floor. See previous post.

2. Construction and installation of a bed. This involved the acquisition of a door, and fabricating a bed using leftover timber I had in my garage. The result is not very pretty, but it works and is relatively light. There is storage under, and it can be removed in 10 minutes. I found somebody on facebook asking to have a single bed innerspring mattress removed, so I helped out. The mattress was new and of good quality, and with a mattress topper, is very comfortable.

Fabricating the bed from a door

Assembled

Bed with doona

Bed & bookshelves

3. Installation of shelving. This involved a set of drawers left over from a desk I had given away. I attached the shelving to the floor using screws and brackets, and used the same process with an old bookcase. The shelves opened themselves when driving, but octopus straps through the handles fixed that. I'm yet to come up with a way of keeping objects on the bookshelf. 

Somewhere to sit

Occy straps locate the drawers
                    

4. Water storage. Again, the simplest solution was the best. I bought a plastic storage tank and set it up with a tap on the bottom. It can be positioned so that the tap empties into whatever I'm using (kettle etc). The tank is located by straps which essentially keep it in place.

240 plug

Sockets and fuse

5. Somewhere to sit. I had a basic office chair available. It's on runners and can be moved around easily. Once again, I use octopus straps to locate it when driving. The ceiling is high enough to allow comfortable seating. This will be handy if the weather is bad.

In summary then, the setup is rough and basic, but has cost very little because I've used mostly repurposed material.

Because I had no history for the vehicle, I booked it in for a complete service and mechanical check, and a wheel alignment and balance. The mechanic said it is one of the cleanest Hiaces he's seen. He probably wants me to continue to use his services.

The wheel alignment and balance improved the driving experience, as did adding weight to the vehicle with the installations. It's designed to carry 1000kg, after all. 

I need to do a brief trip to iron out the bugs.

Stay tuned.

Camper Conversion - A Tentative Start

Flooring 

First step in converting the Hiace to a camper is installation of the flooring.

The vehicle came with carpet, but that's not a good setup if you're camping, particularly in wet conditions.

We had a couple of boxes of wood effect planking left over when our house was renovated. I bought some 7mm ply, and cut it into shape using my jigsaw with the removed carpet as a template. There wasn't quite enough of the planking to cover the whole floor, so I went to Bunnings in an attempt to match what we had.

The original brand (Pegulan) was no longer stocked, but I was able to find some adhesive backed material which was pretty close, and used that.  

It wasn't a perfect match, but the contrasting area will be covered by furnishings. The finished product looks OK, and should be durable, easily cleaned and waterproof. I discovered when I drove it around the block after I had finished that it actually drives quieter. The lagging under the carpet (which I left in place) probably helps.

Next step is the stripping of the interior panels and the ceiling. 

The plan is to get the electrical installations completed when the lining is removed. That's a better sequence than lining the walls and ceiling and having to remove the lining to put the wiring in. Obviously, all the electrical work needs to be done by a qualified tradesperson, and has to be certified. Apparently, this requirement refers only to 240 volt installations, and the intention is to have both 240 and 12V available, so I might as well get both done at once.

My understanding of electrical work is less than marginal.

Ill keep you posted.

 

 

 

Vanlife?

Appearance is good

I've made a habit of posting on this blog only when there's been a change of vehicles.

Having said that, I've changed vehicles with monotonous regularity, so this blog is not, as yet, extinct.

Buying the second Kia was a useful experience, but owning one was enough. The original intention of converting it to a camper paled in the light of reality, on the basis of the fact that it was simply too small.

At the dealers'

My daughter tried it, and found it lacking spacewise, even though I had slept soundly in it when I did the same. Maybe months of sleeping on the ground all those years ago in Vietnam had taught me to apply a different standard to sleeping comfort. 

Anyhow, after lots of research and many test drives, I have acquired a 2014 Hiace Commuter. The vehicle is a Japanese domestic market vehicle, imported by one of the many businesses set up to bring them south and get them certified.

It was originally a dry cleaners delivery van, which should mean that it hasn't had a hard life. Clothes are not heavy.

Head unit is useful

The racks installed as storage for hanging suits, skirts and jackets will provide a useful mounts for curtains, and because it has a high roof (2280mm) it should be liveable. 

It has covered 153000 kms, which for a Hiace is not much at all. It drives well, albeit a bit like a block of flats, but a block of flats without rattles or creaks. The paint is good, and as a "GL" has goodies like full instrumentation, bluetooth and Apple Carplay. 

There are some mysteries, such as a clock set on Tokyo time which stubbornly refuses to be adjusted, and Japanese script that comes and goes on the instrument fascia. I have downloaded the Toyota drivers' manual, which resides on a memory stick. It is also downloaded on my phone. No tools or handbook came with the vehicle, which is par for the course for JDM cars.

It has a motor (2.7lit)

Not too many Australian drivers can make sense of a handbook written in Japanese.

I'll keep you posted on its (slow) fit out as a camper.

A Duo of Rondos

Thule racks fitted.

The rondo form as a musical genre emerged in the baroque period and became increasingly popular during the classical period.

I'm not sure if there is any connection between music and motoring, but the Kia Rondo, as a vehicle, was never really given a chance to become popular in the Australian market, as Kia stopped selling them here early in 2019.

This has never made sense to me. They sell well in Europe and Canada, although under the name "Carens", which derives from the word "car" and "renaissance". That nomenclature makes about as much sense as calling a car after a musical genre, but there you go....

The reason to stop selling them in Australia, according to Kia, was slow market take up, claiming to have sold only 150 buyers in 2018, and 226 in 2017. Our household has two of them.

Come to think of it, I can't recall any promotion of the model, either online or in the print media. They didn't sell, because buyers weren't aware of them. They're not SUVs, so by definition, were not trendy. This state of affairs defies logic, as the Rondo had more interior space and a smaller road footprint than the Sportage, and cost about $5000 less.

Perhaps posing as a four wheel drive vehicle was the rationale for the extra dollars. Bigger wheels and more expensive tyres was really all you scored for your extra.

So now, our household owns two of them.

There are a number of good reasons for this. First, they came with a seven year warranty, which is always a good sign. If a manufacturer has enough confidence in the product to provide this, you can be pretty sure the thing has been well engineered and well put together.

Kia has made massive strides in quality in a very short time. Early Kias were sound, but boring. Current models have cutting edge styling, and are very well equipped. The styling of our two are a result of the head-hunting that Kia employed in 2006 when it stole Peter Schreyer as chief design officer from BMW.

Apart from the appearance of the vehicle, which disguises its people mover attributes, the body styling ensures good aerodynamics, which becomes apparent on long open road journeys, when subseven litres per one hundred kilometres are par for the course.

The other one.

The volumetric capacity of the interior, with seats folded, is 1650 litres, and it can seat seven. I have carried large items of furniture (dressers) without too much trouble. The Rondo was second only to a ute in practicality when we moved house a few years ago.

They handle well, and the high seating position makes placing them on the road very straightforward, and entry and egress is kind to my aging (and damaged) spine.

The fitting of a state of the art stereo compatible with Apple Carplay has made the white one much more user friendly, although I'm not keen on touch screens. The magic wheel, as fitted to my CX-3 was a better proposition.

Before

After

There is sufficient room in the Rondo to create a sleeping space, and that is the next project. I have designs on converting the white one into a minimalist camping wagon.

The plan is to avoid any permanent installations, and I have a way of doing that.

The Thule pack racks are the first step.Watch this space.  

Near Miss

I'm posting this dashcam grab, gentle reader, in the hope that it might be instructive.

At about 1:10 in you'll notice a dark grey Toyota Corolla approaching on a downhill sweeping curve, and getting into a lurid oversteer situation.

I was a bit lucky, as the slide hadn't developed sufficiently to get into my lane until she (was a female driver) had passed me. She did end up in my lane, behind me, facing the way she had come.

Fortunately there was no other traffic at that instant, the road was wide, and there was nothing to hit.

I stopped, and walked towards the car to see if she was OK, but she took off. Embarrassed, perhaps? Anyway, the instructive bit refers to damp roads, downhill bends, and driving to the conditions.

My car was the Rondo I have just purchased.

 

Project Rondo

For some time now, I've been looking for a Kia Rondo with low kilometers.

Last week I found one; a 2017 model, with 34000 on the clock, and the best part of one year's warranty left. 

The low kilometers is a product of Covid, as the car was used by a local health service for outpatient transport. It sat in the depot for the duration, and averaged only about 5000 kms annually.

The only downside was that it was located in Nowra, so a 2000 km round trip was necessary. 

After much swapping of photographs and negotiation over the phone, the deal was done. The CX-3 was my trade, and in the end, no actual transfer of funds (except for the deposit) was necessary. The transaction cost me only travel and accommodation expenses. 

The reason for swapping a perfectly good Mazda CX-3 for a base specification Kia Rondo, is very simple. You can't sleep in a CX-3, but you can in a Kia Rondo.

The project will involve a very minimalistic conversion. 

Here are the details - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3cfH39yPIg

Wish me luck....