Reader Letters: Keyless capers, dazzling lights, C3 brakes, Macan boots and tax bombshells

Hot button issue

Is there anyone who finds keyless cars useful? I am baffled by mine and think I will have to go and buy an old car. I forget to turn off the engine and then can’t lock the car, or I turn off and don’t realise I have done so and switch on again. Is this progress gone too far? I am horrified that facial recognition might be next. What if I want someone else to drive it?

Elynor Davies, Welwyn Garden City

Do adjust your sets

Do any other readers find driving at night hazardous because of the risk of being dazzled? High-intensity headlights are a menace even when correctly adjusted. When they are wrongly adjusted, these lights are potentially lethal. How many drivers actually know where their adjusters are?

Mark Gallacher, Walsall

Five-year itch

I recently re-taxed my Mercedes E 350 and it cost £145. The E 220d that Jeremy Clarkson tested (“I figure it’s a must for algebra fans”, January 8) will cost £160 for the first year if bought after April 1, but £450 a year for the following five years because its price tag is more than £40,000. Coupled with possible price rises related to the weakening pound, this could be a hard hit for the motor industry and for customers.

David Whitt, Belton, Leicestershire

[Read: Buy your car before April 1 to avoid tax shock]

Browse NEW or USED cars for sale on driving.co.uk

Braking point

Further to Mel Stobo’s comments about replacing brake pads and front discs on a Citroën C3 (“Less is more trouble”, Letters, January 8), my C3 had its second-year service at 6,443 miles. I was told the rear brake discs and pads needed replacing. Citroën said the discs and pads were not covered by the warranty. Perhaps they are not fit for purpose.

Alan Partridge, Boscastle, Cornwall

Unlocked and loaded

I have a new Porsche Macan and it is great, but three times in the past few months we have had problems using the close button to lock the boot. Because luggage prevented proper closure, the boot did not lock but remained in the closed position without any audible warning. When the car went over a bump, the boot door opened and objects fell out.

Graham Paddon, Slinfold, West Sussex

Me, myself and I

As an avid enthusiast for both motorcars and English grammar, may I suggest a revision of “Me and My Motor” to “My Motor and I”?

Professor Emeritus A Peter Fawcett, Sheffield

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