Martin Ward, manufacturer relationships manager Cap HPI talks the woes of tyre pressure and a middle-of-nowhere MG ZS press event. 

 

Monday

I seem to have had a bit of bad luck with tyre pressure monitors lately.

You lose one PSI, from 30 to 29 in one tyre, and all hell breaks out, with the dashboard seeming to illuminate with flashing lights, red warnings and a picture of the car telling you where the problem is. 

That’s fine, that’s what it’s there for. But it takes over and will not go away.

You then put the right amount of air in the underinflated tyre, which is minimal. 

But it doesn’t end there. The lights continue to annoy you until you reset the system, which normally involves firstly thinking you can navigate your way around the car’s on-board computer.

After a while, you realise you need to get out the handbook and find the correct page, which wasn’t where you thought it would be.

Really annoying, I’m sure some manufacturers’ systems will automatically reset themselves, but I haven’t found one yet.

 

Wednesday

Somewhere down south, in the middle of nowhere for the UK press event of the MG ZS compact SUV that comes with a full seven-year, 80,000-mile warranty.

This versatile car measures 4,314mm, which makes it just right for what customers are buying at present.

It comes with a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a manual five-speed gearbox, or a 1.0-litre three-cylinder 111PS, with a six-speed auto.

MG could be missing a trick by not offering the manual with the latter. 

A pretty car, with some nice lines and prices that need to be seen to be believed as they are well below nearest competitors (starting at £12,495).

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