Real cost of change, curse of electronic handbrakes; €20k savings to spend - Irish Independent
Aidan Timmons and Motoring Editor Eddie Cunningham team up to help readers make the right choice with their next car. Aidan visits dealers all over the country to produce a monthly guidebook on the values of used cars. He is co-editor of Motor Trade Publishers, who supply a car-valuing service to the motor trade, insurance companies and finance houses. I do 10,000km or so every year, mostly from my home in the country to my nearby town - 12km or so. Aidan: I am with you on electronic handbrakes. However, apart from tidying up the interior layout of a car by removing a big ugly lever between middle of the two front seats, electronic handbrakes actually serve quite a useful and practical function. A lot of electronic handbrakes are supplemented with something called "hill assist" or "hill hold control". This is a feature that works by holding the car in place on steep inclines without the need to balance the handbrake, the clutch, and the throttle. If the pressure exerted from the throttle is strong enough you can almost feel the connection on the rear brake pads being broken as the calipers (the bit that squeezes the pads against the brakes) automatically release. Also, because the good old-fashioned cable handbrakes can wear over time, an electronic one will be more consistently firm. However, you will need to get it checked at service intervals as there are sometimes dedicated brake pads for the handbrake that can wear with regular. Source: www.independent.ie
