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Hello from Krakow, Poland
My wife and I will be picking up a new 2009 Citroen C4 SX (1.6 HDi 16v 110hp) with the semi-auto gearbox in a few weeks from a dealership near Lodz, Poland.
Citroen's warranty allows for up to 30 biodiesel use so that's what we'll start using after we pick up the car - there is a small network of about 150 commercial stations across Poland that sell B100.
No mods are planned for the car other than - possibly - Michelin Energy tyres if they are ever released in a 17" form to fit our wheels.
I'm not necessarily new to hypermiling but I find some of the techniques (P&G, slip-streaming) either too troublesome or downright dangerous on Polish roads. Poland has one of the highest accident/death rates in the EU (in 2005 Poland had 29 road deaths per 1 billion kilometers traveled, Germany had 6, The US had 9). I tend to look "pretty far ahead" already to spot drivers doing something they ought not to so at this point it's a refinement of techniques and trying to cut out short, in-city trips.
I'm looking forward to my first diesel, first semi-auto gearbox, first new car and second Citroen. The first, recently sold, was a '98 Xsara with a 1.8 16v 112hp petrol engine which usually ran on LPG (about 50% cheaper than petrol in Poland).
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