Kidlington to Stafford is a long way when everyone else is going home at the same time - about 2hrs 20min for a little over 100 miles - although the journey back was better at around 1hr 40min.
So we bought a 1 YO Skoda Karoq. It's relatively comfy, quite relaxing to drive and has far too many electronic bits inside that I need to learn to use. Hopefully that won't take too long, and it can be set up as needed easily - last night I used an Android app to mirror the phone sat nav on the car screen, and this morning my phone kept bleating as the bluetooth wanted to connect.
This is just an ordinary car really. I remember when I first had the Countryman, about how I could feel the road, how it went round bends on rails, the responsiveness of the engine. I also remember how, after a while, it was hard to understand why other drivers didn't simply get on with the business of driving and going where they needed to go. A colleague with an electric Renault Zoe described a local major road as having bends where he felt a need to slow down, while for me in the mini they were gentle curves that presented no apparent hazard at all.
This car may help me be a little more generous to others who are also driving ordinary cars.
*edit*
The registration starts SX68. I wonder if the same registration in the following year will become a personal number plate? 8^0
Hey that looks like a fun little ride. (I looked it up). The new electronic things, yes I get that. For a few months I was discovering new things about our car. It has a little more electronic toys than I usually get, because then there is less to go wrong. BUt its also a bit of fun that the car has these details that only become apparent when in different situations that take some time to experience.
ReplyDeleteI hope it treats you well for a long time. :)
Thank you. Like you, I'd considered a Focus, but it wasn't quite right for us & the things that will help make life easier right now. The hatch has too narrow & deep a boot, the estate is a bit long, and both have slightly smaller wheels that will suffer a on the increasingly pot-holed roads round here (Chris's mini is now on it's 3rd set of wheels!).
ReplyDeleteThis afternoon the Karoq gave what I think was a lane-departure warning as I filtered past a car turning to my right. The manual is 270+ pages, and I'm still working my way through :-p
I'm hoping it will cope with all the situations we're likely to find around here, whether floods or snow (4X4 with slightly raise ground clearance) or just dirty great holes in the road. 17" wheels with high profile tyres make for a bouncy, vague ride, but they do absorb a bad road surface well. It was also nice to have a boot large enough to fit a wheelchair without having to remove a guitar amp & pedalboard this afternoon. :-)
I rented a GMC Terrain in spring while I was at meetings, and I quickly discovered that my rear end buzzed, left cheek right cheek, and it seemed to depend upon if there was a car in the right lane or left lane in my blind spot.
ReplyDeleteI was driving by the seat of my pants. :)
That reminds me that I had to send my hearing aids for repair - been waiting 2 weeks now and haven't hear a thing since they went off.....
ReplyDelete;-)
:) loling
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