Car/route suggestion

Cant say I had many problems in my RHD 205. But I guess when you drive a slow car like an Exploder you need to see far ahead so you can plan overtakes a few miles in advance.

Whereas if you're the average tit in a hatchback you pull out without looking or using indicators anyway. The Exploder is probably faster than your 205, both 0-62 and 50-90.

Actually I always look and always use my indicators, and like I said I never had any problems. Feel free to argue all you want, it's not going to change my experience of driving a small RHD on the continent.

You seem to be in some deluded world where you think a Ford Explorer is better than anything else in everyway. FFS man, get a life. And is your Exploder faster? I dunno, I thought it was a crappy diesel, but maybe it's the petrol with a claim like that? In which case it probably just matches my old 205 in a staright line with 3? times as much capacity. Wow. I know which I'd rather be in, and I know which would get you from A to B faster.

People win the lotto too. Just as with your explorer, they got lucky.

Fraser

No, you see what you did there was to snip the challenge to you to back up your tales with something other than bullshit. And you failed to answer the point and simply tried some more bluster and bullshit.

The Exploder tops reliability surveys, usually taking second place to Toyota.

Not while you're acting the arse.

Where have I claimed to be trying to go faster than buzzy little hatchbacks? You seem to have problems when your little bubble is burst.

So what? Are you the sole arbiter of which cars anyone may drive?

I borrowed an LS400 a few years ago. It was quick, but somehow didn't feel it, and I felt utterly disconnected from the driving. It's not a bad place to doze off on the motorway, but it's probably not quite the thing I'm looking for.

Ah. Well that's a bit of a kick in the jewels.

Hmmm. Hmmmmmmmmmm... But can I get an MX5 in decent mechanical nick for that sort of money? How much luggage space do they actually have? I know that's not the reason to have one, but it'd be nice not to have to unload the thing every night to stop all the climbing gear being nicked. If you can fit, say, four 60 litre rucksacks in the boot, then that'd probably be ok. The rest of the clobber can be piled on the passenger...

Not particularly.

Er. I'll grant you that I hadn't even thought of it as a possibility.

Which is all good, but are they fun? I don't necessarily mean powerslide fun, but can one actually enjoy the experience of steering the thing across the countryside?

No, it's a fair point, plus some of the access tracks in Sardinia are maintained to decidedly agricultural standards - you can get up them in a tractor, or a hire car. Being able to get up them would be a bonus, if not entirely necessary.

I've done about 1800 miles across Europeland in an old LWB Transit this year - about 650 of them towing. The Transit wasn't bad, wasn't quick, but it throbbed along reasonably well, didn't use much juice and was loaded right up for the first 1000 miles.

A Transit may not be the ideal thing for Trans-European trippage, and I'm not recommending one, but it shows that pretty much anything that's reliable and reasonably well serviced will do the job. Other than a Prius, naturally.

Most of the higher passes don't open until May/June and aren't open that long unless there is no alternative route.

What was the budget again? IIRC an grand should buy you a decent one, maybe with a little bubbling...

You can.

Oh, you want to close the boot as well? In that case I doubt it. You can probably stick one behind the seats on the parcel shelf and two in the boot. Three might require removing/relocating the spare wheel. Or get a boot rack.

TBH yes, like driving a Land Rover it puts a big silly grin on your face. If you're thinking of taking on any 4x4 get a test drive. That should make your mind up quickly or you could try an off-road course which will give you a chance to try one in mud.

The garage that I bought the Exploder from let me have it for a day before I parted with cash.

Yawn. No wonder this place is so dead, too many boring old farts with nothing of any interest to say.

I'm off to modify a car.

... Peugeots.

GS is a bit more connected.

More fool you for listening to him then. They'll cost a lot in fuel, but the servicing costs are on a level peg with servicing a Mondeo and most parts are cheap - also interchangeable with the Mazda pickup with which the Explorere shares most of its components. If you want a laugh, ask your mechanic if the Mazda trucks are reliable. Then try to square the fact that they sue the same transmission, brakes,. drivelines, chassis and electrics as the Explorer.

I've experienced the same fuckwitted mechanics opinions in the UK. "The Mazdas are incredibly reliable" "Ford are unreliable" yeh? Check the component count between Explorer and Ranger.

No doubt adding a hardtop and an extra two rows of seats accounts for the "unreliability" .

Aye, makes sense. I hadn't given it any thought - just sort of assumed that 'cos it's warm and soggy over here by april, it'd be warm and dry on the continent... No to worry, I'll save it for another trip.