I've been up to Manchester and back in mine already, no aches or pains. The driving position is spot on. My size 11s have plenty of room down in the footwells and the pedals aren't offset at all. I don't know how a pair of enormous goth boots would fare down there, but my VANS and Nikes fit ok. Even had the roof down ont the way back from Manchester..
Mike P
Mike P
I loved the one that's just gone, but it was useless for carrying engine cranes, PA amps, drumkits etc - stuff the E30 can just about manage.
Fortunately, I don't think that's an issue for Carl.
When the MX5 went, both myself and my mate were rather sad. We'd both have much rather sold anything else, but it was the one car neither of us could justify keeping. Fabulous little things, but driving licences are just quivering wrecks in the presence of an MX5 and a twisty road.
If I'd have used it every day, I'd be banned by now.
Heh. Well at the moment I'm actually not playing in any bands, but at some point that might change, and I'll be doing bits and bobs (even if it is just popping down to a mate's studio in Farnborough to lay down the odd thing), but at one point when I was gigging with the Clavinova (+ disassembled wooden stand), plus my Roland VK77 (Hammond clone type thing) in it's huge flight case, it *needed* a Carlton Estate more or less to its entirety. Any vaguely recent gigs I've done I've just taken the VK sans flight case, and not bothered with the Clav (as it's in a slight state of disrepair and there are things I want to do to it, long and boring story, won't go into it), so have coped with the Xantia just fine - even fitted a whole load of PA gear and Guitar stuff as well without too much trouble.
Cool. I could have probably googled it easy enough and not been so lazy....
Cool - third party on any car type cover ok with you?
Well, we'll see - the Golf's got to the stage where it's wanting some welding for the first time in its life (Golfs are pretty good rot-wise, but it is nearly 20 years old), and there are various wear+tear bits all wanting doing at once. The Citroen, OTOH, went through the last test without much effort, and I'm hoping it'll be the same this year, but I haven't got it done yet and it's run out, so I'll save it 'til a weekend or two and sort it out then. Probably just chuck it at the Citroen specialist I normally use (PTS) who have a courtesy car (or three) to save hassle.
Oh christ..... erm, if it were me, I'd be referring you to Day Insure for FC cover....
Don't take this the wrong way, but.... if you drove an MX5 like you drive the Xantia, you'd exit the first quick bend, at speed, backwards.
UK NB models at least got glass with a demister.
It looks like the no, the standard steering wheel is so nice it would be a shame to change it, and even the 5'2" Missus struggled to get her knees under the wheel when the seat was adjusted. I had no hope, it was Clarkson syndrome all over again. Shame really because everything else fitted nicely and there would be loads of room for boots. I've rarely seen such a roomy footwell on such a small car.
I seemed to manage fine with one of these at 6'3".
To be fair, I'm more body and arms than legs, but even so... I'm no dwarf.
Good job I drive cars I'm not overly familiar with in a different manner, then, really. And good job I'm well aware that it's not a clever thing to power through bends or be heavy on the brakes, mid bend, in a light RWD car (or anything RWD, tbh).
Yeah, I manage fine at 6'1 and mine's got the bigger wooden Nardi style wheel on it
Mike P
'Wipe clean for those all too embarrassing roof down occasions when you get distracted at the crucial moment down at the local dogging site with all the other gay hairdressers'
I read it in the original Mazda literature for the MX5, so it must be true.
You do?
Did you not notice a faint waft of warm fresh diarrhoea every time you attacked a bend in the Passat, then? :-P
Mrs JackH reckoned she'd not seen that much soiling in my undergarments since 'The Great Post Curry Food Poisoning' of 2002.
Good point, I'm sure I can work something out for very little, if any cost.
Heh, been there done that. I've been over it in my head lots, and I crashed the blue one because I drove it like a diesel Xantia. Throw it into the bend, nail the throttle to drag it round. Oops...
Mike P
LOL! I can't think of one bend I attacked at any particular speed that was anything remotely steep. I guess it might have been something to do with the fact that I know those roads better than the back of my hand, and was going with the general theory that if a LWB Sprinter doesn't have trouble at these speeds, then a safe-handling Passat certainly won't.
And if anyone else in here that's been in a car with me driving wants to come on here and slag me off, then feel free, it appears to be the season for it...
They look better with these on them
And it makes it really really pointy and feelsome.
:-)
This isn't a slagging... more an observation really, which you can of course choose to rubbish / ignore.
My take on it was that you're not very fluid - whereas you seemed to repeatedly jab hard at the brakes sporadically, I'd have been on them with a longer, smoother, more consistent prod.
The steering was the same, with jerky grabs of it rather than smoothly tipping the car in - by not being very smooth, you're potentially upsetting the balance of the car and this was remember, on relatively smooth roads.
The other thing was at times you didn't really seem that aware of other road users / hazards coming up fast, and seemingly weren't as a result reacting and planning ahead very well in terms of things like indication etc, which for me at least, was the more worrying thing I saw.
If I drove the Passat in the same manner on some of the more choppy roads I tend to 'ave it large' along around here, I reckon it would make for very disjointed progress, but whatever, we're all different and I'm no driving instructor - you're happy with your driving style, so enjoy. :-)
Like the Hazard you didn't see in time in your Passat :-P
LOL Sorry, you asked for that :-)
Mike P
Oh aye... I was fully expecting that response at some stage. :-D
A momentary lapse of concentration, probably a sign of old age and that I should give up driving immediately. ;-)
'Look out for that... open bit of road!' :-P
Gibbon the chance, what car would you choose?
'Right turn, Clyde'
What criteria are we talking?
Long arms, short legs, you're a born Alfa driver. Or anything with an adequate supply of Musa acuminata in the glovebox.
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