James
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- Messages
- 2,344
- Location
- Broadclyst, Devon
A few months ago someone drove into the side of Betty Custard in a Supermarket, they of course drove off leaving no details... All they left was some red paint and a small scratch and dent in the door. It happens right? Anyway, the Dent guys shied away and I had to accept that it was going to be an insurance job. At the time large parts of the South West were under water so my woes didn't seem that bad.
Finally last week working to the unique properties of 'Devon Time', she went to the bpdyshop to be repaired I took delivery of my courtesy car, a rather blue 2013 Fiesta 1.2 Style, well it might have been the Studio but there was no badging so we could only guess. It was a clever car, first of all there were some nice blue back lighting to the needles on the dials and it seemed well equipped, this was an illusion, it had things that you might want and things that would useful were not present, trip computer, outside temperature gauge???
There's always a debate down here now, would a small car be better on the back roads of a rural place like Devon. I think the answer to that is a mixed yes and no. Yes you have more space but you are low down, and that height advantage of the T5, seems invaluable. You have road presence and height in the Beach and that installs a confidence.
Whenever I find myself back to driving a car, I think, maybe I will like it too much and I trade it in, I don't know, a nice Polo Gti, their value drops like a stone but they are so smart looking. Maybe i could just have a 'normal' car. But this time I didn't, truth be told, the little Fiesta was a great car, the small skinny wheels gave up before the chassis did, it was a joy to drive and quick, once you got past the nature of the petrol engine. Comfortable as well, although not that economical, not that I could really tell as Ford had give me toys of no use instead of a trip computer.... it also had Ford's Mykey system which is the hero of safety or as I found, completely annoy, car set to 80mph and a low limit on the audio system. It can't be changed without the admin key...
And there were other things to dislike, some of the plastics would have shamed Airfix forty years ago. The gearchange was so vague at times that I felt like contacting interpol every time I tried to get back to first. Okay it wasn't that bad but there was loads of play in the lever, I could live with it but it didn't have that mechanical clunk that my Beach seems to have.
Then there is car snobbery and the rules of car ownership, the Beach is classless, an expensive vehicle that doesn't shout its expense. In Betty Custard i am past all the badge snobbery and the pecking order that BMW's, Merc's and Audi's to try organise once you are on the motorway. In terms of vehicle class, the Beach is in an idyllic no mans land. With the Fiesta I was right back there.
As soon as the Beach was returned, I welcomed that heaviness, the solidity, the high up driving position and the space. I love the heaviness, I know we talk about build quality, but my Beach has always felt solid. Yes, some of it's interior plastics aren't great but things in the Beach feel durable.
We did a drive across Devon today, passing through tiny villages and windy roads and it was good to be reunited. i liked the Fiesta and if it had been the ST version, how much fun must that car be? But it's no Beach and perhaps comparing them is like comparing chalk and cheese but there's something about the Beach that has you emotionally, it's completely different to a car. Perhaps the right car would do it, the new Golf GTi or the Golf R? I don't know, I just know how much I missed Betty Custard when she wasn't there.
James
Finally last week working to the unique properties of 'Devon Time', she went to the bpdyshop to be repaired I took delivery of my courtesy car, a rather blue 2013 Fiesta 1.2 Style, well it might have been the Studio but there was no badging so we could only guess. It was a clever car, first of all there were some nice blue back lighting to the needles on the dials and it seemed well equipped, this was an illusion, it had things that you might want and things that would useful were not present, trip computer, outside temperature gauge???
There's always a debate down here now, would a small car be better on the back roads of a rural place like Devon. I think the answer to that is a mixed yes and no. Yes you have more space but you are low down, and that height advantage of the T5, seems invaluable. You have road presence and height in the Beach and that installs a confidence.
Whenever I find myself back to driving a car, I think, maybe I will like it too much and I trade it in, I don't know, a nice Polo Gti, their value drops like a stone but they are so smart looking. Maybe i could just have a 'normal' car. But this time I didn't, truth be told, the little Fiesta was a great car, the small skinny wheels gave up before the chassis did, it was a joy to drive and quick, once you got past the nature of the petrol engine. Comfortable as well, although not that economical, not that I could really tell as Ford had give me toys of no use instead of a trip computer.... it also had Ford's Mykey system which is the hero of safety or as I found, completely annoy, car set to 80mph and a low limit on the audio system. It can't be changed without the admin key...
And there were other things to dislike, some of the plastics would have shamed Airfix forty years ago. The gearchange was so vague at times that I felt like contacting interpol every time I tried to get back to first. Okay it wasn't that bad but there was loads of play in the lever, I could live with it but it didn't have that mechanical clunk that my Beach seems to have.
Then there is car snobbery and the rules of car ownership, the Beach is classless, an expensive vehicle that doesn't shout its expense. In Betty Custard i am past all the badge snobbery and the pecking order that BMW's, Merc's and Audi's to try organise once you are on the motorway. In terms of vehicle class, the Beach is in an idyllic no mans land. With the Fiesta I was right back there.
As soon as the Beach was returned, I welcomed that heaviness, the solidity, the high up driving position and the space. I love the heaviness, I know we talk about build quality, but my Beach has always felt solid. Yes, some of it's interior plastics aren't great but things in the Beach feel durable.
We did a drive across Devon today, passing through tiny villages and windy roads and it was good to be reunited. i liked the Fiesta and if it had been the ST version, how much fun must that car be? But it's no Beach and perhaps comparing them is like comparing chalk and cheese but there's something about the Beach that has you emotionally, it's completely different to a car. Perhaps the right car would do it, the new Golf GTi or the Golf R? I don't know, I just know how much I missed Betty Custard when she wasn't there.
James
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