Soldato
- Joined
- 5 Jul 2007
- Posts
- 5,511
- Location
- London
I wrote this for my blog on Drivers Republic but though it may be of interest to some people on here? I was bored and figured i would do a small write up about my car.
After having had another much lesser model 106 (an XN 1.0, oh the power!) for the past 4 years I felt it was probably just about the right time to upgrade. Luckily for me the old girl obviously felt the same way and promptly let the gearbox self destruct, this suited me fine, it was a tired old car and I wanted shot of it. Despite the wing mirrors almost scraping the ground at the merest hint of enthusiastic driving, its complete lack of any power, and its inability to comfortably cruise at any speed above 40mph, (I can continue but i shaln't). I loved it to bits, I had enjoyed driving it for the past 4 years, but was ready to move onto somethign a bit more exciting. My mind was already made up i had to experience a proper version of this car.
So after browsing another popular car forum full of classified adverts, (I'm sure you all know the one) i found a car i liked the look and the price of. The car was an unmolested example, of which are now few and far between. It was the 94bhp 1.4 unit. Even better than that it had been run by the original owner for its lifetime (all of 15 years). Excellent i thought, so I promptly arranged a rough visiting time and booked up my train journeys. The car was in slough, and i was at uni in plymouth. Luckily i have some kind parents and a home in swindon so an overnight stop was available.
So as i left my house on the saturday morning i was full of excitment at what the day would bring. After arriving at the slough station over 2 hours late i rang the owner. Only to be told somebody else was coming to view in 15 minutes and i'd have to wait until after they had come and possibly gone with the car! so i could do nothing but sit and wait for the phonecall.
The phonecall came, and the owner told me the other potential customer hasn't arrived and he would come and meet me at the station. excellent!
I sat outside the station waiting to be picked up, and up she rolled, the bright blue metallic paint gleaming in the january sun. I hopped in and we went for a quick drive. The engine felt great, plenty of power. The steering felt a lot heavier than my old car, but it felt so much more direct and on point. The brakes were possibly the biggest change, so much more stopping power.
So i parted with the monies i had saved up over the years, phoned the unsurance company and started on my journey back to swindon.
I left the drive and turned out onto the road, nursing the car along and shifting up at about 3000rpm, just cruising along nudging the accelerator. As i approached the M4 roundabout i shifted into second and approached the on ramp. Foot flat to the floor, the revs rose slowly at first to around 4000rpm, where the car came on cam and appeared to have a second lease of life, an incredible noise all the way to the 6600rpm peak power, into third, and more fantastic acceleration, fourth and again up to naughty speeds. I'll never forget this, it felt fantastic. going from a car that struggled to maintain motorway speed to a car that could accelerate well past them with relative ease. fantastic.
The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful, and eventually i settled into a fast cruise on my way home, this was of course in between stopping at nearly every junction to go through the gears again!!
Two months on and i'm still enjoying the car a huge amount, i've started to get used to the incredible handling offered in comparison to my older car, so much more involving and direct, the non power steering allows you to feel even the finest ripples in the road, and the car still feels fantastic.
However, on a friday trip down to the supermarket, the clutch decided to let go
. Sat on the hard shoulder for nothing less than two hours i felt gutted. Stranded in plymouth, and with less than £100 to my name i failed to see how me and the car were going to come out of this one together.
Luckily my parents and their AA membership came to the rescue, and i got recovered back to my student digs. I now face the exciting prospect of getting a tow all the way back to swindon later in the week, and the even more exciting one of scrounging the money needed for the new clutch. I can't wait to get her back, and miss her already.
I already have plans for the rest of the summer with my car, and shall try and keep this blog updated with all that goes on.
Thanks for reading if you did. just thought i'd write all this down as i had nothing better to do.
Some pictures as requested
After having had another much lesser model 106 (an XN 1.0, oh the power!) for the past 4 years I felt it was probably just about the right time to upgrade. Luckily for me the old girl obviously felt the same way and promptly let the gearbox self destruct, this suited me fine, it was a tired old car and I wanted shot of it. Despite the wing mirrors almost scraping the ground at the merest hint of enthusiastic driving, its complete lack of any power, and its inability to comfortably cruise at any speed above 40mph, (I can continue but i shaln't). I loved it to bits, I had enjoyed driving it for the past 4 years, but was ready to move onto somethign a bit more exciting. My mind was already made up i had to experience a proper version of this car.
So after browsing another popular car forum full of classified adverts, (I'm sure you all know the one) i found a car i liked the look and the price of. The car was an unmolested example, of which are now few and far between. It was the 94bhp 1.4 unit. Even better than that it had been run by the original owner for its lifetime (all of 15 years). Excellent i thought, so I promptly arranged a rough visiting time and booked up my train journeys. The car was in slough, and i was at uni in plymouth. Luckily i have some kind parents and a home in swindon so an overnight stop was available.
So as i left my house on the saturday morning i was full of excitment at what the day would bring. After arriving at the slough station over 2 hours late i rang the owner. Only to be told somebody else was coming to view in 15 minutes and i'd have to wait until after they had come and possibly gone with the car! so i could do nothing but sit and wait for the phonecall.
The phonecall came, and the owner told me the other potential customer hasn't arrived and he would come and meet me at the station. excellent!
I sat outside the station waiting to be picked up, and up she rolled, the bright blue metallic paint gleaming in the january sun. I hopped in and we went for a quick drive. The engine felt great, plenty of power. The steering felt a lot heavier than my old car, but it felt so much more direct and on point. The brakes were possibly the biggest change, so much more stopping power.
So i parted with the monies i had saved up over the years, phoned the unsurance company and started on my journey back to swindon.
I left the drive and turned out onto the road, nursing the car along and shifting up at about 3000rpm, just cruising along nudging the accelerator. As i approached the M4 roundabout i shifted into second and approached the on ramp. Foot flat to the floor, the revs rose slowly at first to around 4000rpm, where the car came on cam and appeared to have a second lease of life, an incredible noise all the way to the 6600rpm peak power, into third, and more fantastic acceleration, fourth and again up to naughty speeds. I'll never forget this, it felt fantastic. going from a car that struggled to maintain motorway speed to a car that could accelerate well past them with relative ease. fantastic.
The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful, and eventually i settled into a fast cruise on my way home, this was of course in between stopping at nearly every junction to go through the gears again!!
Two months on and i'm still enjoying the car a huge amount, i've started to get used to the incredible handling offered in comparison to my older car, so much more involving and direct, the non power steering allows you to feel even the finest ripples in the road, and the car still feels fantastic.
However, on a friday trip down to the supermarket, the clutch decided to let go
. Sat on the hard shoulder for nothing less than two hours i felt gutted. Stranded in plymouth, and with less than £100 to my name i failed to see how me and the car were going to come out of this one together.Luckily my parents and their AA membership came to the rescue, and i got recovered back to my student digs. I now face the exciting prospect of getting a tow all the way back to swindon later in the week, and the even more exciting one of scrounging the money needed for the new clutch. I can't wait to get her back, and miss her already.
I already have plans for the rest of the summer with my car, and shall try and keep this blog updated with all that goes on.
Thanks for reading if you did. just thought i'd write all this down as i had nothing better to do.
Some pictures as requested
Last edited:
theres nothing more enjoyable than the drive home in your new car
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