Before the stroke I ran a rather nice SAAB 9-5 estate car
however it had a manual gearbox and was a large and heavy beast (as well as fairly expensive to run).Also I was not using it much since my second retirement, relying on my wife's small Kia Picanto, with her reluctant forbearance.
As my left leg is still weak as a result of the stroke I decided to look for a smaller automatic with a high driver's seat for ease of access. I wanted something where the back was adaptable into a "van" so that I could carry my e-bike to ride at places more distant from home. The result is as ugly as sin but meets all my parameters, the back seats collapse right into the floor with the advantage that, even with the seats up, with their centre part removed, you can just slot a bike down the middle between them (after removing the bike's pedals) and it simply stands there with no securing needed.
(for illustration only - mine's green!)
A low mileage automatic Toyota Yaris Verso - not made since 2005 but sadly mourned by the cognoscenti ( and cheap too - a mere £2000):
It is an old man's car in my book, - my wife calls it the "Popemobile"!
9 comments:
I'd drive that! Cool car/van, Avus. I've always chose practicality over beauty, anyway.
I was going to say that the new car looks grand and that I've never been a fan of longer vehicles but then I remembered that we own a campervan...
Still, you're new Popemobile looks just fine, and if it makes life easier for you, then that's what's important.
Sorry to read that you had a stroke - may you continue to make good progress.
....An old man's car?....A Popemobile?.... It is also mobility, and the evidence of an ability and desire to adapt. That's good Avus.
Anyway, Popemobiles have a kind of bulletproof glass superstructure thing on the top in which the pontiff can dispense indulgences, dispensations, edicts, bulls, encyclicals etc to the faithful. When not in use in this way it can double as a greenhouse, for the cultivation of agnus castus seedlings.
I really rather like those roomy monospace vehicles. Plenty of room for a dog in the back too...
Thanks for your comments, folks - no one made fun of it. A friend thinks it looks like "a squashed Skoda Yeti", itself named after the Abominable Snowman!
I second Tom's sentiments! Onwards Pa!
Love daughter x
A popemobile transports a pope, a pope is also known as a pontiff, one assumes that pontiffs pontificate. If the cap fits...
The DSG gearbox, available on VW group cars, is an evolution of the Tiptonic gearbox offered by Porsche and costing thousands. A quick flick of the stick sideways converts it from auto to manual. Because it is literally an automatic six-speed gearbox and not a power-wasting lash-up contrived between two hydraulic impellers, it is even more economical than a manual box. Twin clutches provide a pre-selector function which ensure gear-changes so fast that even Lewis Hamilton couldn't match them.
The heart of an old man's car. I would never go back.
RR:
It is certainly a wonderful 'box, but more than my pocket can afford. I believe they can be an expensive bitch if (when) they go wrong.
The only time I built bridges (pontificate)was as a young teenager, with Meccano (a wonderful method of acquiring basic mechanical skills which came in handy with motorcycles later.
Your new car is similar to the pope's mobile, but not Italian enough. Ah. I see above that you can be perceived as a pontificator, which would make anything you drive suitable for that sobriquet.
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