Our Cars (dream or actual)
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@Brian and @Bridger modern utes are far less exciting. I did quite like the Kia Tasman that I saw last weekend, which had Tonka Toy meets Judge Dredd vibes, but I wish that they'd done something clever with the power train, as the Hyundai group has some very good EVs. (I was mainly interested in the EV3 lurking in the background.)
The BYD Shark 6 is doing the clever powertrain thing. A friend up here owns one and rates it, though he missed out on the orange paint.
But if you want to melt the icecaps and make a lot of noise, there's no substitute for an old TVR. I spotted this Griffith 500 in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, I haven't seen one for years. Only a handful made the pilgrimage to Australia from Blackpool.
@louisbosco last time I came back from Adelaide, I took the B12 from Tailem Bend through to Piangil, before turning off to head southeast through Swan Hill, Kerang, Echuca, and Shepparton to get back to Benalla. If I'd followed it a bit further, I would have got to Tooleybuc. It was a nice road: Fast and fairly quiet. Much better than the A8 between Melbourne and Adelaide.
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Nice set of boots @injunjack, looks rad!
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Found this ole thang cleaning out and organizing the garage.
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Goodwood
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I took a Mini Cooper EV out for a test drive today. It was the John Cooper Works version, which is essentially an electric hot hatch. It's got similar performance to the i20N that @Brian recently picked up, and I suspect a similar character.
Most reviews have complained about the ride quality, and it is firm, but I liked it. The Mini felt a lot more connected than the Hyundai Inster I drove a few weeks ago. It'd probably be less comfortable on a longer motorway or freeway run, though.
The other criticism has been about the thick steering wheel. I've got enormous hands, so I thought it was comfortable.
The design of the displays felt a bit overwrought. The graphics and styling were aiming for a cartoon Britishness, which verged on the Austin Powers. Stepping it back a little bit would have helped.
Going long distance would be fine, I'd get nearly two hours driving at highway speeds (110 km/h or 70 mph) from 70% of the battery, which would mean three stops between here and Sydney, which is about 675 km or 430 miles. That's roughly what I did when I last time I went.
The problem is more those runs that are off the charging network. I made a 320 km or 200 miles roundtrip last week, and there weren't any chargers along the route. The Mini probably doesn't have the range to do that, whereas something like a Kia EV3 would.
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How It’s Made: Dream Cars is awesome. Been watching on Max here in the states.
