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.
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Any off-roaders / overlanders in here?
It’s my 3 year anniversary with my 4runner today.
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@worn2fade Very cool! I used to be into rock crawling when I lived in Southern California. That’s a killer 4Runner! Looks good in the mud. That one in the background is getting after it!!
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@Danimal506 thanks brother & thats awesome man! Rock crawling is a different ball game haha.
Yeah my buddy in the back is on 35’s and has a snorkel so he can risk it for the biscuit more frequently then I can haha!
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@worn2fade The best part is knowing people with cool rigs who will drive you around in them haha I didn’t heavily modify my cars and truck or risk nearly the damage others would. I love camping and hitting trails! I have yet to explore Texas off roading. But I would like to someday.
I had a buddy who we would camp with often who converted a 90s Toyota pickup to a full tube frame chassis, something like 40” tires and it ran on propane for maximum torque!
I drove the Subaru Forester, I loved that in the sand dunes. That’s his Toyota in the far back. And another buddy of his owned that killer Bronco. I also owned a Toyota Tacoma for a while! Loved it
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@worn2fade hell fuckin yeah man!!! Nice to see a fellow 4Runner owner! Yours looks amazing. I've only taken my offroading properly once. Paid off next month though so we'll see what happens then.
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@Danimal506 yeah dude there’s nothing like an offroading community bro. I’ve had my fair share of trail damage (my passenger doors are still busted til this day,) but it’s just part of the story. (This is what I tell myself every night to justify not replacing the doors and instead buying $400 jeans.)
I’m more of a camper myself, I don’t mind being in the dirt and taking trails but I stay away from mud the most I can now (starter got water damage in the middle of nowhere and don’t wanna go through that again.) and I don’t ever rock crawl cause there’s not much rock crawling here in Florida (and honestly I probably wouldn’t do it regardless, I always find a way to mess something up.) lol
@catdad1 dude there’s nothing like that army green man, I absolutely love that color. Congrats on almost paying it off dude, I have about another 30k on mine unfortunately lol. I bought mine when 4Runners were at their peak and I had a $8k rollover from my Audi so I kind of got screwed lol. Regardless, I love the truck still worth it!
I haven’t been in the last couple months but me and my buddies go off roading pretty often. It’s definitely fun, the 5 hour car washes are what’s not fun haha, but like I mentioned above - I prefer just overlanding / camping more than anything. I’m huge on state parks and stuff.
Fun fact - I actually lived in my 4runner for 6 months. Did an entire build and everything, it was a cool experience.
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@jfive67 you’re living my dream dude.
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@jfive67 this has been my dream since 2000. I bet it drives amazing!
@worn2fade that sounds like a wild time for 6 months! I've always wanted to drive around the country and see where the road takes us, just harder these days. No doubt the in depth scrubs are worth the smiles per gallon though.
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@worn2fade I know what you mean about getting stuck out somewhere. I cracked the transmission of that Subaru on a rock out in the desert, might have been this trip.
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I don't consider myself an off-roader nor an overlander, but I love getting off-pavement and camping in far-flung places. I've had my G55 for almost 10 years now and have been all over the western US camping and road tripping, most recently in Death Valley and Plumas National Forest.
Sonny
In search of:
888: XHSmb, 21mb (sz. 36-38 unhemmed)
