A passion re-kindled

[_Al_]

I've never bonded with my rev 3 turbo. Despite the 49 page project thread and ££££ spent I've never really felt at home driving it. As I walk up to it before a drive I most definitely do not buzz with excitement.

I often think back to my rev 2. Fond memories, and lots of them. Sure, it broke down more often than a depressed alcoholic schizophrenic, but it was life-affirming when it did work.

Steering shake aside my rev 3 is "better" in every way, but I never once felt the same passion. I assumed this was the "sequel effect". In the same way that the follow up to a good film is never the same as the original, no other car will ever tug at my heart strings the same way that one did.

I'm writing this as my automotive reality just turned itself inside out.

It's bank holiday Monday, and I had to be out of the flat. Not to be anywhere, just to not be there. So I took myself on a long drive. A mini adventure, so to speak. I eventually found myself outside a charming bungalow on national trust land. It was very beautiful indeed, sweeping grassy fields, single track roads, gentle gradients and lazy cambres. My 'co-driver' for the evening offered me a coffee and we chatted for a bit, kicked the tyres and generally got on well. After a while we got in, started her up and pointed the nose down that long winding road.

Steady at first, no point rushing this. Engine warming up, tyres & brakes stone cold. That's fine though. Some cars don't need to be at 10/10ths to have fun. Fine to listen to the engine, soak up the country ambience and feel the breeze. It was getting late and dusk was gathering, a beautiful, but understated, sunset formed the backdrop to the quiet run through the trees & fields. There where no other cars, no bikes, no pedestrians, no anything really. It had been a very long run out here...

She's been sat a while now so I toyed with the controls, testing lesser used knobs / dials / switches then moving on to the important stuff, jinking the car hard left / right to feel it react. Stunningly smooth Tarmac played to its strengths at first, but rutted and bumpy asphalt later failed to upset it. More and more I found myself thinking of my old car - sunlight flaring off the red paint as it hammered down some winding Cumbrian road or scythed its way through an autumn evening in Lincolnshire. A long way from the dull white of my rev 3 rattling its way to yet another inner London garage...

A fair few miles had passed and I was starting to settle in properly. This always takes a while when I've been driving the Yaris. The clutch feels unfamiliar, control weightings aren't what I expect and throttle response takes some getting used to.

Now it was starting to flow. The machine was fully awake and all was ready.


"The road ahead is fast and clear, watch the depression after the right hand bend"..


I genuinely shuddered, neck & arm hairs standing up. This is what it's really all about. A blip of the throttle and second gear engages, then feed in the power. As with everything else it has done this evening, the car feels keen and willing. The engine barks, seemingly glad to be out on the open road again. The speed builds rapidly as each gear slots home, the car hunkered back with its weight forcing the rear wheels to find grip over every compression and undulation in the surface.

The first sequence of bends arrives, the car going light over the crest of a ridge then re-asserting itself in time to hook up and dive left, the nose following the tightening line effortlessly and smoothly, the car feeling simply brilliant on a balanced throttle. Take observation ahead and around - still clear so we run wider as the corner opens, blending the steering out as the power comes back on for a smooth fast exit. The next corner is tighter so heel & toe down through the 'box, letting the brakes do the hard work so as not to unsettle the car. The apex comes early and the road opens wide so back on the power hard, reaching toward the NSL but not quite making it before the road slopes and falls away to the right. The car is now charging hard at that vicious compression and this is going to take a gentle but precise set of inputs to deal with.

We did it, but I'm honestly not sure how, it just happened in a flurry of wheel & pedal activity then we're on our way to the next one. Here, finally, is the reward that I've craved so long. That feeling that you're one with the machine. That it's you and the car together enjoying each challenge from the road - not you using the car as a means to use the road. It's a subtle distinction, invisible to most, but all-important to me. I'm thrilled to report that it's back.

For the first time in a very long time I found it hard to walk away from a car. I didn't want to get out. Didn't want to stop driving.

As I walked away in the darkness I could feel that darker shape lurking there, ready for next time.

The arrangements are underway. It won't be long now.

[baileydom]

Come on Al, spill - what were you driving?

Sent from my GT-I9100

[stuMR2lee]

Hopefully Al won't mind me putting up a picture of his new car.

[MR2Jay]

Hopefully Al won't mind me putting up a picture of his new car.

Took a mk3 out then

(and I can say that as I have got one )

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4

[MR2DI4]

Obviously back in a Rev 2 Turbo like mine.

The ultimate MR2 if you can get one in great condition and keep it that way for 15 years. Has never let me down yet. It's been the best thing I have ever purchased in my life.

[_Al_]

I can confirm that following yesterday I have now driven three mk3s, and that they are very lively, nippy cars with brilliant chassis, great ergonomics an awful lot going for them. They're excellent and deserve all the praise they receive.






But the drives this weekend confirmed that I'll never own one.






As for the mystery car... I can confirm that it's not actually turbo'd either, and never will be..

[chaos19810]

I'm going to go on a tangent here but a lotus? I love driving my old one!!

[_Al_]

Hethel? Nah... Way too far north.

[stuMR2lee]

S2000?

[Craig-rev3]

Mk1, test drove one last year & really enjoyed it.

[_Al_]

Not an S2000 either, but it is a car that's happy to rev with some sort of active inlet system.

I'd love to try a decent mk1. Finding one has proven impossible though!

[MR2Jay]

Gt86?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4

[stuMR2lee]

Celica VVTI-L, Civic Type R, MX5. Is it even Jap?

You're not giving many clues.

[chaos19810]

I think a hint is required al