So pretty far OT here, but I spent 2 family vacation weeks in Ireland, and
rented a Nissan Qashqai, which is a bit smaller than a RAV4, which had the new
1.6L diesel and a 6 speed trans.
(~ Rogue styling with more slab sides, and no flares so narrower track)
125hp, 235 ft-lb torque, so drove pretty zoomy once you got used to max torque
at 1750 rpm, and the good bit of rowing thru gears when in-town driving.
Handled real nice, definitely had my share of truck/tractor passing on 2 lane
roads, and it was real solid, no surprises. (Wiki says it has some form of
elec stability control, although this wasn't the juiced up model)
More importantly, I got 44 miles/gallon, and could have got more but I made
the most of 120km/hr speed limit without being picked up by traffic cameras.
Gasoline was 7.30/gallon. Ouch!
Saw a few cool cars, caught the Triumph club out for an outing when visiting
the Cliffs of Moher.
(I'd put that on the list "gotta do", as well as visiting New Grange, the
Irish version of Stonhenge-era structure, both pretty amazing)
Wish we could buy them small diesels here, as there is none of the rattly,
smoky traits of oil-burners of the past.
(this will probably unleash the stream of "road tax, petrol companies in the
back pocket of big brother" discussion), etc
All in all, nice solid car.
Driving on the Right Hand side? We are so used to driving small, narrow cars,
I didn't find it a big deal at all.
I only went astray once when doing a "I am lost, quick 3 point turn" and ended
up on the wrong side in a residential neighborhood.
Fergus O
69 2000
Back to being spoiled by SoCal sunny weather
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