The drive home

The first thing that I noticed about the car was the noise. It was not the raucous, motor yacht type noise, which I get from the Bowler, but it was more of a howl coming from the W12 engine. From inside the engine it’s quite muted, but with the windows open and heading under bridges, I could tell I was making some noise. I haven’t yet formed an opinion as to whether I like the level of noise which the car is making, but as I am not going to be changing the exhaust system anytime soon…….I suggest I get used to it! The engine is amazing. It’s incredibly smooth and the gear changes on the auto box are a silky smooth as anything I’ve experienced. I also discovered that the car is equipped with ‘flappy paddles’ on the steering wheel which is something I was not expecting on a car of this type. The second thing I noticed was that I had no fuel left in the tank. Now, having driven 3 miles by this point, I wasn’t sure if this is how things had started, or whether I had had a quarter of a tank which I just used up! I was quietly confident that it was empty when I started so I stopped and filled up. My next ‘exciting’ aspect of a new car……how many litres does the fuel tank hold? Now I know that there are those of you reading this that would say “Well you should have checked that before you bought it” but my view on life is that you’re unlikely to change your car purchase based on if it has a 70, and 80 or a 90 litre tank. It’s just interesting I think!

A full 80 litres of fuel later, and the trip set to 0.00 and I’m on my way to Newbury. I’m really comfy in my surroundings, I adjust all aspects of the seat a) to get comfy and b) to see if all the motors are working, which they are. I noticed that the rear windscreen was misted so hit the rear demist button. As I was looking at the window clear, I noticed that the rear screen doesn’t have the normal demist pattern based around the heated filaments which run through the screen. “That’s weird” I thought, but then saw that it was completely cleared. Turns out there is demister fan which sits on the rear parcel shelf and demists the screen…..nice touch!

It’s now that I start thinking about all the electrics on this car that I haven’t checked. Mirrors, rear windows, interior lights etc. So with 70mph dialled into the cruise control I have a quick check of all the things immediately to my touch. Everything works so far. I’m pretty keen to see what the mpg is on this 6.0l engine at a simple cruise so reset the on board computer and wait. 27.3mpg at 70mph…..I’ll take that, as it’s far better than I thought it might be. An hour or so later I’m coming off the M4 at J13 feeling very pleased with myself having had an uneventful maiden voyage, all phone calls to required petrolhead friends made, and back through the last 5 miles of country lanes to home.

Now comes the real test of your purchase. You are feeling like a kid at Xmas, but your partner’s opinion, and more telling, your children’s faces are yet to come. If you get the “don’t think your ever dropping me of at [insert embarrassing location] in that” you’re in trouble. If your partner gives you the “It’s quite [insert anything in here]” you’re in trouble. In fact anything other than “That’s nice, or that’s cool” you’re in trouble.

For me, the first greeting I get is from my Black Labrador. Tail wagging, a grin from ear to ear and I think I’m on to a winner. With the door open and engine still running, I’m thinking a quick rev is in order to check out the sound, within seconds, the dog has her tail between her legs and has scarpered back inside. Oh crap! Stood in her place is Mrs A. Passenger door opens and in she gets. “Well it’s a lot better than I expected” I’m grabbing that with both hands and stuffing it into the ‘Approval’ drawer. Suddenly the rear doors open and 2 of the 3 little A’s jump in. “Oooo TV screens” “What does that button do?” “Can we go for a drive?”……..my job here is done!  A quick blat to the end of the road and back and it’s confirmed that I’ve got approvals all round.

The next thing which I always do is go through the service record. Stamps are useful, but receipts are better, and this this car has got more receipts than I can fit in an Avery folder. From what I can tell, every purchase, service and even polish is documented, dated, mileage noted and filed. The most important thing to look for here is information about dates and mileage and also for any major work which has been carried out.

There’s loads of work that has been done over the last 4 years all in order to try to make a brilliant car that tiny bit better, which I question whether was necessary or not. Things like better hoses al round, the brake calipers have been upgraded to RS6 calipers and the exhaust system replaced. None of these are a problem and in all likeliness all of these are positive things…….only the next few months will tell.

 

So what’s the plan from here? Well firstly I am going to keep track of my mileage, keep track of my fuel consumption and running costs of the car and keep track of the reliability. I’m going to post all the things I can on this blog, so that you can all make some decisions around your own car choices and if it makes one or two of you look at a car which is ‘outside the norm’ then I will feel it has all been worthwhile.