Eight months on... 10,000 miles

or

Oops, moaning again.  Didn't mean to, honest!

There's no denying we're in Winter now.  This morning, for the first time, the car registered temparatures below 0; -1.5 degrees to be precise.  A few years ago, before I got the double glazing and the attic insulated, I'd know the instant I woke up what sort of day it was.  I may as well not have had windows; the curtains would sway at the slightest breeze outside.

It's a different story nowadays though.  There have been times when I've stumbled out of the leaba and made my way slowly, torturously towards the kitchen re-fueled, shook the head to get it together and been half a mile down the road wearing just a t-shirt and jeans before realising "Fuck, it's cold!".  By then it's too late and I motor on.  You'd think I'd notice the windscreen all fogged up, but it takes an hour or so for the fuzziness to leave the eyes in the morning and I do live in an area prone to fog... (only joking, in case any Gardaí are reading this!).

I've got a bit smarter about it now, though.  Now, while I'm having my Weetabix, I take the pre-emptive stp of glancing out the window and, if necessary, turning on the engine, leaving the car to thaw out while I brush my teeth and throw on a jumper.

This was a lot easier in the Corolla.  My first post on this blog was a lament to her and an introduction to her replacement, the A3.  At the time, I thought it was just the normal start of a new relationship.  I knew what worked with the ex and I'd soon learn to appreciate the Audi's little ways.  We'd grow closer and I'd soon realise it was all for the best.  This is what happened when I dumped the Starlet for the Corolla on 31st March 2000.  Mind you, although I didn't dig the red colour, I did pretty much fall in love with her straight away.

Anyway, I digress.  Back to the cold mornings.  In the past, I could scurry out to the Corolla (strange that I never named her what with all the anthropomorphising and all), open the door, turn the key switch on the heating and dash back to the house.  Now I have to actually get into the A3 to start the engine.  The damn thing won't start unless you depress the clutch.  Now I'm sure there was an excellent reason for this design feature but I'm convinced that whoever designed this car has never actually considered driving it as a daily mode of tranport.  Or, it they did, they certainly don't have a gammy hip which can seriously hamper one's ability to climb in and out of the driver's seat, or indeed any seat!

The next issue that occurs with the A3 is the reverse light.  Yes, light, singular.  There appears to be only one, on the left-hand side and it's not very bright at that.  This may not matter to a city dweller, but for someone in the countryside, it becomes a major issue.  I park around the back, so in the morning I have to reverse around the shed, without hitting it or the water barrel to the left and the holly tree and some other kind of tree (it has blossoms in the Spring) to the right.  Not an easy task when you can't see where you are going.  I've taken to turning on the fog lights on these dark mornings.  This didn't occur to me in the Spring when I bought the car as I never had this trouble with my Toyotas.

One thing I did notice straight away is that having a diesel car when you have to listen for traffic to get out of your drive-way is not the most sensible idea.  I live on a bad bend and get a nice little burst of adrenalin pulling out in the mornings, or indeed at any time.  It's not too bad at night because you can see the on-coming lights of cars, or at least it wasn't before some dumb-wit decided to put up an occasional street light.  "Oh, diesel cars have come on a lot", I was told.  "You'd never notice the difference these days and you'e be mad to buy petrol with the mileage you do".  Well, they may be quieter than they were, but they're not quiet enough!

She's well broken in now.  I've done over 10,000 miles on her.  However, she still doesn't inspire me to take any road trips, which may be saving me a fortune on fuel and hotels, but I don't get out much.  I was very exceited when I bought her first because, for the first time, I had a car with a CD player.  Unfortunately, there's no suitable cubbyhole to store the damn discs!  There is, of course, the glove compartment, but that's a bit of a stretch for me to reach and invariably involves removing seat belt.  There are other storage compartments, but they're not the right shape.  Not ideal.

The cup holder is another issue.  In the Corolla, it was between the ashtray and what would have been a CD player if I'd bothered installing one but was, for me, the tape storage space.  You pushed it in and out would slide a double cup-holder.  Perfect!  In the A3, there's only one, under the armrest.  To use it involves some awkward elbow bending.  Also, its size means that a take-away coffee sits right into it and has to be remove by gentling grasping the lid.  I haven't had an accident yet, but it's only a matter of time before I arrive into work with wet trousers and scalded thighs.

So, there we have it.  I'm not good with change.  Eight months on and 10,000 miles under the belt and I still haven't adapted.  The only problem is, if I traded her in, I've no idea what to get. I don't like the new Aurus (the Corolla hatchback's replacement) at all and indeed, at the time, the A3 seemed the closest match to my requirements.  Time for another search I guess.  Any suggestions would be very welcome!

Note: Here's a 'tune' from incredibox I created earlier to make up for the moaning!