All in good time, seeing what people think I'm about to get myself into is half the fun!
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TPA was out and about again today.
Uneventful trip, though between running later than I'd planned and trying to outrun some very ominous looking weather I decided it was about time we tested something out - how would she handle the motorway?
Answer? Absolutely fine. Thrums along quite happily at 60, and the smoother road surface makes it seem positively relaxed compared to the A45 on the way out.
Didn't find I got blown around too much, only vehicle which required any actual correction for was a coach which did shove me a bit to one side...but not badly so. Only directional annoyance was there being a seam for several miles right in the lane where I really wanted my front wheel to be! Eventually realised that there's actually a lot of lane to play with when you're in such a small car...so just moved a foot or so to the left.
Being absolutely honest she holds speed at 60 better than the van. Doesn't feel intimidating at all which is nice. While I'd done these speeds before this was by far the longest I'd ever held her at 60 so I was keeping a careful eye on the temperature - didn't budge from 155-165C, so absolutely no worries there - nice to see given that cruising at speed wasn't ever really on the requirements list when she was designed.
I'd always been quite hesitant to take her on the motorway and had taken twice as long to get a few places because of that, but honestly I've zero worry about using it again...only proviso is I wouldn't want to try it on a windy day...that would probably be terrifying.
She will definitely do 70, but it does feel you're making her work though. 60 though feels well within her comfort range - well 62 is what I'll probably actually use when not in a 60mph average speed trap - so I'll basically wait till I spot a coach going my way and just slot in behind them. It's not a major issue though to buzz up to 70 to overtake a lorry...or dawdling Prius though which is nice to know.
If I do ever embark on my round country trip knowing that motorways aren't terrifying will definitely be a bonus as trying to avoid them entirely during that would be a real pain.
This little car keeps surprising me. I expected the motorway test not to be a huge deal but I was really surprised at the ease she dispatched the test!
Regarding the new purchase I've come up with a plan of attack. The one known mechanical issue it has currently is a brake caliper which - occasionally - sticks. Probably be fine...but having quite a long drive home I'd rather keep Murphy's Law at bay. I've decided that I'm going to order a new caliper (well probably two actually as if one is playing up the other will probably cause issues in the future), and depending on the type of fitting, possibly the flexible lines as well. With that, a decent selection of fittings and some brake line so if we need to we can just change it. Our first stopover point will be roughly an hour from the collection point so hopefully that will give us a decent bead on how the car is behaving. I'd rather not change a caliper in a car park, but if we need to we will be equipped to do so!
PS. I've been wearing this thing two days now.
I am utterly fed up with it already!