COMMENT
8 APRIL 2 020 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 15
MONDAY
There’s a magnifi cently inert Bentley Flying Spur
marooned at my Gloucestershire address, due to
Boris’s driving ban and the fact that the Crewe
factory where it lives is shut. The only get-out for
it and me is that the nearest supermarket is four
miles away and we have to eat. However, hops
into town (involving squeezing into confi ned
parking spaces beside the battered Hyundais
of crazed pasta-shoppers) aren’t this car’s
speciality. It’s meant for casual cross-continent
d a she s t o Mon a c o’s C a si no S qu a r e. Ev e n t he
“check on an ancient relative” excuse is void in
our case, because she lives about 400 yards away.
Luckily, I’ve already done serious miles in
this car, one of a rare breed of 5.2-metre-long
limousines that shrinks as you drive it. It’s bigon the road, of course, but feels agile, because its
steering is so accurate and perfectly weighted
that you can hit a matchbox dead-centre on the
road – assuming there’s a matchbox available.
The other standout is refi nement. Do a few
miles in the Flying Spur and the bangs, bumps,
squeaks and creaks of other cars sound like
someone’s playing a tambourine in your earhole.
Swapped it for my Citroën Berlingo on one town
trip. Mistake.
TUESDAY
Getting stuff written for the magazine is a weird
challenge at present, although not unpleasant if
you enjoy banging the keyboard as most of us do.
`
Writing for the magazine is
a weird challenge at present
a
MY WEEK IN CARS
Tough job deciding the best visual feature of the
new Land Rover Defender, but I’ll opt for the superb
standard white
steel wheels.
They’re cheaper
than alloys, more
durable and
better-looking.
It was the same
with the old
model...
AND ANOTHER THING...
to borrow one for an afternoon to scratch the itch.
I’ve been on the confi gurator ridiculously often
and can therefore tell you that the (excellent)
Mog website currently features a perfect example
in silver with a black centre-stripe. I’ve also
watched innumerable YouTube videos. My
fi nding: our own was the best. It’s the only one
that doesn’t have the car plying endlessly back
and forth through the same bend but shows it
in actual use. And above all, it doesn’t feature
(as most do) the too-long, over-the-top ravings
of a self-obsessed lunatic with a selfi e stick.
However, I can’t fully account for how I’m
feeling. When we had a 3 Wheeler long-termer,
the pedals were in the wrong place, so I found it
hard to drive. I think I’m so keen now because the
3 Wheeler is 110% about freedom, a poignantly
precious commodity. You don’t drive one of these
to get places, impress people or pick up a chest of
drawers. Like no other car, you do it for the pure,
abandoned freedom of the road.
FRIDAY
A friend and MG F owner, Tim Morris, reminds
me t h at t h i s c apa ble , go o d-lo ok i n g but thoroughly
overlooked roadster is 25 years old this month. It
brings back memories: I was part of a hack coterie
that gave the company management so much
earache that they decided a mid-engined soft-top
two-seater was just what the market needed.
And I drove a prototype back to the offi ce for
photography from the original Gaydon launch.
Despite its quixotic gas-sphere suspension,
I’ve always liked the F. It’s a shame more people
didn’t take the trouble to discover its charm.
Brand-new Bentley limo
or 17-year-old Citroën
van? Don’t think twice
GET IN TOUCH
[email protected]^ @stvcr
Steve Cropley
We’re all frantically writing up features
we’ve had in notebooks for a month or two
(the kind you put off because they require an
excess of brain strain), while Richard Lane, who
handles our fi rst drives section, is frantically
“looking down the back of the sofa”, as
our editor puts it, for stray driving tales.
He has found some, as you’ll discover over
the next few weeks. The big Bentley will feature
soon, but that will be an easy win. It’s a fabulous
car and I’ve got a trip around Britain (full story
coming) to draw upon.
WEDNESDAY
Despite the lockdown, I’m having an odd mind
a f f a i r w it h t he Mor ga n 3 W he e le r. A s s o on a spermitted, I’ll proceed hot-foot to Malvern Link
Cropley is lusting for
the freedom this tiny
Morgan would provide