‘Fancy a go?’
My friend asked if I wanted to try his newly acquired MK 4 Golf, it was nothing special, but then that often does not matter. What did surprise me was just how cheap it was.
Now, old cars are worth next to nothing in the UK. A good one with a long MOT can be bought for what is little more than pennies. In this case, a car 14 years old with almost a full year’s road test was£300 pounds. Yes, it does have a few issues, including needing a heater matrix changing. I suspect my friend has never changed one, for one the first things that goes into an empty body shell during assembly, is the heater matrix. I once did one on a MK 2 Golf, never again, as complete sod does not even start to describe how difficult it is.
It seemed only polite to allow him to have a go in Tugg, my little Suzuki Vitara. In past, he has owned a Mitsubishi 4X4 pickup and a Unimog. So, he knew a bit about driving 4×4’s. He and his family are converting an old NATO pumping Station to apartments. What this means that their property is not overlooked and is about 3 acres in size. With a high bank on one side. After a little go on the tarmac, his next suggestion was that we tried the track up the bank, so swapping over I went first.
It turned out that the test drive was a little more extreme than either of us expected. Tugg, climbed the slippy bank with ease and then with her small size, she squeezed through the gap at the end. Then it was his turn, same route, but with a steeper bank at the start. Yes, we were both very surprised and my friend could see why I like the Vitara so much.
Just as I was about leave, he suggested I tried the really steep bank. After Scraping her tow bar, we finally got Tugg stuck, but on a dry day he thinks she would get up there… Unhooking her tow bar was fun, both of us simply lifted the rear wheel arch and Tugg rolled back as if this was normal.
There is a real importance to sometimes kicking loose. I would not let everyone drive cars and bikes, but to those who I trust there is real joy in sharing the magic.
The best part is my friends laugh at the end of the short clip. Sums up friendship and the joy of both us simply taking a few minutes out from adulthood.