Interesting thing, fate.
If I'm honest, it's been a bit of a struggle getting much proper time behind the wheel of the Polo this last year. It was too low for Caroline to get in and out of when she was heavily pregnant, and our car seat doesn't fit into it, so the weekend drives have become a bit complicated as I have to go on my own. During the week I tend to use work cars because I try to combine swaps with trips to the office - it gives me time behind the wheel to write a review.
But how's this for a sign?
I had a call last week from a press office which was due to send me a car on Monday. Bad news, the car had been stacked and wasn't going to be repaired in time. It just so happens that the last seven days have been pretty full on, too, with a trip to Liverpool on Monday and Tuesday, and a weekend in Llandudno. My options: take my long-term Renault ZOE and charge five times each way, or take the Polo and take the direct route through Wales. Easy choice, really.
Monday gave me an opportunity to catch up with this, which is a story in itself:
Unfortunately that did mean a detour to Cirencester, and in turn meant taking the M5/M6 to Liverpool which scuppered my first day of driving. But after about six hours crawling through roadworks in three lanes of heavy traffic, I touched down at the Titanic hotel (which is really nice, and has loads of fascinating stuff throughout, but is kinda morbid too) at about 6pm.
The real reason for being in Liverpool was a long trip across North Wales in the (sort of) new Corsa, with its new three-cylinder 1.0-litre turbo engine.
The trip up the M6 had cemented the idea that a run through Wales on the way home was a smart move. It was. Admittedly the run to Oswestry was pretty crap, albeit scenic, but the A483 down to Newtown was much quieter. Summer is definitely over, though, as it got dark far earlier than I was expecting it to!
I had half expected to encounter some sort of problem that hadn't reared its head earlier in the year but the car felt great. No glare from the gauges, headlights that work and suspension that's functioning as suspension should do. Very happy. And, as it's a work trip (the car is insured for work use) I get to claim the fuel back.
Saturday was a slightly different trip, at least it was from Builth Wells. Google Maps throws up two viable possibilities - either going across to the M5 and M6 or going straight up most of the A470 with some detours. With no need to divert to Cirencester I was able to get a full cross-country run in typical four-seasons-in-one-day Welsh road trip style, getting into Llandudno at around midday having changed into a business suit in a lay-by about 20 minutes beforehand, and just in time to make the trip across to Porthdinllaen Lifestation in the Suzuki that was waiting for me at the hotel.
Then today I've been catching up on a few cars I haven't driven. Including this which - seriously - is a lot more fun than it deserves to be. If I had the space and the cash for a second insurance policy, I'd be pretty tempted by an early one as a cheap winter toy.
Followed by a route home that's been every bit as incredible as the route north.
After a shit year last year with the accident, a winter of hardly using it and a summer of occasional trips on my own, an 850-mile week in the G40 has been pretty epic. No problems, no worries, no careless OAPs in Corsas to ruin it. I might have to treat the car to a wash next weekend though.