My Little Car
If you have read previous posts, you will know that I swapped my Mazda Bongo, 8-seat MPV for a Subaru, not a rally-winning Impreza, but its smaller brother, a Justy.
Although it has been well abused by previous owners, this brave little machine is still going strong. In fact, we drove a 200 mile round trip last weekend.
It is not the most comfortable car in the world, having a very short wheelbase, rather stiff suspension and small wheels, but it did not cripple me in the same way as some small cars do. The exhaust is noisy, due to the non-standard rear box fitted (and re-fitted after it fell off). But it is at its worst at 3,000 to 3,500 rpm at full throttle. I rarely use full throttle.
It cruised happily at 70mph down the many motorways I drove along last week, and most important, is used less than £20 of petrol. When I had previously done this same trip in the Bongo, it cost me £40 in diesel, so I am happy.
Most importantly, I checked the oil level at the end of the trip and the car had not used any.
There are still little DIY jobs to do on it, which I will get around to one day, like fixing the dash lights, which don’t work at the moment, fixing the driver’s door window, which doesn’t work properly, and getting some more fixings to stop the interior trim from vibrating.
So, after a couple of months, I am still very pleased with my little car.
Diesel is different from regular gasoline, and tends to improve miles per gallon. With gas prices these days, diesel is looking like a very good choice for many owners of the car. Since the idea is increasingly popular, the need for specialists for diesel.
In the UK, petrol is about £1.20 a litre and diesel is a little more. A motorist needs to do about 40,000 miles a year before it is worth getting a diesel car.