Big Roadies don’t need a big car

What road trip would be complete without seeing
some weird shit on the way? I give you,
Gandalf Cart Man!

With a long weekend off on the cards and not much else to do the girlfriend decided that it would be a fantastic idea to drive to Cape Reinga. A 836km+ round trip. Our vehicle? A 1.3 litre Toyota Vitz...

The Far North of NZ is full of twisty roads
that are a drivers paradise.

Don’t get me wrong now, I think the ideal roadtripping car is a nice, decent engined GT or a ballistic missile of a sportster, but this little Toyota Vitz did itself proud and may have changed my perception on what a fun car can be.

This might seem like I have gone mad but I assure you I have not. After a bit of research into the Vitz I found that even though it is ‘only’ a 1.3litre compact, it is equipped with VVT-I , Toyota’s answer to the early 90’s variable valve timing fight amongst manufacturers. As a result our little road trip mobile was to my currently out of touch car senses, more powerful than it has any right to be, feeling much more responsive than my old 1500cc 91 Pulsar which needed to be foot-to-firewall to get anywhere at any pace.

In a strange twist of providence Driven’s cover story for today’s edition discusses the Top Compact Cars of 2013, with my top pic being Ford’s Fiesta ST. I'm not the only one who thinks so. These British folk seem to agree (and we all know the Brits know how to review a car).

With all that said, I still reckon I’d have even more of a blast on roadies in an actual sports focused car.

Comments

DODGE TOMAHAWK: THE MONSTER THAT NEVER WAS

It’s 2003, and crazy uncle Chrysler had what seemed like a fantastic idea, but it really wasn’t… By Mat Fiat and Chrysler were made for each other. Fiat possessed oodles of Italian heritage and passion, while Chrysler was the Gerry Brownlee of American automotive companies. The combination of the two was always going to create a noisy company that isn’t afraid to throw its weight around and let you know about it. These days it seems a month doesn’t go by with out some kooky new idea from “out-there” FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne making the rounds. But wind back the clock to the turn of the century and we can see Chrysler was already pretty out-there . And here’s why; they thought the Dodge Tomahawk was a good idea. For those who aren’t in the know, the Dodge Tomahawk was what turn of the century Americans , well , Americans in general , have always thoug ht was e...

Maxxis Bravo AT 771 Review

Watch the 3-year ownership review on Youtube! I've owned a set of Maxxis' Bravo AT771 tyres for 3 years now, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on them. Firstly, I didn't buy these tyres after doing any research on them. Truth be told, I'd never even heard of Maxxis before buying these! But with the stipulation that I wanted a set of All Terrain tyres for my Forester in 215/65R16, and that I didn't want to pay over $1500 for them. I ended up paying $1000 fitted and balanced. I took a punt on the 'Mackies' as I've started to call them, and I've got to be honest, I've been pretty happy with them. Sure, they don't look as cool as other All Terrain models out there, but they've worn well and haven't given me any headaches in the 3 years I've had them. The Good Stuff The AT771s have proven to be a really good match for the Subaru in the sand, which is primarily where they've been used apart from highw...

#RoadTest: 2015 Aprilia ETX-150 review

With the introduction of the Learner Approved Motorcycles Scheme (LAMS) in 2012, new riders have far more choice in bikes than ever before. But has that extra variety and choice come at the cost of incredibly fun and thrifty, smaller capacity bikes? I’m not sure about the statistics, but in my own anecdotal view, it has. While I’ve noticed more people in my social circle taking up riding, not one has started with a sub 250cc motorcycle, even when their commuting needs don’t require the power and torque of a mid-sized bike. As a result, I’ve come to the conclusion that small capacity commuters are seriously underrated in terms of fun and ability. Jumping on the Aprilia ETX-150 for the first time I, like many, made a judgement about how the little Aprilia would ride based solely on the bike’s capacity. That 150 printed on the side cowling, in my mind, meant ‘no fun, gutless, and boring’. How wrong I was… The first thing you notice with the ETX-150 is not the size of the engine b...

On Throttle New Zealand

Search This Blog