Absence and the Heart

It’s amazing how much more you can appreciate something when you haven’t experienced it for some time.

I always had a passion for cars as a kid and then into adulthood, from my first Corgi and Matchbox model cars and posters of a Ferrari 512BB, to getting specialist driver training and competing in a few minor motorsport events. My dad used to tell me stories about his favorite, a little Renault Dauphine Gordini, and I was fortunate enough to be able to own a few classic sports cars. Moving to live in Paris though made owning a car unnecessary and impractical and we haven’t owned a car since selling our little BMW 118d in 2012. Until last month. 

It’s clearly not a good time to buy a car with the current prices, but wow is it great to own one again. The freedom of trips without visiting Avis or finding a Zipcar, of road trips and visiting friends and impromptu evenings at the beach.

I kinda like that it’s our first Volkswagen too. My parents had Polos, my brother has a VW van and somewhere back in England I have a classic radio-controlled VW ‘Sand Scorcher’ by Tamiya that must be close to 40 years old.

All the research that went into buying the car has got me sinking back into car culture, at least a little, although much of US car culture is very different to the UK and France. A few years back I wouldn’t have seen myself ever choosing an SUV but the Tiguan has been great so far. Compact, wagon, SUV or sports car, I’ll probably always remain something of a petrolhead.