I was never into cars as a teenager. Just never appealed. Having something large enough to lug a drum kit around was always a priority.
Humble beginnings with Commer's and Sherpa's. Both absolutely terrible vehicles, but they got the drums and me where they needed to be......eventually
My relationship with boxes on wheels ended when a Polish wagon driver crushed my beloved VW T5 outside my business unit. I had come a long way since those tragic 70's machines. The T5 was a 5 pot (Audi) 205bhp engined palace on wheels and I think it started my love affair with driving.
Just after the VW's demise I nearly went the same way in a freak accident. Thankfully I only suffered a bad leg injury. After almost a year of no driving, and now aged 46 I bought my first ever car. Trouble is, because of the injury it had to be an auto!
It was an Audi A6 avant. I could only stretch to a 2.0TDI and it was a lovely place to be sat in. Sadly, it was really unreliable. The dealership was useless and on top of that a few nasty winters living near the Pennines made it undriveable. I vowed I would not let snow get in the way again.
This led me to my foray into oriental AWD vehicles and particularly with the brand Subaru. Since 2008 our family have owned six of them.
My first experience was with a 2006 Forester XT and I loved it. 220 something BHP and incredibly quick for what was essentially a small SUV. It was about as far away from the Audi as was possible; i.e 100% reliable and a real blast to drive.
After selling it to a friend after 2 years I moved on to a 2006 Legacy Spec B Tourer. An all-weather, no drama, family wagon that would put a smile on my face every time I turned the key. It was far less utilitarian than the Forester but still could lug a load if need be. The 3ltr flat 6 is a thing of beauty and besides it's insatiable thirst was a pure joy to pilot. Over just shy of 100k miles it required just a headlight bulb and a battery.
I was now addicted to the brand and in 2013 I bought a true oriental JDM classic. Not the one you would expect, but one with the same underpinnings. This was a 330bhp AWD toaster on wheels with a 4.8 secs to 60mph, allegedly. What can I say but 'what a blast' Unfortunately the fun didn't last as long as I had hoped! After just two years I had to make a choice between the Legacy and the Forester STI when a home re-location meant one of them had to help with the finances.
So the Legacy stayed. It was far more practical, far more inconspicuous and would never have fetched as much as the FSTI.
Meanwhile my good wife updated the latest of a rook of trusty Volvo's, and now we had gone rural, moved over to the Subaru fold. Being miles from any dealerships meant it needed to be uber reliable too. Our first Subaru XV was a diesel and we have not long updated to a facelift petrol model. Neither have really been my cup of tea but they are essentialy her vehicle.
They still have that Subaru DNA but the sun has definately set on the glory days. It is however suitably narrow for the notoriously slender welsh lanes, has fantastic ground clearance and has yet to be beaten by a rough farm track or muddy field.
So, on to my current Scooby. After selling the Legacy in late 2017 after almost 10 years of ownership I went car-less again! This time I just couldn't find a suitable replacement.
The drum kit had got smaller and would now fit in the XV so I was free to buy pretty much anything, but the search continued. I was then introduced by a freind to our local race circuit. Being in close proximity meant free membership to all but private race testing events and monthly member circuit events meant you could bring anything to drive.
So after checking out what looked like cheap fun round the track I ended up with one of these. The Subaru BRZ.
OK, so it's a joint venture with Toyota and RWD, but it had that familiar flat four under the bonnet. It's not fast by any stretch of the imagination but that is not what it's all about. It's just a pure pleasure to chuck around and so much fun. The driving position is near perfect, the gear change slick and the steering is sublime. It's also bullet proof and will problem out live me!
By the way that Mclaren above was just about to lap me.....again!