I've just been fiddling with my sat-nav after using it extensively on my recent trip through Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
I noticed that it has recorded a maximum speed for the trip of 129mph, which I reached (legally and safely) in a brief burst on a completely clear stretch of the A5 between Basel and Frankfurt. The Alfa 159 (2.2 litre four cylinder petrol version) I was driving at the time felt like it had more to give, but I would have required a much longer piece of empty road to max it safely.
But don't go thinking that the Autobahns are a high-speed paradise. Long stretches of the A5 have a 120 km/h limit, have only two lanes in each direction, or are clogged with traffic - that means average journey times probably aren't much better than they would be in the UK.
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Friday, 21 September 2007
Friday, 1 June 2007
What's outside today 6 - Kia cee'd
Off to Newcastle today in the Kia cee'd.
Now the prospect of driving to the other end of the country in something a) inexpensive b) Korean might look like a bit of a let-down after the chance to test the Aston Vantage earlier in the week, but actually I'm rather looking forward to it.
First, Newcastle is one of my favourite Verdict destinations - I'll be sure to get to the Sage centre for a cup of tea at some stage. Second, the cee'd is one of my favourite industry stories at the moment - it's a cracking car that isn't particularly Korean at all. Designed in Germany and built in Slovakia, it's Kia's first 'European' model. Even if it weren't a great product, you'd almost have to buy it because of its unbeatable seven-year guarantee.
I'm also hoping for some good B-road driving on my favourite Lincolnshire routes, which I've written about here before; this time I also want to investigate whether I can pick out a similarly interesting north-south B-road option through East/North Yorks. beyond the Humber Bridge as well.
PS - the c'eed has one decidedly non-European feature - a right-hand indicator stalk. I'm sure it was on the left at one stage on pre-production or early production cars, although I could be mistaken. Not that I'm complaining too much - this used to be considered correct for RHD cars and can still be found on Australian and Malaysian models (e.g. Holden/Vauxhall Monaro). For some reason, quite lot of Korean cars have a right-hand indicator stalk, but I'm not sure why, given that Korea is not an RHD market.
Now the prospect of driving to the other end of the country in something a) inexpensive b) Korean might look like a bit of a let-down after the chance to test the Aston Vantage earlier in the week, but actually I'm rather looking forward to it.
First, Newcastle is one of my favourite Verdict destinations - I'll be sure to get to the Sage centre for a cup of tea at some stage. Second, the cee'd is one of my favourite industry stories at the moment - it's a cracking car that isn't particularly Korean at all. Designed in Germany and built in Slovakia, it's Kia's first 'European' model. Even if it weren't a great product, you'd almost have to buy it because of its unbeatable seven-year guarantee.
I'm also hoping for some good B-road driving on my favourite Lincolnshire routes, which I've written about here before; this time I also want to investigate whether I can pick out a similarly interesting north-south B-road option through East/North Yorks. beyond the Humber Bridge as well.
PS - the c'eed has one decidedly non-European feature - a right-hand indicator stalk. I'm sure it was on the left at one stage on pre-production or early production cars, although I could be mistaken. Not that I'm complaining too much - this used to be considered correct for RHD cars and can still be found on Australian and Malaysian models (e.g. Holden/Vauxhall Monaro). For some reason, quite lot of Korean cars have a right-hand indicator stalk, but I'm not sure why, given that Korea is not an RHD market.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)