carsales Drive-Thru car chats with Lincoln Lewis
"I’ll brush my hair as I’m driving or I’ll just hold it. Yes it’s weird saying that out loud. Maybe I’m trying to stave off my Dad’s baldness!"Aussie actor Lincoln Lewis has a weird thing for his hairbrush. Truth. That aside, he is arguably most famous for his role as Geoff Campbell on Seven Network’s Home and Away where he appeared on over 500 episodes and won a Logie for Most Popular New Talent in 2008. Lewis doubled-down with a solid performance on Dancing with the Stars in 2009 – he was the seventh celebrity to be eliminated from the 11-person line-up. But this loveable lad has been otherwise occupied in recent times, lending his honest and vulnerable voice for mental health awareness and always lending a hand to those in need.
Lewis chats to carsales off the back of four days on the road with the team from #emptyesky, visiting towns devastated by Australia’s tragic bushfires, in a go-anywhere 4x4 Mazda BT-50.
“It was pretty heart breaking” admits Lewis after visiting the town of Mallacoota in the East Gippsland region of Victoria. “But it’s great to see everyone coming together, helping each other” says Lewis.
Continuing his road trip North as he heads towards his home town on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Lewis answers our drive-thru questions with boyish banter we’ve come to know him for and wagon-love a constant theme. These days popular boy next door, now a Mazda Australia ambassador, spends most of his time behind the wheel of a Mazda6 wagon.
What are your early memories of cars?
"Dad’s red sports car on the Goldie and Nanna’s two-door Datsun (I think) hatch back with fur-lined seat covers. Mum had a [Toyota] Prado and sitting in the very back seat was cool! You could muck up and not get in trouble until you got out because you were too far away [for the parents] to do anything. My eldest brother always got the front seat, that’s how the pecking order went for us! Beyond that it was Pop’s old FJ Holden ute which he kept it in such good nick. What we called the lucky days were when he picked us up from school. It was burgundy and in such immaculate condition – column shift, bench seat – it was such a treat."
First car?
"Up until I signed as an ambassador with Mazda Australia I’d only had one car! A 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer – I bought it brand new and had it for 12 years! Towards the end if I didn’t drive it every day, I ‘d have to get a jump-start. It [the Mazda partnership] was a blessing and great timing!"
Lewis has cycled through Mazda’s range of dual-cab utes and SUVs but has found a sweet spot with the versatility of the Mazda6 wagon these days, perfect for surf boards and the occasional nap with the seats folded flat in the back according to Lewis.
Can you drive a manual?
"Yes. Mum mostly taught me to drive. Dad was always working. The one thing we grew up with was to learn a manual because if you ever broke down or needed to borrow a car you might need it. Mind you, I love driving the manual anyway. There’s just something about it.”
Rate your parallel parking skills on a scale of 1-10?
"I’m gonna say a solid 9. I’d love to say 10 but every now and then you over shoot it a bit! Whenever I park, I prefer to reverse in. I don’t know why! My friends always laugh about it."
How awful is your driver’s licence photo on a scale of 1-10?
"I just got a new one actually. It’s a solid three. It’s not the worst I’ve ever taken but I’m not gonna crack it out at a party."
Rate your navigational skills on a scale of 1-10?
"Ooooh, that’s a good one. Six or seven… I’ll go with seven. I’m backing myself. If I’m shot gun in passenger seat I won’t miss a beat."
Do you merge patiently or sneak up the inside and push in?
"It’s a bit of a case-by-case basis. If there’s someone up ahead of you that’s lingering and you’ve got wiggle room before you have to slow, go for it [push in]. That’s their own fault, isn’t it. If you’re lining up for ages however – people know the drill – I don’t buy pushing into that at all."
Two things we’d find in your car?
"Extra chewing gum, strawberry - I’m addicted to it. I’ll go through a packet every two to three days! I’ve never smoked, and it’s not a nervous thing. No, I don’t swallow the gum! I always remember my parents teling you it stays in your guts for seven years!
And I don’t know why but I always keep a hair brush! I’ll brush my hair as I’m driving or I’ll just hold it. Yes it’s weird saying that out loud. Maybe I’m trying to stave off my Dad’s baldness!"
Do you regularly top up with petrol or wait until the light is flashing and engine failure imminent?
"I’ve surprised myself these last few weeks, I wait until it gets to a quarter tank and I’ll to up. It’s never near imminent danger but, having said that, I have been known get down to a 3km range on a highway drive of 11km until the nearest petrol station. I got there, just!"
Do you know what these car-related acronyms mean?
ABS – something about brakes
ESC, AEB, RCTA – errr, no.
Taxi or Uber?
Uber
What’s your Uber rating?
4.91
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