READER'S BLOG: In praise of whitegoods

A few weeks ago the esteemed Roo and I were trading comments on the merits of owning one 'all-rounder' versus multiple 'horses for courses'.

I've always come down on the side of the all-rounder. Something interesting but practical that you can enjoy driving every day. This has served me well, and avoided my (possibly irrational) hatred of paying more rego and insurance than I have to.

But. I recently had a five week stint (sentence?) piloting a hire car every day. For legal reasons I will refer to this car by the fictional name "Toyota Corolla". Ahem.

What happened next was nothing short of an automotive revelation!

Seating position? Pretty damn good!

Steering feel? Fine!

Performance? More than good enough for a daily commute!

Fuel? Fuel?! I was beginning to wonder whether gnomes were filling the tank at night, it hardly used any!

Best of all though, I left it in the driveway under trees at night. I parked it next to SUV's with baby seats at the shops. I put the cheapest fuel on offer in it (although the Diesel nozzle wouldn't fit, as much as I tried). In short, I did not give a f*** about this car. This is most unusual behaviour for me, and it was liberating!

So Roo, I'm sold!

Every enthusiast needs one car that's so boring you can mentally assign it the same level of concern you have for your fridge. We've all misunderstood that "whitegoods on wheels" are a brilliant thing!

And then of course there's the flip side... Having acquired your fridge/car, you have free reign to choose your "driver's" car with almost no restrictions other than it must be fizz-inducingly amazing to drive.

No more commutes, so a manual is fine. Only two seats? One more than you need! You could even catch yourself entertaining the idea of a convertible when the weather's fine...

So now that you've had your eyes opened to automotive nirvana, what are your two choices?

Words: JWM

Picture courtesy of Jeremy/Wikipedia