I Roll

Or, if you want that in Latin: Volvo

I always wanted one, and now I have one. It isn’t new, it is a tank of a car. Big, roomy and heavy. It sits well on the road. It isn’t sporty but it is solid. I don’t drive that much any more and when I do, I take my time. Not that I don’t drive to the limit, I no longer have to reach anywhere in a hurry. I won’t be overloading the 1,8 liter engine.

It isn’t so much that I was displeased with my old car but it was getting to the point where it was showing its age and costing me a lot to maintain it. The Volvo is of similar age but it was built to last forever.  The road tax will be cheaper too. I calculate that if I can keep it running for the next six years, it will have paid for itself on taxation alone. It also has a towing hook. I may be getting a trailer soon, so that I may be the source of others frustration as I slowly drag my rubbish to the local dump.
A station car has always been my preferred mode of transport. There is room for all the family and all the accoutrements of living the life I live. In winter I carry emergency provisions in the car, plus a blanket and the unavoidable shovel and tow chain. I need to be able to transport rubbish away from the house, garden refuse and other stuff. Hard to do in a compact city car. It will be a boon during the summer camping outings.

A 1.8 liter engine drinks fuel at an almost alarming rate. I don’t mind. I enjoy having the latent power under my backside. By not running it at full throttle one can offset the MPG and get a little more out of the expensive liquid energy source. I will be noting my fuel consumption over the next few weeks. Nice to know how far one can travel per liter. I did it for the motorbike, I can do it for the car too.

So, you may ask, what is this beast? Well, it’s a 1,8 Volvo V40 Jubilee Station Wagon from 2003. Silver livery and all the mod cons. Air conditioned, traction control, ABS, plus all the other doo-dads that Volvo could think of. This was top of the line when it was produced.

Here’s a picture of the model:

OK, I don’t have the carriage rails over the roof but the rest is remarkably similar to the image on the right..

I need to get it washed. The long summer has brought water restrictions with it and right now the washing of vehicles is taboo. A minor setback. I have polished all the glasswork though, Mainly because the dust had settled all over the windscreen and I do like to see where I’m pointing the thing as I hurtle down the motorway.

I did allow my good lady to sit behind the wheel. She is not large by anyone’s standards and she had a problem seeing over the dashboard. This will probably not deter her. She had the same problem with her Mazda many years ago but she drove that one to death. I will attempt to limit her access to this one though.

She has a city car of her own. This one’s mine….