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Modern Cars: Who Needs 'Em?
Not Ian Seabrook. He's happy with four wheels under an umbrella
Earlier this year, I took a brave (some would say mad) step. I reduced my fleet of cars down to one. My Citroen 2CV.
I've owned 2CVs since I was 18, buying my first when I had long hair and big ideas in 1996. Ten years on, I've got too much hair again and I love 2CVs as much as ever.
Rot did set in for a time. My hair got trimmed and I got silly ideas about being fashionable. I also discovered' the awful temptation of car finance. A Citroen BX led to a Daewoo Matiz. Then a Subaru Impreza, a Peugeot 306, an Isuzu Trooper which was horrible, an Audi 100 and a Rover 400. I didn't give up my 2CV'ing. It was just that I owned a modern car as well after foolishly convincing myself that I needed something quicker, quieter and more stylish and trendy.
But this year, I started to do some sums and realised that the little bit of extra comfort was costing a lot of money. Finance and depreciation are costly companions. So I decided to rediscover the 2CV as everyday transport.
So, what is it like travelling 250 miles a week in a car designed before and during the Second World War?
Well, not half as bad as you may expect. The main reason for this is comfort. The 2CV has a magnificent ride with it's unique, long travel, horizontal springing and soft seats. The clutch is nice and light while being very sweet which is nice for the small amount of driving I do through town.
The other big element is fun! There is no other car in the world in which you can have so much fun, while going so slowly. Bends that fail to excite in a modern car suddenly become hugely involving. The famous bodyroll certainly adds to the excitement but what people rarely talk about is the direct and communicative steering - a surprise in a car with a pre-war design brief. The gearchange is also positive once you get used to the unusual layout. But is it really that unusual? It has a dog leg first gear, just like a Ferrari! A dashboard gearchange is not uncommon these days too featuring on the Citroen Picasso and the outgoing Honda Civic.
29bhp sounds like a pitiful amount and yes, hills and overtaking manoeuvres are best avoided. But the little 602cc air cooled flat twin will rev happily and progress is not as slow as you (and other motorists) expect. The downside is that people seem to have a habit of pulling out in front of you with alarming regularity.
Reliability certainly isn't proving to be a problem. In over 40,000 miles, the only time the AA have been called out is when an alternator bolt fell out. It happened again (alternator bearing made the bolt snap!) so I merely took the alternator off altogether and drove home on the battery. Minimal electrics have their advantages.
The 2CV doesn't really need a huge amount of maintenance either. Yes, the kingpins need greasing every 1000 miles and servicing is a 3000 mile event but as you can quite easily do the work yourself, you still end up saving overall. Not that I'm a fan of working on cars. For me, enjoyment comes mainly from behind the wheel.
But, the more I drive the 2CV , the more I realise that modern cars are filled with unnecessary distractions. Climate control, electric everything, sat nav etc. It just isn't required.
Whereas a modern car may initially seduce you with convenience features, you'll actually find yourself wishing that the steering had some feel to it and that you could open the window without having to turn the ignition on. You need a stereo and sat nav to play with because otherwise, journeys become mind-numbingly dull. 60mph feels like you are hardly moving so you exceed the speed limit to get a kick. Everything about modern cars is wrong. No wonder people keep nodding off at the wheel.
That is a problem the 2CV driver does not have. While most people are blissfully unaware of the weather (especially now you don't even have to turn the wipers on) you are all too aware in the 2CV. Rain water will trickle into the car and invariably into your shoe. Winds make even a straight road feel like you are tackling some sort of invisible chicane.
Many people will wonder why on earth I choose what seems like a very hard way of travelling about but you just can't beat a classic motor for making driving seem like an experience rather than simply a way of getting from a to b. I don't want to be cosseted, I want to enjoy the drive.
