RCZ R – 2 months on!

My last blog update saw me announce the arrival of my new RCZ R. it’s been two months of fun, caution and naughtiness.

Fun !

On a very chilly day on the May Bank Holiday weekend, 32 RCZs gathered for the 4th annual RCZ Yorkshire Meet.  We more than doubled the numbers from last year, which is a great feat just in itself. Owners came from Scotland, Ireland, Wales as well as England. Some people endured journeys to Yorkshire of more than 11 hours! That’s dedication for you and I very much appreciate the distances that some people travel to get to this event. It makes all the months of planning and preparation well worth it.

On top of the North Yorkshire Moors, the wind blew with temperatures falling to 4 degrees centigrade. This did not dampen our enthusiasm too much however the welcoming warmth of the pub was much needed.  A warming cup of Yorkshire tea was very much warranted.   Who said that RCZ ownership was all rock n roll?

After a hearty lunch we split up into three groups of around 10-12 RCZs to drive in convoy to our next destination.  We drove through the stunning scenery of the North Yorkshire Moors and the Howardian Hills. I think I can safely say that everyone enjoyed the drive and the beautiful countryside.

Our final destination was the beautiful location of Castle Howard. A grand stately home, which is famous for being the backdrop in many TV dramas. Arguably the most notable being Brideshead Revisited.

Reserved parking had been set aside for us where more photographs were taken. However the icing on the cake was the opportunity to photograph the RCZs in front of the main House of Castle Howard. Permission had been kindly granted by the owners for 20 RCZs to be photographed here. The 20 cars chosen were simply drawn out of a hat. It was all about the luck of the draw!  Castle Howard proved to be a beautiful and fitting location for our gorgeous RCZs.

All in all it was a great day although the weather could have been warmer. Having said that, it stayed dry which was the main thing. It’s great to see so many RCZs in one location and I’m proud to say the largest independent gathering of RCZs ever, in the UK. Thank you to everyone that supported and attended this event and the previous three Yorkshire Meets. Each year has proved more successful than the last so who knows what next year’s 5th Anniversary will hold?!

Caution !

My RCZ R has already got me into trouble. So a cautionary tale to you all RCZ drivers (not just R owners). Its very quick and easy to get up to high speeds without really realising how fast you are going so please take it steady and don’t drive at illegally high speeds. Losing your licence really isn’t worth it, just to get to your destination a few minutes earlier.  Or worse !  I was lucky so please heed my warning.

Naughtiness ! 

The RCZ was built to be enjoyed so at every opportunity I make sure that Daisy (the Milton Keynes One) flexes her wheels on some good twisty country roads. The RCZ R was made for roads like this.  The Goodyear tyres grip the road well although you do have to chose your roads carefully when you want to put your foot down hard, due to tram-lining. I’m not sure if this is just due to the Goodyear tyres but I do recall this happening to a lesser degree in my other RCZs.  With the huge pull to the left (torque steer) under hard acceleration, narrow country lanes are not the place to try this.

The torque steer is something that takes a little getting used to on the R. It still takes you by surprise on occasions when you feel the need to accelerate quickly. You accelerate to overtake the car in front and lurch towards it instead of going by it. I’m learning to compensate for this and the trick is to accelerate progressively rather than harshly. Once you get the revs above 3000 rpm the turbo kicks in and you literally take off.

You can drive the RCZ R like any other RCZ and it will give you excellent economy. I have had 46.5mpg on an 80 mile round trip and I am averaging 38.61 mpg (Road Trip app) since I’ve owned the car.  The car computer states 41.4mpg. I think the car computer is prone to over calculating so I believe the Road Trip app to be more accurate. I still muse how a car like this can return such good economy, be comparatively cheap to tax and be petrol !

The R is THE best car I’ve owned including in the looks department. Have I said before how much I love a white RCZ 🙂

Pros:

No faults or problems so far.

The exhaust note under acceleration.

Cons:

Could do with a 7th gear for motorway cruising speeds.

Flappy paddles would be perfect with the RCZ R.

(All photographs by kind permission of Stephen Gray – fellow RCZ owner!)

Running costs to date: 

Total Fuel costs : £388.47

Average miles per gallon: 38.61

Average miles per day : 36.6

Average number of miles per tank: 467

Total number of miles in ownership: 2343

Total miles on odometer: 3406

Wow! What a beast!

One day, at the end of March. The last day of my holiday in fact, an alert sounded on my mobile phone. It was an eBay alert for a saved search that I had set a few months previous. Opening up the link proved to be the best thing I’ve ever done (other than marrying my better half) 😉

There before me was the car I’d been waiting for the last few months. The price was right. The mileage was right. The colour was right. Everything was perfect. A quick call to the dealer proved to be even more perfect. The easiest car deal I’ve ever done and all over the telephone, with a deal that seemed so unbelievable to be true. But it was ! A deposit was paid to take it off sale, pending my viewing of it the following day and a six hour round journey.

So early the following morning, off we set on our merry way to Milton Keynes. It poured down all the way but that didn’t dampen my spirits. Far from it! The RT6 Sat Nav took us straight to the door of the dealer, without a hiccup.

Exchanging our greetings with the very nice salesman, Jim, I was keen to see the car in question. I’d already spotted it out of the corner of my eye, which was quite remarkable in the circumstances. More of that in a moment but first I was handed the keys and off I went to see this beauty of a car. What struck me immediately, was that it was even more gorgeous in the flesh than any photos I’ve seen and that says a lot. Checking over the paintwork carefully and looking closely at every mm of the alloys, looking for any curbing, proved that Jim was right when he said the car was unmarked. With hardly any mileage on the clock, it was in essence, brand new. Inevitably, the remaining thing to do was take it for a test drive.

Therein was the problem. You see, I had a contact lens malfunction which meant that I couldn’t see properly, so John, my better half, who had driven us down to Milton Keynes, would have to do the test drive. Jim, our lovely salesman, looked of an age where he would struggle to climb in the back of the car, so I volunteered to clamber in the back. Not a pretty sight ! Starting the car up, it sounded awesome. When John floored the throttle, I saw THE most enormous grin spread across his face. There it stayed for the rest of the test drive. Damn! This was a bad move. He’d be forever wanting to drive the car once I got it home 😦

I didn’t need to drive the car to know that this car was for me. So there and then, I signed on the dotted line and collection was arranged for Good Friday, which was only five days away. Boy did those five days drag and it was a far cry from the 10 months I’d waited for my very first RCZ to arrive.

Oh and upon leaving, the dealership manager came over to me, handed me his business card and said “if you ever want to arrange a meet here, we’d love to oblige.” In my initial conversation with the salesman, he had mentioned that I seemed to know a lot about the car. I explained that I ran an Owners Group on Facebook so word must have got round. Well it’s got to have some benefits 🙂

I also had the added pleasure of seeing Suzanne Letting’s gorgeous RCZ R as we pulled out of the dealership. She gave us such a huge wave. It was icing on the cake to a great day 🙂

So Good Friday finally arrived. Collection day. Yippee !

So what was this car I was collecting. Not the new Audi TT as I naughtily reported on the FB Group on April Fools Day. Oh god no!

This was the stunningly beautiful and powerful, Peugeot RCZ R !

A K&N filter was ordered and fitted along with personalised mats and some very special “R” puddle lights. Not forgetting that she was also treated to Shell V Power to give her the best start in life and to keep that engine well lubricated. Did I call her she ? Ah yes. So what do you call a car that you buy from Milton Keynes? What’s Milton Keynes famous for? Ah yes, roundabouts and plastic cows. So that was it. Daisy was duly named!

The following days and weeks of ownership have been quite awesome. Now being the proud owner of my third RCZ, the R is a totally different beast to drive compared to the previous Zs. It feels completely different. All the adjustments that Peugeot have made to it certainly seem to have worked. It drives better. It hugs the road even better than I ever thought was possible. And those seats just hug you in to make the experience even more special. But more than that, the speed of acceleration is quite incredible and brings a huge grin to my face every single time. it’s quite a brute 🙂

By the way, my worst fears have come true. My better half keeps coming up with reasons to drive my R 😦

So now the word is out. For more than a month I have kept the R a secret. Can you imagine how difficult that is when all I wanted to do was post photos of my beautiful girl?

Oh and I think I owe Peter Garratt a pint and a meal for keeping my secret too 🙂

Now it’s time to set off for the 4th Annual Yorkshire Meet 🙂

The dream goes on -:)

Wow! I cannot believe it’s been so long since my last update. I’m seriously apologetic.

A lot has happened in the last 7 months. Not least that Ruby now has 23k miles on the clock. Shortly coming up to 2 years ownership of Ruby (and nearly 5 years of RCZ ownership in total). How that time has flown by ! The smiles by miles continue to delight !

The RCZ had her 2nd year service this week which included a brake fluid change. Yet again my local dealer gave their usual excellent service and gave Ruby a clean bill of health, accompanied by a small video telling me so. A nice touch JCT600 Hull. Oh and not forgetting to mention that the cost of my service was £157. Very reasonable too!

The only real maintenance I have to do is top up the oil every six thousand miles or so. Ruby does like a good open country road so we love to “put the foot to the floor” and enjoy the sheer delight of power and guile, as one. A real pleasure to drive, every single time.

Ruby continues to be pampered despite being a daily driver, in all weathers. She now has a very valid reason to be so as she is now an official platform for the Auto Finesse Testing Review Team. She is a test bed not only for the current detailing products in the Auto Finesse range but up and coming new products, which are not yet available to the public. All she has to do is stand there and look good in the photographs which accompany the reviews I write on each of the products. Can I just say that Ruby does it brilliantly 

My little beauty has also been treated to some new interior lights

Not to be outdone by Ruby, my first RCZ, Pearl, recently became a winner in the Auto Express winter photo competition. Showing that even in winter the RCZ still looks stunning.

Plans for the 2015 Yorkshire RCZ Meet on Saturday 2nd May are well advanced. Now in its 4th year, the Meet in 2015 promises the biggest yet with 40+ RCZs already confirmed with owners from the RCZ Owners Group on Facebook and the RCZ Forum. This will be the biggest independent gathering of RCZs the UK has ever seen, with attenders from Europe too making it international. The event is being sponsored very kindly, by John Harrison Peugeot, Nottingham.

http://dealer.peugeot.co.uk/john-harrison-lowdham/home/

Meeting at the Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge once again for a pub lunch, to be followed by a drive through the picturesque North Yorkshire Moors and Howardian Hills, to our ultimate destination. Where’s that you ask? Well, for now, I’ll just have to leave you hanging as its a state secret and if I told you, then I’d have to kill you -;) Needless to say that there is a great finale to the day for the lucky ones !

Hopefully the weather will be kind to us.

For anyone interested in attending a Meet further South, then there is the Woburn / Milton Keynes Meet on Saturday 27th June 2015 at 12 noon at The Wavendon Arms, Milton Keynes. There are currently 12 RCZs confirmed as attending. I’m sure Suzanne, the organiser, would love to see as many of your beautiful RCZs there as she possibly can and may even treat you to a delicious cup cake with a RCZ on the top! Yum! Yum !

Now that Spring is finally here, I hope all you fellow RCZ Owners can get out on the open road and fully explore just what the car is capable of. But most of all just enjoy the ride -:)

Safe driving.

And a car wax to match my number plate

And some nice beading

16000 miles and counting !

Well a lot has happened since my last blog update. 

Two further RCZ owner meets have been attended. The third annual Yorkshire RCZ Meet was held and was a great success with a total of 15 RCZs in attendance, which included two Rs (and included a “small” article in the Peugeot Rapport magazine). Then more recently a Breakfast Meet at Peterborough where 8 RCZs were on show including 2 Asphalts. Both days were thoroughly enjoyable and it’s hoped that the 4th Yorkshire Meet will be bigger and better than ever with the possibility of making it a full weekend Meet.

Yorkshire Meet

Peterborough Meet

I’m pleased to announce that Ruby won June’s Car of the Month in the Ultimate Finish monthly detailing competition. This won me £150 of car detailing products. You can never have too many ! Oh and did I mention that one of the products was a wax  – Swissvax Best of Show to be precise.

Ruby had her first service at a cost of around £160 plus an air conditioning refresh. The service as usual was spot on from my local dealer at JCT600 Hull. They walked around the car with me when I dropped it off to show there were no marks on the car and the job sheet already had “DO NOT WASH” printed on it, as they know how pedantic I am! 

When I dropped off my car I mentioned that I had noticed a problem with the temperature gauge not getting up to the normal running temperature. Furthermore, on one occasion I had noticed the engine fan going at a ton of knots when I turned the engine off. It sounded like it was about to take off. The service technicians looked at this for me but the diagnostics was not showing any errors and whilst they had it for the day, the car had not displayed any of these symptoms. The dealer was great though and said if it happened again just drop it in as I drive by the dealership every morning on my way to work. About a week later the symptoms reappeared and was duly dropped off. This time the diagnostics showed the error code which pointed to the temperature sensor. Remedial work was carried out under warranty which resulted in a Peugeot recognised modification to the temperature sensor. After 4 months I’m pleased to report that I have not had any further issues and is driving sound as a pound.

I can report that Ruby has had a little modification, or two, which I think makes her look even more gorgeous. My best bargain buy on eBay by far, bought me a brand new set of Technical alloys, totally unmarked, complete with a brand new set of Continental tyres all round. A saving of £1.5k.

Now all I had to do was collect them from Birmingham. A rendezvous was arranged with the seller and my husband and I collected them and transported them back home, in the back of his Land Rover. 

Once home, the wheels were power washed down, decontaminated, polished and then sealed with Gtechniq C1 for long term protection (18 months plus). 

Next was the job of fitting them. Now some of you may know that the jacking points on the RCZ are not the best. There have bern many stories on the RCZ forum of jacking points crumpling under the jack and damaged sills galore. I didn’t want the same thing to happen to Ruby.

A way around this was to purchase a puck purpose built for the RCZ by a fellow RCZ owner, good friend and RCZ Forum member. He had organised a group buy on the forum which had proved to be very popular so I decided to purchase one. Having also purchased a suitable trolley jack I was good to go to change my new alloys over. With great care my husband and I, jacked up the car and using the jacking puck, the jacking point sat in the machined out groove perfectly. The old alloys were removed and the new alloys put on without any dramas. Ruby was now on 19 inch Technical alloys and sitting pretty!

The second little modification was having the brake calipers painted. This was very kindly done by Nathan “Abzynthe” from the RCZ Forum. In return I machine polished his RCZ for him. A fair deal I think. Maybe Nathan’s knees didn’t think so !!! Really appreciate the job he did for me though and really finish off the wheels nicely 

On another note, my insurance renewal came through and after shopping around got a quote I was happy with for sub £200. The first time ever. Must be getting to that funny age…… ! [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH]

18 months into ownership of Ruby and she never ceases to impress me. She still remains a lovely car to drive and fuel economy continues to be impressive. Average 41.7 mpg.

After a recent meal out with a lovely couple and fellow RCZ owners, I let my better half drive Ruby for the first time. Sitting in the passenger seat, you certainly get a different perspective of the RCZ and how it handles. My husband had a hoot driving it home on twisty B roads and long straights, late at night with not much traffic around. The BMW 3 series in front of us thought he could out run us but obviously the owner doesn’t know how deceptive the RCZ is. Where he might have had slightly more speed on the straight, the Z had him on the corners and had we chosen too, we could have been past him at every corner. The Z races out of a corner as soon as you put your foot down on the throttle whilst remaining perfectly flat and stable. Such a fun car to drive and my husband could only muse over how well the RCZ handles.

Have fun driving your RCZ fellow owners but remember, do it safely ! 

 

10,000 miles of smiles!

Well 11 months into ownership and I’ve just recorded 10,000 miles in my moroccan red beauty.

All of them have been problem free. Every single mile, a pleasure. Furthermore, I still have that stupid grin on my face every time I get behind the wheel. Even to this day, 3.5 years into RCZ ownership, whenever I park the car up, I always have to look back 3 or 4 times, at her gorgeous good looks. I can never just walk away.

How many cars can make you do that?

Which brings me on to a conversation I was having with a colleague recently. I just happened to mention that my car has a name, which of course is Ruby. She looked at me funny and said ” a car is just a thing, a lump of metal!” I looked at her aghast and also with a little sadness. Here was someone who was missing out on the joys of driving not only a beautiful car but also the thrill that driving a RCZ brings. How often have I jumped in my RCZ and driven just for the sake of it, without any particular destination in mind, just for the sheer enjoyment of being in the driving seat of the RCZ? Often, I can tell you!

A lovely spring or summers evening is the perfect time to do this. Experiencing the whole motion and emotion (see what I did there) of driving fast country roads. Engine braking as you approach a sharp bend, drop it down to third, only to then put your foot to the throttle and watch that rev counter needle head towards the redline and the acoustic engine note sing, as you accelerate out of the bend and watch it go. Give it a go, if you haven’t done already. It’s the best time you’ll ever have ! Watch out for that second stage spoiler though!

It’s not all about the sporty ride though. The RCZ is a versatile vehicle. It’s also a great cruiser on longer journeys and very economical too boot. I recently achieved the best mpg in either of my RCZs. A fantastic 52.2mpg. That’s really quite impressive for a sporty coupe and a petrol engine at that!

Now that engine is bedded in, my average mpg has really improved. I’m regularly getting 40+mpg per tank of fuel. I still continue to use Shell V Power Nitro plus at every fuel up. It still really surprises me how much of a difference this makes to the performance of the car. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself.

The RCZ is booked in for her first year service next week. I will report back on the experience soon.

For now….. Happy driving …. !

6 months, 5000 miles and 1 stone chip !

Sorry people, its been a while since my last blog post. Lots going on but yes, in the blink of an eye, I have had the pleasure of owning Ruby for 6 months. The time has gone by quickly and if she could talk she would probably have a few stories to tell……..! Two RCZ meets, two registration numbers, bespoke leather seats fitted, countless photography shoots, driven some great country roads, trips down memory lane (how ironic is that particular phrase!) oh and let’s not forget she’s been detailed once or twice !

In those 6 months, we have covered just over 5000 miles. All have been enjoyable and every one covered without an hitch. Just at the 5000 mile point I got a “low oil” warning. Ventured to my local Peugeot dealer to pick up the required engine oil, as recommended in the Peugeot service booklet. The parts department employee handed me Shell oil. “That’s not what Peugeot recommend,” I said. “Should be Total,” I said. The guy looked at me and must have been thinking “women!”. “This will be just fine”, he commented. “Exactly the same, just a different make. Both just as good.” Duly topped up my oil level and “Oil level correct” displayed once more. Car running sound as a pound again.

The engine is now starting to be run in and the fuel economy is really improving. I’m now averaging between 42-44 mpg. On one recent round trip I got 49mpg and regularly get 47mpg on longer journeys. Not bad for a petrol engine, in a coupe. I still continue to use Shell Nitro + fuel, as it really does improve the performance of my RCZ when accelerating, especially in the lower gears.

When I optioned Ruby, I went for Sat Nav. It’s the first time I’ve had in-built Sat Nav in a car. It’s been worth its weight in gold over the last few months. I’ve had to visit new places so I had no idea where I was going but the RT6 system has taken me straight to the correct location, without a hiccup. The same can’t be said for my sister’s Sat Nav, which went into meltdown when we had to meet at a location we had not been before. I had to give her directions using my RT6 system to guide her to me. I have noticed if you select shortest route, it may not always get it right. It wants to take you down little tracks, which may once have been a little cut through, but no more. I tried this when I was testing out the system when I knew where I was going. It never fails when you select fastest route. Just something to be aware of.

My Ruby still looks like new. Everything is in A1 condition. Everything that is, apart from the 1 stone chip that has appeared on my front bumper. Just where the bumper meets the bonnet. Right in the front. I’m not happy. No idea where it came from. No recollection of a stone being thrown up and hitting the bonnet. A pain we all have to bear on the roads, these days, I’m afraid.

Never mind, Ruby continues to be pampered on a regular basis. I’m waxing (the car) on a weekly basis. After using sealants for more than 2 years, I’ve fallen back in love with waxes again. My wax collection is ever expanding and I’ve recently treated myself to a couple of expensive waxes, one of which is a limited run of 30, which were available worldwide. I have pot 29 of 30, which is engraved as such along with my name as is my bottle of car shampoo (for which you can choose the name of your shampoo, scent and have your name on it). Both special products to me.

So onwards and upwards to the next 6 months of ownership of my Moroccan red RCZ. Long may it continue….. !

Meeting the Southerners !

Earlier this month saw the ” Southern” RCZ meet ……………… in the Midlands !

Alarm clock struck at 5am. Bleary eyed I clambered out of my cosy bed and fell into the shower. Two hours later, camera packed in the car, fuelled up with Shell V Power, music chosen on the IPod and destination set on the RCZs in-built RT6 Sat Nav system, off I set from good ‘ole East Yorkshire. Rendezvous Ferrybridge Services to meet fellow RCZ driver Ron, for the drive down to the Midlands.

It seems that my fellow RCZ owner wasn’t so keen to get out of his bed. There he lay when he should have been on his way to meet me. Only after his wife had kicked him out of his pit did a bit of “second stage spoiler” mean that he only arrived about 10 minutes late! He redeemed himself by buying me a breakfast bacon sarnie. Yum! Yum!

The journey down to the Midlands proved to be a good, clear run with no problems encountered. We did have another rendezvous to make en-route at Peterborough Services, where we met up with another RCZ owner, Nathan and his wife Davina. We were causing a bit of a stir in the services car park. Ron was busy having his ears bled by Nathan’s phenomenal music system. Apparently Pink Floyd were the culprits for making the car shake!

Of we set on the last leg of our journey to our destination at the Wavendon Arms in Milton Keynes (remember that name!). The three of us in convoy with Ron leading the way. A thought crossed my mind as we were driving. Three RCZ’s, driving in convoy, this could only mean one thing. People would think it was Top Gear! I thought I would be Hammond. Not sure which one would be Clarkson or May though !

Getting close to our destination, my Sat Nav seemed to want to take us in a different direction to the way we were going, but we trusted Ron so we followed. Seeing Ron turn into the pub car park, I caught sight of the pub name – Royal Oak. Oh dear! this was the pub that we were originally going to meet at but was later changed. Luckily for us, the Wavendon Arms was only 1.5 miles down the road. Unlucky for Nathan as the pub car park has a steep slope to exit out of and he ended up scraping the underside of his modded front splitter / spoiler 

Eventually we reached our destination to find we were the first to arrive apart from Suzanne, who had arranged this Meet for everyone. The lovely lady had even got our drinks order in – all non alcoholic of course! In total, 7 RCZs were in attendance. A quite spectacular sight I’m sure you will agree.

After a quick drink and meeting all the owners and talking all things RCZ, it was time to move onto our destination for lunch. But not before a lovely convoy through Woburn Park (watch out for those deer Ron) and the beautiful surrounding countryside and villages. The photographs of the drive through Woburn Park kindly taken by Suzanne’s husband.

It’s funny watching people’s reactions to seeing a convoy of RCZs. So many quick head turns as one goes by, then another and another and another….! We even managed to stop a cricket match in one of the villages as we drove by [wave].

Our destination at the Red Lion was reached where more photos were taken of the cars and the members.

The members:

Waiting for lunch to arrive, which was so kindly organised by Suzanne, along with the lovely addition of the RCZ cakes, baked fresh that morning. Yes and it was all edible and they were gorgeous.

A merry afternoon was enjoyed by all. The banter kept flowing, many secrets were learnt, the food was good and most of all it’s always a pleasure to meet other RCZ owners.

Thanks must go to Suzanne for arranging this great Meet and hopefully it won’t be long before the next one!

Memories………….don’t always last forever!

I recently undertook the first of several planned trips down memory lane. Since the day I was born, Sundays were all about days out with the family and after my father died at a young age, Mum and I continued this. We particularly love the British countryside and the beautiful villages it has to offer. We could spend hours driving through the countryside enjoying its splendour every Sunday without fail, in ALL weathers.

Three months ago, this all came to an end. Why you ask? Well, my dear Mum has Alzheimer’s and is no longer able to go out for several reasons as she needs specialist care. I talk about our Sunday trips out, unfortunately this horrible disease has robbed Mum of the one thing we all hold most dear and take for granted. Our memories. She cannot recall places by name or indeed picture them, which she obviously finds very frustrating as much as I find so so sad.

So, I decided if I can’t take Mum to these places, I will bring some of her favourite locations to her. Retracing some of our favourite routes, I am photographing her favourite views and places that she holds dear, so that when we talk of our journeys I have photos to show her so that she at least can say “that looks pretty”.

Of course I could only undertake these journeys in my RCZ. A car my mother loved and enjoyed being driven in, almost as much as me. It did also mean that I could never drive the RCZ above 50mph as she felt anything over 30mph was too fast ! Oh my beloved Mum you do make me laugh. So with Abba’s Greatest Hits playing on the ipod (we both used to sing along at the top of our voices in the car and surprisingly she still knows all the words to the songs), off I went on my first emotional trip down memory lane, I had to take some photographs of Ruby too. Just because…… !

Here’s the first of my series of road trips around the eastern side of the Yorkshire Wolds, which as it turned out, was quite a wet day after all the recent hot, sunny weather we’ve had.

The average 4x4s don’t see this amount of off roading

By the potato fields

In the hot, steamy woods after the rain
(now made famous by David Hockney)

Up on the Yorkshire Wolds

And one last one, after a wash last evening

2 months in……. !

….. to my ownership of Ruby, my second RCZ, has gone without a hitch.

She continues to be the love of my life (after my husband of course!) and never fails to bring a smile or rather a grin, to my face. Be that when I look at her or when I drive her.

The looks of the RCZ continue to delight, even after nearly 3 years of ownership (combined with Pearl, my first RCZ). No other car, in it’s price range or indeed even some more expensive cars, can claim to grab your attention quite as much as the RCZ. From that glorious double bubble roof, those ever so sexy rear haunches, those stunning curves and now that ever so beautiful new nose! It puts me in mind of an Aston Martin from the front. My husband always chuckles when I say that, but am I alone in thinking this?

The driving experience is a pure joy too. On twisty country roads it hugs the bends with ease whilst remaining almost perfectly flat, often surprising the most unsuspecting of passengers or rather, passenger! With the option of the Sport Pack added to Ruby, it gives a great acoustic exhaust note in the interior when pushing up through the revs. Combining this with the smaller sport steering wheel and the short shift gear lever, it puts you in perfect control of this beautiful car. I have the lowest powered engine in the 156 THP but the driving experience is still a pleasure and able to cope with every day driving situations with ease. A quick blip of the throttle and I am soon past traffic when it’s safe to do so. All quite legal you understand !

My main concern, if that is what you want to call it, are the thick A pillars. They do block quite a lot of the road out when stopped at a junction, for instance. I have been caught out a couple of times with not seeing a car that was in the blind spot of the pillars. To overcome this, I make sure that I look both ways three or four times before committing to pulling out as well as looking around the pillars to make doubly sure that there are no approaching cars.

Not only is the RCZ a sublime looking car but it is very practical too, for a coupe. The boot, I think, is cavernous. Coupled with the ability to fold the back seats down, there are lots of things that the RCZ can carry. I use it regularly for trips to the local tip to dispose of my garden rubbish. It holds a surprising amount. Countless bags of compost fit in with ease. Some members on the RCZ forum have had ladders, bikes, furniture, four alloys – with tyres, amongst other things, in there too. Not all at the same time, I may add! The possibilities are endless.

One thing is for sure. The RCZ can still turn heads!

A good hiding ….. !

Well nearly three months since ordering, my interior was finally retrimmed in Nappa leather today.

It was not the fault of Seat Surgeons, who fitted it. They couldn’t have been more helpful. It was the Chinese customs officers, who were deliberately dragging their feet and threatening to destroy the leather…….! China is where all the sewing and stitching takes place, once the design has been finalised. Eventually they saw sense and everything worked out ok in the end.

Yet again, Seat Surgeons have come up trumps with the leather. The quality of the fit is excellent, as is the leather. The amazing attention to detail is superb.

Between the two of us, we came up with a design that was both possible and that we were happy with. Paul at Seat Surgeons will do whatever design you want, it’s your car after all, but he will offer his opinion on what will work and what doesn’t. He’s the expert so it’s wise to listen to what he says. I did and I couldn’t be happier!

Seat Surgeons refitted my last RCZ and the seats still looked brand new when I sold it two and a half years later. Hence the revisit for Ruby.

http://www.theseatsurgeons.com/metadot/index.pl

Well enough of the words, take a look at the pictures.

Before – cloth

After – Nappa leather

The mats I bought off ebay, which have a leatherette edging and the matching logo. They go nicely with the seats I think.

I hope you like them as much as I do.