We should buy the car that suits us – not suit the car we buy.
AS motoring enthusiasts, we love cars as if they are our children. This assemblage of metal-on-rubber is able to get us excited, make us emotional and even cause us to perform irrational acts, all in the name of motoring passion.
Taking us from point A to point B is the least of ourpriorities, and it is almost taboo for a car lover to acknowledge this mundane function of a car.
But unless we can afford to have a car for every occasion, we have to ensure that our one car fulfils its practical function, too.
So, as much as I love coupes, it would have been foolhardy to buy one, because of my young daughter and bad back.
Driving a cool coupe would have been fun, but the acrobatic manoeuvre of strapping my girl into her child seat on the cabin’s “+2” wouldn’t have been fun at all.
This explains my third saloon in a row since my last coupe before motherhood.
Come to think of it, though, now that my daughter is six and able to strap herself into her seat, perhaps it is time to review my car choices.
I notice a certain Porsche Cayman when I pick my girl up from school daily. The twoseater barely fits the family of three – the father behind the wheel and the daughter on her mother’s lap. Maybe theyhave a second, more familyfriendly car, but seeing them so uncomfortable inside, not to mention how unsafe it is for the child, even the petrolhead in me disapproves, no matter how tempting the shiny black sports coupe may be.
So, buy a 911 then if you really love a compact sports car. At least it has four seats, even if there are still only two doors like the Cayman. Other Porsches such as a Macan, Cayenne or Panamera would definitely suit the needs of this particular family much better.
But of course, we’re forgetting the all-important budget constraint. Having said that, it is still a matter of choice and whether the decision is made with the head or the heart.
The same budget that bought them the Cayman could have gotten them a practical Macan. If they can consider other brands, there are many safer and more sensible choices within the Cayman’s price range.
No matter how much we love our cars and willingly enslave ourselves to them, we cannot deny that, ultimately, a car should serve our needs.
A FRIEND OF LYNN’S ONCE COMMENTED: “YOU SHOULD WEAR THE CLOTHES AND NOT LET THE CLOTHES WEAR YOU.” THE SAME GOES FOR CARS, RECKONS OUR COLUMNIST.
