I tried to sell the Discovery and failed. This led me to believe that I should keep it and I readily entered into the spirit of that decision. However, I was wrong. At the moment, I can’t justify a car I barely drive. It takes too long to warm up, so I don’t use it for local (ie less than 10 mile) journeys. It’s rubbish at hooning too, so I prefer using the 2CV or Sirion when twist roads are encountered. Twisty roads are encountered on pretty much every journey. I can’t even say that I use it everytime I go greenlaning, as I recently went in the 2CV instead. Albeit not too successfully…

Sorry for the to-ing and fro-ing, but it really must go

Last week, I did use it for a long-ish distant trip, but found it wasn’t as comfortable as I thought it was. It also reminded me just how unwieldy it is on twisty roads. Yes, it handles very well for something with a steering box, beam axles and so much weight so far from the ground, but it always feels heavy, especially when braking. I don’t really like that.

So, sensible head wins again. It really must go. I’ve got a lot of long-distance driving to do this year, and sadly my trip to Leicestershire in the 2CV has only reminded me how regular long distance driving really wallops my admiration of the Tin Snail. It was never built for motorways and driving it out of its comfort zone takes me out of mine too. A 2CV on a motorway should be an occasional adventure – one to savour. Just getting from A to B as quickly and as smoothly as possible is not its forte. You really are driving a 2CV at its limits at motorway speeds, and while it’ll happily lap up the abuse, it’s hardly relaxing.

What the replacement will be, you can only guess at. To be honest, I’m playing a guessing game myself. I may be getting an Citroen XM, but the purchase is not exactly going smoothly. A hydropneumatic Citroen seems a sensible option though. No other car rides in quite the same way, and 1980s/90s hydro-Cits combine ride and handling in a quite spell-binding way.

In the meantime, the Discovery is for sale with an asking price of £795. It’s not one of the best, but it’s a sound basis for further improvement. I may be sad to see it go, but perhaps it’s better to say goodbye while the memories are still fond. After all, few vehicles manage to combine the glorious looks of a Mk2 Transit, the humped roof of a Citroen CX Safari and lighting pinched from Maestros and Sherpas quite so well. I’m glad I have many photos of it.