Yeah, I know. 700 miles isn’t very far really, and it’s not like I drove that in a day. It took three of them. And the car had already covered 90,000 miles before I started.

A fantastic car on a great many levels, even after 700 miles. In three days.

However, I still get a thrill out of jumping in a cheap car, and driving it lots and lots. With no problems at all. Apart from a stray pheasant. And even then, it was only a problem for the pheasant.

But a long trip like that allows you to get a good feel for a car. I’ve covered more than 1000 miles in my Honda Prelude now, and I think I really like it. Sure, not every aspect. I don’t like having to clamber into something quite so low, and the ride is a bit modern (ie firm) for my liking, but the combination of a torquey engine and automatic gearbox makes it very relaxing to drive. In fact, for possibly the first time in my life, I actually found myself not even paying attention to the gearchanges.

That tends to be why I usually get fed up with autos. Bad ones are always doing stupid things. Like changing gear at exactly the wrong time. With the Honda, it always seems to get it right, albeit sometimes encouraged with use of the right foot. Occasionally, I’ll knock it into third for a bit more engine braking, but otherwise, I just waft along on a sea of torque.

Hmmm. Fancy gadgets. Well, fun displays anyway. (engine not running)

Well, I say waft. It’s amazing how often I’d gently build up speed only to notice that the traffic that was behind me no longer was…

Yes, it builds speed in a nice way. Not a BAM Subaru Impreza Turbo kind of a way (I drove both back to back on Monday) but in a smooth, seamless, almost electric motor kind of a way. Albeit more Volkswagen e-UP than Tesla Model S sort of an electric motor. It has something of a Mercedes-Benz W123 flavour in some ways, but then it goes around bends in a way that a W123 just will not. It sits so low and corners in such a flat manner that you question whether you just went around a bend at all.

32mpg really isn’t bad going at all either. And it has a nice sunroof, even if I still prefer glass to steel. And I like having the indicator stalk on the right. And the heater is so fantastic I often have to turn it down. Even with the roof back. And it just works!

So obviously, it’s for sale. Remember, it’s a 24-year old car, so that means classic insurance, albeit it does also mean a few rust bubbles on the rear arches. But, with 90,700 miles on the clock, there’s plenty of life left in it, especially as a sticker on the engine suggests a cambelt change just 20,000 miles ago. Though it was also a Cat C write-off some years ago. But it seems fine now with no sign of accident damage. And the MOT runs until September the somethingth. In short, give me £595 thereabouts and you can discover why I like it so much.

Clean, tidy and oh so low. A sensible number of pedals too – half that of the XM!

Why the sale? Well, that’s easy. I need to spend the money on a car which is a lot slower, corners like a hippo in a wheelbarrow by comparison and which doesn’t really bother with that fancy accelerations stuff. Yes, I’m actually spending actual money on the Dyane. G’wan, buy a Prelude. You won’t regret* it.

*promise is not legally binding and may not account for partner/spouse’s response to purchase