Like most Mk3 owners who came to their cars via Mk1 ownership, I often miss my old Mk1 and the character it had, and in fact often wonder if I made the right decision laying out 5 times what I paid for my utterly reliable, lovable and fun Mk1 to get a car that is certainly faster and more comfortable, but lacks a bit of that X-factor.
Well today an incident occurred that made me very grateful I was in a Mk3 with super-strong ABS breaks and traction control, because I am pretty certain had I been in my previous Mk1 I would be injured or worse right now.
I was driving up a dual carriageway hill with a 70mph limit - admittedly I was a TOUCH over that - and was about to overtake a bus that was struggling at about 30mph in the left lane. As I came within 40 yards of it, it suddenly veered over into my lane without indicating. All at once everything went into slow-mo as it does, and I found myself casually wondering how I could possibly escape a crash and how much it was going to hurt since the bus was across both lanes with no way of adjusting course to get past. My first reaction was to slam on the anchors, and I distinctly remember my brain telling me I was either going to brake too fast and lock the wheels and spin (wet road) or brake too slow and go into the back of the bus. Yet amazingly and thankfully the car skidded a bit then ABS modulated like crazy and I came down to match the speed of the bus within inches of the back of it. I won’t go into the ‘conversation’ that followed when I got alongside the bus at the junction further up the hill, suffice to say he was unapologetic and felt he had done nothing wrong (it descended rapidly from there lol), but I will say how grateful I am for new-fangled technology - because much as I love and miss my old Mk1, no way could it have done that!
Glad to hear that a near miss was all that happened!
I never trust buses to look at where they are going, they literally veer across all lanes down here too…
Slightly worried about my lack of braking prowess now though [:S]
Lesson to be learned, then - overtake buses with same caution you overtake overseas lorry drivers!
Glad to hear all’s well that ends well… as for the busdriver lets hope next time next visits the loo his next number 2 is a hedgehog![8o|]
I test drove a Mk3 (Galaxy Grey funnily enough) and the salesman (if you can call him that… didnt try to close me once) and I was very surprised (pleasantly) with the anchors compared to my trusty Mk1 - What a difference!. Car didnt feel as predictable but that was probably more to do with it being a test drive LOL
I seem to be keeping a mental scorecard on the MK1 Vs the Mk3 at the moment so another box ticked for the MK3…great colour to when I saw it in the flesh.
Again - glad everything and everone is ok
Thanks! At some point you will have to stop comparing them on a score card - I was doing that after I got my Mk3 and said goodbye to my Mk1 and it was driving me mad! I would love to have both, they just have very unique personalities and pros and cons! I still miss my Mk1 because it was almost like a friend - I suppose the closest I could compare the feeling to was a loyal dog lol I was good to it, washing it every week, adding little mods, and it was good to me, driving me around with a smile and never letting me down. The Mk3 is a bit more soul-less and refined, but on the other hand is very nippy, excellent brakes, very up to date safety features, much more comfy for long drives/motorway, and shockingly sexy. For today, I am glad I have a Mk3 lol
Now this is one case of ‘i missed the bus’ that you should be thankful for!
Glad all is ok though, and i think i’m with you on the Mk 1 being a bit of a hair-raiser sometimes, maybe it’s popularity is due to the fact that there isn’t really another car that drives like it and gives you such a thrill as well as such a scare he he!
I fishtailed in my Mark 1 a few times when i first bought her and thankfully have learnt from that. I do enjoy the fact that now and then if the tail slides out i’m able to reel her back in and still be in control but you can definitely disconcert yourself(and your passenger if your trying to scare 'em he he!) pretty easily with a few wild maneuvers if that’s your thing!
Cheers
Ben
Glad you came out of it OK.
With it being a bus that almost killed you, I hope you managed to make a note of the operating company’s telephone number which would almost certainly have been plastered all over the back of it, and I hope that you’ll be giving them a ring tomorrow to let the MD know just what sort of moronic half-wit he has driving his buses. To think, an idiot like that driving a bus is directly responsible for the safety of his 50-odd passengers … worrying, eh?
I often wonder whether the qualifications for a PCV license are little more than the ability to breathe in and out in sequence and the possession of roughly the correct number of eyes and limbs - while I don’t doubt that there are some really good PCV drivers out there, there do seem to be quite a few idiots as well.
There are loads of very good reasons for living in Australia which most of you can guess. There are also some not so good things. Getting eaten by a shark is pretty rough, a Redback spider on the dunny seat is lousy news…and then there are the buses. Here in QLD buses have the absolute right of way. They can pull out from parking and change lanes at will and “YOU” are always in the wrong. I give them loads of space but no respect as all the drivers are MAD=========================
Glad you’re ok.
Sometimes we moan about the overcomplicated nature of cars these day but they have their uses too.
Have to agree with the comments about our wonderfully driven public transport…[:@] glad to here all’s well apart from that momentary brown trouser moment…[;)]
Hopefully the systems will be as good as the RX8 ones were… EBD, DSC, TCS and ABS (2.0 for all), when you bought a brand new 8 you got a free Prodrive day, where you drive at a wall of cones at 90+ mph brake at about 40 feet away and steer round them without leaving a bit of rubber on the tarmac… I then had 150% trust in the cars ability. One of the instructors said they did exacltly the same in the new launch edition and that they were as good as the 8…
I will miss the emotional moments you get in a Mk1 though [:)]
Mazda were doing a free Prodrive day when I bought my MK3 in 2006. As they were when I bought the RX8 in 2004.
Same thing on both days, 90mph emergency stop with no hands on the wheel, each car was as good as the other in stopping with no drama.
Nigel
This is the first thread I’ve ever read that has made me wonder if I should move up from a Mk1 to a Mk3 but as my 5 is a fun car rather than an everyday car I think I’ll stick with the Mk1 and keep well away from buses!
I really need to get Jan in a mk3, she drives her mk2.5 to the
limit and to ensure if she really cooks it I need to know all the
technology available will be there to kick in…
It is a shame they stopped the Prodrive days… fun they were [:D]
The reason for moving up to a Mk3 for me is exactly why this post is here. My 5 will become the daily driver when we move to Devon this year, my partner will not drive it when it rains as she doesn’t like the fact of no safety items…[:(] I do, but as it is our second car and they will both be used daily then I have to bow to her wish and buy a Mk3… I don’t mind really, but I will miss the Mk1, if I could afford - and park both [::(] I would - but towns on the coast have limited parking.