Daughter let loose in cougar

K

kittylover

Well-known user
Jun 15, 2012
1,385
860
North Warwickshire
Well I did promise her . . . my daughter is a learner driver and I have used provisional marmalade to insure her for a month in my v6 frosty (cost 85 quid).
First drive in it last night. She enjoyed it, much bigger and more powerful than anything she's driven before, she couldn't get over how you can go up a hill in 5th gear at 35 and not have to worry about changing down.
I did let her give the throttle a stab a couple of times too which she quite liked :)
She has her test in a month, then if she passes I have to find out how much it will cost to get her on my policy :cry:
 
Nice one. I never got round to letting Emma have a drive of my cat before I sold it, see if she could get used to the lack of having to change gear :LOL: too, thats what I miss the most
 
Best not to try the uphill in 5th at 35mph thing in the usual Corsa/Fiesta/Clio learner car as it just won't work! :LOL:
 
If the car lasts that long, my daughter will be given this car.
I've seen the damage that can occur to smaller vehicles in RTAs and there's no way will any of my loved-ones be put into a 'small runaround' type car, even if it means paying extortionate insurance premiums...

Having that additional half-metre of crumple-zone at the front could make the difference between walking away with a bruised ego and being carried away in small, bloody chunks.
 
Arkady001 said:
If the car lasts that long, my daughter will be given this car.
I've seen the damage that can occur to smaller vehicles in RTAs and there's no way will any of my loved-ones be put into a 'small runaround' type car, even if it means paying extortionate insurance premiums...

Having that additional half-metre of crumple-zone at the front could make the difference between walking away with a bruised ego and being carried away in small, bloody chunks.
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Sure. I guess in general all cars are a lot safer in a crunch than they used to be years ago - but you can't change physics. A 10-year old big car is probably safer in a smash than a brand new smart car.
 
kittylover said:
Sure. I guess in general all cars are a lot safer in a crunch than they used to be years ago - but you can't change physics. A 10-year old big car is probably safer in a smash than a brand new smart car.
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I'm a big fan of those 'Police-Action-world's worst drivers-etc!' road-shows on TV. One a while back showed a Peugeot 205 that had been run into from behind by a lorry whose driver was on the phone. Couldn't recognise the car. Driver was a student nurse who'd been bought the new car 6 months previously as a present by her parents for passing her exams. The had to identify her by using dental records.
Police said if it had been a bigger car, chances were that it would have been shunted out of the way rather than squashed like a bug, or that the damage would have been limited to the rear of the car.
Imagine how they felt when hearing that. An old Mondeo would have saved her life.

(*edit* I think this might be the accident in question, so a Peugeot 106 not a 205:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-399473/Mobile-phone-death-driver-jailed-years.html)

Obviously you can't predict everything, but you can mitigate against some of the foreseeable events. Bigger cars are generally safer to be in.

My own crash in a Cougar wrote the car off but left me with nothing more than flash burns on my hands from the airbag deployment.


Back on Topic: I think bigger cars are also better to learn to drive in - it gives you a better sense of spacial awareness when it comes to placing the car on the road and especially when parking.
Any fool can learn to drive in an Astra (my ex-wife's daughter's boyfriend had one and it was like driving a shoe...the pedals are so close together I kept hitting the brake with the edge of my right foot...lol).
 
kittylover said:
She has her test in a month, then if she passes I have to find out how much it will cost to get her on my policy :cry:
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I was on my dads policy with my zetec, as soon as I passed last year. On cooperative insurance it was around £1700 which was at least £500 cheaper than anywhere else, but they still wouldnt insure me at all on the v6 as a named driver, and still won't now even though i've had my license for a year :cry:

A cougar nonetheless, is much better looking and much safer than a fiesta that can be bought for the same price - also because as a new driver you wouldnt really care about mashing up an ugly hatchback whereas when driving a lovable cougar, you drive much more carefully, not risking anything :)
 
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