More thoughts from my travels

Spending time in my Citroën BX this week left me feeling somewhat uneasy. Using a 20-year old car every day was always going to be a risky business and it isn’t that something has gone wrong rather a sneaking feeling that something isn’t quite right. Maybe the tickover wasn’t as steady, the throttle response less sharp and the vibrations more pronounced.

So I find myself contemplating my position and it isn’t great. Maybe my car just needs a service or maybe this is the beginning of the end. Do I spend money (which I don’t have) on the Citroën or save the money for an eventual replacement?

Contemplation of a new car is the best part of the exercise. I know what I want; something taught, purposeful, well made. Above all I want something with decent steering; the problem with the BX is the soft, rubbery steering. What I want is another Honda Prelude, maybe a Legend coupe or 4WS Accord; maybe a hydractive Citroën XM or Xantia; an Alfa Romeo 164; I even caught myself admiring a Vauxhall Carlton 3000GSI. Of course there is potentially a vast gulf between what I want and what I can afford.