It seems that every time I hire a car in France, I get a Clio. Now, just when a new Clio is out, and getting a Clio would be interesting, Budget give me a Nissan Micra. Even the Twingo that companies always promise (?Twingo or similar? according to the blurb) which would be moderately newsworthy, (since I assume that few backroomers have driven them) never turns up. Nor does the supermini that strikes me as ideal for a touring holiday - the Citroen C3 with its large windscreen, which would allow me to see more of the hills as I drive along valley roads.
No matter. The Nissan Micra ?Must? turned out to be a very nice little car. It was spacious enough - though after we had pushed the back seat forward to accommodate our suitcases in the boot, and pushed the front seat back to accommodate my 6 foot frame, there was no room at all for anyone behind me. The car had become a 2 seater with 5 doors. There were lots of little cubbies to put things in - though most of them were indeed little. The car was well equipped. There was a CD/radio - not that I tried either - having no interest in French radio, and not carrying CDs with me when I go on holiday (does anyone?). There was air-conditioning, which we ran for a total of about 20 minutes in two weeks, much preferring to open the windows (electrically, of course). There was a thermometer (most days the temperature got up to 20 to 23 degrees - very pleasant). There were front fog lights, which might have been useful, seeing as there was a lot of mist in SW France when we were there - but which weren?t. They didn?t enable me to see any better, nor were cars with their fog lights lit any easier to see than those without. Are these things merely bling? There was also a rev counter. What was missing? Well, there were no mud-flaps (which would have been useful, because I did find myself driving through mud and getting quite a bit on the car). And try as I might, I could not get water out of the washer jet onto the rear window. Perhaps it was my incompetence; perhaps it was broken.
The car drove very well; the engine was punchy enough (I assume that it was the 1.2 litre 80 bhp engine), and the car coped well with motorway driving (though at 4000 rpm, the engine was a bit noisy - I personally would have favoured a taller 5th gear) as well as with going up twisty roads on steep hillsides. Ride and handling were very acceptable. I was impressed with fuel economy, getting 54 mpg (OK, 53.94) which is a lot better than I get in my Ford Ka. Maybe my driving style is more relaxed when I?m on holiday. (Unleaded, by the way, varied from E1.24 to 1.35 at the places I purchased. The cheapest diesel I saw was 1.10)
The car was a tasteful, but rather forgettable metallic grey. French car colour preferences these days seem pretty tame. We stayed in an Etap Hotel our first night, and the following morning when I looked out at the car park it seemed that 90% of the cars were either silver or white. (We had an interesting experience there, by the way. We went off to breakfast at 8.30, and returned to our room just after 9 to find all the bedding as well as all our possessions stuffed into the ensuite, and a couple of painters busy preparing the room with masking tape. They didn?t seem to think they?d done anything unusual. The young lady on duty at reception apologised and said that they shouldn?t have, but didn?t seem too worried. In future I must be more diligent about using the ?Do not disturb? notice!)
Compared to Britain, one sees more older cars on the road. There are a fair number of Renault 4s and Citroen 2CVs on the go, and Peugeot 205s seemed to outnumber 206s. Ford Fiesta Mk IIIs definitely outnumbered the current model. Roads were remarkably quiet. One afternoon my wife and I walked down a scenic country road near Cahors in a touristy area for 4 km and were not passed by a single motor vehicle. Driving showed little gallic flair - drivers were invariably polite, and in 2 weeks I didn?t see any driving that raised my eyebrows.
If I may be permitted a non-motoring tip, French supermarkets no longer give out poly bags. We learned this the hard way when we popped into a supermarket and loaded up with supplies.
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"If I may be permitted a non-motoring tip, French supermarkets no longer give out poly bags. We learned this the hard way when we popped into a supermarket and loaded up with supplies."
Must have been a "U" then.
tip - get there early, and they have empty boxes from the shelf stacking. Use one of those, keep it in the boot and take it in with you next time.
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Must have been a "U" then.
Intermarché, actually. Same story at the Carrefour & Leclerc.
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slight tangent - what was the Etap hotel like apart from the over keen decorators?
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Etap Hotel fine. They tend to have decor much like Uni hall of residence, and nothing fancy - but the room was clean, & nothing wrong with the bed or the ensuite. The room didn't even look like it was desperately needing redecorating!
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Going back approx 10 years I used to like Climats, very reasonable, clean, comfy and with some character.
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Nice to see a hire car road test with a European flavour.
Agree that of the many joys of motoring through France, listening to the radio as an alternative to the plane trees swishing past is not normally one of them. There are also those who don't like the 'iffy water, plod with guns and sawn-off toilets...'
There is however a solution if you quite like the idea of catching up with some sixties pop, and that's radio Nostalgie. Songs in English are in the majority, and some of the home grown remainder from this era don't sound half bad (Francoise Hardy, Georges Moustaki, Sacha Disappointment). It's a national station on varying frequencies, but shouldn't be to hard to spot by surfing the FM due to the near absence of the usual infuriating chatter.
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Always use Etap on my jaunts down to the Alps and Ibis on the way back (more creature comforts for my ski-weary bones). Never had a problem with them (both Accor Hotels, owners of Formule 1, Etap, Ibis, Mercure and Sofitel chains).
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1 - From October 15 virtually all French chainstores gave up on plastic 'carry out' bags. Instead they are all offering long-life carrier bags - often with free replacement 'forever' - for a few cents. The Carrefour one in particular is really good. We invested 40c in one to use as a beach bag!
2 - The Micra sounds a useful little motor. Shame for all that it still looks like a Fisher Price kiddy telephone...
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