My driving career to date

Since March 2009 I have held a driving license, it took 5 years (with a small break due to financial reasons) and 2 excellent driving instructors to eventually get there, and is one of my greatest achievements to date.

Driving is one of those things I do enjoy, and take very seriously, I also find it relaxing, all my other worries are forgotten while I am behind the wheel.

As I enjoy driving so much I hope any job I get in the future has driving as a part of it, even if it’s just the commute to and from work. I also am able to ride 50cc scooters.

Vehicles I have driven (3 or 4-wheeled vehicles only)

Below is a list of all the vehicles I have driven both before (as a learner driver) and after passing the driving test, this does not include 2-wheeled vehicles as I don’t yet intend to upgrade to a 125cc geared motorcycle, my license does permit me to ride motor tricycles of any engine size however.

As learner

• Citroen C2
• Citroen C4
• Vauxhall Corsa (D)
• Hyundai Getz

As full license holder

• Vauxhall Zafira (A) (2004 model, owner has since told me they no longer have it and have since transferred their personalised registration plates to a Zafira B)
• Iveco Daily 35C12 crew-cab (2006 model)
• Ford Transit T350 crew-cab (2010 model)
• Fiat Punto Evo (facelifted Grande Punto, 2010 model, rental car) (this car was still on the road as of mid 2023 having passed it in Middlesbrough as I was passing through)
• Hyundai i10 (PA) (2010 model, rental car, first RHD car my now wife had ever been in)
• Peugeot 107 (2010 and 2011 models, both rental cars)
• Chevrolet Spark (2013 model, rental car)
• Peugeot 106 (1997 model) (This is my first car, now scrapped, RIP)
• Toyota Aygo (AB10) (2009 model) (This is one of my previous car)
• Toyota Yaris Hybrid (2015 model, automatic transmission) (courtesy car from Toyota dealer while my Aygo was in to locate and temporarily fix a water leak during February 2016)
• Toyota Aygo (AB40) (2015 model) (courtesy car while my AB10 Aygo was undergoing full repair to the same water leak)
• Toyota Aygo (AB40) (2016 model) (courtesy car while my AB10 Aygo was undergoing a full service, and repair to its exhaust and front wheel bearings)
• Hyundai i10 (IA/BA) (2016 model) (rental car from the AA after recovery of my Aygo to the Toyota dealership for clutch repairs)
• Toyota Aygo (AB40) (x-cite, 2016 model) courtesy car while my AB10 Aygo awaited and underwent clutch repair
• Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 313 CDI (2010 model) (used for the house move in 2017)
• Toyota Aygo (AB40) (2017 model) (courtesy car while my AB10 Aygo underwent repair to the gearbox after an oil leak was found)
• Toyota Aygo (AB10) (2013 model) (previous car, replacement for 2009 model, low mileage given its age)
• Toyota Aygo (AB40 facelift)(2019 model) Courtesy car while my car was undergoing recall work and an MOT in mid 2019
• Dacia Sandero (B52) (Ambiance, 2017 model) current car
• Nissan Maxima SV (A36, North American, first V6 and LHD car I have driven, rental car while in Florida in February 2024)

It should be noted that some of the vehicles I have driven since passing the driving test are a lot larger than the vehicles I learned in (3 are 3500kg GVW vans and the first car in that list is a mini-MPV/small minivan)

I also include a link to Fuelly showing my own car’s efficiency, there is a similar banner on my scooter mini-site for my scooter

This is an average MPG so the number will change with time and as I fuel up the car, this counts partial and full tanks, click the banner to see more detail.

The car in the second banner is no longer roadworthy and has been disposed of (see below), the banner will remain up in memory, the banner for it’s successor is above it.

The untimely demise of my 106

I have been the happy owner of a Cobalt blue 1997 Peugeot 106 since December 2014, it went in for an MOT, the UK’s roadworthiness test, on Wednesday 2nd September 2015 and sadly it has failed with no hope of passing.

The car was found to have excessive corrosion on the areas around the rear axle, this itself had excessive play in bearings on the radius arm, further corrosion was found in all wheel arches and the driver’s side headlamp was loose and incorrectly aimed.

So, what to do, first and foremost is remove as much of the petrol as I can and burn it in my scooter, which is not due an MOT until 2017, secondly is to remove all of my possessions from the car, my tin of peppermints has already made it out, the rest will follow this weekend though I am expecting a parcel and will also be car shopping, looking rather than buying as funds won’t permit for a few weeks, I am due to part ways with the car in the coming week.

I will miss this car as it holds a lot of sentimental value to me, but I cannot get it back on the road once the MOT has expired

Update: 7th September 2015

The 106 has been stripped of all my belongings including the Bluetooth head unit ready for the car being taken away and it’s successor arriving, which won’t be another 106 or the Citroen Saxo, the car also has had the battery disconnected as removing amateur radio equipment required I do this and thus won’t drive under it’s own power without reattaching the battery first, it should hopefully be removed on a tow truck or low loader by the end of Tuesday (8th September 2015)

Update: 12th September 2015

The 106 has since been removed and drained of all fuel, of which I need to collect but will struggle as I lack a jerry can, however by this time next week I should be in possession of a 2009 Toyota Aygo, a car I am somewhat familiar with having driven the Peugeot 107 as the two cars are almost identical save for badges and exterior appearance

Peugeot 106 R*** *** November 1997 – September 2015, RIP (registration number censored for obvious reasons)

Possibly the most unique Toyota Aygo?

In February 2018 I took ownership of a white 2013 Toyota Aygo Mode, differences between this and its predecessor are running lights, a different style front-end, the inclusion of a rev counter, privacy glass in all rear windows, traction control and an electronic throttle. the engine is the same though it is configured to comply with Euro 5 and costs me nothing to tax it.

In August 2019 this small car took on its biggest challenge, driving from my home in the North of England to a town in Bavaria, Germany, and back again, and it did the journey without a problem, only problems were myself and the horrendous Border Force who caused my now wife and I great distress and continue to cause problems since, I returned to the continent a day or so later to drive to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, again there were no problems for the car, just me, and of course more chaos by the Border Force in Dover when they pulled me for a Customs check (I have to say that the PAF. the French opposite number to Border Force. were much more polite and kind to me and my wife).

From what I have gathered, no Toyota Aygo in the history of the car, nor any of its sister cars. have ever pulled this off, giving my car possibly a unique distinction, I did not see any other UK registered Aygos of both generations on the roads in Continental Europe, and in the town I went to in Germany I was the only person driving a car on British plates, I knew this car would be special I just did not realise how special.

I consider the car now to be an Ambassador to the Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Europe, and the factory where it was built. Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile in the Czech Republic

Update: 17/09/21

Though the Aygo is unique in what it did, it is still fundamentally going to suffer wear and tear like any other car and now I’m expecting huge garage bills in the near future so have to part with it, and have a Dacia Sandero lined up as the next car which I hope to pick up this weekend or next week part-exchanging the Aygo for it

So despite the uniqueness of this Aygo, which I told the salesman at the dealer about in brief, the fact is it will soon cost me a lot of money to keep it on the road, I have test driven the Sandero and look forward to collecting it