AutoRoute: Melbourne to Sydney in Lotus Exige S

By – Ash Simmonds from AussieExotics.com

So one evening whilst enjoying a steak I get a text from Jamezilla at the Supercar Club saying he needs a car moved sometime in the next couple days, and given:

1. It’s a long weekend
2. Everyone else has family stuff to do
3. I’m inherently unlovable
4. Nobody would care if I disappeared without warning

It seems I am the obvious choice for the task.

The best part of the news – the car which needed to be transported is one of my top five dream cars, way above Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Mach 5, probably almost on par with the Batmobile.

Allow me to present the Lotus Exige S.

I had 24 hours to get the car from Melbourne to Sydney, and considering I’d just spent nine hours in a Porsche 911 Carrera S to get to the city-of-self-importance-and-retarded-traffic-flows it was around 6pm when I first saw the car with somewhat tired eyes.

Upon getting my first visual it was like having a strange optometrist install toothpicks between my eyelids.

Knowing there was about 1200km in front of me and a deadline of about 8pm the next night I decided to knock out some of the boring freeway kilometres that evening. Obviously I would probably not remain on the main roads the whole way – I mean do those guys in Texas really leave the house with a weapon not intending to use it?

Now as much as I’m a complete geek and love statistics and stuff, when it comes to cars, I’m largely not interested. When I was a teeny-bopper reading magazines (yes there were primitive information mediums before the web “gasp”) or in my early 20’s playing Gran Turismo and Need For Speed I would spend all night poring over the specs and performance data and just ponder how well they stacked up to my ‘81 Sigma SE.

The obsession over specifications and performance statistics was deep-sixed when I started spending some time in exotics and realised the numbers didn’t reflect the experience.

If you want to look at the stopwatch after you’ve had a drive to let you know how good a time you’ve had, get a Porsche.

Or if you’d like to feel as though you’re crawling in traffic, eyes like Graham Kennedy, looking for greed cameras when you’re doing 110km/h on the freeway (no cruise-control and 1mm of throttle equals ~50km/h) then get a Lamborghini.

If you’d like to drive flat-out everywhere you go and not get in trouble – get a Lotus Elise and don’t change out of 2nd gear.

If you’re in need of numbers and stuff to understand a car then let’s just go with the bastion of integrity and scientific proof, Top Gear.

Here’s where it stands on the Top Gear Power Lap board driven by The Stig in reference to a few other interesting cars available in Oz (I think).

• 1:19.5 – Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
• 1:19.5 – Porsche 997 GT2
• 1:19.7 – Nissan GT-R
• 1:19.7 – Ferrari 430 Scuderia
• 1:19.8 – Lamborghini Murciélago LP640
• 1:21.2 – Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
• 1:22.3 – Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale
• 1:22.3 – Porsche 911 GT3 RS (996 mk.II)
• 1:23.9 – Aston Martin DBS
• *1:25.1 – Lotus Exige S*
• 1:25.3 – BMW M3 E90 Sedan
• 1:25.7 – Audi RS4
• 1:25.7 – Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
• 1:26.0 – BMW Z4M
• 1:26.0 – Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black series
• 1:26.0 – Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR FQ320
• 1:26.2 – BMW M5
• 1:26.2 – Porsche 911 Carrera S (997)
• 1:26.7 – Porsche Cayman S
• 1:26.9 – Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG
• 1:27.1 – Aston Martin DB9
• 1:27.2 – Tesla Roadster (mildly moist)
• 1:28.2 – Lotus Elise Sport 190
• 1:28.7 – Porsche Boxster S
• 1:30.1 – Subaru Impreza WRX STi
• 1:30.1 – Vauxhall Monaro VXR
• 1:30.9 – Audi S4 quattro 4.2
• 1:31.8 – BMW M3 E46
• 1:31.8 – Nissan 350Z
• 1:31.8 – Mazda RX-8
• 1:32.8 – Honda Civic Type-R
• 1:33.3 – Volkswagen Golf Mk.IV R32
• 1:34.2 – MINI Cooper S Works

If you need some moving visuals to make this a verified Web 2.0 post, here’s Jeremy Clarkson’s review – if I had the time I would have made a far more entertaining video, you’ll just have to trust me on that one:

So I’d driven a couple hundred kilometres out of Melbourne,  I had no GPS except for my iPhone, which I soon realised is about as useful as an on-road tool as licking your finger and sticking it out the window, so with no real idea where I was going, my theory was I just kept the car pointed toward towns I’d never heard of, I pressed on assuming that I was probably going in the right direction.

It’s getting toward midnight and I’m around Bairnsdale about 300km east of Melbourne, having been up since 4:30am and spent more 1000km on the road in sports cars, I’m kind of spent.

I do a couple laps of the town looking for late night accommodation with my mate’s words from earlier ringing in my ears when I mentioned I might do some driving and look for somewhere to crash late that night.

“Yeah of course – there’s heaps of people like you who try to drive late at night and need somewhere to stay at the last minute.”

Ok, one caveat that we didn’t contemplate was that this was a long weekend, and the areas I was driving through are mega tourist areas, hence everything was fully booked -” doh”.

After Bairnsdale I try Lakes Entrance about 40km down the road (not to mention pulling into the half dozen caravan parks along the way), no luck there so I just keep driving – it’s now after 1am and I am really really tired, not to mention the high-beams are either ineffective or inoperable.

Still the Exige feeds you confidence on the road like a morphine drip, so even when the tarmac turns to dirt and my instincts are that I’m now entering Deliverance country and I’m just two awkward conversations away from being told to squeal like a pig, I’m impelled to press on.

Thankfully the Exige over-ruling my instincts turned into a way of finding new towns without a time-costly trip back to the freeway – you’ll find that in driving the Exige there are so many times it beckons you to do things that are distinctly against your instincts, let me just say it’s very rewarding when you do so. (note: this does not constitute legal or spiritual advice)

So the Exige S, why?

This is the stupidest production car I’ve spent time with.

To get in or out you need to open the door to it’s full extent – yes it’s a tiny car – but it means you can’t safely park within one metre of any other car/wall/bollard/obstacle. Also being extremely low, be careful when near seaside suburbs or towns, they tend to have higher kerbs.

Into the bargain, entering a car park means you have to get out of the car to get your ticket, which means driving a few feet forward of the ticket machine, at which point you realise the car will actually fit under the gate and you ponder just driving through.

Another thing, the central rear-view mirror is there only for ADR compliance and so you can admire the engine bits or see the reflections of the dash and radio at night.

There is no chance of being able to check your “blind spot” – which includes 90 per cent of the planet that happens to be behind you. Reversing out of parking spots is largely a faith experience.

On the highway and open roads it’s not a problem, people are somewhat more predictable over the longer distances you have to overtake them and change lanes, but for inner city multi-lane driving it’s just way more stressful as you try to figure out whether the muppet you just passed has remained at constant speed or decided, because they’ve just seen a sports car overtake them, that they should speed up too.

Oddly enough bus and tram drivers notice you, but beware the Mum’s taxis, which places a relentless stake on any piece of real estate within 50 metres of their vehicle.

But God dammmmm – this car is fun!

I’m not talking about a day of skirmish with the guys at the office where you get to shoot that annoying bland guy from finance in the nuts or when you sticky tape your girlfriend’s shoes to the floor so she does a comedy stack when she puts them on.

This car induces pure dopamine – you feed it fuel, it feeds you smiles – this is the simplest equation since the good old one – beer equals good looking women.

So I eventually make my way to a town called Orbost in Snowy River country and it’s 2am, freakin’ cold and I need sleep after driving what is basically a race-car on the road for 400km.

In the mean time I’ve noticed how people react to the car when I pull up somewhere – I’ve spent a fair bit of time in Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches, etc – but this car is somehow different.

I don’t know what the exact ingredient is, and much may be skewed given I’ve mostly been a passenger in the others, but in the high-end cars you tend to only really get the young boys and mid-life-crisis geezers come and talk to you about the car.

Most others give a sideways look because they want to see it but want to appear uninterested, I mean they’re pretty big imposing and impressive cars.

In the Lotus though nobody seems to have any qualms, it’s so little that people aren’t intimidated, but they’re definitely impressed.

Perhaps I should clarify for fellow guys, by people I mean everyone including chicks, in 24 hours with this car I had more chats, smiles, waves, photos, indecent offers, etc than I’ve had in the last several years around all the other exotica I’ve been in.

Who knows, maybe I’m just hotter now that I’m older and I would have got that attention in a Commodore.

So fast-forward past the indecent proposals of the evening around Orbost, where I couldn’t find accommodation but had a few random offers. It’s now 2:30am so I find an out of the way location behind some shed, park on a mild incline and proceed to attempt to get some sleep – in the Exige.

For those who haven’t sat in one let me paint a picture, I don’t think Colin Chapman’s mates were considering this idea when they designed it, the seats are small, you have only a few inches of legroom either side of where you put your feet, and the sports seats they installed have a headrest which is forward of the neck.

This headrest thing, not so much an issue when you’re driving, but when you want to relax, hmm, imagine a carbon-fibre pillow, 40 millimetres wide, covered with a slim leather outing that forces your chin into your cleavage.

No, you can’t just lean to the side, the seats hold you in place, it’s not like a normal car where you can just put your head up against the window, your only choice is to sit upright with your head resting on your shoulder.

I won’t bore you with the details, but it wasn’t a particularly rewarding sleep, at 6:30am I decided I’d had enough and I decided to get back on the road.

Ok, first thing, I was camped in Snowy River country, second thing, it’s winter. I woke up not only stiff from four hours of attempted sleep in a race-seat preceded by several hours of driving in one, but shaking like break dancer. Just getting out of the passenger seat to go to the driver’s seat I’m sure I could have won numerous dance awards.

I let the car and myself warm up a while, thankfully the Exige has exceptional heating qualities for it’s little cabin. Within minutes I’d gone from considering just snapping off a few of my frozen fingers as they seemed to just be in the way, to considering a striptease for all the native fauna I could hear in the background just waiting to laugh at me.

Fog was heavy in the air, like the last chick at the bar, and every exhalation almost obscured my view with the mist produced but the roads around Orbost, weaving through farming areas and the Snowy River foothills are fantastic.

Apart from “Megan Fox” and “morning glory” being in the same sentence I find it hard to imagine a better way to wake up.

It took me three attempts to leave Orbost, the first two times I took the “wrong” road, which did all the right things, however somehow lead back to Orbost. Eventually I managed to find a road out that delivered me to other roads that  were the perfect combination of forest and seaside boulevards, I can only hope the folks in the cars I passed got half the joy I got out of passing through.

I found a few random places along the way in the early morning mists, one was an interesting little inlet where people were launching boats and walking dogs. Here, right on the edge of one of Victoria’s pine forests (or something) the combination of freshness, the smell of sea and pine at dawn, was simply amazing.

This area was just so serene and beautiful that it gave me a somewhat callous pleasure to hit the starter button of the Exige and break the silence with a bark of exhaust.

I feel I’ve already over-written this silly little road-trip on the point of dawn, especially when I still have 800km of adventure ahead. People do the Melbourne-Sydney run every day and don’t make a big deal, I guess the thing to ask is how many people thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

One of the things that need to be pointed out is just how great it is to drive such a machine, there are so many clichés regarding “wearing the car” and “handles like a go-kart” etc, but the next night in the pub telling a Lotus enthusiast mate about the trip I was trying to convey how it absorbs a corner.

Trying to avoid the clichés I still had to evoke the go-kart experience, that point where you are at full-tilt through a corner and the kart slips a little bit and you just instinctively correct, that’s the feeling you get in the Exige, only at (slightly) higher speeds, and those corrections are more likely the result of our poor roads.

I was really quite put-off prior to driving the Lotus as to whether a regular schmuck like me could handle it. I’ve driven Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches, etc before, but mostly modern stuff, which in comparison are soft GT tourers, but surprisingly this car is so difficult to put a foot wrong.

I didn’t baby the car, James did say “use it”, there were segments of 20+ minutes where it rarely went below 7000rpm, but even at full-tilt round a bouncy bend you just know you could drive this thing up the cleavage of Kate Moss.

Getting into (non-legal) trouble in the Exige S would require such a dulled sense of excitement that in order to wake up you need to inject Tabasco into your eyeballs.

I won’t bother comparing the car to most others, except to say if you’re driving around for a few minutes and have time to think, you start to realise the complete lunacy of what you are in, wondering how the hell they made this legal.

As for comparisons to the Elise, I’ve only been in a few and only as a passenger, but these times have been let’s say “spirited”.

On each occasion I came away rather impressed with the lateral-G’s (that is to say I had to keep buying new underpants) and launch from zero, but underwhelmed by the acceleration over 60km/h or up hills, always feeling they were just not meant to go much above the speed limit.

In the Exige S, firstly it has six gears, yes six, so let’s just tackle highway driving.

Leave it in sixth all you want,but say you are in a 110km/h zone and a HiAce is doing 87km/h flat out and there’s a bend 300m away? No problem, this thing has enough torque to simply launch you around the mobile chicane without changing gears.

I was truly astonished by how much this car was capable of without dropping cogs, it’s just really strange to drive a car that thrives at 8000rpm yet has such a strong response at 3000rpm , and I found myself dipping back to second simply for the noise!

For the spirited roads (generally indicated by a sign showing logging trucks), second gear is all you need. Most of them at rated at 80km/h but some are 100km/h, either way just leave it in second and if you need to change into third you are breaking the law. According to the handbook third redlines at about 180kph.

Fourth and fifth are wasted gears for road driving, third is nice, in fact the Exige S may as well just have first, second, third and sixth.

I have to mention I found almost no difficulties in other areas where you find hardship in Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc;  there is such little overhang that the lowness of the car doesn’t particularly matter, sure, you have to be mindful of spoon drains, speed-humps and the like, but there were very few times when an extra reverse move was required to get the right angle of approach to enter or exit a street.

Is this car something you can live with? Definitely.

Every day I hear people bitching about jobs they hate and relationships they tolerate, for the compromises you need to endure to experience the greatness of this vehicle I think it far outweighs the everyday comfort, especially when considering the frustrations mentioned at the start of this sentence.

One of the major shortcomings that can be overcome is the rearward visibility, I don’t know why a rear-camera with screen isn’t an option in this day and age, at least it’s an easy aftermarket fix, the other option is to rip off the roof and install a periscope.

The bruises I have on my arms and legs because of 24 hours straight in this car would surely only cause my body to adapt and toughen up.

Either way – road-going sublime has a benchmark.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

-by Josh McKenzie

I guess I can only blame myself for having been in this position. You see, I would normally do 25,000km a year as stipulated in my novated lease.

However, for reasons that can only really be justified by a sense of adventure and youthful exuberance, I felt the need to spend parts of the last year or so in cars and countries other than my own.

OK, so I’m not going to get much sympathy, but I did get an excuse for another road trip …

So that’s why I drove to Uluru. It was an easy choice really, being just over 2000km away from Melbourne and somewhere I had never been before.

Now the drive was going to be a little different than if I’d chosen say … The Sunshine Coast, as I would be contending with long, straight roads, isolation and the threat of the unknown.

My main concerns with setting off to Uluru were attributed to my vehicle; the VW Golf R32.

Firstly, it requires premium unleaded. Would this be available, and how far would it be between premium pumps?

In an attempt to answer this, I called a service station along the Stuart Highway in South Australia and asked if they had premium unleaded available.

“Nah matey, we don’t sell that brand. We do have Mobil petrol though”.

Right – great to hear that expert response.

My second concern was my space saver spare wheel. A trip to the local auto store helped ease these concerns with a few bottles of octane boost and a couple of cans of tyre goo.

What do you do at the beginning of a four-day break at 6am? You drive from Melbourne to Port Augusta.

It’s always liberating to set off on a holiday during rush hour – driving in a direction opposite to the masses, knowing that within a few hours they’ll be in offices whilst you’re in the sunshine.

My trip across the Westgate Bridge, that great escape venue from Melbourne, was no different to that.

Leaving a grey, cloudy Melbourne, I was greeted by sunshine and warmth as I approached the Grampians along the Western Highway.

But lets face it, how excited can I get about driving to Adelaide?

As beautiful as the hills are as you approach Adelaide, there’s a reason why there’s a giant Koala along the Western Highway.

Much of the same can be said about driving to Port Augusta; the most interesting aspect being the 40-degree temperatures causing some trees in the area to smell like cannabis.

Lucky my motel in Port Augusta had air-conditioning and the stale stench of early ’90s decor.

Day two is where the adventure begins. I start out early, brimming the tank with 98RON at the local servo before setting off.

Within a few kilometres of leaving Port Augusta on the Stuart Highway I’m introduced to the by-product of this bitumen: road-trains.

For the most part a road-train is a B-Double needing an ego boost, consisting of two or three trailers at tops. Easily overtaken by most cars and drivers given the great lengths of straight road.

Be warned though; there are five or six trailer behemoths.

Continuing on through Woomera to Coober Pedy, the main form of entertainment comes from cattle grids and road signs.

The cattle grids and signs indicating the animals on the road (also in German and Chinese) go hand in hand – but people, please, if you feel the need to get out of your car and into the sun, do not walk backwards through a desert.

The opal mines surrounding Coober Pedy make for a positively alien landscape.

That would normally be enough to make a town stuck in the middle of nowhere interesting, however, since it’s unbearably hot in Coober Pedy, people have decided to head back to the caveman era and live underground.

The locals told me the tourists seem to enjoy seeing the many underground churches, which may be an idea if you want to escape the heat for a bit.

With the first half of the day gone, it’s time for me to hit the road again and head on to the great Northern Territory.

Hours of relatively boring road later, I’m at the border and feeling welcome – by a nice big one-three-zero!.

While a 130km/h speed sign is no where near as exciting as the now defunct “de-restricted” speed signs, it’s still slightly liberating as a Victorian to not feel like a criminal for wanting to cover distance in an efficient and timely manner.

My arrival into the resort town of Yulara (at the entrance to the Uluru National Park) is about an hour before sunset, with just enough time to shower, eat and get to Uluru for the sunset show.

Although we’ve all seen the giant rock in various media, it really is quite a bit more impressive in person.

Closer to the resort there are a few dunes you can hike to in order to watch the final moments of the twilight sky disappear from over Uluru and the Olgas. If you’re as lucky as me, you’ll be alone to witness this as the hordes of tourists bus it back to their hotels.

As you may have guessed, Uluru also puts on a sunrise show. Although it’s the lesser-seen side of the giant rock, the sunrise paints it the most brilliant shades of red. It really was unfortunate that I couldn’t continue to be a tourist though.

High winds had closed the controversial climb up the rock, and high temperatures had closed all but the shortest of hikes. That disappointment was my cue to leave, reversing my journey to get back home to cold and dreary Melbourne.

So what did I get out of this road trip? Apart from 4680km extra on my odometer, I’ve learnt that I really need to see more of my own country. I’ve learnt that, despite its reputation, the Stuart Highway is actually an excellent road to travel.

Its excellent condition would put Victoria’s “A” roads to shame, with adequate services and more then enough other drivers on it to help you out if, heaven forbid, you broke down.

Its greatest dangers involve fatigue and overtaking – both of which can only be left up to you, the driver, to manage and common sense should prevail.

As for the car? Well, it’d be just a little unfair for me to attempt to provide you with an unbiased review, which is why I won’t. All the positives mentioned in previous reviews of the VW R32 still apply.

I’ll just state that I’m now in love with my car – a phenomenon many car enthusiasts can attest to.

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

AutoRoute: Volkswagen R50 from Perth to Esperance

“A trip away with the family is a whole lot nicer with 850Nm under your right foot.”

Photography by Karl Peskett, Randell Thalhammer and Dave Preston

With costs going through the roof, it was time for the Peskett family holiday to be scaled down from the five-star accommodation that we’d all love, but realistically couldn’t afford.

So the next step down? Camping of course, but to keep a level of decorum, it was decided that digging our own toilet was out of the question. The best option, it seemed, was to pitch our tent in a caravan park, where we’d be greeted by toilet facilities, showers, and washing machines.

The next thing to organise was a vehicle. We wanted a four-wheel-drive as we were heading to some awesome dunes, and we also needed power to keep us safe on the country roads. With a phone call to the excellent folks at Volkswagen, we ended up with one of the best – the Touareg R50.

The trip started at an insanely early 4:30am. Bleary eyed and desperate for a coffee, I had the envious job of making sure that the roof rack “cage” would hold all our camping gear without showering following traffic in a cavalcade of pots, pans and sleeping bags.

After working out how to use the strapping, coffee was duly supplied. Two sugars? No, give me 14 please. We’re going to need it, and a can of Mother for good luck. It was too dark for photos, so we decided to just head off, and with Esperance listed in the RNS510 satellite-navigation, we were on our way.

Next page…

©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved.

The fly-drive holiday is an increasingly popular option for visitors to New Zealand. It affords a flexibility for those who wish to explore the impressive landscape that NZ’s rather lacklustre public transport system just can’t offer. More importantly a driving holiday in NZ gives you a chance to drive on some of the most entertaining and scenic roads the other side of the ditch.

This particular drive is over five days and starts and ends in Christchurch. Traveling west from Christchurch, my route passes through Arthur’s Pass before heading south down the west coast to Queenstown. A short break in Queenstown is taken before heading north back to Christchurch directly through the guts of the South Island – driving through Lindis Pass and past some notable places such as Lake Tekapo.

It’s a route that flows through a variety of different road types, from flat open roads through to mountain passes and coastal highways. Being winter, conditions will also be variable with the possibility of closed roads and unexpected detours. Any car nut would be positively slathering with excitement.

Day 1: Christchurch – Franz Josef

The journey begins, but not without its disappointments. While I had reserved a Peugeot 307 2.0 litre HDi from Thrifty Car Rentals, I ended up with a base model Toyota Corolla from Avis. While whitegoods on wheels might be perfectly acceptable for some, any driving enthusiast is going to be disappointed with a car that’s engine, transmission and handling can only be best described as mediocre.

The aim of the day is to reach the west coast before heading south until a decent town to stay in is found. The initial drive out of Christchurch is along W Coast Rd and isn’t all that exciting. Views include sheep, numerous police cars and a spectacular mountain range that fills the horizon out all front windows. We’ll be climbing that.

Road leading into Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park

The transition into tight bends and steep mountains roads is quite quick as we enter the Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park (try reading that on a sign). A stop at the top of the climb where Lake Lyndon lies allows us a chance to enjoy our first journey above the snow line, and a glimpse into Arthur’s Pass. The Corolla’s performance so far is acceptable. Although the engine lacks the torque to quietly climb the hills, the ergonomic positioning of the auto’s controls allows us to manually keep the four-speed box in second gear.

Looking towards Arthur’s Pass from Lake Lyndon

The drive beyond Lake Lyndon takes us back below the snow line and snaking along the valley through Arthur’s Pass. Whilst we initially get a chance to absorb the impressive views, the weather quickly changes, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and poor visibility. Not great for driving through a mountain pass. This quick change in conditions becomes a common trend of the trip.

Day 2: Franz Josef – Wanaka

After a night spent in Franz Josef, the drive continues south along State Highway 6. The rain continues to fall for the good part of the morning as friend and I visit the usual tourist attractions of Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier. Both can be recommended as nice detours from the main highway, however if time is a limiting factor – Franz Josef Glacier is the pick of the two for the lush surrounding forests leading up to the glacier.

Further south along the highway as we head into Haast Pass, our Corolla’s flaws become more apparent. Excessive road noise on long stretches of coarse chip bitumen wears away at our energy, making any bend look enticing. The catch here is that any bend highlights the Corolla’s lack of dynamic ability; excessive body roll, a twitchy rear end and lack of grip all have us wanting for smoother, straighter roads.

Snow capped mountains surrounding Lake Wanaka

Our wants aren’t met. Although the roads do smooth out as we enter the run along Lake Wanaka, the corners continue. Just as well the windscreen’s big, because the view is amazing. The jagged mountains still have their snow-capped tops lit up by the now out of view sun, providing just the smallest amount of light to allow the lake to glow.

Day 3: Wanaka – Queenstown

The temperature hovers around the freezing mark as we head out of our overnight stop over in Wanaka. Today’s destination of Queenstown is just a little over an hour away. The drive takes us through a fruit-growing region with plenty of stalls to stop at for a quick snack, and then on through Kawarau gorge, famous for having the first commercial bungee jumping site, off the Kawarau bridge. Traffic between Wanaka and Queenstown is heavy, keeping driving enjoyment down and frustration high.

After arriving in picturesque Queenstown and not being able to find parking to go for lunch, an executive decision’s made to go on yet another mini road trip. We pick a road and follow it. A few kilometres along, light rain turns to sleet… and then to snow. As we’re enjoying the moment of our first snowfalls, a sight many hope to see on a trip to New Zealand approaches us: sheep on the road.

Glenorchy – Queenstown Rd

The road to Glenorchy, aptly named Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd, is reminiscent of parts of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. The only difference is that this particular route is now covered in a thin layer of snow. Not to worry, the view more than makes up for the inability to exploit a few corners. And when you get to Glenorchy? … well, the cold weather was great for a soup at the Glenorchy Café (GYC, on Wills St).

Day 4: Around Queenstown

Today was meant to be a day trip down to Milford Sound. Mother nature didn’t like that idea though and instead decided to snow us into Queenstown for the better part of the morning. That’s okay though, because it mean we were able to enjoy Queenstown at its best.

Mid morning allowed us the courage to don our jackets, jump into the car and see what we could find. We followed another route along Lake Wakatipu, this time heading south. The snow prevented speeds much above 50-60km/h, which along roads like this, is a real disappointment. We were lucky enough to have the skies clear up for us though, and with that – stopped in Kingston for some lunch.

Between Queenstown and Kingston

And here was the surprise of the day, the Corolla handled the snow brilliantly. Its skinny tires, lack of excess torque and insensitive throttle mapping all came together to make smooth progress on the snow and ice. Just as well, since the chains provided by the rental company were tangled and rusted in their container.

Day 5: Queenstown – Christchurch

Our final day on the South Island meant a drive back to Christchurch from Queenstown. Based on opinions from friends and family, we were expecting the drive to be close to 8 hours long. Reality proved it to be closer to 6 ½, including stops. The route back to Christchurch is just under 500km long and provides the most eclectic mix of road types and scenery of all the drives taken so far.

We exit Queenstown back through the Kawarau Gorge. At just after 7am, traffic is almost non-existent and the chance to enjoy the road’s corners is relished after Day 3’s not so involving drive along this road. The Corollas brakes hold up well as the road descends through tight corners to come out at Lake Dunstan, leading into the Lindis Valley. The Lindis Valley provides higher speed sweeping corners along the flat valley floor as we make progress towards the Lindis Pass.

Looking towards Omarama

The transition into the Lindis Pass is quite quick and dramatic. Clear roads turn to ice and the flat roads start climb. Although the roads are covered in ice, grit has been laid and safe progress is made without chains at speeds that the local constabulary would be happy with in school zones. It takes almost an hour to progress through the pass due to the conditions, but once again – the Corolla has impressed in conditions that are less than ideal.

Clockwise from top left: Looking to Lindis Pass, Icy Lindis Pass, Lake Tekapo.

As we exit Lindis Pass, we enter the flat Mackenzie’s basin. Extending about 100km, the vast, flat spaces of the basin are surrounded by mountains that tower thousands of metres above. The higher speeds along the straight roads take us past the turquoise coloured waters of Lake Pukaki, with its views of Mt Cook, and Lake Tekapo.

Exiting Mackenzie’s basin is through Burke’s Pass, the final challenge before the long stretches of country highway along the Canterbury plains take us back to Christchurch. Despite the frequent changes in elevation and mid-speed corners, Burkes Pass just doesn’t have the grandeur of Lindis Pass and proves a little disappointing. None the less, it’s our final good bye to the Southern Alps as we’re soon back in Christchurch.

Final Impressions: The Corolla

I have to give credit to the Corolla, it never let us down. It’s that impression of reliability on which this car’s reputation is built. Despite some obvious deficiencies in comparison to the competition; lack of ESP, lack of power, cumbersome gear box, uninspired handling (and I’m only naming those that immediately come to mind), it seems to reassert itself as fit for purpose in the simplest of ways.

Whilst it lacked grunt (100kW @ 6000rpm / 175Nm @ 4400rpm) and the four-speed auto was unwilling to down shift unless forced to, which was often, the 1.8 litre still managed to return a respectable 7.4 litres per 100km over the entire trip. No easy feat considering the mountains we climbed, and rather slow average speeds through snow and ice. The elevated ergonomic positioning of the shift gate also meant that manual control of the auto box wasn’t as much of an inconvenience as it could’ve been.

The handling could also be more entertaining. Varying degrees of understeer, lack of steering feel, body roll and slow turn in aren’t exactly fun. But these are things that can at least partially be attributed to the base model’s skinny tires. It’s those skinny tires though that cut through the snow in Queenstown and didn’t slip over the icy Lindis Pass.

Quality seems to be there in most places frequented by your hands. All stalk controls, HVAC, audio and gear controls feel solid and precise. However, large areas of dashboard and console were covered in hard, cheap plastic – causing very obvious rattles between two glove box lids that were rubbing against each other.

Conclusion? I can see why it’s popular. When faced with reality, most people do just want cheap and reliable transport, which the Corolla provides. For the rest of us that don’t enjoy trade-offs, I recommend shopping around.

Next time in Auto Route Josh tackles the USA’s Route 66 in a legendary Mustang

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