Letting my wife drive the fleet

[Peter C]

Generally, I don’t like other people driving my cars. I know the exact mechanical condition of each car and their little quirks and I know how they like to be treated. I also have mechanical sympathy in abundance and I take pleasure in smooth and gentle driving. Oh, and I avoid potholes at all cost.

However, as I’m not allowed to drive for at least six weeks and I didn’t want my Merc, Sierra and MGB languishing in the garages for that long, today I asked my wife to take all three cars for a quick run up and down the M40, under my supervision, of course.

We started with my 230E because she has driven it before. It’s also the easiest to drive with (mechanical) fuel injection and power assisted steering.

Then was the turn of the Sierra. She hasn’t driven it before and the lack of PAS came as a shock. Once the engine warmed up and the carburettor was happy, progress was smooth.

I left the best till last, the MGB. In comparison, the Sierra is a modern car. Despite the low slung driving position and even heavier steering, we completed the journey without any problems.

Mission accomplished and, weather permitting, we will repeat this exciting experience in a couple of weeks.

[Jenson Velcro]

What was her verdict on each car?

 

[Peter C]

1 minute ago, Jenson Velcro said:

What was her verdict on each car?

 

She loves the Merc and doesn’t mind driving it.

She was taken by surprise how heavy the Sierra is to drive compared with the Merc.

I warned her about the part 1950s and 60s technology that hides beneath the B’s stylish Pininfarina lines but she enjoyed the experience and is up for another opportunity to drive it again soon.

[hairnet]

how much was the taxi ride in the first pic

[Peter C]

43 minutes ago, hairnet said:

how much was the taxi ride in the first pic

Worth every penny!

[UltraWomble]

My wife pretty much with only one exception has hated every car Ive ever owned.
Top of that list was the Citroen BX, but possibly a close second is the N93 Polo.

[IronStar]

1 hour ago, UltraWomble said:

Top of that list was the Citroen BX,

Caught out by the binary off-on hydraulic brakes? 

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, UltraWomble said:

My wife pretty much with only one exception has hated every car Ive ever owned.

You have my sympathy!  I understand sooooooo much!

[Wibble]

My wife says the Superb is too big but used the Senator as her daily 20 years ago?

[UltraWomble]

8 hours ago, IronStar said:

Caught out by the binary off-on hydraulic brakes? 

The whole HP experience un nerved her I think

[New POD]

8 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

You have my sympathy!  I understand sooooooo much!

Ditto. Apart from current astra GTC auto. Bought when she had a 5 door astra auto, so most of the controls were identical.  The only reason I bought it, so she could drive it without complaining. 

The first time she drove it she asked why was my 1.4 soooo much faster than her 1.6.... erm maybe the extra 25 bhp? 

I don't think shes driven it more than 3 times in 4 years.  

[tooSavvy]

Will we be hearing from $hiter laydeez who allow their OH to drive their cars....

*SWMBO 'owns' AVAS but never learned to drive - much encouraged but to no avail 🫤 - but is very happy to look out the windows...

"Slow down!" her feedback 💏♥️

🚙💨

[Heidel_Kakao]

9 hours ago, Wibble said:

My wife says the Superb is too big but used the Senator as her daily 20 years ago?

My mother used to drive a MK1 Discovery regularly but would now consider it too big. I think it's a combination of poorer eyesight and less confidence that makes some people get smaller cars as they get older.

[eddyramrod]

Last car my mum drove was a 2.0 DOHC Sierra...

Meanwhile MrsR doesn't even drive the Motability car now, and it's in her name.  Fading eyesight, fading confidence and gratuitous electrickery combine.  She doesn't much like riding in a car that isn't SUV height any more (arthritis and lipodema) and there's no way she's ever going to drive the Cresta, with no PAS.  She did drive my early Volvos (I had my first when we met), and various of my BL cars while she was still working but in Cyprus the only one she drove was the Vauxhall/Isuzu Brava pickup.  Notably, she didn't fancy driving any of my American cars, because LHD, although I did tempt her into one little drive on quiet streets when I had my Chrysler leBaron convertible.  Just the once though; she found LHD too stressful.

[Markeh]

1 hour ago, eddyramrod said:

Meanwhile MrsR doesn't even drive the Motability car now, and it's in her name.  Fading eyesight, fading confidence and gratuitous electrickery combine.  

Having seen my gran fall into the fading confidence trap, and with my dads health very much not improving, I have to keep encouraging mum to drive the Peugeot where she can to keep her confidence up - not as if she's not used to larger cars, if anything she prefers them. Another concern, because dad always does it, is whether she's comfortable with both home and public charging!

My folks haven't been on my insurance since my first Qashqai - mum never drove it. Dad drove it twice, and nearly reversed into things twice (he's an excellent driver going forwards...), so that was that, you're not driving it again. I can count on one hand the occasions they drove the Megane. They both had stints with my Corsa, mum owning it for a year and a bit before I took it over, and dad taking it over for a year or so after I got the Megane and he changed to a job without company cars. Nowadays it makes more sense for me to be on the insurance for the Peugeot.

My best mate has driven both of my Qashqais, once to share the driving on a long holiday, once to get her out of trouble for a week while she was waiting for her insurers to decide whether they were repairing her 2008 that got broken into and therefore whether she'd receive a hire car - she wouldn't call herself a confident driver at all, but she was fine, albeit nervous due to the size difference - I kept having to remind her that yes, it is bigger than your Peugeot, but you've also driven a number of pickups, Land Rovers and full-size vans for work and been fine (apart from the one occasion an MG punted the works Berlingo up the arse)

[GrumpiusMaximus]

My Mum always used to hate driving my Dad's cars and always found them difficult to park (apparently).

Explain this.  She had a Volvo 240 at the same time Dad drove a Ford Fiesta!  Mum stopped driving a couple of years ago.  She's only 66!

[N Dentressangle]

Mrs D had a drive in the Porsche the other day:

Oopsie

[lesapandre]

On 14/12/2025 at 17:35, Peter C said:

Generally, I don’t like other people driving my cars. I know the exact mechanical condition of each car and their little quirks and I know how they like to be treated. I also have mechanical sympathy in abundance and I take pleasure in smooth and gentle driving. Oh, and I avoid potholes at all cost.

However, as I’m not allowed to drive for at least six weeks and I didn’t want my Merc, Sierra and MGB languishing in the garages for that long, today I asked my wife to take all three cars for a quick run up and down the M40, under my supervision, of course.

We started with my 230E because she has driven it before. It’s also the easiest to drive with (mechanical) fuel injection and power assisted steering.

Then was the turn of the Sierra. She hasn’t driven it before and the lack of PAS came as a shock. Once the engine warmed up and the carburettor was happy, progress was smooth.

I left the best till last, the MGB. In comparison, the Sierra is a modern car. Despite the low slung driving position and even heavier steering, we completed the journey without any problems.

Mission accomplished and, weather permitting, we will repeat this exciting experience in a couple of weeks.

Peak Partridge...

[Peter C]

@lesapandre

Classic Partridge, love it!

Admittedly, whilst driving each car from home towards the M40, I did tell my wife which gear to be in and when to change up and in the MGB I had to explain the procedure for engaging and disengaging the overdrive. 

Apart from finding it tricky to engage the B's third gear a couple of times (before the transmission warmed up), I must admit that my wife took to driving my 38, 40 and 54 year old cars like a duck to water.

When my wife complained about the Sierra's heavy steering, I reminded her that her first car was a 1989 Ford Sierra 1.8 Estate, which didn't have power assisted steering and she didn't mind driving it back then. 

[lesapandre]

It's an achievement to do that - jumping into three different older cars and taking them out. 🎉👍

[camryv6]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

It's an achievement to do that - jumping into three different older cars and taking them out. 🎉👍

And still talking to each other afterwards 

[LightBulbFun]

back in 2019 when the FoD was open regularly, I had good fun chucking people behind the controls of REV My Invacar  worth it for nothing else seeing how it broke peoples brains  , I have also given my mum a quick lesson-drive last year, we plan to continue lessons once we can find somewhere a bit more open spaced  

[lesapandre]

What about the Le Mans Classic one year? Best trailer it down maybe. Probably attract more attention than a Bugatti racer.

[cobblers]

If anyone wants my wife to drive their car as some sort of shakedown type science experiment, let me know and I will see if she's free. When that mega bumpy bit of road a millbrook is out of action, they just ask her to take something for a couple of laps round the car park and it has a similar effect. 

[Peter C]

1 hour ago, camryv6 said:

And still talking to each other afterwards 

We had (great) sex that evening.

[camryv6]

1 minute ago, Peter C said:

We had (great) sex that evening.

Ermm....................photos ?

[Peter C]

5 minutes ago, camryv6 said:

Ermm....................photos ?

You have PM.

[camryv6]

4 minutes ago, Peter C said:

You have PM.

Your bedroom is very tidy

[hairnet]

1 hour ago, Peter C said:

We had (great) sex that evening.

 

1 hour ago, camryv6 said:

Ermm....................photos ?

bit difficult in teh mg

[lesapandre]

2 hours ago, camryv6 said:

Your bedroom is very tidy

That's not the bedroom - that's the garage...