The other surprise for me was the overall winner. Whilst I had voted the VW Polo for sheer chutzpah-for-cash I thought the Kia Sportage was sneaking through as the ultimate value proposition.


OK the results of the Drive COTY are online and generally they accord with my grand plan. Generally. I abstained from voting on the Large Car segment because I didnt find either contestant particularly inspiring and because I was holding a candle for the Holden SS-V which I wanted to compare as a "Big Car" rather than "performance Under $60k) - the SS-V is actually slightly longer than the Omega wagon in the "Big Car" class. But it was not to be. The other surprise for me was the overall winner. Whilst I had voted the VW Polo for sheer chutzpah-for-cash I thought the Kia Sportage was sneaking through as the ultimate value proposition. ![]() But the other winner was the location. Flowerdale, about 80 minutes north of Melbourne, is wildlife central. A koala bear walked across the road in front of me - the first Koala I have seen on all fours. No camera at hand I have had to poach a pic from online....but for some strange reason my koala with particularly chunky hind legs and particularly long gangly front ones, reminded me of a transformer from Star Wars. It had been a long day..... ![]() OK so now comparing the two I dont see the similarity.....but the abundance of wildlife in this region of Victoria - wombats on the porch of Flowerdale Estate, echidnas and turtles by the roadside, wallabies in the paddocks - has made me determined to bring my kids back for some Aussie marsupial imersion. Did I mentioned the platypus?
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![]() I have just completed seven days of hard driving and debating with the passionate team of Fairfax motor journalists - what a week! And what great cars! - well, some of them at least. Blown away by the engine note on the Ford Focus RS which in full blown flight gets close to the jet rush of the 911 turbo in sound at least. Impressed also with the commitment to colour and ride shown by the design team responsible for the Renault Megane RS250 Cup Trophee. A super tight fist of a car with seamless acceleration and a rocketing ride. Another highlight - having a large koala stalk across the road (safely) in front of my car. The surrounds of Flowerdale and Broadmeadow in Northern Victoria are a haven for echidnas, turtles, crazy numbers of magpies and cockatoos, wombats and - koalas. Flowerdale Retreat even apparently has platypusi and our team had a wombat waddle down the verandah outside one of the rooms. So dont just go there for the sharp turns of the Broadmeadow race track. Driving back to Melbourne in the manual Boxster was a terrific end to a long but rewarding week. |
AuthorSally Dominguez writes, skis, designs and teaches, is curious about most things and loves Dr Seuss. Archives
August 2014
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