Euro Road-trip - Handful of snaps 3.0si

[s.m.456]

I have finally dragged myself out of the holiday blues and had a quick flick through my holiday photos. I only took a couple of the car when I thought it looked pretty special :wink:

I won't bore you with the details but we covered 2500 miles through France, Switzerland & Italy. Took a few detours around the Swiss borders to take in some of the famous mountain passes. Thoroughly enjoyed the driving, the car was extremely rewarding and most importantly 100% reliable.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Lovely photos OP.

Those pits look like Reims. If it is, I drove down that road in 2004 but foolishly didn't stop for any photos.

There is something slightly eerie about old, abandoned pitlanes.

Hope you had a great trip.

ETA You ought to put one of those in the monthly competition!

 

[TR4man]

Yes, that is certainly Reims - a very evocative place to visit.

Some very good photos.

 

[buzyg]

Spectacular. 8)

 

[ronk]

I'm off to SW Germany on Monday and hope to see some blue sky and mountains !

 

[enzed4]

Beautiful

 

[s.m.456]

I'm off to SW Germany on Monday and hope to see some blue sky and mountains !

Blue skies + mountains + roof down makes for an awesome drive. It's great when you can see ahead for 4-5 corners and give it the beans on some fantastic Swiss roads. The engine note and pops from exhaust turn you into a grinning fool

I tried to capture some tunnel runs on video but all we managed was a lot of wind noise...

 

[BlastDK]

Looks stunning! nice pictures.

 

[Taz]

nice

 

[jamie_z4]

wow fantastic pics

 

[s.m.456]

Lovely photos OP.

Those pits look like Reims. If it is, I drove down that road in 2004 but foolishly didn't stop for any photos.

There is something slightly eerie about old, abandoned pitlanes.

Hope you had a great trip.

ETA You ought to put one of those in the monthly competition!

Looking at the competition of last month I don't think I would cut the grade! Which photo would be the pick of the bunch?

 

[paulgs1000]

Great photos and a lovely looking si
Out of interest - what was your average mpg for the trip - any idea? Steph and I did a similar trip this summer and averaged nearly 24 mpg in our M - quite pleased with that (included 250kph on the autobahn and 5 Swiss passes so mixed driving). Used to have a 3.0si so paricularly interested.

 

[s.m.456]

Great photos and a lovely looking si
Out of interest - what was your average mpg for the trip - any idea? Steph and I did a similar trip this summer and averaged nearly 24 mpg in our M - quite pleased with that (included 250kph on the autobahn and 5 Swiss passes so mixed driving). Used to have a 3.0si so paricularly interested.

According to the on board computer we averaged 35ish mpg overall. On the steady run back from Tuscany to Morzine I squeezed 450 miles out of the tank with approx 7L left on the re-fill.

I was surprised at the fuel prices in Italy, I think we may have some of the cheapest fuel in Europe at the moment.

For performance, economy, experience and value I think the 3.0si is hard to trump!

 

[Smartbear]

Great photos and a lovely looking si
Out of interest - what was your average mpg for the trip - any idea? Steph and I did a similar trip this summer and averaged nearly 24 mpg in our M - quite pleased with that (included 250kph on the autobahn and 5 Swiss passes so mixed driving). Used to have a 3.0si so paricularly interested.

According to the on board computer we averaged 35ish mpg overall. On the steady run back from Tuscany to Morzine I squeezed 450 miles out of the tank with approx 7L left on the re-fill.

I was surprised at the fuel prices in Italy, I think we may have some of the cheapest fuel in Europe at the moment.

For performance, economy, experience and value I think the 3.0si is hard to trump!

Great pics
You're right about the si being very capable & a great all rounder, without being too biased I think the 2litre turbo cars perhaps come the closest, a remap sees them just having the legs on the si & still able to return better mpg figures, cheaper road tax is also welcome.
What they don't have is the superb sound of the inline 6, I remember mine fondly but you can't have it all
They sound pretty good in their own right with turbo spooling sounds & the recirculating boost valve whooshing on throttle off moments

 

[DaveZ4richardson]

I am already booked up to use Reims as a base for a weeks exploring in the zed in June next year then the second week heading over to Le Mans for the second week, can't wait.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Lovely photos OP.

Those pits look like Reims. If it is, I drove down that road in 2004 but foolishly didn't stop for any photos.

There is something slightly eerie about old, abandoned pitlanes.

Hope you had a great trip.

ETA You ought to put one of those in the monthly competition!

Looking at the competition of last month I don't think I would cut the grade! Which photo would be the pick of the bunch?

Well I know very little about photography but my favourites are your 1st and 5th photos. I can't really say which is "better" because the background is so different, but I'd be really pleased if I had taken either of those!