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I did that trip last week in my W123 230ce (Kent to Fowey)…I now have a mindset of knowing I am slow, so I just take it easy and waft.
TBH over the years I have done the same trip in a M5, Cerbera, 172cup and various other cars. While I may have been quicker in the other cars, traffic is always the deciding factor, not my car. Quickest I did it was leaving Carbis Bay @ 9pm, in the W123 with a boot full and wife, kids and dog(puppy), just over 5 hours and would have been quicker If the M25 was not shut for roadworks
Cornish_Bike-
Yeah I don’t mind being slow, I’ve made the trip in an air-cooled bay window a few times, it’s the absence of response from that combo of under-powered engine and over-geared auto box that kills. Even in the camper when you put your foot down it immediately got noisier and shakier showing some willing.
Stevethecoffee
Just drove from Cornwall to Northants in my merc C180 auto and the whole thing was fucking miserable. The piss poor 1.6l supercharged engine mated to a long and gappy 5spd auto means it will not accelerate at all without changing down, usually 2 cogs as I have to keep it in sport to avoid it being downright dangerous. Trying to maintain your gap in traffic means coming off throttle as you catch the car in front, the gap opens again, foot down to the floor, count to 2, gears shift down, tremendous racket at 4-5000rpm, car begins to gain speed, you’ve counted to 5 or 6 by then and most likely someone has pulled in and you start all over again. 6 hours of that shit. I like everything about that car except for the dogshit motor. I’m going to change it for one of the v6 versions I think.
Oh I had 4 bikes on the roof too, regular Thule wheel strap jobs. Can’t report on high speed safety obvs but it was about the only thing that didn’t annoy me.