17 and mobile

Well, obviously, he would set his heart on something a bit more racy if he wasn't (nearly) 17 and limited by insurance costs and so on. What model of car, in the purview of a 17 year old, would it be ok to set a heart on? They're all a bit boring, surely.

He's a bit interested in Japan and East Asia, as I was with the USSR etc at that age. He's even teaching himself a bit of Japanese and sharing nuggets of interesting linguisitc facts every now and again. So, he's keen on a Japanese car, and he doesn't like washing machine sized vehicles. An Avensis is a pretty good choice. I like that it's a bit bigger and safer than the usual teenage chariot. It'll be reliable and cheap to run. It'll swallow stuff to go to University with, and it's ULEZ compliant (at the moment). I'm not really seeing an argument against.

I’m a little surprised by how little pestering I’m getting to supervise practice in the Aygo. What we have done has been limited to low-speed trundles around the immediate neighbourhood, and the sticking point seems to be that the Aygo’s clutch-throttle-handbrake combination is harder to manage than its counterpart in a modern car. This makes neither boy confident to cope in mixed traffic without the safety net of dual controls.

Boy1 at least knew how to work a handbrake, as his Southampton instructor’s Clio has one. But he’s now learning in a 308, and Boy2 has moved from that to a Golf, both of which have EPBs.

But even on a level road, they both struggle with moving off, and I think the problem is more in the right foot than the left. The most recent manual car I’ve driven was my 2012 325d, and I was already an experienced driver by then. But I think the instructors’ cars have engine management systems that apply revs as they detect the clutch engaging, so the engine picks up the load smoothly and the car moves off without a lurch. The Aygo doesn’t do that; its clutch bites quite high but the real finesse is required in adjusting the throttle as it engages, otherwise it coughs, then hops or stalls. I think this is pretty much how cars used to be, and the Aygo is cheap, primitive and a 16-year-old design, which probably wasn’t cutting edge even in 2005.

So I’m thinking we find an empty car park and do parking manoeuvres. That will require a lot more stopping and starting than we’ve done so far, and get through a lot of clutch-throttle-handbrake iterations. Either that or we sell the Aygo and see if a Citigo is any easier. 🤷‍♂️

Interesting comments, Dubya. I distinctly remember having a problem moving off myself, but only when in my Mum's Escort 1.6. Even though my instructor's Mitsubishi Colt wasn't a problem at all. I've never quite understood why, but as soon as I managed the first successful move-off in the Escort (my Mum did what you're proposing and took me to a large car park to stall it umpteen times) it never happened again and I couldn't work out what my problem had been.

Have you tried explaining to them what is actually happening when they operate the controls WDB? As in the the clutch plates coming together, the fuel and air mix causing the engine to turn faster etc. ?

I found that "he" grasped it all much better when he knew why he was supposed to do things.

It’s the computer game generation - it seems like a lot of drivers just use the Go pedal and the Stop pedal; mastering a clutch biting point whilst feathering a throttle is a dying art...

I wouldn’t blame the Aygo; every clutch in every car feels a bit different (as does the brake pedal). Practice makes perfect. If youngsters have the patience!

I don’t think I am blaming the Aygo. The clutch pedal comes up a long way before anything happens (many comments on this on the various owners’ forums) but once it does, it’s smooth and progressive. It’s just that the engine management doesn’t step in to automatically add fuel as the engine takes up the load. From what Boy1 has said of his Renault and Peugeot experiences, I suspect more modern cars, even cheapish ones, do.

I was pleasantly surprised how quickly managing a clutch came back to me after four years with no practice at all, and 13 years without driving a small petrol manual. But I suppose it’s easier coming from knowing that the engine may need a little help from the right foot is easier than the other way.