Goma Goma

Been extremely busy the past days. It was a long weekend with Vesak Day just over. No short trips this time round. More exciting news awaits...

Sitting here with every muscle in me aching away. With viral fever, there's probably nothing much medications can do but just rest it out.

Back to the exciting weekend. Loads of mahjong games, evened out with no significant winnings nor losses but I did sign a huge cheque. Probably the biggest I've put my pen down on, ever. The result of this big action would be revealed in this little black monster with 200bhp coming my way in 3 weeks time. I must admit it's a huge commitment but I'm ready to take on the world. Well, with merely 200 horses, maybe not the world, I'll start with the track.

Having test driven both the Mini Cooper S and the Volkswagen Golf GTi, let me have a short writeup and you there, sitting at home or in the office reading this, shall have a smart guess on which is my ultimate choice.

It was a close fight. So close that I know the other car that I didn't choose this time round, will make it to my top choice in my next purchase. After talking about my choice in cars for ages, I finally muster enough courage and "strength (in terms of my bank account, at least for the meagre downpayment" to head down to Leng Kee for test drives. See, I never quite had the mentality to spend weekends test driving cars out of fun and instant pleasure. So only when I have decided to take the plunge and yes I'm going to be "married" to my "Goma (My car's name for the time being)", I made 2 appointments, one with Veedub and the other with Mini.

Chronologically, we took the like cute Mini out for a ride. If you think it's cute, wait till you hear the thing roar! The power kicks in the moment you let go of the accelerator. Yes, auto. I know I was talking about the manual and totally in love with the manual but I can't get over days when I want to perform my "Superman" stance i.e. one hand on the hand rest and the other on the steering wheel. Too much of a lazy bone in me. Having said that, the drive was wonderful. Probably because the test drive route was longer and made up of a good mix of straight and winding roads. Needless to say, the handling was superb. It felt raw, point and shoot instant reaction from wheel to wheel and all these were before the sports button was switched on. In sports mode, the steering tightened even further, the power was instant and reaction was pure superb. The car felt so close to the ground and the grip was unbelievable. Back to the showroom, the colours were limited. My favourite astro black with white roof and red interior was available but unfortunately, it was the display unit. I didn't quite like display units stuffs because I always end up with them and I have no freaking idea why. I believe with the JCW engine tuning kit, this car would be a demon.

Next stop, Volkswagen. First, I took the lesser of the two brothers, the GT for a ride. This was far too docile and nothing like what I had in mind. It was nothing comparable to the Mini and later on, the GTi. The GT was a total waste of time. It felt powerless, almost like a NA car. The interior wasn't far better. None of it screams quality. It was a quick drive and finally came the hothatch rabbit - the Golf GTi. After the disappointment with the GT, I thought I might as well head back to Mini Habitat immediately and dump my downpayment for the little power. Once on the road, this hot hatch showed me the power it's been wanting to unleash. The handling and steering wasn't as fun and tight and the Mini and it was no way as sticky given the higher centre of gravity. But mid to high end, the monster kicked in. Going faster was a breeze. It felt a little more floaty than the Mini but hell, it was simply too powerful I can't find a better suited word to replace. Now, this is true competition for the Mini. The SE wasn't quite keen to throw in alot of goodies and my bargaining skills... Let's just say there's still plenty of room for improvement.

Now the interesting vote takes place. Which car do you think I eventually picked? Click on comment right below and tell me what you think and given that the very few of you reading my blog, I need some comments to liven up this place. Teehee...

Another 3 weeks of waiting game... Like what Dpointt said, it's gonna be the longest wait of my life! Thou shalt continue reading up on coilovers...