The Running Robot

Source: https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/AUDI-A3-Sedan-5811_10.jpg Upset at the turn of events in the day, I decided get distracted by driving to Audi to try out the Audi A3 Sedan. Audi, a brand that never resonates with me. A brand that I dislike. It is a bit of a dark side to me. But I forced myself to think out of the box to not always shortlist the usual suspects. The main reason is both the new Honda Civic 1.5 turbo and Audi A3 sedan cost similar. Similarly, a used 3 year old Honda Civic 1.6 and a 3 year old Audi A3 sedan would cost similar too. Hence, it got me curious. Source: https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/AUDI-A3-Sedan-5811_9.jpg The agent had ran out of A3 show cars. Hence, he directed me to a test drive unit. I climbed onto the driver’s seat and the waft of “new car” smell overwhelmed me. It is a snug cockpit with lots of nice touch surfaces. The agent described the car as I scan through the buttons....

Township of Grindelwald Driving in Switzerland Switzerland is a comfortable and safe country to drive in. It is a combination of well-built roads and beautiful scenery because of the Alps. There are some challenging alpines roads but that is part of the fun. Do note that roads are heavily regulated in Switzerland and you have to drive according to the legal speed limits and definitely no drink driving. You do not want to get on the wrong side of the law with the Swiss. Driving on the Left or Right. In Switzerland, you drive on the Right Side of the road. The driver sit on the left side of the cockpit.  You will need to Cross traffic at a junction when Turning Left. Road Conditions The road conditions in Switzerland is superb. The roads are well built and smooth. Roads are generally not very crowded except in major cities such as Zurich. Traffic jams are a rarity in Switzerland. I had not encounter any traffic jams in the fortnight that I ...

Introduction This kicks off a series of writings on driving in different countries. While not exhaustive, it is based on my experience driving in the mentioned country. Hopefully the information will be useful to you if intend to drive in the mentioned countries. Schloss Marburg Driving in Germany Germany is perhaps one of the best countries that I have driven in. It is basically petrol head heaven. It is a combination of well-built roads and beautiful scenery especially in the Bavaria region.  I thoroughly enjoyed driving there and felt very comfortable doing so. I will definitely go back there when I can. Driving on the Left or Right In Germany, you drive on the Right Side of the road. The driver sit on the left side of the cockpit.  You will need to Cross traffic at a junction when Turning Left. Road Conditions The road conditions in Germany is superb. The roads are well built and smooth. Roads are generally not very crowded...

Tempting times Recently, an advertisement for a good valued, used Volvo V40 D2 came onto my radar. I had many good memories with the V40 D3 in Switzerland and it is a tempting proposition to make my next ride a Volvo. The time I had with the V40 D3 in Switzerland was truly magical. One of those great road trips moments that I had in my motoring life. I call them my "Top Gear" moments.  Hence, I shall pen down those memories in this post. Alps Crossing – 20 April 2014 Swarovski's Kristallwelten in Innsbruck My wife and I had left Swarovski’s Kristallwatten at about 2pm. We were at Innsbruck, Austria. It was an exceptionally sunny day in Austria, in fact, I remembered lowering all the windows using a button on the key fob to let the hot air in the Volvo escape before we got in the car. That was probably the only time I used the windows function in Europe. Route from Innsbruck, Austria to Lierna, Italy The 290 km journey calls a...

Source: http://theurbantwist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/uber.jpg Here is a post from an old friend, Justin on the topic of Uber. While I drive about once a week to allow me to spend some time on the road and to structure my life. Justin is a more serious driver and he definitely put the money where his mouth is. I truly salute him for his endurance on the road. I have spoken about the shortcomings on Uber before on my earlier post , and I am glad he remains very positive about driving for Uber despite of its shortcomings. Below is his Referral Link if you are interested to drive for Uber, just click on it and register with Uber accordingly. You will make SGD$100, and he will make some referral fee and that will help to give him a respite from his endurance driving. https://partners.uber.com/i/justint3984ue Post from Guest Blogger, Justin Teo Why Uber in Singapore is Great! [Pre-qualifications – For people who have a good driving licen...

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria Today I am not going to write an educational post. This is a more personal post. It is about my journey with touching an innate vein within myself and one that I am still trying to find answers with. It is about my brush with my inner German. Zurich, April 2014 It was a trip that I was looking forward to. I planned the Switzerland self-drive trip meticulously and tirelessly. My wife and me were travelling back to Europe for the first time since our honeymoon in 2011. Being a Top Gear fan and petrol head, I was looking forward to driving on the Stelvio Pass in Italy as well as on the speed derestricted German autobahns. The journey for this free spirited trip would require me to drive through Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Northern Italy. I had not driven in the continent before, hence there were much preparation like reading up on the dos and don’ts of European driving, driving through weather and even the testing of cars whi...

Time to start hunting for a car again In just a matter of months, my current car, "The Whisperer", a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid will be coming to the end of its life with my family. In Singapore, we can't keep a car beyond 10 years unless we are willing to pay the government SGD$50,000 (Approx USD $35,747) to extend its life beyond 10 years. I am not in favour of that choice because a 10 year old car is a 10 year old car. Problems are bound to surface in time to come and not to mention I will also lose the scrap value of the car which is worth SGD $10,000 (approx USD $7,150) There is a myriad of choices out there including new cars and used cars.  Used vs New I still feel a used car that is not more than 5 years old would be a better choice as new car prices are crazy high in Singapore. A new car depreciate like mad once they leave the dealer easily losing about SGD $30,000 (Approx USD $21,449) in the first year for a mid size se...