Mooncaller Cars: From a British perspective...

I love driving; ever since I passed my test I've enjoyed the freedom it brings, the feeling of being in control of such an amazing piece of engineering. My first car was a very well-worn Vauxhall Corsa, previously driven by my mum and my older brother and now in my younger sister's possession. However, I was always on the lookout for something more. My dream car was an Audi TT, but I presumed with my budget it would be far too costly both to buy and to insure.

With the gorgeous Betty on the day I bought her...

I went looking for my first car - the first that only belonged to me - in April 2015. I was going to use the money I'd saved from waitressing and bartending in my teens and early twenties, along with a little inheritance from my Nana, to buy a "proper car". I was looking for something with a Diesel engine, preferably four wheel drive. I test drove, with my Dad alongside, an Audi A3 and a TT (clearly I have a bit of a thing for Audi's). I liked the A3 - it drove very well, was practical, the cheapest of the two. But my goodness, the smile that came on my face when I got into the TT. It was beautiful. The noise it made, the smooth curves of the bodywork, even the look of the accelerator (gas pedal to you non-Brits). Everything about the car screamed "buy me, buy me, I'm the best you'll ever have". My Dad said that the extra price was worth the smile on my face alone. He actually ended up helping me pay for the TT (he called himself a part-owner which he thought meant he could drive her, how little he knew) and thank goodness he did. She was gorgeously black and glossy, 2 litre, 6 gears, Diesel engine, 2009 model, four wheel drive. Everything I wanted and more.

I drove her all over the country - to London (five hours from me), to Suffolk, across to Wales, to Liverpool, up to Northumberland. She always went really well, averaging about 56mpg. If you drive a TT over about 76mph the rear spoiler comes up. Bearing in mind the speed limit on motorways in the Uk is 70mph, I saw a lot more of her spoiler than I should have done! The acceleration she had was amazing, overtaking cyclists on the country roads around Haworth where I live with ease. I also drove her through the snow (only pathetic little British snow, mind) and she didn't put a foot - or should I say wheel - wrong.

You might at this point be wondering why I am writing about Betty (named after the song Black Betty, by Ram Jam) in the past tense. This is because of something that happened in late April this year, only a year after I bought her. An idiot driver (I'm allowed to say that - the police also called him the same names and worse) decided that he wouldn't brake coming up to a roundabout and smashed into the rear end of my pride and joy at 50mph. I was stationary when I was hit. I was shunted into the back of a VW Golf in front of me, he was an inch away from hitting the car in front of him. My rear bumper came off, my front grill was smashed, I suffered quite serious whiplash. My beautiful Betty was written off in someone else's moment of complete stupidity. He admitted fault and I was paid fully for Betty in less than two weeks, thank goodness.

In the meantime, while I waited to find a worthy replacement, I was given a hire car by my insurance company. I was expecting a little run-around like the Corsa I learnt to drive in. Instead, I left work one day to find a Mercedes C220 in the staff car park. This was mine to drive for the foreseeable future. It was an automatic car - something I'm not used to - with automatic gear box, automatic headlights, automatic windscreen wipers. I felt like I wasn't driving the car, the car was driving me. Don't get me wrong, it was a very nice car to be in. But I felt like a passenger rather than the driver. I missed changing gear, the amazing feeling of going from 5th to 6th gear, of the feeling of power that was given to me; the sense of control. My Dad owns an Audi A6 that is automatic and he loves it for the fact that it is so easy to drive, so smooth. I hated that about the Merc. It was also trying to be something it wasn't. It was trying to fit a sports car physique into something that clearly wasn't designed that way. Not for me.

So, as soon as I could afford to, I bought another TT with my insurance pay out. A beautiful white 2010 model, still 2 litre, still four wheel drive, still diesel. But, I hate to admit it, she is actually better than Betty. Kitty, as the K-reg has become known, has inbuilt sat-nav, higher spec interiors, is Bluetooth enabled so I can answer phone calls whilst driving, and is a newer model overall. And believe it or not, she gets higher average mpg's. I recently drove down to Cornwall (a ten hour journey) and then back up through Devon and St Albans up to my home county of Yorkshire over the course of two weeks. Kitty averaged 61mpg. Maybe that also has something to do with my driving, but I can't help feeling she's just a better car.

Betty was gorgeous but she had a few flaws - one of her windows stuck a little bit, she didn't have an amplifier (I had to fork out for one so I could listen to the radio), her front grill was a little dented. Kitty on the other hand is Perfect. With a capital P. She is a joy to drive; I recently was a bridesmaid at a wedding and drove some of the bridal party to the church in her (in my dress, with my hair done, in heels!) but Kitty wasn't left out. She was decorated too, with white ribbons attached to her wing mirrors. I got a lot of honks from other motorists driving to the church through the narrow Cornish lanes! After the wedding, I drove to my grandparents in Devon and took my 84-year old Grandmother out for a spin. Amazingly she managed to get in and out of the passenger seat with ease (she's used to the more age-friendly Honda Jazz) and she loved my gorgeous TT too!!

I still get a little nervous at roundabouts when cars drive quickly and close behind me - the memory of the accident has not gone away - but my passion and love for driving has not diminished. I came to Chicago in 2013 (hence how I know Corey and Holly) and one of my dream holidays is to go back, hire a car and drive around the country, exploring the States more. If anyone knows someone who would be willing to let a 24 year old British girl hire their car - better make it a manual gearbox - let me know!!