Route 66 Review - The Car

As I am now at my final destination, and near the end of my trip, over the next few days I will be looking back with a few posts of review. The best place to start is my travelling companion for the past 2800 miles or so, my car.

The Chrysler 200 has been a good companion. Whilst I may occasionally disagree with its choice of gear (it is an automatic), and it did once slightly panic me by claiming it had a puncture for 30 seconds (fortunately it did not, it was just an issue with the sensor) it has given me a good and comfortable ride. This is just as well, as I think I have been driving it for around 64 hours (according to the stats in the car). Whilst it did not have a sat nav, it is surprising how useful a built-in compass can be!

However, whilst the idea of having a convertible was a good one, the reality was otherwise. As I mentioned when I got it, the roof takes up mot of the boot, so if you want to use the convertible when you have your luggage with you it has to sit on the back seat - fortunately the back seat is big enough to take it easily (one of the benefits of this car). However, the main issue has been the weather. Average temperatures on the journey have probably been 90F - and it has been windy too - which is really too hot to have an open top, even with a hat! Also, some interstates are not really the place to have an open-top car. This is not to say that I haven't been able to have the roof down - I have for several parts of the journey. It is just that maybe it wasn't worth the additional money.

(When I selected the car there were other options available rather than just a standard car - I wasn't keen on a SUV given the experience I had had with a Land Rover hire car at the time - however, maybe it would have been a better idea...)

What has been great about the car though is the satellite radio. This has really come into its own on the second half of the journey going through the great plains where there are little or no radio stations available traditionally. More importantly, I have been able to listen to NPR throughout the journey. NPR is the National Public Radio in the US and is the main speech-based network that isn't all phone-ins or rants from a certain perspective. From a UK perspective, think Radio 5 live style, but pitched at a Radio 4 audience. It exists on local stations, but the satellite coverage means you always have it (on 2 stations which helps as you move across time zones). I have listened to some really interesting discussions along the way, which has helped the journey fly by. Also useful on the satellite ratio were the political stations (particularly at the time of the candidates debate for the Republican Presidential nomination) and the Sports stations (for the Formula One as mentioned, but also the US Open golf, unfortunately not Wimbledon though!)

Overall, whilst something else may have been a little more practical, it has been a great travelling companion for the journey.