A few weeks ago, my husband said to me,
We have sports cars like the 911 and Boxster at home, but you haven’t been driving them at all lately. When I say, “Why don’t you drive one today?” you just say, “No, I’m good” and don’t get behind the wheel. Why is that?
I wrote about this in an article recently, but ever since having our third child, I haven’t really felt like “driving a sports car and enjoying winding roads” like I used to.
With COVID and the kids still being small, my mindset naturally shifted from “attack mode” to “defense mode.”
However, after hearing what my husband said, I thought, “Now that I’m a bit more relaxed with parenting, maybe I should take the chance to drive a sports car when I can.” So I drove the manual 911 GT3 before we said goodbye to it, and on sunny days I took the manual Boxster GTS out for a spin. Although each drive lasted only about 15 minutes, it was incredibly fun.
Plus, driving a manual adds the joy of controlling the car yourself, which made it even better.(Regardless of how good or bad my driving is, haha)
Gradually, I started thinking this:
Maybe I should buy my own manual car again…
About two years ago, I bought my very first car, a BMW 320i (manual). Although I had lifted my automatic-only license restriction about six years ago, even after three years I still couldn’t drive the manual Boxster GTS at home.
I realized, “If I don’t buy a car myself and practice driving every day, I’ll never get the hang of it!” So I made up my mind and bought the car.
Since my budget was limited, I consulted my husband and found a used, standard 320i for about 2.4 million yen. Right after delivery, I stalled the engine repeatedly, but after driving every day, I gradually became able to handle pretty much any road.
Last summer, with a baby on the way and knowing I wouldn’t be driving for a while, plus expecting to drive other cars after birth, I decided to sell my first car, the 320i.
Since then, I often felt, “Manual cars are fun, but automatics are just easier and more comfortable.” My desire to drive a manual had almost disappeared. But recently, after driving manual cars one after another, that feeling reignited…
So I told my husband,
I’ve been driving manuals lately and it’s really fun, so I’m thinking of buying a manual car again. Considering the budget, I can’t quite afford a Porsche yet, but is there a reasonably priced, somewhat sporty model out there?
He replied,
Hmm, maybe a Volkswagen Golf or a BMW M Sport… Or this might be a good chance to look at Japanese cars too. Let’s search around.
Since then, we’ve been checking Car Sensor almost daily and going to dealers for test drives on weekends. We’re currently deep in the process of choosing a candidate.
My gut feeling says, “At this rate, I’ll probably buy one.” So once I get the new car, I hope to share it here on the blog again.