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Puff The Magic Wagon!
04-26-2006, 03:50 PM
Not much of a story really and no pictures - no time - but took my XC70 off to Paris the other day.

Left Suffolk Sunday afternoon, headed gently down the M11, M25 and M20 to Folkestone and the EuroTunnel. Had booked the night before and it cost £54 for a return which I think is a billy bargain. Drove up, put credit card in slot, got receipt, drove through Passport control and onto the train - quick as that. 30 minutes then out the other side and down to Lens, near Arras. Only 60 odd miles into France but didn't want to be under pressure for the morning.

Left Lens @ 09:00 and straight onto the joys of the French motorway system - empty (compared to UK), people using lane discipline, people aware of faster vehicles and moving over/giving way and smooooooth, so smooth :) Is that due to the XC suspension? Wasn't in a rush so a gentle 65 the 120 miles into Paris and off round the Perifique to St Cloud where I had to go.

That was the easy part.

Coming out, I unfortunately hit kid home time with all the lovely young french mothers and their nefarious transport ( :D & :rolleyes: ). Onto the Perifique and 2 accidents plus roadworks meant it took me an hour to get back to the A1 and empty road. After that it was av 100 all the way to the end of the peage and and max 120 for the last 30 miles or so. French m/ways are so empty (and so expensive in French eyes hence why they remain so) that it is safe to travel at those speeds, especially in the early evening.

Straight back through the tunnel then the joys of UK motorways again with people sitting in the middle lane, not pulling over etc etc :rolleyes:

I left Paris (24 degrees) at 15:41 and got back home to Suffolk (8 degrees) at 21:42. Its 360 miles so work it out bearing in mind the first 15 took an hour + getting on/off trains etc ... ;)

I felt comparatively fresh having essentially done 470 miles (360 at one go)and that is in no doubt thanks to the XC's seats and suspension. I had filled up on the way into Paris so didn't need to stop for diesel but would probably own up to not getting the best fuel consumption on the way back - good thing that French fuel is cheaper. Car didn't miss a beat and I'm sure would be capable of doing the same trip day after day.

The only thing I didn't do was to stop in a French supermarket and load up the back of the car with beer and wine (cheaper in France) and test out the load carrying. Perhaps next time I'll just do a day trip to Calais with the familly.

:)

bouvier
04-27-2006, 08:56 AM
Condom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"French Letter". Condom is sometimes considered a clinical expression. In Britain a condom was also known as a French letter, much like the colloquial ...

Puff The Magic Wagon!
04-28-2006, 01:45 AM
Yes, the pun was intentional ;)

The only XC70 I saw in all my trip was in St. Cloud coming out of a sideroad in front of me.

Same colour, same model and the same level of tint all round! Quite funny seeing your mirror image at right angles to you. This one had a taxi sign on the roof though.

Plenty of XC90s though - getting common?

Puff The Magic Wagon!
06-22-2008, 10:56 AM
This wednesday just past, I had to do another jaunt to Paris for the same reason (funeral). I left London @ 13:40 and arrived @ 20:10 having travelled a slightly different route. Leaving Paris @ 14:30 I was back home around 20:00 - the worst bit being stuck on the M25 in Essex.

I still think the French have a better standard of driving than the Brits overall and especially on motorway/dual-carriageways.

The XC70 once again proved to be a totally relaxing and capable high-speed cruiser just sucking up the miles. Car has 155000 on the clock now and didn't miss a beat. Begining to get some oil consumption going on but nothing serious - litre over 10000 miles or thereabouts, depending on how hard I've been driving. Cabin has stood up really well, stone chips are to a minimum but there's a bit of evidence of car-park abuse creeping in - couple of scratches on the bumper that sort of thing.

Still a joy to drive

:)