The Trophy has taken a bit of a backseat, partly due to a lack of spare time, and partly because it misbehaved at the worst possible time. To be fair maybe it was letting me know not to neglect it so much.
It was back in early September that I started driving it in anger after a while of being tucked-up in the garage, and for a few days it was fine, but then it started missing here and there, then got gradually worse until it cut-out and needed to be recovered - its first time in my ownership of 12 years:
One fuel pump later and it was back to full fitness again. Unfortunately it meant my annual trip to Wales in #455 was off the cards.
Step forward the replacement… the automatic estate Mondeo diesel.
To be fair it far exceeded my expectations, it was a comfortable companion on the long schleps, and on the more interesting stuff the 200+ bhp did its best to keep things entertaining, as did the engaging front end. At one point I had a great time following a GR86 but the brakes called time on that bit of fun.
Overall it was another fantastic weekend with plenty of miles covered, but the Trophy was sorely missed.
So as things stand the Trophy is on 75,300 miles which is about a paltry 1,000 more than 12 months ago.
The Mondeo on the other hand is taking it all in its stride, the commute up and down the A34, Welsh trips and Cornish family holidays too. This evening it hit a milestone:
I might head back to Wales in the next couple of months, but this time in the Clio.