Spanish driving holiday - which car to take
Discussion
My partner is Spanish (Madrid) and so we spend quite a bit of time over there. One thing we haven't done in the 6 or so years is drive there (or at least part of the way there).
I would like to get the boat from Southampton/Portsmouth to Bilbao and then drive a bit around Asturias and Galicia before heading down to Madrid to see the in-laws.
I have a conundrum though: which car to take
- MG4 EV
- newly acquired Porsche Spyder
The heart really wants to take the Porsche but I'm now bricking it a bit at the prospect as I've just had a week in Madrid and it overtly reminded me of how they treat cars. And how bad parking is in the old towns/villages that we would probably want to visit.
How have others gotten around this issue? Offstreet parking for accommodation is the obvious one, but what about day to day where we'd want to go see places.
I really don't want to admit defeat and take the boring car...but it would help my stress levels.
I would like to get the boat from Southampton/Portsmouth to Bilbao and then drive a bit around Asturias and Galicia before heading down to Madrid to see the in-laws.
I have a conundrum though: which car to take
- MG4 EV
- newly acquired Porsche Spyder
The heart really wants to take the Porsche but I'm now bricking it a bit at the prospect as I've just had a week in Madrid and it overtly reminded me of how they treat cars. And how bad parking is in the old towns/villages that we would probably want to visit.
How have others gotten around this issue? Offstreet parking for accommodation is the obvious one, but what about day to day where we'd want to go see places.
I really don't want to admit defeat and take the boring car...but it would help my stress levels.
There are usually plenty of paid car parks in the centres you can use. Similarly in the smaller towns, you can find the paid car park that many will avoid to save money.
I haven't had any issues in Spain with them, you definitely want to avoid parking on the street though - they often park by touch!
I haven't had any issues in Spain with them, you definitely want to avoid parking on the street though - they often park by touch!
That's helpful. Will do some google mapping at the locations we'll probably end up in and see what options there are.
Door dings are also a worry - at the drive to the airport last night every single car we went past on the motorway had morse-code down its side. I hope/wonder if it's just a city thing...
Door dings are also a worry - at the drive to the airport last night every single car we went past on the motorway had morse-code down its side. I hope/wonder if it's just a city thing...
We did a trip to Europe last summer, 1 week in each of Belgium, Germany, Italy and France in a newish 7 series.
No problems in Belgium or Germany.
In Italy we were in the Bergamo area. What a......challenge
felt like we needed to use public transport rather than risk on-street parking etc for most places. Drove to Lake Iseo and parking was a total nightmare - 2 dings in doors and a bumper scrape.
Then in France (which I've a lot of driving experience so know touch parking is prevalent for on-street) we generally used car parks (pref multi-story ones) and escaped with no further damage.
I'd say it's deffo worth doing a bit of research on off-street parking places before deciding to take the Boxster, or just price some touch up work into the holiday cost. Even so, I'd stay well clear of on-street parking.
No problems in Belgium or Germany.
In Italy we were in the Bergamo area. What a......challenge
felt like we needed to use public transport rather than risk on-street parking etc for most places. Drove to Lake Iseo and parking was a total nightmare - 2 dings in doors and a bumper scrape. Then in France (which I've a lot of driving experience so know touch parking is prevalent for on-street) we generally used car parks (pref multi-story ones) and escaped with no further damage.
I'd say it's deffo worth doing a bit of research on off-street parking places before deciding to take the Boxster, or just price some touch up work into the holiday cost. Even so, I'd stay well clear of on-street parking.
A 7 series is a big car though, I have one and parking it can be a mare in the UK if it's busy and tight for space, I'd take the Spider plenty of nice cars in Spain like everywhere else they can't all be battered and it's a pretty large country with no where near the traffic/people issues in the UK twice the size with almost half the population, just park it securely in Madrid.
Harry Metcalfe took his sonderwunsch 930 Turbo on a jaunt over there so I think you can risk the Boxster, I've never had an issue with damage when driving in mainland Europe either.
I've done San Sebastian (several times), Bilbao, Logrono, Barcelona, Valencia and Benidorm - all in my Maserati Gran Cabrio. Absolutely no concerns whatsoever about driving or parking.
In May, June & July of this year, we're adding a few more places to the list, including Gijon, A. Coruna, Seville, Jerez, Malaga and Granada (Porto and Lisbon too). I'm actually having the front bumper re-painted before we go.
The only thing I would say is that parking can be quite pricey - in Barcelona it was €45 / day.
Take the fun car.
In May, June & July of this year, we're adding a few more places to the list, including Gijon, A. Coruna, Seville, Jerez, Malaga and Granada (Porto and Lisbon too). I'm actually having the front bumper re-painted before we go.
The only thing I would say is that parking can be quite pricey - in Barcelona it was €45 / day.
Take the fun car.
We’ve been taking the car to Europe (France, Spain and Italy) for years. You certainly have to be careful where you park and like others have said use multi storey car parks.
However, it’s much the same here now with dimwits that cannot drive (let alone park) and have absolutely no respect for other people’s vehicles.
However, it’s much the same here now with dimwits that cannot drive (let alone park) and have absolutely no respect for other people’s vehicles.
Stephanie Plum said:
What time of year are you planning on going? If it’s in the summer it may well be too hot to have the roof down. There’s a reason why Spain doesn’t sell many convertibles.
It will be in August however the North isn't too hot that time of year. In the second part of the trip in Madrid, yes the roof probably won't be down much.Driving is driving, I really do not see all the fuss about driving in other countries.
Yes, in Spain you should never park in the street, bumpers are for bumping. You just need to plan around that fact. Not helped by the Spanish need to fling doors wide-open to get out in general car parks either. Underground carparks are usually pretty good.
Slap on the factor 50 and get the roof down, cover your head and eyes and it will be the best summer jaunt that you ever had.
Yes, in Spain you should never park in the street, bumpers are for bumping. You just need to plan around that fact. Not helped by the Spanish need to fling doors wide-open to get out in general car parks either. Underground carparks are usually pretty good.
Slap on the factor 50 and get the roof down, cover your head and eyes and it will be the best summer jaunt that you ever had.
No question: take the Porsche! Driving in Spain is like nirvana after the UK and it's what the car was designed for. If you pick up a ding, pay the money to have it repaired - life's too short. Pack light, pick a wiggly road and wring it's neck! 
We've done 2 weeks with both an R8 and a Cayman in Northern Spain and I'd echo advice above regarding parking. The "secure" parking in hotels can often be terrifyingly tight so unless we know otherwise we choose a big car park ahead of time.
Madrid is not going to be fun but, again put it in a big car park and catch public transport!
R8 roadtrip:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Cayman roadtrip:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
We've done 2 weeks with both an R8 and a Cayman in Northern Spain and I'd echo advice above regarding parking. The "secure" parking in hotels can often be terrifyingly tight so unless we know otherwise we choose a big car park ahead of time.
Madrid is not going to be fun but, again put it in a big car park and catch public transport!
R8 roadtrip:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Cayman roadtrip:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
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