Canadian Motoring

Just back from a trip to Canada. All things motoring are rather different over there. For example, their premium petrol is about half the price of our ordinary 95 RON petrol.

As a result, they are rather less worried about fuel economy and V8 cars and trucks (pick-ups) are everywhere.

I drove two vehicles over there.  A Ford F150 truck with a crew cab (four doors and enough room in the rear seats for three large adults) and a huge V8. What a beast! It made a wonderful V8 rumble and, although not fast, picked up speed pretty quickly. It was also very, very practical with a huge load bay and a handy tonneau cover to stop the tip fodder falling off on the highway.

I can see why they are the best selling vehicle in North America. Mind you, the roads are much wider and the parking spaces much bigger. You’d struggle with an F150 in the UK.

The second vehicle was a 2013 Acura TL with a 3.5L V6. Acura is the posh Honda brand in the U.S. and Canada – similar to Lexus in relation to Toyota. The TL was luxurious, well-equipped, powerful (c. 275 bhp) and fast (0-60 in 6.9 seconds). It is front wheel drive, so did suffer from some torque steer under power, but you can buy a 4WD and more powerful version if that bothers you and you can afford it.

The only other criticism was the six-speed torque-converter automatic ‘box which sometimes hunted around between ratios as if it didn’t know which gear to select. Overall though, a classy sports saloon, if not perhaps up to Mercedes or BMW standards. Cheaper than the German marques though and a tempting proposition.