Matt Prior
TESTER’S NOTES
Big-tanked diesels allow you, not the car, to dictate when to stop
Lights are twinkling in windows, Jona Lewie is on the radio and my notebook still has a load of column ideas in it that I haven’t yet managed to write about this year. Some of those I’d like to get ticked off before 2024.
Such as: “What’s the point of a car with a long range?” That’s what I was asked after I wrote about my Alpina D3 S Touring and how I could get 628 miles out of its diesel tank. “But surely you’d have to stop at some point during that distance anyway, wouldn’t you?” Of course. But there’s something about the choice of stopping when you want to, rather than when you have to, that makes a long road trip roll by more pleasantly. Ahealthy range in a car is a factor that works for me and several other high-mile drivers I know, even for the weekly commute. It’s all about time management, I suppose.