Megane III – ten years old

The coming Thursday my car is bound to reach an important milestones in its history – a decade since its first registration. My father bought it brand-new on 1 July 2011 and gave it over to me in November 2016.

First 4 years during the car’s warranty period did not bode well for the future. The car had three breakdowns. Once had to be hauled to the Renault garage due to brake system vacuum pump failure and needed to have its thermostat and driver’s door hinges replaced. Over the next six years the onlydefect was the airbag sensor failure in May 2017. Since then – I have had it serviced once a year and except for spare part replacements driven by wear-and-tear, I did not need to sink money into the vehicle. The car, which for over two years has avoided journeys shorter than nine kilometres (six miles), now has nearly 75,000 kilometres on the clock.

In mid-distance and long-distance driving the car’s 1.4 turbocharged engine consumes on average 7 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres, while consumption below 6.5 litres is perfectly achievable in motorway driving with tempomat set at 110 kmph, aircon on and people and luggage on board. Sadly, the record-low consumption was 6.11 litres per 100 kilometres, but I hope to break that record.

I appreciate the car’s dynamics, low upkeep cost and reliability, but some details such as sixth gear which has characteristics of a fixth one (I can drive 68 kpmh at steady speed on it) or slowly heating up engine sometimes wind me up and both increase its appetite for fuel.

Given the vehicle’s excellent roadworthiness (no accident nor prangs, but one solid scratch and dent on rear-right wing arch made by me in February 2021), I plan to carry on with it as long as repairs do not become too frequent to be a big hassle for me, which I believe might happen in around five years. By that time we won’t part company.

For the record, two shots. To the right – taken on 19 September 2020, after a comprehensive interior cleaning and wash, looking almost like factory-new. Could have been in perfect condition for resale, a gift for nobody to bestow on.

Another one – taken on 16 June 2021, after belated spring cleaning at my parents drive. I do look after it and visit car washed during winter only to wash away the worst of the dirt. No signs of corrosion so far, nor other trace of its actual age.

To the seaside

The summer solstice is close by and I am back from the first holiday trip since September 2020 and my first longer stay at the Polish seaside since 2004. I concede not to be a big fan of the resorts at the Baltic coast. Droves of people, groan, stalls with souvenirs and ice-cold water in the sea in the high season put me off the place. But still in the low season (more than tolerable density of tourists over the working week) and with bikes as the main vehicle for moving about, the trip there turned out to be a perfect idea.

The weather also proved perfect, with continuous sunshine and day-time highs between +18C and +23C, conditions for cycling were more than conducive.

Before placing a reservation, we had to check whether two bikes with disassembled front wheels fit within the boot of my car (rear seats folded down) and leave some space for suitcases and rucksacks. My Megane turned out to be sufficiently spacious to fit all the stuff we needed. I am nevertheless not sure, whether the door-to-door journey by car (six hours with two stopovers – one to take a break from sitting behind the wheel, the other for a lunch) was shorter than going by train to Gdynia and then on to Władysławowo by another one, yet given all hassle with bikes and luggage and inconvenience of being unable to reach all places by bike, it has proven an optimal solution. The journey duration will shorten by nearly an hour in 2022, once the missing section of S7 motorway between Płońsk and Mława is opened.

The major nuisance along the way to the seaside was the aircon refrigerant which has run out and turned off the aircon compressor, prompting me to drive with open windows. This was not a breakdown, but my neglect, since the liquid had not been filled up since 2017 and I should have asked to have it changed in April, when the car had been serviced. I also report reasonable fuel consumption of 6.46 litres per 100 kilometres.

We booked an apartment for rent in Władysławowo via AirBnB, in reasonable vicinity of the beach. The spot is most northerly one in Poland, meaning in June days are the longest and sunsets are observed half an hour later than in Warsaw. On top, one has the chance of watching the sun going down into the sea on the horizon. The snap to the right was taken at 9:23 p.m. (provided camera clock had been set correctly).

Our longest trip (exactly 100 kilometres in which I beat my life record) was along the Hel peninsula and around. Here, a view from a pier in Jastarnia towards a promenade. Quite a few folks in the low season.

Same day, another promenade, in Hel. For decades a military zone, now open to everyone. Main types of tourists coming over in the first half of June are elderly people and couples with small children.

The peninsula can boast of a 35-kilometre-long cycling path running through it and marked R10. The path is at some sections more than picturesque, here, surrounded by greenery somewhere between Chałupy and Kuźnica.

To take some rest after a long ride, we drove to Sopot. Shame to admit, I had to catch up on my lifelong absence in the middle part of Trójmiasto. The visit paid was short – one can see the promenade, the pier, the grand hotel and so is the list of attractions basically over. We wondered how people can spend a fortnight there without getting bored.

From Sopot we drove to Gdańsk to stray around the old town area. In 2015 and 2016 I dropped in on the city several times in business, yet had little time to enjoy it. The Długi Targ street lit by early-summer sun looked out much better than in gloom of late November.

Another destination of a cycling trip was Dębki, less than 30 kilometres west of Władysławo-wo. The seaside village has lost far less of its virginity than other places at the Baltic coast. In the high season it definitely is not as peaceful, yet I rate it high.

For the end, a bonus shot from a spontaneous trip by car to Cypel Rewski, a quite undiscovered, yet magical place somewhere half way between Trójmiasto and Władysławowo. Worth popping by in June when days are the longest, sunny and scores of tourist do not spoil the atmosphere. As we came around the venue was invaded by a crew shooting an advertisement of Bank Millennium. Watch out for it in the coming weeks!

Given the number of attractions around, less than a weeks seems an optimum duration if you are not fond of lying about on a beach of wandering between eateries. Hope the coming weeks help catch up for weeks of staying at home to keep the epidemic at bay.