Odd choice of instructor car

[Section 8]

Cast your mind back to when you first had driving lessons. Chances are your instructor rolled up to your home in a beige Metro/Corsa/Micra with 12 inch wheeltrims ravaged by upteen kerb mountings from previous pupils. Under the bonnet lay 40 horsepower of gutlessness. And rightly so because i wouldn't have trusted myself with a Raleigh Chopper let alone a car...with an engine!!

Well times have changed my friends. The other day when sat at the lights i saw a nice new Golf GTI mk6 pull alongside. And then i saw the nice big Driving School sign on top. Now it got me thinking. Is it really wise to let Mrs Miggins loose on her first outing on the road in a 208 bhp turbocharged hot hatch??? I mean the car can go from 0- Manslaughter in 2 seconds! Add to that the fact the polished alloys are prone to being destroyed at the mere whiff of a kerb and costing a bomb to fix...i know this from experience. Was this instructor just a man with a death wish and deep pockets ??

Is that much power too much for a novice to have underfoot? Any advances on something even more unsuitable that they saw?

[GPS M-Jet]

There was a driving school local to me who ran a fleet of Ignis Sport's, which I always thought was an unusual choice.

There's someone else teaching people in a TT convertible that ive seen a couple of times.

[Oxhead]

There was a driving school around when my brother was learning to drive that was running a brand new 320d. Nothing too extrodinary but as a learner car? Really?

I'd imagine a lot of driving instructors only have one car so want something half decent to drive round in for when they're not teaching.

[Chrisw666]

A friend of mine uses a C2 VTS as his driving school car, which he did as he learned in a Nova GSI.

[bullitinhead]

I'd say it's a good advertising practice, okay it might cost more(insurance and fuel + new wheels once a month)

but how much extra work would you get or could you even charge more?.
Kids are fickle and telling thier mates they are learning in a gti/something fancy is just one upmanship.

I could see it being profitable if your the only one doing it.


bullit

[Lee_sec]

a local instructor to me is teaching in a Fiesta ST...

[Fergie87]

We have 2 new seat leon FR's near where I live, 1 is white with black alloys and the other is bright orange with black alloys. All i had was a 206 hdi.

[RenesisEvo]

Lee_sec said:

a local instructor to me is teaching in a Fiesta ST...

I raise you a Subaru Impreza STi/WRX, which to me seems odd given the fuel economy and its power. Maybe the instructor fancies something fun to drive between lessons?

[littlebasher]

My brother learnt in a Nissan Bluebird - a low spec version with no PAS!

[Chris77]

One local to me is a black Polo GTi, lowered, DTM exhaust and ronal turbo wheels.
looks pretty cool to me

[oldcynic]

Sounds entirely reasonable to me if the running costs aren't much different. I taught my wife in a Golf GT TDi (ie diesel GTi) and then a V70.

The last thing I needed was a wife who was licensed to drive a 1.0 Micra or Fiat 500 but was scared of driving anything bigger. Another advantage was that people always seemed to get out of the way of a Volvo estate with L-plates on country lanes!

[Dog Star]

I'm seeing a lot of Audi A1s, BMW 1ers, MINIs, French CCs and the like.

[Treacle81]

I saw a Learner School using a 1992 Peugeot 205 recently. Turquoise, mint condition!

[Dunclane]

I wonder if it helps having a sporty car to attract customers?? I think I would have preferred a Golf GTI to a 1.3 Fiesta when I was 17.

[aizvara]

Oxhead said:

There was a driving school around when my brother was learning to drive that was running a brand new 320d. Nothing too extrodinary but as a learner car? Really?

I'd imagine a lot of driving instructors only have one car so want something half decent to drive round in for when they're not teaching.

The 320d would at least be hard to stall, I'd presume. I'd have like to have learnt in one of those; would have made the transition to my car even more straightforward, rather than going from a tiny hatchback to a saloon.


There was an instructor down the road from me who ran lessons with a Civic Type-R, presumably for the reason you mention. It was fairly quickly changed for a new Corsa eco-diesel; which is pretty much built for learner drivers.

[otolith]

Dunclane said:

I wonder if it helps having a sporty car to attract customers??

Entire point of the exercise, presumably.

[Haighermeister]

Dunclane said:

I wonder if it helps having a sporty car to attract customers?? I think I would have preferred a Golf GTI to a 1.3 Fiesta when I was 17.

I'm sure it does.

One of our customers uses a Clio (Albeit a DCI) but with the optional bodykit, a set of 17's and tinted windows.

Not exactly rapid, but looks the part and draws customers in...

[RB Will]

RenesisEvo said:

I raise you a Subaru Impreza STi/WRX, which to me seems odd given the fuel economy and its power. Maybe the instructor fancies something fun to drive between lessons?

I wonder what their insurance is like. is it actually a proper driving school car or just one with L plates?

[otolith]

Insurance is probably not too difficult with a dual control car. Even with a standard car it's often a lot cheaper to insure a learner than a newly qualified driver.

[mullerrice18]

Around my area I've seen an astra cc, it might be rubbish but I think most people would like the idea of roof down motoring as a learner. I've seen a fiesta st and a couple of mini cooper s models as well.