PH Carpool: Ariel Atom
PHer and 'Atomist' Mark Harries lives life in the spotlight
PHer Mark Harries at the wheel
"More than that though, you must be prepared to be the centre of attention...all the time. Every journey on Her Majesty's highways is a new experience.
"Planning for naff weather is one thing, but before every journey you have to prepare your noggin. Now, for such an accelerative car, that seems like an obvious statement to make, but to be honest you mostly need to prep for other humans.
"Beeping horns, frantic waves and weaving cars are understandable, but I never expected I'd need to scan the footpaths for suicidal snappers. These guys are ready to jump clean into the road, with nothing more than a Nokia protecting squidgy organs from oncoming sports car. I've never had so much emergency stop practice since I took my driving test. That said, in the face of such enthusiasm and positive reaction you can't help but salute that kind of reckless endangerment and commitment!
"If you're thinking of buying an Atom, be prepared for passenger ride requests every time you go out. Thanks partly to some organised charity work I've done - selling passenger rides for donations - I think my spare seat has seen more backsides than a portaloo at Glastonbury. And that's absolutely fine, but I do have two issues with passenger requests: Firstly, you do need to ask! Fifteen stone lager louts trying to jump into the spare seat while I'm mooching in traffic is not on. And secondly (more importantly), there aren't enough pretty ladies interested in the second seat. And that makes me sad. To be fair that could be to do with my mug, but apparently the Atom isn't exactly hair-do friendly.
"In case you're wondering, Atom ownership is fantastic and I love it. It's an extrovert car, aimed at the eternal show-off, who has no regard for their own Barnet. Since buying it, I've become an armchair weather forecaster and I'm quite adept at folding all-weather clothing into the six square inch boot (yes, it has a storage compartment in the front), origami style. However, I don't think I'll ever be prepared for all the questions and attention it attracts. Now, if I could find a cure the lack of female interest in mobile scaffolding, it'd be just about perfect."
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Love the car. I'd love to run something like that before I get to old. The only problem I have is the lack of luggage room.
I've done 4 or 5 charity events with the Sporting Bears. Namely, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, NEC Classic / MPH Show and Supercar Sunday @ Gaydon. I'm always up for giving folks a run in the car, but I was serious when I said I've had people try to jump in the seat while I was driving!! Trying to push pissheads out of the car, while stop-starting and harnessed in is not fun.
I chose the Gunmetal chassis, Blue panels and Smoked Chrome wheels to make it subtly different from other cars. To be honest you can have almost any colour combo you like and there are some great examples out there.
I'm not actually a track lover, so my driving is done on the road. If you look in the Midlands forum, you'll see various runs I organise for PH'ers. We get together for Sunday Services, Midlands Breakfast Club, etc and on 30th April, I'm organising a 300mile run around Wales... anyone want to join us?
As for how it drives, well, it's easy to say it's mental. Like no car I've ever driven and it's a hoot even bringing it to work on the daily commute occasionally.
Luggage space isn't too big an issue to be honest. It's got a small boot, you can wedge stuff under / behind the seats, there's the passenger footwell (used on Sainsbury's runs when I've felt like a laff) and I've even seen guys strap saddle bags to the chassis top-tubes! You make the most of what you've got when you need to. I've been to Le Mans twice in it, although having Aston V8V, Fez 360 and RS4 support vehicles does help too
This year, I think we've got 8 or 9 cars going along, so should be OK for that one too!As for the RS, well that's fab too, but on a different level. With all of the Mountune upgrades on it, it's absolutely fantastic and waaaay more capable than most folk realise. FWD myths dispelled
As a daily driver, I absolutely love it and alternate it with my tuned Focus ST.... as you can imagine, my monthly fuel bills are sizable 
Thanks for all the comments guys, feel free to join us on a run or say hi at any future PH event. Pax rides welcome!
ETA: I understand it might sound like a daft question, as I know there are many differences between the two, but I am interested to know what made you buy and keep both,
I hope I am not breaching any rules but have a look at www.atomhire.co.uk, I rent these cars out for road and track hire, all levels of power to suit most drivers.
Now you can all experience what Mark is enjoying.
Cheers
Dawsey
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