A change in plans

We had originally planned on renting a compact car during our stay at Villa Ricrio. Upon our arrival at Milan’s Malpensa airport, it became readily apparent that the amount of luggage and people could not possibly be shoehorned into a Fiat Grand Punto or even a small station wagon.

Although the Passat Wagon is available in the U.S., Volkswagen limits the choice of engines to only two – a turbocharged 2.0 liter 4-cylinder or a normally-aspirated 3.6 liter 6-cylinder. While both are great engines, they represent only a narrow slice of the total offered in Europe.

Our Passat was equipped with the 1.9 liter TDI diesel – a 4-cylinder turbocharged direct injection engine that produces 104 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. This was mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Since the Passat was a rental, there were two other features that made it distinct from its American cousins: hubcaps instead of alloy wheels (zip-tied to the steel wheels in a rather quaint custom) and a cloth interior (U.S. versions come with either vinyl V-tex or leather).

The entertainment factor

While 105 horsepower may not seem like much, it’s really torque that you need in the hilly topography of Northern Italy. At 184 lb.-ft., the diesel produces only 16 lb.-ft. less than the 2.0 liter turbo available over here, while the gas mileage – so important when you’re paying over $8 per gallon – soundly trounces the American version at over 40 miles per gallon on the highway. In addition, our Passat was equipped with dual-zone air conditioning, fog lights and parking sensors.

Because of the low horsepower, shifting was frequent, especially as the hills got steeper. Decreasing-radius turns during descents on the many mountainous switchbacks also prompted the requisite downshifts, but the sheer beauty of the countryside made it all worthwhile.

The many good things

The right side of the road

To be fair, I should point out that there are many good things about driving the roads of Tuscany. First of all, everyone drives on the right, just as in the United States. For drivers, this is even more important than being able to speak the language (I only know German). Not having to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road means that you can concentrate on the really important things such as traffic circles (more on that later).

Courtesy

Contrary to popular opinion, I found Italian drivers to be courteous – at least outside the major cities. Many of them drive fast and aggressively (with these kinds of mountain roads, who doesn’t want to be Fangio), but I never encountered anyone who was obnoxious or rude. My only confrontation was with a scooter driver and, truth be told, it was my fault, since I cut him off in the confusion and utter terror of negotiating the streets of Firenze (Florence).

Speed Limits

As in many parts of America, posted speeds in Italy are merely guidelines and suggest only the minimum standard of forward motivation. This is not to suggest that Italian drivers are reckless. To paraphrase Cindy Lauper, they only “want to have fun.” So feel free to join in once you get to know the roads.

GPS Devices

We should all thank the military for this one – the development of the GPS system and its civilian applications. If you don’t have one, rent one when you get here. I found the TomTom to be utterly indispensable in both the countryside as well as in the cities. The numerous one-way streets, dead end streets and traffic circles make it impossible to follow your route on anything as rudimentary as a road map.

The Bad

Traffic Circles

The British call them “roundabouts” and they are a fiendishly clever way to avoid the installation of traffic signals. Picture a large paved circle with any number of roads radiating out from it. Traffic enters and exits on these roads. When you come to a traffic circle, you must yield to traffic already in the circle. Once inside, you merely have to exit on the correct road when it comes up.

In the country and on roads with little traffic, it’s a fairly simple procedure. In a big, strange, crowded city surrounded by buses, trucks, cars, motorcycles and scooters, it can be a terrifying lesson in the white-knuckle school of driving (with the Tom Tom, in its British-accented female voice calmly telling me “take the next right, then straight on”).

Driving in the larger cities

There’s really not much to say here, other than “don’t”. Take a bus or a taxi. Even with the hideous exchange rate, it will be well worth the money. Not only will you avoid the urge to park your car anywhere – a public park, say, or the River Arno, you’ll retain your sanity and your good disposition so that you can enjoy your family and friends as well as the rest of your vacation.

How the Smart car is being used in northern Italy

Since most of the small cars in Italy are not even available in America, I decided to undertake a very un-scientific study on how the small Smart car is being used in this part of Italy.

Once we landed in Milan, I immediately (a relative term in this part of the world) located the Avis car rental booth and arranged for a rental car. We then made our way to the car lot where most of the vehicles were smaller Fiats, Lancias, Opels, Fords and Volkswagens. Only a couple of Smart cars were visible in the parking lot.

The Autostrada

Once on the Autostrada, it appeared that most of the cars were smaller 5-passenger hatchbacks. Fiat Puntos, Lancia Miuras, Volkswagen Golfs and Polos and Ford Focuses and Fiestas were seen in abundance. I saw only a handful of Smarts. There were at least a hundred times as many Mercedes A-Class and B-Class vehicles as there were Smart cars.

As I said before, this was not a scientific survey. I am basing my conclusions only on the evidence I collected while driving on Italy’s version of an interstate highway. I’m sure the ratio of Smarts is much higher in the cities than on the highways. Nonetheless, most of us in the States spend our time commuting to work and driving our cars outside of major urban areas. For the most part, we use our cars on the weekends for things other than just commuting and, just like most Italians, we need our cars to do more than just one thing.

The Smart Car in America

I’m sure that the Smart car will do well in the U.S. for at least the first couple of years. Especially in cities, its small size will make it much easier to find a parking place on crowded streets (it uses about half a regular space). Elsewhere, customers will buy it just because it’s different and cute.

But for the majority of buyers in the U.S., as well as here in Europe, the Smart just isn’t very practical. You can park 2 in a space because there is absolutely no room for anything other than two people and other small things such as purses, camera cases and (especially over here) GPS devices. If you’re going to the grocery store and come out with more than a couple of bags, forget it. You can also add luggage, bicycles and large strollers to the list of things that must be left at home.

The Bottom Line

It’s cute, it’s different and, right now, it’s hip. On the flip side, the ride is choppy, gas mileage is only so-so for a car its size and, finally, for about the same money, you could buy a real car.

Where will it take us?

With the things going on in the oil market and the automobile business, I’m reminded of the60’s song by the Buffalo Springfield. We can see the changes happening all around us, but we’re not quite sure where we’ll be in ten years, let alone five.

Two things were on the BBC news this morning (in Tuscany, it’s one of the few stations broadcast in English). The price of oil crossed the $140 per barrel threshold, and Volkswagen introduced its first gas-electric hybrid. These are, perhaps, small footnotes in a larger story, but it’s clear that they are closely related and everyone – Americans, Italians and Germans – as well as anyone who drives an automobile, will experience changes in what they drive and the way they drive, not seen since the oil embargo of the 70’s.

What I’m driving today

Since I’ve been in Italy, I have been driving a Volkswagen Passat Wagon. Although the Passat is sold in the U.S., the version that I have is a 1.9 liter TDI equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission and a black cloth interior. U.S. Passats are available with manual transmissions, but the turbo diesel is sold only in Europe. Ditto the cloth interior.

U.S. customers, it is presumed, would much prefer either vinyl (V-Tex) or leather to cloth. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because European drivers would not use the air conditioner as much in hot weather, certainly making the vinyl unbearable. In any case, I find the cloth much more comfortable than either one.

Once you leave the Autostrade, the 5-speed manual is much more entertaining on the local roads as you twist and turn up and down the Tuscan Hills. Although the 1.9 TDI has plenty of low-end torque, it tends to run out of gas (no pun intended) just above 4,500 rpm, and an automatic would not do well around here.

Even Europe is adjusting

VW’s announcement this morning of the “Twin Power” Golf (gas-electric hybrid) underscores the fact that even over here, where gasoline and diesel fuel have been expensive for more than two decades, carmakers continue to grapple with high fuel costs and lower government-mandated CO2 emissions. It is a new world.