Dromedary beats jaguar (2022 annual review)
Just a few weeks ago, my choice would have been clear. A black SS Jaguar 100, a sunny fall morning and an empty country road somewhere in the Gürbetal valley - what could possibly beat that? But then came December 13, and everything changed. Because there's one thing I'd rather do than drive around aimlessly in an English roadster: Mischief.
So when my editor-in-chief suggested driving into the depths of winter in a Citroën Méhari that was as open as possible, I was the one in our editorial team who shouted "Here!" the loudest. I could have whispered it, though. Because no one else in the office was really keen to feel like 70 kilograms of ice cream confectionery in a four-wheeled Tupperware box at temperatures well below freezing.
However, when the small utility buggy in summery "Vert Tibesti" stood in front of me that morning without a roof, doors or heating, I began to have some doubts about my plans. But it was no longer possible to back out. On the one hand, the colleagues from Rent-a-Classic had already prepared everything - and on the other, I didn't want to immediately reveal myself as a wimp.
Fortunately, I didn't have the courage to admit my lack of courage. Because what followed the last request for thermal underpants was by far the most entertaining working day of the whole year. The realization that came after several hours of automotive misappropriation: driving a Méhari in winter is like sledging: the cold wind always makes you feel faster than you are, and if you try to steer particularly hard, you get a good load of powder snow in your face.
The Méhari didn't seem to mind the change from sand to snow at all. With its 135 mm tires, it was able to dig its way through 20 centimeters of snow, could only be made to understeer with a great deal of enthusiasm and, thanks to its excellent chassis, could be driven over snow-covered forest paths at such a speed that Timo Mäkinen would have been envious.
I almost felt a little sorry for the SS 100, which was so reliable, so powerful and so easy to drive that it disproved all my prejudices about pre-war cars. And then the Méhari comes along - just as open, but a lot less melodious - and outdoes it with something as banal as humor. At least the Jaguar had something the Citroën didn't: rear-wheel drive. Maybe I should take an SS 100 out into the snow next year.
