Ah, it's good to be back.. after 9 days tripping around the land of the long white cloud, in a hired Focus 2.0 auto, which was asthmatic at best and lethargic at worst, I'm now appreciating being back in my Passat TDI.. oh, to have torque, heated seats, climate control, auto wipers, etc, etc..

The Focus, in about 1500km driving around the North Island (Auckland-Rotorua-Wellington-Taupo-Auckland), did about 7.6l/100km.. my Passat, doing a round trip from Melbourne to Newcastle, does it in about 5.7..

So there's a bigger car, with the same capacity engine, diesel, more creature comforts, and more economical.. there was more than a few times when I wished for the Passat over there..

Oh, and I managed to make it to NZ unknowingly over the weekend the V8s were in Hamilton...