Morgan 3-Wheeler Somewhat on the spur of the moment, I rented a Morgan 3-Wheeler for the day. Very entertaining.
Home The first thing to do was take it home and make sure it fitted over the bump onto the drive, just in case I was bowled over by it and decided to buy one. With such a short wheelbase and reasonable ground clearance, this challenge was overcome with ease.
Drive It looks okay on the drive too, although the poor turning circle and absence of any power assistance on the steering makes it a bit it of a chore to maneuver in confined spaces.
Front This is probably the Morgan’s weakest visual angle because it looks unexpectedly unbalanced with those vulnerable looking front wheels and no visible back wheel(s). Still, I think it looks great from all of the other angles.
Dashboard Well you’ve got all of the instruments you really need, although the rev counter is completely obscured by the steering wheel. Still, with no roof or doors, it’s not like you can’t hear the engine to judge your gear changes. And it really tidies up the dashboard area when you don’t need to make space for luxury items like heater controls or windscreen wipers.
Car Park Having taken a few photos at home, I set off on the 40-mile drive to meet Judith for lunch. Her colleagues were very interested in the Morgan, so I took a few of them for passenger rides, which they seemed to find entertaining.
Test Drive Off we go.
Test Drive And here we come back. This photo looks a bit fuzzy because Judith decided to take it while we were still about a hundred yards away, so what you can see is pretty much pixel-for-pixel full-sized from the original.
Stratfield Turgis Having finished taking Judith and her colleagues for passenger rides, they all went back to work and I headed off to try to find somewhere scenic to take a few photos. Whilst the Canadian Rockies are just brimming with fantastic automotive photo opportunities, Hampshire proved to be a more challenging proposition, particularly given that I only had a few hours before I had to return the car. This is near the Wellington Arms in Stratfield Turgis.
Stratfield Turgis I think the 3-Wheeler actually looks quite nice from this angle, despite the absence of any visible back wheels. I think the stickers break up what would otherwise have been quite an expanse of silver bodywork very nicely.There is actually a reasonable amount of luggage space under that bootlid. Although when I say “reasonable”, I mean reasonable for people that are used to driving about in, say, a Caterham or Renault Twizzy. Still, there was enough room for my camera, which was all the space I needed on that day.
Stratfield Turgis The bottom appears to be very flat - a useful side-effect of having the exhausts running down the sides.
B+W I think this is my favourite photo of the day. The black and white effect seems very in keeping with the style of the car and the bright bodywork makes it contrast nicely with the darker and relatively uncluttered background. Although I would have liked an angle that didn’t have that fence in it.
Colour And here’s the colour version for anyone that prefers that sort of thing. I find the fence even more annoying in this version.
Vulnerable? When you’re reversing, those exhausts feel like they’re poking out miles from the sides.
Dealership Before long it was time to return the Morgan to its actual owner - Richard Thorne Classic Cars at Theale near Reading (www.rtcc.com). Outside the dealership I took the opportunity for few photos of the Morgan with my Honda.Given that my Honda is already a relatively small car, you can see that the Morgan is really rather tiny indeed.
Morgan and Honda Despite its diminutive proportions, the Morgan is still about as wide as my Honda though.
Morgan and Honda
Morgan and Honda So that was it. Six hours in a Morgan 3-Wheeler. 119 miles driven. It was hilariously entertaining and definitely not the sort of thing you want to be driving about in if you’re, say, an assassin and trying to keep a low profile. It was also incredibly tiring, with the noise and the wind buffeting and the absence of any power assistance on the steering or brakes.Would I buy one? Probably not. I wouldn’t get enough use out of it to justify the cost. Would I rent one again? Oh, yes. In fact, I’m looking forward to it already.
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