Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) New PlusFour Owner Introduction

I thought I'd share some pictures and reflections from a recent trip to the Lakes. I was able to borrow a 2021 Plus Four in a really lovely Dove Grey for the trip.

I was a little worried coming into the week that spending more substantial time with the Morgan before mine arrived might serve to disillusion me about my decision to get my own. Additionally, much of the recent negativity in this CX Forum has caused a niggle of anxiety. Happily I needn't have worried. Having done nearly 500 miles in 5 days through beautiful top down sides-off weather through to torrential extended Lakes downpours I was only ever delighted and charmed by the Morgan.

I was also very relived to have chosen the Auto box. It's an absolute dream. Having the left foot rest is great when putting down many miles, and the gentle changes and smoothness in normal driving mode is charming and was welcomed by my passenger. In sport plus, obviously, it's a very different animal and while a lot of fun and rather grin inducing, I found the normal driving mode more conducive to the character of the car.

Another reflection was with the multiple personalities of the car. Other cars I've had and our current Defender, are largely homogenised in the driving experience. They feel broadly the same regardless of weather or circumstance or driving condition or road condition. The Morgan is has a different character with the roof up, with the sides on, and with the sides off. It's like it's 3 cars in one. I felt I drove it differently and enjoyed it differently in each guise.

I know some have noted the engine note is not particularly sonorous, and I cannot contest that, but even beyond the exhaust, I found my self really enjoying the whoosh and whiz and snort of the engine. Combined with the various characters of the car noted above, it struck me that this is going to be a very easy car to anthropomorphise. It is so characterful in so many delightful ways.

I also really enjoyed having my first really wet driving experience in a Morgan. The rain absolutely pummeled the lakes one evening we were there. The 45 minute drive to supper and the same back proved a great opportunity to experience something I'd been a little tentative about before purchasing. The water trickled down the front windscreen mounts and pooled at the base, and when hit by a cross wind or at any speed over 45mph the sprits and spittle from the back of the window panel proved a refreshing reminder that the car was not water proof, nor even particularly weather proof. Indeed, it is the first car I have ever driving which really demands that your rain jacket be worn while driving it. However, I was surprised to find this didn't alarm or disappoint me but genuinely enhanced my experience of the drive. You cannot escape your surroundings in a Morgan. It's not a cocoon, isolating you from the outside world, nor even a permeable membrane, it is a fully porous experience. What is outside will be inside. The temperature, the wind, the smells, the weather are all present companions while behind the wheel. I liked that. I liked that I remained a part of the world I was passing through, and not separated from it. It turned the drive itself into an adventure and I very much enjoyed being fully present in the world around me while driving.

As an aside, the Lakes are simply stunning, and having an uninterrupted view and experience of them while pottering along the little lanes and climbing the various passes was a joy. It would have been a beautiful and enjoyable few days away in any car, but I can't help feeling that the whole experience was significantly enhanced and made even more enchanting because it was carried out from the remarkably comfortable seats of a Plus Four.

Now for some quality pictures from the camera:









An iphone snap:

^^ Cracking photos sir !

Great review/reminder Dale and a very enjoyable read - thanks for posting inc the pics….
HB

Happy to hear you bonded so well with the car DPF, great write up and lovely pictures too.

What a joy to read Dales man, we need more of this stuff.
What a lovely write up of your open minded and totally honest experience thank you, all stored away for future reference.

Very good photos. Do you have a background in photography ?

+1 DPF. Great pics and nice to read … when is the big day when your Porsche Oak Green (POG?) arriving?

David

Thanks, Rich. It’s fun to take the time to process these experience and put some of the thoughts into somewhat cohesive words. Helps me remember and, I think, makes me appreciate these moments more. My over arching impression of the Morgan so far is that it will be a fantastic vessel from, and in which, to make memories.

Thanks Alistair. I am just an amateur enthusiast now. Mostly pictures of family, cars, and occasional landscapes. But I did make a little money on the side back in my University days selling prints and shooting for a few different organisations.

Luvvin the pics, thanks for posting. I too greatly enjoy taking pics of cars, looking at he quality of yours DPF makes it obvious that I really needed to practice more...