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Welcome to Reader’s Rides, where we get a glimpse into the automotive pride and joy of those who read and love Open Road magazine.
At 94 years old, most drivers would be forgiven for sticking to what they know. But for one lifelong motoring enthusiast, swapping diesel and petrol for electrons was simply the next step in a journey that began in the 1950s with a Morris and an MG TC. Today, Bob David’s behind the wheel of a Kia EV6 GT-Line – and he says he’d never look back.
From the early days of Vauxhalls with gearsticks outside the cabin to the towering Toyota Prado he once used to tow caravans, he’s seen motoring technology evolve firsthand. A grease monkey who once worked at a bicycle repair shop turned mechanic when cars became a thing in Australia, now, he reckons electric vehicles are no fad – they're the future.
In this interview with Open Road, Bob explains why the EV6 won him over, what it’s like to drive compared to every other car he’s owned, and why – in his words – “batteries are here to stay.”
2024 Kia EV6 GT-Line.
Toyota Prado.
Daily driver.
I've driven just about everything that you could think of diesel-wise, petrol-wise, big stuff, small stuff and I just decided I'll have this and try it out.
I just looked at a few. They're all good, almost much of a muchness in the sense of the reliability today. So I thought, I'll go the one I like the look of, and it feels comfortable to me. I drove it, and it just fitted the picture.
I found it to be a success in every way, shape and form, and I would never think about a fuel car again.
When I started working as an apprentice, there were English Vauxhalls where the gears stick outside the cabin. You know, real early model stuff and Model 3 Fords. I go back to those days when they were the general runner vehicles.
The garage that I worked at used to be a push bike repair place, and of course, then they're developing the motor cars – really, really young days of cars.
My first car would have been a Morris way back in 1955, and then my main vehicle from that point on was an MG TC, and I’ve had various cars since then.
My last car was a Prado, which I'd use for towing caravans and what have you.
I enjoy driving it. It's a relaxed car. You don't have to think of anything really in it, except where you're going and the other person on the road, and that's the main thing you've got to do, look at the other bloke.
It would be the most powerful vehicle I've ever driven. The acceleration is like sitting in an aeroplane taking off – if you put your foot down hard on it. I've never had anything like that in my petrol cars.
I've got nothing really, that I can say that is bad about the car or the EV charging system (because I'm not actually using the system fully in the sense of going out and doing long distance and using chargers outside and that sort of thing.) I have done that, used chargers outside, but it's not my normal lifestyle.
I went with my son in a Hyundai EV from the Hunter Valley and we only stopped once all the way to Melbourne. So I think that's quite adequate. You've got to stop somewhere anyway when nature calls.
It’s as good a handling car, in fact better handling than anything I've driven before – so neat and tidy. Your steering is direct electric steering, and compared to the Prado, which is not an old-fashioned motorcar – it hasn't got the same steering in it as this thing, nothing like it.
I have had a couple of occasions when I've needed to stop in a hurry, and I mean in a hurry, and it was very well controlled.
I enjoy the driving of it. I enjoy driving anything but this one seems to have just so much going for it – it's so pleasant, quiet you can hear the radio instead of hearing road noise and that sort of thing. It's really got everything that I can imagine you'd want in a vehicle.
Everything's so smooth with it, you know. If you've got a gearbox, it does all the work for you, and still there is that motor screaming out in front of you. And I've driven a lot of things over the years, and this has got to be the greatest thing I've ever driven. Fantastic.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
