12 Jun 08
Spending quite enough time up to her elbows in Marigolds already, my wife takes the Mondeo to a car valeting service up the road and, as she pulls in, you can hear the collective groan from the tireless workforce a mile away. The exterior takes no time at all to return to its handsome best, but coaxing mud from Alcantara is another matter altogether. And, oddly, even the graining on the plastic finishes seems strangely reluctant to behave in a properly wipe-clean fashion. It really is the strongest possible argument for finding the extra dosh for the full leather option, no matter what you drive.
I notice the filth most on the door sills. Heaven knows how it gets there, since it isn't as if you have to stand on them to climb in. But get there it does and thence, inevitably, onto the backs of my trouser legs when climbing out again. This, as you can imagine, always looks terrific in important meetings...
So, great though it is to be swathed in all manner of sumptuous materials on board, I seriously wish someone would come up with a system which allows owners to ready their cars for winter in Mudfordshire. Not with naff covers, you understand, but with a whole raft of interchangeable finishes. We'll start with proper door matting for all the footwells and door sills - which always contrives to look tidy in a rather brown, gently bristly, Paddington Bear fashion, no matter how much you wipe your feet on it - and move on to a properly fitted loadspace cover that doesn't accidentally slide out with the luggage (don't tell me... this doubtless already exists).
As to the seats, including the backs... Well, I haven't come up with anything for them yet. Over to you then, you highly paid urbanite designers...
