The air bag: Choice can be both a blessing and a curse

Toyota’s Prius can foster good driving habits. David Dewhurst / Toyota

Members of the Dutch Labour Party, PvdA, have proposed banning all new petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2025. It’s unlikely to be made into law, but reflects the general climate of anxiety about petro carbons.

Sticking our heads in the sand is never a viable option, but I also recognise that for many, myself included, the combustion engine is a very dear thing. The sheer amount of horsepower teased out of modern, high-­efficiency, turbocharged engines is staggering in the historical context. But much like the comedian Louis CK’s epic, now viral rant, “everything is awesome, and no one is happy”.

And that includes me because, PvdA aside, even though there’s a surfeit of appealing new-car options at the moment, I’m somewhat at a loss. This is partly because my children have so thoroughly destroyed the rear seat of our 2001 Toyota Highlander that I shudder to think what they would do to something like the comely Volvo XC90.

But that presumes a family hauler is the logical purchase, and precludes a long, thoughtful debate about the relative merits of American muscle, German precision and so on.

What is real, lasting value in a car purchase, and what is merely fleeting – such as that new-car smell? Newness is the first thing to go. When you buy second-hand, there’s even less of it on offer. I know that doesn’t work for a certain type of car buyer, but I have bought most of my cars used, and may well do so when I add to the family stable. What I have given up on is a car that can be all things to me, all the time.

Take, for example, an average hybrid saloon – I have come to the conclusion that this type of car is driven with the intellect, as opposed to, say, a Dodge ­Challenger Hellcat, which is driven with the heart. I can do both, but I can’t do either exclusively.

When I’m out on the track, the less I have to think, the better. I’m never that fast, but a good lap looks effortless; as soon as I reach for more than instinct or experience, I’m missing gears and having to take too much speed off in the corners. On the road in the Toyota Prius, it’s the opposite effect – I find myself letting off the throttle earlier to keep the little green “Eco” light from going out. Think of it as the world’s most boring video game, but it works – and we could all do with a little more Eco.

Family man and car lover; petrolhead and conservationist. I struggle with more than a few inner dichotomies. I want all 707hp offered by the Hellcat, and even wonder what tuning the engine-control unit could wring from its thunderous V8. My ego thinks the leatherette option might make sense in the Prius – it wipes clean easier than cloth.

We’re spoilt for choice, but also paralysed by it. This is the era of on-demand, and we have never been more demanding. I reckon on-demand cars aren’t all that far behind. No, not Uber – I’m thinking along the lines of Ford’s new pilot project, a financing strategy that splits a vehicle lease across self-organised groups of three to six people. Fractional car leasing sounds like a huge headache, but what if it meant having the family hauler when you need it while allowing access to a sports car or luxury saloon when you want it? Ford is testing the idea at three dealerships in Austin, Texas, but I think there’s a key piece missing: Ford needs to pair the service with a free app for booking, servicing and exchanging the car between leaseholders. Unless technology can greatly simplify sharing your car with five other people, these car-sharing groups may come to blows.