I’m midway into my second month of Range Rover Classic ownership. I’ve fallen in love.
This evening, I had to run out to grab something from the store and as I do anytime I’m not going far or under a time crunch, I hopped in my Rover as opposed to my 2018 Tacoma. Like always when I drive the Rover, I ended up taking about a half hour route to the store that is three minutes from my house. I simply enjoy spending time in it. As I’m getting close to home again(well, technically close to my destination three minutes away from home following a 25-minute drive) I my thoughts went full sappy car guy. Me mentally: “I mean, in just a month and a thousand or so miles I’ve formed way more of an emotional connection with this 30-year-old Range Rover than I have over 8 months and 30,000 miles with my Tacoma. The Tacoma is the perfect vehicle for my life in every way. Reliable, manual, capable. It simply does everything I ask without complaint... But I wouldn’t make a three minute drive a 30-minute drive just because I don’t want to stop driving it. The Rover is unreliable and automatic and inefficient.... But shit it just feels so right. And listen to it! I thought the Tacoma was a forever car, and I bought this as a short-term toy but what if in 10 years the Tacoma is gone and this thing is still in my garage?” Right as that thought drifts through my head... *sniff sniff* “Something smells like coolant... eh, definitely my paranoid imagination.” I pull up to a red light a few seconds later. Simultaneously I smell MUCH more coolant, the coolant level light pops on and a huge cloud of steam appears from under the hood.
I decide to make a break for it home( just two blocks), and I made it in a massive cloud of steam. I didn’t think to take a picture when the steam was really thick, but this was after it had calmed down a bit.
I popped the hood to find coolant absolutely everywhere, as well as a ruptured upper radiator hose. Looks like it’s time for some cooling system work! I started it for a few seconds later to pull it into the garage and it started and ran like normal so I don’t think I managed to overheat her and do any permanent damage. Tomorrow I’ll do some assessment and see what I need to do.
It was almost a reminder from God of why I like Toyotas so much, but I still love this more.