A great weekend drive isn’t an accident. The best ones are the product of a handful of decisions made before anyone hops in the car. Some obvious, some not so much. Here’s a checklist to run through before the next one.
Choose a Destination That Earns the Journey
Not everywhere justifies a proper drive. Locate a place that rewards your journey – be it a country house hotel offering good food, a coastal retreat accessible via scenic routes, or a city venue perfect for walking explorations upon arrival. If a destination can be reached in the same time by scenic route and motorway route, always take the scenic route.
Make the Reservations First
The best rooms, the best tables and the treatments you really need to book go fast. This is your first move. The sort of weekend that feels really thought-out is one you build up beforehand, not one you throw together at the last minute.
Check Tyre Pressure Before Loading Up
If you have a car full of stuff for a weekend away it will be heavier than it normally is and the tyre pressure should reflect that. The right loaded pressure can typically be found in the owner’s manual or on a sticker on the door frame. Takes three minutes at a petrol station and makes a noticeable difference to the way the car handles on a longer drive.
Look at the Tyre Condition Properly
A quick visual check while packing is better than nothing, but a proper check means running a hand across the tread surface of each tyre. A tyre that appears to be significantly more worn than the others or has uneven wear or feathering on one edge can all point to a wheel alignment problem that’s better to investigate before a long journey than after.
Get the Wheel Alignment Checked
This is the one most drivers skip. When one tyre appears to be wearing faster than the others, wheel alignment is one of the first things worth discussing with Dexel Tyre & Auto Centre. A properly aligned car will go straight without correction, corner accurately and give you the type of composed, unhurried ride that makes hours behind the wheel feel like nothing. Misalignment doesn’t look broken; it just looks like the car is a little less than it should be.
Check Fluids and Battery
Engine oil, coolant, screen wash, a quick check before a longer drive catches anything which has been quietly dropping since the last service. It’s also worth checking the battery condition, particularly on older cars where a summer of short trips may have left it less than fully charged.
Sort the Air Conditioning
If the air con has been taking longer than usual to cool the cabin, it’s not getting to the temperature it’s set to, a regas is a quick fix and can be done in under an hour. It is much better to get it sorted at home than spend two hours on a summer motorway discovering it does not work properly.
Pack Light and Pack Once
Two nights requires one properly edited bag. A boot with space in it and a cabin that isn’t cluttered makes the car feel more composed and the drive more relaxed. Resist the temptation to pack for every eventuality, choose what’s actually needed and leave the rest at home.
Set the Cabin Up Before Leaving the Drive
Seat position, mirrors, temperature, music. Two minutes in the driveway before setting off means none of it needs dealing with in the first twenty minutes of the journey. If there’s anything in the cabin that needs tidying or reorganising, do it now.
Leave Earlier Than Feels Necessary
The roads that make long drives enjoyable are only that way at certain times of day. An hour before the traffic builds is consistently better than an hour into it. Leave with time to stop if something looks worth stopping for, arrive with time to settle before dinner, and build the drive some room to breathe.
A great weekend is assembled from small decisions made well; from wheel alignment to where you’ve chosen to stay. Get the checklist right and the journey itself becomes part of what you’ll remember about it.