Left Hand Drive
- Thread starter tony1066
- Start date
I have had a couple of cars that were only available in LHD plus a LHD S2 coupe. It isn't a nightmare until you are alone and need to pay a toll or get access to a barrier controlled car park. Overtaking is an annoyance. Pulling out of angled junctions can be a pain as bits of car get in the way of rear threequarter vision. A LHD 944 or 968 cab would be virtually undrivable with the roof up for that reason in my opinion; who wants to have to pull onto a roundabout hoping it is clear?![[FONT=verdana,geneva"]](/forum/styles/default/pcgb/space.gif ". [FONT=verdana,geneva\"]")
I sold mine long ago and I will never, ever buy another LHD car in the UK unless I really want something that is not available in RHD, so maybe that tells you something. Part of it is that I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking a LHD version of a UK model means the owner couldn't afford a real one; that's certainly how I felt driving my S2.
I sold mine long ago and I will never, ever buy another LHD car in the UK unless I really want something that is not available in RHD, so maybe that tells you something. Part of it is that I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking a LHD version of a UK model means the owner couldn't afford a real one; that's certainly how I felt driving my S2.
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I think Fen about sums it up. My biggest bugbear is parking. you just can't use a drive-in parking area with a gate unless you have a passenger, so you have to plan ahead a bit, know where there's a normal P&D, or wait for parking on the side of the road.
driving on the right (correct!) side is easy once you've done it a few times. I have ahd all sorts of combinations of LHD and RHD in various contries at some point, and it usually took me about 5 metres of driving to get back into it. Overtaking comes with practice. In certain situations, it can actually help you get a better view if you know where to position yourself behind that damned tractor!
However, Fen has got one thing wrong (in my case anyhow!). having a LHD in this country is not necessarily an indicator of scrimping on a few quid (I think that's more reserved for the Opel driver that couldn't afford a Vauxhall! Yes I did see one today!), I have spent most of the last 10 years in Europe driving, so I actually "need" a LHD car for that. I just so happen to have been back taking a break for a while! (And I love my car so much I'm not gonna trade it for a RHD just for the hell of it!) [
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driving on the right (correct!) side is easy once you've done it a few times. I have ahd all sorts of combinations of LHD and RHD in various contries at some point, and it usually took me about 5 metres of driving to get back into it. Overtaking comes with practice. In certain situations, it can actually help you get a better view if you know where to position yourself behind that damned tractor!
However, Fen has got one thing wrong (in my case anyhow!). having a LHD in this country is not necessarily an indicator of scrimping on a few quid (I think that's more reserved for the Opel driver that couldn't afford a Vauxhall! Yes I did see one today!), I have spent most of the last 10 years in Europe driving, so I actually "need" a LHD car for that. I just so happen to have been back taking a break for a while! (And I love my car so much I'm not gonna trade it for a RHD just for the hell of it!) [
]Yep, there is always the reason to have LHD in the UK that all the camper drivers have; it gets used on the continent more than the UK. That or owning the car outside the UK and bringing it home, which is where you are Mike? is good reason. Anyway I only said it looks like that to me but maybe I was sensitive because I did buy a cheap leftie in the UK []
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New member
That'll be me then! I'm glad I fall into a category. [
]I actually bought it, and it spent it's first few years over there (bar the MOTs). I imported it because even though I never really used it here, it was much simpler to register and insure it from england when I didn't know from each month to the next with 100% certainty that I was still going to be in that country. Most of the time however I was, and it would have ended up much cheaper to own by insuring and "MOT"ing in those countries, but for the hassle factor........
I still reckon we ought to go EU and all go LHD......... (ducks) [
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Andy Duncan
New member
LHD drive is no problem really in terms of driving.
From a technical perspective and more controversially maybe, LHD Porsches are better than their RHD counterparts for many technical reasons, old 911's and 944's including the 968 are optimised for LHD, as a small example have a look at where your brake master cylinder and servo are located. RHD also requires a separate reservoir for the hydralic clutch.......LHD cars are slightly lighter in weight, although the battery is in the front of the car not the rear (balance!).
PS. I'm in the process of building a LHD Club Championship Class 2 - 944S2 racecar. But sadley my road going S2 is RHD!!
Good on you.
andy
From a technical perspective and more controversially maybe, LHD Porsches are better than their RHD counterparts for many technical reasons, old 911's and 944's including the 968 are optimised for LHD, as a small example have a look at where your brake master cylinder and servo are located. RHD also requires a separate reservoir for the hydralic clutch.......LHD cars are slightly lighter in weight, although the battery is in the front of the car not the rear (balance!).
PS. I'm in the process of building a LHD Club Championship Class 2 - 944S2 racecar. But sadley my road going S2 is RHD!!
Good on you.
andy
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