This summer was the first with my new toy.
The plan was to start from Dusseldorf and through Switzerland and Italy to go down to Greece.
So we took off early July and luckily we avoid all traffic jams on German autobahns. RRS behave very nicely on autobahns, although I hated that speed limiter. Consumption was very good (10lt/100km).
In Switzerland we had to go by the rules so max speed was 120 and most of the time less than that due to the tunnels. We stayed 2 nights at Como, Italy and discovered that RRS is very nice on mountain roads especially if nobody else is around(!) That means that I managed to go up to Brunate on a road with just 1 lane and half and having the windows open I had the chance to hear the engine and the turbo whistling.

Later on I went all the way down to Ancona and I trusted the TMC which was telling me that ahead there was traffic jam. That choice forced me to go through Bolonia (luckily it was Sunday). At the end I wasn't sure if that was the right choice.

Then the nightmare came because I had to wait 3 hours to get into the ferry. (but I suppose that's the premium you have to pay when you decide to go by car and enjoy your trip and not going by plane)

And then Greece. That was tough even for me a Greek. The road from Patras to Athens is a very strong exercise to your nerves and to your driving reflects. A national road with only 1 and half lane on each side and with truck drivers that most of the times occupy the whole road. And no barriers to separate the lanes. The only good out of that part was the consumption 7.6lt/100!! (speed was 80-120km/h).

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very nice shots - thanks for sharing  
L 405 2013 FFRR 5.0 SC
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WINNER - 2009 �Best Avatar� Award
WINNER - 2009 Comedian Of The Year Award

Nice shot. The RRS looks great in white!
7,6 l/100km is very economical. I was last year in France and I had an average of 8,8l/100km but I drove all the time with 160 km/h.

Nice journey.
Please tell me which route you followed in Italy and I will tell you whether or not it was the best choice. My gallery: http://www.rrsport.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=994

An extra advantage of white color with almond interior, especially in the South, was the much cooler interior compared to a dark colored car after hours under sun.
I was really surprised when with 40C I had the a/c only at 23 and the car was extremely comfortable.

After 8000 kms I have to say that RRS is a very comfortable car and manages to hide its weight and size very well.

One thing I 've noticed while I was in Greece was the different behavior of the engine with the low quality diesel offered there. Smoke was present during heavy acceleration, something I haven't seen with German diesel.

one more pic from Andros island which needs real 4x4 and some walking

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gianluca wrote:

Nice journey.
Please tell me which route you followed in Italy and I will tell you whether or not it was the best choice.

diamond wrote:

I enter Italy near Lugano

And you did not call!  '08 RRS TDV8
I converted my diesel RRS to run on an environmentally friendly mixture of caribou fat and baby seals oil

flydive wrote:

diamond wrote:

I enter Italy near Lugano

And you did not call!

diamond wrote:

gianluca wrote:

Nice journey.
Please tell me which route you followed in Italy and I will tell you whether or not it was the best choice.

I enter Italy near Lugano ( The Italian side of the lake was very beautiful) and then from Como I followed A9 -A1 and instead of following A14 to Rimini I was directed to go through Bolonia and I joined again A14 after Imola to Ancona.

BTW next year I'm going through Venice mainly because I want to see Venice once more and also because the port of Ancona is very uncomfortable and small for the summer traffic to Greece.

diamond wrote:

flydive wrote:

diamond wrote:

I enter Italy near Lugano

And you did not call!

oops!!

and he came down South Germany - passed Stuttgart some 10 kms away.... and DIDN'T STOP FOR A DRINK !  
L 405 2013 FFRR 5.0 SC
--------------------------------------------------------------
WINNER - 2009 �Best Avatar� Award
WINNER - 2009 Comedian Of The Year Award

liar, I went down through Karlsruhe 80 klms west from Stuttgart. In german roads during summer season that means more than 2 hours deviation.

But I 'm planning to come down to your place just for you in the next few months

Thanks for the invitation  2009 Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 SE, Alaska White, Almond leather, tinted windows, active rear diff, tow pack, HiICE, full spare: gone and already missed

2004 Fiat Panda 1.2 Climbing 4x4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAg4DdXAp7Y

flydive wrote:

diamond wrote:

I enter Italy near Lugano

And you did not call!

guests are always welcome here  
L 405 2013 FFRR 5.0 SC
--------------------------------------------------------------
WINNER - 2009 �Best Avatar� Award
WINNER - 2009 Comedian Of The Year Award

XXXAngelXXX wrote:

guests are always welcome here

+1!

Next time you're near you can visit me for a cup of coffee and Angel can invite both of us for dinner!


Very nice pics, thanks for sharing!
Sounds like a very nice trip, I also wanted to do that last year but Mrs McBunny didn't want to drive that long so we had to take the plane. On the other hand we didn't have the RRS those time so it would have been only half the fun it will be when we will do it soon (perhaps I'll tell her we will go to Italy, she will recognize the lie when we are on the ferry but then we already are on our way to Greece ).


Next time you drive through the Alps in Summer buy this before, you will have great fun:
http://www.amazon.de/Gro%C3%9Fer-Alpenstra...amp;sr=8-1 RRS TDV6 HSE, 2006, bonatti grey, ebony interior, rear diff, s/c grille and vents, stormers, privacy, tasmods, iphone integration