ROAD TRIPPING

CAR: Hyundai Venue Go

ROUTE: Braidwood, NSW

We’re about an hour out of Sydney along the Hume Highway when crackles to oblivion. Two taps later and fill the car through six speakers, the scenery suddenly becomes mistier and more tranquil. Using voice control to switch between my iTunes library and audiobook collection keeps things interesting through long stretches of cruise control. The road candy gets prettier the moment we turn off at Goulburn through bushranger country to Braidwood. We take a dirt road when the mud mode comes on as we glide through a puddle without losing traction (there’s also snow and sand modes). About three hours by car from Sydney and seven hours away from Melbourne, Braidwood is the pit stop of our road-trip dreams. The heritage-listed town is lined with Georgian architecture and farm gates offering fresh produce on an honesty-box system. The town centre boomed in the gold rush but has now settled to a leisurely pace, though it still offers city slickers good coffee (try Deadwood or The Albion), a great restaurant (Casanova’s) and gourmet provider (Provisions). The perfect car for this journey is the Hyundai Venue Go (from $23,632). It’s a compact SUV but we overpacked thanks to roof racks and split-folding rear seats. There are actual pigs on the loose – as the talented roadster’s Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist eases on the brakes.