TAKING THE HY ROAD

HALF OF US HAVE TAKEN TEABAGS ON HOLIDAY. Well, according to one of those dull surveys the tabloids save their most excruciating puns for. Quite why you’d pack something that reminds you of the monotony of everyday life – on your escape from that very thing – I’m not sure. But as I instinctively press the pale blue steering wheel button and gather up my favourite settings learned from thousands of miles in an i30 N back home (light steering, heavy throttle and suspension somewhere between the two), I feel no less guilty of this strangest of behaviours. Californian sun beating down on its panels, the Hyundai Elantra N might as well be a big steaming mug of Ringtons Gold, even if I’ve not bust my baggage allowance bringing it across the Atlantic.

Not wishing to give up on the hot beverage theme too early, our drive begins almost uncomfortably early on a Sunday morning, the (as the folk here say it) parked among the hustle and bustle of a cars ‘n’ coffee meet in Malibu. You’ll have seen the likes of these things on social media – perhaps enjoyed the schadenfreude of a Mustang or M4 being flung clottishly at a lamppost as