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GULFWEEKLY’S Camille Jones has an eye for trends and we’ve let her loose around the towns and villages of Bahrain, the malls and the tiny independent outlets, looking to inspire our family of readers.
Having recently been invited to L’Occitane’s posh fragrance event I was terrified of committing a ‘fashion faux pas’ by turning up in my dreadful ‘massage-mobile’, so called because a simple turn of the key in the vehicle’s ignition sets off earthquake-esque activity within its dusty derelict interior.
It was a good job then that Behbehani Bros invited me to test drive its new ‘cute and classy’ Volkswagen Beetle, opposed to my regular form of transport, a battered 2004 Honda Civic which my son Kieran calls the ‘driver’s car’. It’s certainly rescued my ‘street cred’.
The gorgeous event was staged at The Orangery Tearoom and Patisserie which had its gardens in full bloom which suited perfectly for the launch of the Neroli & Orchidee fragrance collection. After the meet and greet, product presentation and flower arrangement session we ended with a delicious breakfast of lattes, eggs, French toast and cakes.
Following the event I took the Volkswagen (affectionately nick-named ‘Herbie – the love bug’) to pick up my son Kieran from school. This term of endearment came in honour of the upcoming Bahrain Formula One and the anthropomorphic 1963 VW Beetle and star of the ironic movie and box office smash hit.
For those that have not watched the film, The Love Bug could actually fly around the track and the sky and mimic human emotions.
The modern version I was driving with all its high-tech features and gadgets might as well have took off in similar style, no doubt the flying car concept is already being looked at by the motoring industry’s boffins alongside driverless versions.
But today, my feet were firmly on the ground. When I put the pedal to the metal the car’s 2.0L turbo-charged engine produced smooth acceleration and within moments I was whizzing through traffic listening to my ‘back home’ country music.
The navigation system was the first thing I noticed when climbing in and what a joy to have sensors when parking.
This unit boasts voice control, picture navigation, a touch-screen and mobile phone facilities for hands-free driving.
Now the driver in the classic film could also talk to his car, so I was living this fantasy film true-to-life while asking good ole ‘Herb’ to call the office!
This full feature fun-mobile was souped-up with ‘sport’ red and black ‘Vienna’ leather bucket seats and chrome accents. Sweet! I was in love with Herbie’s steering wheel functions for both the navigation system and stereo control too.
The ‘Climatronic’ air conditioner seemed useful since my interior Canadian ‘polar bear’ system is permanently set to ‘hot’ and helps that both front passengers can set their own temperatures. The keyless access was unique to me since I have never used one, (poor girl, sympathy by the bucket-loads, please). How cool is it to start a car with only the brake and a button?
When I finally picked up Kieran he looked at me confused while climbing into Herbie’s seats and he quickly asked how long we had it for.
He was incredibly impressed with the panoramic tilting/ sliding roof which opened up the top with ease. “Coooool” was the comment he used more than once fiddling around the car and checking out all the loaded features.
This sweet little ride was in ‘Platinum Grey’, however, I would have opted for the ‘Tornado Red’ since that is usually how I enter any given situation, like a crazy twister on a destruction path, but I digress.
Sadly, I had to drop the love bug back off to the showroom before going back to the office. However, I have vowed to make a new car purchase sooner than later since saddling back into my creepy Civic had me sobbing, feeling sorry for myself and my ego darting around for Plan A, B and C. Did my old car really always sound this loud? Sigh!
The car I drove was a 2016 Volkswagen Beetle priced BD13,600. To book your test-drive, visit the Behbehani Brothers’ Volkswagen Centre Bahrain in Sitra or call 17459977.
