Recently, I spent a few days in Austin, Texas, and its surrounding areas driving around in the brand new 2014 Mazda6 and 2014 Mazda CX-5. We traversed small towns, sweeping expanses of open roads and tight, twisty trails that lead us in and out of the valleys surrounding the downtown core.
I’ve written about driving on foreign roads before, and am still amazed at the differences out there around the globe. Take for example Austin’s dislike of railings or any sort of roadside barriers along twistier country roads. Blind hills leading straight into sharp, 90-degree turns (on two-way roads) are the norm; however, guard rails at the apex of said turn are not. Nada. Nothing. Just you and the road, then dirt, bushes, trees and possibly rocks.
Think you’re safe when there’s a bridge over a babbling brook and/or river at the bottom of that blind, curving hill? Nope. No railing there either: just a drop off into the rocky water below. Sure, it was never a huge drop (less than 10 ft for sure), but a drop nonetheless.
Speed limits on said country roads ranged but stayed in the 40 mph range, which is quite speedy when you take into consideration the long, sweeping turns, sharp angles, blind dips and turns, and constant barrage of oncoming pickup trucks and oversized SUVs (because there really are a lot of them in Texas).
On the highways (or at least, what I would call a highway due to the speed limit and lane configurations), there are intersections. Yup; where the speed limit is sometimes as high as 70 mph, and the traffic stretches across three, sometimes four lanes, you can suddenly find yourself coming across a set of traffic lights -- with the red light illuminated. You’ve got to pay attention.
And if you hope to turn onto one of these bustling highways; good luck. You’re allowed to turn right on red in Texas, but you try merging (from a stop) into traffic that’s travelling at an average speed of 100 km/hr. Sure.
At one point, as I sat at one of said random traffic lights in the 2014 Mazda CX-5, I took a moment to survey my surroundings and those around me. As far as the eye could see: pickup trucks. F-150; GMC; Toyota; Cadillac Escalade; Tahoe; Yukon; if it was big, it was there. And 80% of them were sporting a chromed out Longhorn logo on the back. Texans are proud to be from their state, and it shows. And they also like large vehicles that drink a lot of fuel.
And that got me thinking: I wonder if Texas is one of the most fuel-drunk states? I mean, come on. All those massive trucks and SUVs, you can’t tell me they don’t drink a lot at the pumps. Food (or fuel?) for thought…
I was pleasantly surprised with the roads Austin, TX had to offer for my drive event with Mazda, and just as pleased with the way the Mazda6 and CX-5 each handled the twisting, turning roads we subjected them to. With rolling hills, multimillion dollar mansions flanking the roads, and a pristine, flawlessly blue sky overhead, I would highly recommend a drive in and around Austin, Texas to anyone who likes to drive (and likes a little thrill in that drive).
I’ve written about driving on foreign roads before, and am still amazed at the differences out there around the globe. Take for example Austin’s dislike of railings or any sort of roadside barriers along twistier country roads. Blind hills leading straight into sharp, 90-degree turns (on two-way roads) are the norm; however, guard rails at the apex of said turn are not. Nada. Nothing. Just you and the road, then dirt, bushes, trees and possibly rocks.
Think you’re safe when there’s a bridge over a babbling brook and/or river at the bottom of that blind, curving hill? Nope. No railing there either: just a drop off into the rocky water below. Sure, it was never a huge drop (less than 10 ft for sure), but a drop nonetheless.
Speed limits on said country roads ranged but stayed in the 40 mph range, which is quite speedy when you take into consideration the long, sweeping turns, sharp angles, blind dips and turns, and constant barrage of oncoming pickup trucks and oversized SUVs (because there really are a lot of them in Texas).
On the highways (or at least, what I would call a highway due to the speed limit and lane configurations), there are intersections. Yup; where the speed limit is sometimes as high as 70 mph, and the traffic stretches across three, sometimes four lanes, you can suddenly find yourself coming across a set of traffic lights -- with the red light illuminated. You’ve got to pay attention.
And if you hope to turn onto one of these bustling highways; good luck. You’re allowed to turn right on red in Texas, but you try merging (from a stop) into traffic that’s travelling at an average speed of 100 km/hr. Sure.
At one point, as I sat at one of said random traffic lights in the 2014 Mazda CX-5, I took a moment to survey my surroundings and those around me. As far as the eye could see: pickup trucks. F-150; GMC; Toyota; Cadillac Escalade; Tahoe; Yukon; if it was big, it was there. And 80% of them were sporting a chromed out Longhorn logo on the back. Texans are proud to be from their state, and it shows. And they also like large vehicles that drink a lot of fuel.
And that got me thinking: I wonder if Texas is one of the most fuel-drunk states? I mean, come on. All those massive trucks and SUVs, you can’t tell me they don’t drink a lot at the pumps. Food (or fuel?) for thought…
I was pleasantly surprised with the roads Austin, TX had to offer for my drive event with Mazda, and just as pleased with the way the Mazda6 and CX-5 each handled the twisting, turning roads we subjected them to. With rolling hills, multimillion dollar mansions flanking the roads, and a pristine, flawlessly blue sky overhead, I would highly recommend a drive in and around Austin, Texas to anyone who likes to drive (and likes a little thrill in that drive).
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