What goes on in your mind when I say “driving in Portugal”?
Are you thinking about the ‘unique’ driving style of this country, which some imagine might make it one of the most dangerous in Europe?
Do terrifying thoughts of how to exchange your driving licence, and how long you may have to wait as a foreigner, flood into your head?
Or, are you more preoccupied with how hard it can be to even get hold of a car in the first place, in the land of expensive old bangers and the most relaxed car salesmen in the world?
On the first point, the latest research by vignetteswitzerland.com, who analysed the latest data from the European Transport Safety Council, suggests that Romania is the most vehicularly lethal with 85.81 deaths per million inhabitants. Portugal actually ranks fifth with 62.30 road deaths per million, an 8.53% drop from the 2012 data.
So, let’s just say “be careful out there”, and adapt to the dominant style which has the mild-mannered, much-loved way of the Portuguese undergo a schizophrenic transformation when holding a steering wheel.
When it comes to swapping driving licences, you’ll be in the hands of the bureaucrats, and the best advice I can give – my classic offer in fact – is to: “Be Portuguese about it”. Take a ticket, take a chill pill, and take your time with a process that can take over a year to complete, or for some just weeks, with no rhyme or reason as to why the stark difference. That said, if you can pick an IMT office that’s in a quieter part of the country, your odds may well be considerably more favourable.
Let’s, however, get on to the meat of today’s consideration, that being the challenge of car ownership in Portugal, a peculiarly special case of leaving your preconceived notions of how it should be on the car lot forecourt, before you step inside the showroom to exchange your wonga for wheels.
After buying a home, should you have done or be doing that here, purchasing a vehicle will likely be your next biggest outlay, potentially prompting stress at the best of times and, when faced with a whole new set of cultural differences, a significant rise in blood pressure and/or Portuguese wine consumption.
Talking to one hopeful car owner at our weekly meetup in São Martinho do Porto (Wednesday lunchtime if you’re ever in the area), the process can be deeply disturbing as one societal mis-match leads to another.
The first thing to note when in Rome (as in the Rome of car-buying) is that the stereotypical aggressiveness of car salesmen, which you might anticipate having emerged from the UK or US, is almost entirely absent. Far from being pounced on by an eager dealer who might try a few Jedi sales tricks, hypnotising you into a deal you find hard to walk away from, you’ll sometimes almost need to beg for assistance here in your quest for a new or nearly-new chariot, which in itself is the first disorienting step of the process.
You know what it’s like when you want to pay your bill in a Portuguese restaurant? Yes, it’s like that too when you want to buy a car, which – let’s be honest – has got to be better than being savaged by an overzealous, commission-based, car-selling, stone-cold killer.
Now that you’ve established contact and have moved on to selecting make and model, suiting your tastes, needs and budget, keep an open mind still as the pace is likely to remain leisurely.
From accounts I’ve heard of the process, your chosen vehicle may need moving from another part of the country to yours and salespeople may need to take leave or enjoy a public holiday. Cue once more my favourite Portuguese keywords #calma and #tranquilo, because you, petrol-headed blokes harbouring an inner boy-racer, will have to yield to the native process, despite your excitement and enthusiasm about your new pride and joy.
Personally, I was blessed with a lovely old banger surplus to a fellow expats requirements, which I drive like a true Portuguese and authentic environmentalist, squeezing each and every last mile out of this ancient vehicle, looked after by a brilliant and fairly-priced, local mechanic. My Skoda, with its sound enough, if slightly idiosyncratic engine and gearbox, and a well-worn, ‘tough paper round’ exterior (not unlike its owner?), blesses us with some seriously cost-effective motoring.
Loyalty to the old workhorse didn’t however stop my head turning when offered the chance to test drive a fabulous new hybrid vehicle, encouraged by Good Morning Portugal! co-host and sometime UK racing driver Colin Ross-Jones, along with his favourite car dealer Rui Irra at Caetano Toyota in nearby Caldas da Rainha.
We’re hoping this will be the first of many vehicles we sample (it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!) as we endeavour to demystify car-buying, car ownership and more generally driving in Portugal in a new monthly feature on the morning show and as a resource on the web: Go Motoring Portugal! (see what we did there?!).
On what we hoped would be a beautiful day, filming the Rav4 in glorious sunshine on our beloved Silver Coast, Colin and I had to improvise as the rain began and continued to bounce of the windscreen of this delightful beast of a motor car, which, of course, came with that heady aroma that only new vehicles have. Soon the smell of showroom-freshness was complemented with top notes of testosterone of two men giddy with anticipation and the opportunity to put this Toyota triumph of engineering through its paces.
After a quick photoshoot on São Martinho’s quay, it seemed appropriate to take this part-electric, part-petrol family car (two words that can evoke resignation and complacency, but not in this case) to dinosaur-flavoured Lourinhã, a thoroughly appropriate backdrop for a car that bridges the gap between the old and new worlds of motoring, and some say might aptly describe the test drivers too.
In heavy rain on this area’s iconic and scenic A8 toll road, the drive was rock-solid, though not lacking in responsiveness, underwritten by four-wheel control. What a pleasure and how comforting it was to have borrowed the car in Portugal’s worst of weather and yet still enjoy the drive and the day thanks to Toyota’s impressive blend of excellent performance, ‘in-flight’ features and safe, solid build quality.
Colin AKA ‘Corporal Jones’ certainly didn’t panic (you’re welcome Dad’s Army fans) and was conscientious enough to test cup holding, luggage capacity and rear legroom during our trip out. He’s the proud owner of one of Toyota’s GR Yarris rarities (‘Circuit Pack’ for you aficionados) and this cousin of his pride and joy did not disappoint.
Next day, I took Mrs Munson and the kids up to Atelier de Doce (for me the best cake creators in Portugal, controversial I know) for a fancy breakfast and to put the Rav4 through its paces on a family trip out, up and into the hills beyond our hometown. Despite strict instructions to not eat any confectionery in the sparkling test drive interior, all of Team Munson enjoyed the drive and the comfort, especially wife Louisa who said she could quite easily get used to this level of luxury, especially the heated passenger seat on such a damp Silver Coast day.
All in all then, the Rav4 was a hit, across a whole range of tastes, from veteran racing driver to five-year-old son who looked lost, yet regal, on the roomy back seat next to two equally happy siblings. I would certainly commend it as a great family choice with its uncompromised nods towards impressive performance and environmental concern alike.
And … as an introduction to engaging with the Portuguese motor trade, let me also commend Rui Irra to you, who seemed to recognise the cultural and contextual differences as mentioned earlier, listening carefully to and acknowledging the concerns of foreigners, whilst in his warm and wonderful Portuguese way, suggesting that we really needn’t get our knickers in a twist (UK) or panties in a bunch (US) when buying a new or new-to-you car in Portugal.
Carl Munson is host of the Good Morning Portugal! show every weekday on YouTube and creator of www.learnaboutportugal.com, where you can learn something new about Portugal every day!
