Reflections on a career in cars

I’d be willing to wager that anyone who is into cars - even in a casual sense - would think being a motoring journalist is one of the coolest jobs out there. Heck, I’ve seen people who couldn’t tell a Fiesta from an F40 sit open-mouthed when I tell them what I used to do for a living.

I’ve always loved cars, and after watching an unhealthy amount of Top Gear as a teenager I decided that motoring journalism was the thing I wanted to do. So I finished uni and swapped New Zealand for the UK where, to the disbelief of practically everyone back home, I managed to not only get into the industry, but stay in it for the next seven years.

Financially, it was a terrible decision, and admittedly I do something completely different now, but what a way to spend your twenties – it was like being in one big episode of old-school Top Gear.

I've started working in a completely different field now, so it seemed like a good idea set down in writing five memories that encapsulate just what a blast my old job could be.

Eagle Speedster

The Eagle Speedster has to be one of the most bite-the-back-of-your-hand pretty cars ever made. I always quite fancied having a go in one, so about a year into my career I made it happen. Cue a private tour of Eagle HQ, followed by a blast in the £1,000,000 Speedster with Eagle MD Paul Brace riding along in the passenger seat. No pressure at all, then, but what a car.

Iceland in an MX-5

I've no idea how I wound up in Iceland for the launch of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Icon as I was very much a cub reporter back then, but I certainly wasn't going to turn the opportunity down. Over two days we drove Route 1 around the entire country. Iceland in September isn’t exactly warm, but with a good hat and the roof down, I can think of few better ways to see Iceland's almost Martian landscape. It's nearly as pretty as New Zealand.

Arctic Circle with Subaru

You haven’t experienced cold until you’ve experienced -36C cold. I was lucky enough to feel it for myself in Lapland with Subaru. We were there to test all of their cars on a range of ice circuits for, err, research purposes. A passenger ride in a WRX with a former rally driver was an added bonus. Tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Autocar’s Road Test of the Year

I was a road tester for Autocar for about three and a half years. Hands down the coolest job I’ve ever had, and the annual Road Test of the Year feature, known by staffers as ‘Handling Day’, was a red-letter day, even for seasoned hands. Three days spent driving that year’s crop of the best supercars and performance cars on road and track, and then lively debates over curry and beer to decide which was the best. Mega.

Nürburgring 24 Hours

I never used to care for motorsport, but when I was handed the keys to a TT-RS and told to drive to Germany to spend the weekend watching the N24 with Audi, I didn't say no. And what a race. The track is so long and the number of cars competing so high that as a spectator you’re exposed to a constant stream of noise and adrenaline. Definitely worth checking out what goes on in the woods surrounding the track at night, too. Consider me converted.

Simon Davis reviewed cars for Autocar and Carwow; he is now a software developer writing code in Estonia.