For far less than the real terms price of a VHS recorder back in the Tron wonder days of 1982 you can buy

For far less than the (real terms) price of a VHS recorder back in the Tron wonder days of 1982 you can buy yourself your own virtual reality world. It doesn’t get much more exciting or realistic than this – for now Twenty three years has yielded startling progress. But where will we be by 2027 I wonder? PlayStation 2 + Gran Turismo 4, £124.99 (bundled). Specifications Engine: L-twin 618cc air cooled Power: 63 bhp (46.4 kW) 9500rpm Torque: 55.9 Nm 6750rpm Transmission: 6-speed, chain final drive with APTC wet clutch. Gran Turismo’s rendering of the cars, cities and racetracks is stunningly realistic, as are the noises the cars make And what cars. Everything from the new Ford GT and the Bentley Speed 8 race car through to the Jaguar S-Type R, Subaru Impreza and even a classic Lotus Europa Choice is a wonderful thing.Nor is just sight and sound.

Your sense of touch is assailed bythe programmers’ ingenuity as well. The little handset even vibrates when you crash, and jiggles when the driver hits a grass verge.Better drivers than me say that the game cars faithfully reproduce the driving characteristics of the real thing. So rear-wheel drive cars oversteer, front-drivers understeer and the four-wheel drive vehciles behave rather better.My trouble with this game was that, whether I was using the hand control or the steering wheel (Plus foot pedals!), I was a rotten driver, and it took me so long to complete the N?rgring that even in the interests of self-deprecatory humour I cannot publish my times here. But, having been offered the chance to play Gran Turismo 4 on Sony PlayStation 2 I think I have just lived through an experience infinitely more thrilling than anything the chaps on Tron had to go through.Virtual reality is here and kicking. I thought at the time that it was a pretty exciting but totally silly set-up, not much more probable than me being lured into a fruit machine down at my local games arcade in Leicester or being captured by the Space Invaders swarming around in the machine in the Queen’s Head.So for the past two decades or so I have sceptically and placidly watched the whole computer game revolution pass me by. The hatchback boot was spacious, and although the back seats had headrests, I took those off and stowed them for better visibility in the rear view mirror. In low gear the car sounded a bit like a diesel, but it was surprisingly nippy and we were soon whizzing along the M40 at 90mph.The car has heated front seats, which I would never use.

I turned them on once in a rented car, and thought I had wet myself! More importantly the front seats have good adjustable lumbar support which I really need as I have had two spinal operations.I fell in love with the car, with it’s funny hubcaps, curvaceous bonnet and retro steering wheel, complete with spokes. In short, the Chrysler is a bit of a laugh, and not expensive for all that design. My period of motoring shame could be over – I want to be the one with a piece of gorgeousness waiting in the hotel car park.. In fact I could have sex with anyone with bodywork that seductive. The dashboard is wittily retro, but perfectly practical, and the windscreen is at a normal nice angle, not that irritating sloped affair you get with so many cars these days. I had considered buying a Mini Cooper (and only cancelled it at the last minute) – this car is far more suited to long journeys and motorways, especially, if like me, you’re six foot tall. I drove up to Stratford on Avon for a canal walk, then cruised on next day to the Birmingham NEC to give a talk at the Outdoors Show.The car is really roomy inside, and the paintwork – a metallic glittery navy blue – is quite wonderful.