If you are looking for a driving experience gift for family, friends or co-workers then here is something new and classic.

The Historic Endurance Rally Organisers (HERO) are already leaders in organising and running historic Road Tours and Rallies. They provide driving tours and rallies for novices right through to expert, challenging even the most experienced navigator and rally pairs.

But now, HERO are offering a one day taster event, giving you an opportunity to get behind the wheel and drive four of their classic rally cars. We went along for a taster event held at The Manor Hotel, Weston on the Green, – where we were greeted by the usual fast and efficient HERO registration officials followed by a quick and informal safety briefing over lunch. Guests could choose to pair up and make driver /navigator teams or go solo.

For navigational aides we were given a comprehensive road book with both route maps alongside tulip directions. It was pretty easy navigating as we left in a convoy of about 5 cars with a sweeper car bringing up the rear. But, just in case all cars were equipped with a two-way radio to radio for help in case it all went pear shaped.

The tulip navigational directions offer a great taster into doing one of HERO’s longer and novice style Road Rally events. This taster day could be used to test driver navigator pairings, or to try out one of the many cars which HERO offer on an ‘arrive and drive’ basis. Equally the event could be used for individuals who are looking to purchase a Classic car to try out six different types to help them decide which one.

These taster events are relaxed, enjoyable and purely aimed at having fun. We were encouraged to drive with some spirit but there is absolutely no competitive element to the day. Our route took us on four 10-15 mile drives, stopping at places of interest for refreshment, a leg stretch and a chance to swap vehicles and chat over a tea and biscuit.

So what did we drive? We started off in a 1964 Triumph TR4, – this was easy to drive, surprisingly pokey, and we giggled at how the dash seemed to be moving on its own suspension, but apart from the rattles it handled pretty well. After this we got into a 1965 Ford Cortina GT – bright orange, with race seats, harnesses and all the rally kit. – Awesome is the word which springs to mind, we both loved driving this car, it was snug, quick off the mark and sounded great. Two big grins from driving the Cortina even though it was only a 1.5 litre!

Next up was the 1958 MGA Roadster – A stylish looking grey, quintessential English classic sports car, I found my body rather short for this car and could hardly see over the steering wheel so a tad difficult to drive for me and rather slow (it was only a 1300). Other drivers however,said this was their absolute favourite!

Our last drive was a 1968 Porsche 911 2.0T – again just brilliant, stripped out to just bare essentials, no road comforts, and race seats. It was quick, pointy, stiff but not uncomfortably so, and sounded fantastic. It had lots of go for a 2.0 and ticked all the boxed for me, this was our favorite car of the day by far.

The event which is based on taking 16 guests using eight classic cars costs £795+VAT per head which includes insurance. There is an excess to pay on the cars if you do have a road incident of between £1000 – £3500 depending on what you are driving. If you are planning a corporate event the HERO staff can tailor it to your locational needs, plus they provide a more basic day for individuals driving four classic cars through South and Mid Wales for £695.00 inc VAT per couple.

Whatever your automotive experience, I can thoroughly recommend this event, we had an absolute blast through the country villages of Oxfordshire. The HERO organisation is second to none in terms of professionalism and every detail is well thought through and the cars were well presented. You won’t be disappointed.

For more information and to book visit: www.heroevents.eu or contact:bespoke@heroevents.eu.

Words and Photos: Sarah Bennett-Baggs

The full version of this article appeared on Lovecars.com