My First Car – By Pierre van Hooijdonk

I passed my test in 1987 or 1988. I took 16 or 17 lessons and was delighted to do it first time. I took all of my lessons in my home town of Steenbergen, small town in the Netherlands.

It was an exciting period to be given a licence to drive and I wanted to be independent as quickly as possible. I arranged for a loan and then went out and bought a Ford Escort XR3, it was a nice shade of red and was powerful. Maybe I was trying to be a ‘boy racer’ back then!

It cost me around 17,000 guilders, which was around £6,500. I thoroughly enjoyed my car and kept it for three or four years.

But I never got into shopping for cars and upgrading through my own choice.

I then carved out a career in professional football and at clubs such as Celtic, Feyenoord, Nottingham Forest and Benifica we were given company cars. So, I’ve been fortunate enough to drive around on many makes and models, from Honda to BMW, Mazda to Mercedes.

When my professional career ended a decade or so ago, I had to get my own car for the first time in more than 15 years.

I had a friend who was a car dealer. He worked for Porsche and I asked him for a recommendation. I told him nothing fancy, but with plenty of legroom for myself and the passengers. So, that ruled out a Porsche!

He told me to go for an Audi and I bought a lovely Audi S8. It was one year old. I kept it for many years and it was so reliable.

I upgraded it recently and bought another S8, again it was one year old.

I enjoy my car, and love nothing better than going for a drive when the weather is nice and listening to some good music. It helps me clear my head, focus on what I have to do in the days and weeks ahead. I find driving to be very soothing and not stressful. I like to think I am a respectful driver and mindful of others on the road because that is so important for safety on the roads.

Number of Cars Owned: In the region of 18, most of them company cars from football clubs.

Favourite Car Owned: I really enjoy my current vehicle, Audi S8.

Dream Car: I’ve never been one for treating myself to cars, so I do not pay too much attention. I’d let my son decide and he’d maybe go for a sporty Porsche.