But Pietersen bridles at the suggestion that the sombre barge clashes with his colourful image. “It’s a great car,” he says defensively, “so luxurious and relaxing. I know it is an executive car, but it’s so good to drive. Driving is one of the few times I get to relax, when I have nothing to do and no one to speak to. It’s time to yourself. I can just get the stereo blaring and relax. It’s perfect for that.”
It has, if nothing else, been a chaotic few years for the 25-year-old who grew up in South Africa and came to England only five years ago because his homeland’s racial quota system had precluded him from breaking into the national team. “I have loved every minute of it, buddy. In fact I am still loving every minute of it,” he says of last summer’s stunning Ashes victory.
The most exuberant character to explode onto the cricket scene in years, Pietersen is a favourite with the Barmy Army of England supporters. His innings during the summer were thrilling to watch as he vied with Freddie Flintoff to be the biggest hitting and fastest scoring England batsman.
On the pitch his iron self-belief, interpreted by some as arrogance, has raised hackles — and not just among the opposition. Off duty he makes no secret of the fact that while his England team-mates relax with their wives in the shires he prefers life in a faster lane. He has just bought an apartment in Chelsea — the easier to explore London nightlife from — and turned up in Australia for an awards ceremony last year with Caprice, the glamour girl and underwear model, on his arm, much to the slack-jawed astonishment of cricket’s conservative establishment. What they made of tabloid claims that the Hampshire batsman asks his girlfriends to scream his name during lovemaking goes unrecorded.
As it happens the Phaeton he is driving is not his own. It is lent to him as part of a sponsorship deal with the German car maker — a perk that Pietersen is well used to. Ever since he began playing club cricket in South Africa, cars have been one of the bonuses he has enjoyed. “I have never bought a car in my life. I can’t see the point, they depreciate so quickly it’s just a waste of money,” he says. “We do okay as cricketers but we’re not like football players who have money to burn; we don’t get £50,000 every Friday.”
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His first sponsored cars — a Hyundai and a VW Golf — came while playing state cricket for Natal and had his name plastered along the side. They might not be in the same league as the Phaeton (at up to £74,000 it is the most expensive car in the VW range) but they were better than his first car.
“I passed my test first time after just three lessons when I was 18 and Mum and Dad gave me a car to help get me started,” he remembers. “An old Nissan Pulsar. It was a real clapped-out, shitty little car. All my friends had cars and we used to drive down to the beach together. That’s what I miss most: the warmth and the weather and the outdoor way of life. I love safari and barbecues on the beach and living outside rather than indoors all the time.”
To enjoy that life a car was essential. “You really need a car in South Africa because everything is so spaced out and you can’t use public transport — it is too dangerous. You just can’t use taxis or trains or buses, you can get yourself killed.”
Before he came to Britain, Pietersen says he had never taken a taxi. Nor had he experienced the level of traffic on British roads. “South African roads are long, wide freeways, great to drive and so much better than in England. We don’t have a team coach so I have to drive to all the matches and the traffic is ridiculous. The M25 is horrible, you just never know. It could be fine or you could end up stationary for four hours. After the third Test at Old Trafford I was coming back to London and got stuck on it for 1Å hours. It’s ridiculous — like a car park.”
Back in the Phaeton the traffic is moving smoothly and Pietersen is keen to demonstrate how easy it is to drive. “Watch this,” he says. “I set the cruise control to 80mph and I set the space to be three cars between me and the one in front. Now this car will not let me go less than three car lengths close. I can just leave it and relax. Look now, that Audi has pulled out and we slow down. It’s brilliant. It’s the perfect car for cruising.”
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We are nearing Heathrow — with time to spare — and Pietersen is looking quietly pleased with himself. “See, it might not be a flash sports car but it gets you where you want to go on time and in maximum luxury.”
On his CD changer
I mainly listen to dance music and of course Jerusalem (the classic cricket anthem, as performed by the England team with Keedie, on a recent charity single