MEGAN GALE MODEL DRIVER

Model and brand ambassador Megan Gale knows how to strike a pose but certainly isn’t a poseur. The mum-of-two has taken a back seat since the arrival of children River and Rosie, despite a standout performance in the Mad Max Fury movie with Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.

These days Gale is happy to invest time in her family as the kids grow and partner Shaun Hampson works to overcome a back injury and resume his role as a ruckman with AFL team Richmond.

Gale drives a seven-seat Lexus RX and despite not having enough kids to fill the seats, describes the luxury SUV as her perfect car.

“Shaun is 6’8” (203cm) I’m 5’11” (180cm) and both River and Rosie are massive for their ages. So to have a super roomy and super safe car is ideal for us and I love that it has plenty of boot space either for the pram, Bosco our dog or for both of our mums. It’s so perfect for where I’m at in life right now.”

It’s a long way from the first car the statuesque model can recall, a mid-1970s Ford Cortina the family called Tina.

“One of my earliest childhood memories is going to the drive-in movies in that car. I remember it so vividly,” she recalls.

Gale earned her licence in Year 12 on the second attempt, having failed the first time to give way to traffic during a right-hand turn.

Her first car was a red Honda Civic she shared with her father and when she bought a new vehicle – a 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara – her dad was so enamoured with the Civic she sent it back to Perth for him to resume responsibility of it.

Like most drivers, Gale has seen and experienced her fair share of idiots, and a couple of rear-end crashes, including one when she was five months’ pregnant with River.

She’s generally a calm driver behind the wheel – motherhood will do that to you – but says she’s experienced road rage for “not doing too much wrong”.

“I’ve learnt to not engage or answer back as you just don’t know who you could be dealing with and how unstable they are,” she notes.

That courtesy extends to her regular driving and her pet hate is “people who don’t give you a ‘thank you’ wave when you let them in or give them right of way. I love a ‘thank you’ wave.”

Put that down to her European driving experiences – even in Italy the drivers are excited, the road rules are flexible but courtesy and common sense prevails.

Gale’s best trip is driving through New Zealand’s South Island two years ago with Hampson.

“We went from Queenstown to Te Anau, on to Wanaka, then Mount Cook and back to Queenstown, all via car,” she recalls.

As for her ideal car, Gale reckons the RX fits the bill: “I’m driving it! We’re a big family – literally.”