Car Thoughts

 

I’m possibly addicted to looking on Pistonheads and AutoTrader. I’ve had so many fantastic cars, yet usually around 3 months in I get curious what’s out there. I am sure it is an addiction because it doesn’t make much sense and isn’t helpful.

Now I find myself looking with most interest at:

1. 2014 Lotus Exige V6 Roadster (Solar Yellow) £35k
2. 2017 Mercedes AMG A45 (Elbaite Green) £29k
3. 2010 modified Audi A3 (Black) £8k

This might seem like an odd combination but there is some logic to it:

1. In hindsight, of all the cars I’ve had and could possibly have, a Lotus Exige V6 Roadster would be my pick. I might go as far to say it is my dream car. I don’t want the wing and splitter that the coupe has, not my style.

2. This is a practical 5 door car, and has a 0-60 less than 5 seconds! If I was to have one car that did it all, this would be it. I’ve always fancied a green car too...

3. My favourite non-sportscar was my Solar Orange Audi S3 8P. I have a fondness for the 8P generation. This highly modified A3 has more power than an S3 (I imagine the front wheels might struggle for traction). Black is a bit boring but it does look good (a nice choice of aftermarket wheels.) I like the modifications; they make it a bit unique.

The Porsche 718 Cayman S is an outstanding car, especially now with the FabSpeed exhaust. I just don’t feel the same passion towards Porsche that I do with Lotus. And the Lotus brings a bigger smile to my face. In 5 years’ time the Lotus will have depreciated less. But the Lotus is less practical.

Currently, the Cayman solves every problem I need solving, the Lotus doesn’t quite (definitely it is daily-able but cannot be taken everywhere I go) and so I’d need a second car. And I don’t really do enough driving to make having 2 cars worthwhile (i.e. a daily and a Lotus like I have done in the past.) Arguably, I could live without a car at all (I live in town). I’m in the slightly bizarre situation of being able to afford to buy nice cars, then not feeling like I can really afford to use them much (should I not care if the car is sat for a couple of weeks without any action!?).

The Mercedes would do everything and more. The Audi similarly would do everything and more.

I spend far too much time thinking about cars. I don’t want to waste time with these trivial (but addictive) car thoughts, much better to be putting my brain to good use (i.e. learning/researching/getting stuff done for work.) Discipline!

Continued... More Car Thoughts!

This section didn't seem worth a new post. A carry on from yesterday. And in the space of a day, my mind has possibly changed.

Another car option was this gorgeous Formula Red Lotus Elise 1.8 S Club Racer Edition @ £31.5k:

The advantage of an Elise over an Exige, is that it's just a little bit more useable. Not quite as usable as the Porsche Cayman but close (due to it's small size, it does have a usability advantage in some situations). The Elise better adheres to the "Light is Right" Lotus ethos than the Exige V6! I could say that the Elise has cost advantages too over the Exige (better MPG, smaller, and lighter) - never sure if that really matters when you're talking sportscars (which are passion purchases, not of the head). Red is quite a rare colour for the Elise, but I found myself preferring it to Orange or Yellow. I always think the Lotus Elise/Exige need to look good with the black soft top on, and the black soft top works well on this Elise, better than it would on the Yellow Exige.

Then I got to thinking, I was always happy with my Audi A3 / S3. And this leads on to where my current thinking is. Keep the Cayman until the time comes where I need a car with more than 2 seats. When I need a car with more than 2 seats (1 year, 2 years, I don't know when), I'll change it for a Audi RS3 in blue, like this one @ £32k:

I had a nice drive in the Cayman today. Sunday morning around 7am, roads were quiet. Driving up to Greenham Common to go for a Sunday morning run. I was all sweaty after my run, which made me super grateful for leather seats that just wipe clean. And I overtook a lorry on the way home which made me smile (coming off a roundabout in 2nd gear, looking down the nearside to see if any cars on the straight, waiting for one car to come by, then blasting it, 2nd, 3rd, up to 85 mph in no time, flying past the lorry with a crescendo of sound - a nice safe easy overtake!)

End of car thoughts until the next time...