NeilMH

Having now put a few miles on it and crawled underneath it etc, I think you could be right. When I mentioned it to my long term Toyota contact/expert he said "very robust cars" ....not the most exciting word but I quite like stuff that just works.

A 2003 Series 5 Toyota Camry. To say they didn't sell many is an understatement. It would seem that in the exact spec I have (poverty - 2.4VVTi GLS) there are only 45 on the road in the UK! Only five times that number if you include the 3.0 and CDX variants. Has 51k on the clock and FSH. Was owned by elderly man from new who has now, sadly, had to go into a care home. It took me a long time to find the right one - travelled to Birmingham to get it. What can you say about it - not a lot: 1. It was cheap (£1,650) 2. They didn't trouble the design department too much when modelling the exterior 3. It has a massive 587L boot 4. It has a very low drag coefficient 0.28 5. It needed hoovering I might keep this one for a while as it's a bit quirky

The other thing with the Sevens is they ran so much better when swallowing cold air greedily

Have always used all mine throughout the winter - Caterhams, Elise, 350Z et al. The only slightly dodgy one was the Westfield because, unless you remembered to heat it up first (which seemed to be beyond me) the roof would shrink so much you couldn't get it on without ripping all your fingernails out. It also didn't have a heater but after a while the heat from the old crossflow and competition exhaust would eventually at least keep your legs warm This was before the invention of half hoods which are a wondrous thing. We were reminiscing the other day - my daughter and I went to Newmarket to collect it in it's open-topped state - the dealer said "don't bother with the roof". By the time we got home we were virtually unable to move any of our extremities . All part of the fun, of course?

2007 2027

Excellent and Happy Christmas to you.

Wiring is scary. Looks like fun

I must confess I rather like FWD cars, I think it must be me but the only RWD I found totally 100% predictable was a Caterham 7, assuming you have the right wheels and tyres and no lunatic has been let loose on the set up. The Elise was a bit like....hero,hero,hero....oops dead. The 350Z I found a good compromise but then that was offset by a feeling of the not inconsiderable weight hurtling along. I used to have a lot of fun in my old 145QV (flying bread van) body roll notwithstanding! You sort of grew into it. This might sound a bit naff but I think I'd get on with an MX5 or GT86 (despite power shortage). I think I just lack skill and don't want to work too hard at it. Oh and just remembered I had a 309gti "mild" tarmac rally car and that was rather jolly as well (the 309 had a longer wheelbase than the 205 which helped).

Diego.

Sounds like an adventure. I also ended up going to Preston last year to buy a car for my son (and selling another one) - but it all turned out a lot easier than your day did Look forward to seeing photos and updates

Interesting choice for winter but I like it anyway

Just caught up with this again - looks great - and tasteful.

Well done Mine was obtained in the era when all you had to do was fill in a form and be alive (if I recall correctly) - I just about managed that

I didn't want leather seats (for several reasons). However as it's an SE it has multi CD changer, Automatic Climate control, Electric Windows, ESC, 5 speed auto - what does that score me in total.........7/10 maybe? No cruise control. Apart from oil change I have been able to sort out the minor issues via EBay purchases - totalling around £41.

Great stuff as always

Vauxhalls have been very bad news for me twice. I feel your pain.

99 1.9 engine

I'm afraid I have to agree, although in the past I have owned a Peugeot 304 (quite good for it's time) and a 2CV (huge fun and a constant surprise). Neither of those were hatchbacks though