coldel

Haha excellent, can't wait to see it in action !

Higher BHP would be more expensive so the 200 BHP one but your question is unrealistic if you want a more realistic version I had the dilemma of turbo VX and NA VX which is slower, I went for the slower one because the higher power one is turbo and not a drive style I prefer. If you want a 'formula' you can't simply add performance numbers - otherwise why do people buy an Aygo over a used Evo? When buying cars I have a formula that looks something like: Performance x20% + Fun x20% + Uniqueness x25% + Driveability x10% + Modability x25% A 911 owner might have something that looks like: Performance x50% + Drivability x35% + Allroundability x15% Which is why it would appear ridiculous for someone to buy something which from a performance perspective is so much inferior. In addition, performance can be measured easily using stats we see everyday. Fun? Fun is a personal thing. Uniqueness can mean many different things from colour, number of seats, country of origin, availability. I didn't say I disagree with the 911 owners, I just offered up a reason as to why people sometime veer away from going with whats 'on paper' the best.

But that's the point, I don't feel a car I buy is inferior because it doesn't look like every other car out there. Its one of the 'factors' that we all build into what we consider important points of buying a car. So many people think that one car is better than another because its 0-60 time is half a second quicker but really on the road, it makes no difference at all. Top speeds are pretty pointless in the same instance, one does 190 one does 175 so what? We all have our checklists, its just that for some people having a more unique car is equal in weight and important to making it a good car as a great 0-60 sprint.

Exactly thats your opinion and a very valid one. Another opinion is that cars are as personal to someone as they are to themselves. I want people to be able to recognise my car as easily as recognising me. I want to have something different from the crowds. I just want to be original. Which is why some people veer away from the endless BMWs and Audi's that sit on UK roads and forge their own way with something a bit different. But thats their valid opinion too

+1 on Supernatural, stunning stuff, photo of it just buffed off below Use it on my VX and used it on my Zed previously.

My wife's parents live in Worthing, so we dropped the little 'un off with them and spent the night in a B&B close-by just to have a bit of time out (Hanger Down House on Priory Lane). But yes we go to Arundel probably 3 or 4 times a year. I actually let her drive the VX for the first time the following morning as the roads are so quiet around there, she loved it!

VXR8?

Not denying older cars are reliable! I had a 2004 Zed, now a 2002 VX. But be I doubt if someone has £25k in the bank for a car, they would spend half of that and then swallow high running costs. Maybe they will, we will see, but if I wanted a car that had low running costs that would mean low costs regardless of how much it cost me in the first place.

I mean fuel and the like, road tax, potential to go wrong if you get a wrong 'un is higher with older cars. Don't get me wrong, my car is 11 years old! But you are adding the risk there there that your hard earned is going to to get eaten up by some hidden beast in an old Range Rover rather than invested in a newer car.

TBH if I spent 10k on a car I wouldn't want to be spending more than the value of it keeping it on the road though The old V8 Range Rovers are going to cost you an arm and a leg to keep a dated car on the road. Prefer to get something newer and more efficient and spend my budget.

Reasonable running costs!

Hurrah! I saw you twice that evening actually. We walked into and out of town. Vauxhall was parked just around the corner at the B&B, going fantastically well, still haven't driven it more than 50% capability, it still scares the crap out of me!

...but a lot easier to prove on this occasion - no need for a Sunday red top undercover operation http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24029055

"Reasonable Running Costs" would rule out a Ferrari I would have thought.

Where in London? Have a nose at the meets section on the site as we are trying to get a South East meet set up for the 22nd

I would agree with the comments on M3s and Audi's etc, they are pretty much the same body shape as a bog standard car plus some slight bumper changes and bigger wheels, for me not a big enough deviation to set them apart from the crowd. Quite easy to get a sporty 3 series and an M3 mixed up if it drove by at 30mph. You will just blend into the rest of the rep mobiles. Two seaters certainly start to set you apart as they are impractical in our currently impoverished world - thats already a fairly big step away - but then you get a section of those which are pretty common such as the Porsches which people will plump for because its a decent package and is a 'safer' bet from a driving point of view. I have gone a bit more extreme and bought something which is not that much short from a pure track car for the road in the VX, I was sat between a 911 and a new shape Boxster in traffic the other day in Richmond and no one was batting an eyelid at the grey Porsches but looking and pointing at the low slung red car in the middle of them (although that could be a bad thing ) *note that i know porsches have more than two seats but you get the point!

I like to stand out from the crowd a bit - hence the Zed purchase in the first place - and now the VX. I just cant get along with Porsche due to the sheer numbers that are around.

For a standard bit of kit on an ageing car, the BOSE is fine and not far off most modern setups IMO

Wolf Even though you have a Vauxhalll Wolf in sheep's clothing Deffo try out a T350, although reading the original post, cheap to run? Porsche's and the like most certainly aren't.

I am now the voice of Lotus

Ah just go mental and get an Exige http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/exige-s2/2006-exige-s--270-bhp--sport-pack--touring-pack--10k-upgrades/1480483 30+ mph and supercar performance

There are a few You Tube vids I posted up about these being tested and they do nowt

The Sun and their ilk are poor from the angle I was looking at it though, I read an article in the Mail the other day whilst waiting in a cafe and even in the first two paragraphs I read 'the murderous Assad' along with the 'utterly horrendous crimes committed by the monstrous Syrian army' etc etc. They don't report the news Fact, they report the news Sensation. In the same way Clarkson will ignore all positive aspects of a Zed and just go on about how he can't fit his dog in the boot of the car so therefore its not a good car. I am sure the language in The Sun is perfectly good, whoever what the ideas behind the text and the message they push is shockingly poor.

Looking at his history, he does have substantial journalistic background especially in cars and has done well to forge his own way in life. That said, I don't have to agree that his current approach to 'motoring entertainment' is all that great. Top Gear is a show for people who know not a lot about cars, anyone with any savvy would not go there for car reviews, informed advice or information. Unfortunately it has become the equivalent of "The Sun" newspaper in car terms in that it writes stuff that the general populous want to hear, not what is actually anywhere near the truth.

I imagine the dash works better in reality than any pictures would show. It is hard to envisage as we are so programmed to looking at dials. Cracking money though for a proper soft top (not a coupe converted one) which looks great top up or down.