Caterhams

[Kris H]

Have been thinking a bit about not spending loads of cash on nitrons/oz etc but going for a bit of a change and maybe getting a caterham instead. Anyone have much experience of these? Am going to go over and have a look next week anyway but what are the general views? A bit more raw than the lis and just a general thought at the moment but given that I run a 'sensible' car as well it could be an option...maybe an R3/400 superlight.

[tazbaz69]

go the whole hog and get RS500, 0-100-0 in 10 secs, worlds fastest car to do it, awsome

[Kris H]

Bit worried about the budget though. You reckon it's worth waiting longer and getting an R500? Big upgrade on the R400?

[tazbaz69]

personnally i,d wait for the 500 to come down, least then if you actully needed to upgrade ur doing it on a better unit

[MattyB]

The R500 is £36k new, could you spend that much money on a Caterham?

 

Kris, I'm selling the Elise soon and once I get a new job and get in the market for a second car, I'm also looking at getting a Caterham of some sort....

 

Especially after I spent all last sunday playing keepy-uppy with a Yellow SuperlightR - 190bhp K-series:

 

http://www.evoposters.net/carsa/album184?page=1

 

I never got a chance to get a passenger ride, but it sounded intense, and looking at the faces of the people who'd been in it, that summed up the whole experience.

 

EVO maggy also have a roundup this month of lots - R300, 400, 500 aswell as the 120bhp Classic and the SV wide-bodied ones. Roadsport gets my choice, and has a "base price" of £16k....but can rise to over 20k with options.

 

 

One thing though - where do you get Caterhams serviced? Or do most people do the work themselves??

[GCCK]

Kris

 

Don't do it! They're very fast and good on track because you can pitch them into bends with confidence (know the bend, know there's nothing coming the other way, see all the way through) but they're very twitchy on road: on & off throttle etc. They're lighter than an Elise, even more sparse than an S1 and with the engine up front, much less weight on the driven wheels. Very easy to get VERY sideways. Some call that fun but not on roads you don't know when you don't know what might be coming the other way round the next bend. Ultimately that would slow you down. Remember the R400 who joined us last year on the Hallaton loop (one of the Leics runs)? Very fast in a striaght line but all over the place on give & take roads - he was ho0lding up a good few "ordinary" elises.

 

One more test: strap a deckchair onto the roof of a car. Sit in it while your mate drives the car at 100mph. If that feels like great fun, you're a caterham driver. If it seems like unnecessary pain & suffering, stick to an Elise!

 

Graeme

[Kris H]

Hmmmn. Still just a passing thought at the moment although I am going to go and have a look at some next week - quite like the look of the SV roadsport ones and am interested in the superlights as well.

 

Graeme - interested to read what you've said. Might look at hiring one for a day or seeing if I can get an extended test drive and trying some of my favourite roundabouts and lanes to see what happens...with the elise I did one test drive of the 111s and paid a deposit immediately. Will see if the 7 would be the same I guess.

 

Just thinking about a bit of a change really...

[simondann111s]

I had one for 2.5 years, loved every minute, and often wonder why I got rid.

 

 

It was my only car for 6 months. Surprising what you can get in it, given abit of thought.

 

I covered over 30K miles in the time I had it, never let me down and still retained a fare bit of value (bought for £18.4K, sold for £14.5) Would (and should) have bought another, but for the scary prices new.

 

 

You wouldn't regret buying one. EVERYONE should have one at some time, or at the very least have a go in one.

 

Simon

[malbon]

They are quick but twitchy. had a pax in a R400 on a midlands run. They are a lot of effort for little more pace than the elise on the road.

 

Im sure on the track it would be great and sooo much faster than the liz but on a run this r400 never got away from me and i felt loads more planted than he did....and at this point i was a novice rwd'er but kept up.

 

EVO this month have a review on all models. It is a great rwd car that you can steer on the back wheels but after the liz you may feel disappointed.

 

Its different. put it that way. go and see.

[Mark A]

Passengered in one last week and it was a bit tight, but tried to get in a SLR a year or so ago and couldn't get in as it has tighter seats.

 

Best to try one before you buy and try the exact spec you are looking at.

 

Picture below has always struck me as being spot on!

[Kris H]

Cheers guys - all of this is really helpful. Went out and bought a copy of evo to see what they said. I like my lis a lot but I just feel like change at the moment, and as it doesn't need to be practical really, I could go for something different than what I've already got. Was thinking about 111r or exige but not convinced that it's worth dropping £10k plus to do so, and although not too worried about tracking at the mo, just looking for a different driving experience. Even considered a VXR but quickly stopped considering that route.

 

Kristian

[GCCK]

Kris

Serious suggestion: Without wishing to be provocative, since it's a sensitive issue on here, by why not try a S1 Elise? It's sort of 1/2 way between Caterham-crude and S2 111s smooth...

 

Graeme

[Kris H]

That is also something that I have been considering as it goes - was thinking about a sport 160. Drove one before I got mine and didn't get on with it all that well, but I suppose that I'd not really driven an elise before and it could just have been a dodgy one. May have needed the driveability stuff doing as well. May look at getting an S1 if I don't get on with the caterham, and will look at a westie too. I might end up sticking with what I've got as well but want to have a look. Tried a T350T a while back and didn't like it all that much, looked great, fast etc, but not so well planted, servicing costs etc. Has to be suitable for use on roads, whatever I get, and has to have two seats.

 

That basically means four options being considered at the mo:

 

Caterham

Westie

S1

Stick with what I've got.

[Mark A]

Personally I'd go for either the caterham or the S1. But as you already have a S2 I don't think a S1 would be different enough. Other option of course is to go for a 340R???

 

 

 

Sorry but as it's a Caterham thread and I've been sorting through some scans from some Japanese books & magazines tonight, here's another.

[Mark A]

One last one