Would you buy a Morgan?

[Phil Hutchins]

Like drinking red wine, wearing slippers, getting gout etc, I always thought that one day I might end up in a Morgan! 
It started with my winning/buying a day in an Emira at LitP a couple of years ago, kindly donated for auction by Central Lotus for our Rainbows charity. 
The rest of that year came and went with no Emira in sight, then similarly last year with no-shows of the i4 which I was  interested in, then this year when my non-availability pushed dates back and then Central ceased their new-Lotus agency. And finally their demo Emira was recently purchased by Ray!! 
But no worries, Andy/Connor were keen to get their Morgan cars out there and last Friday’s booking of their new Plus4 was graciously extended to a full weekend by Andy so that I could make the most of it. 
 

I’d never have considered an ‘old’ Morgan with their archaic ladder-chassis/live-axle/sliding-pillar front suspension set-up no matter how powerful, but the post-2019 CX-generation cars are wholly different and very Lotus-like in manufacture. I was very pleasantly surprised: performance from the 255bhp BMW twin-power turbo was more than adequate for our favourite Peaks roads and the handling from the new bonded/riveted aluminium ‘tub’ with double wishbone and coil-over suspension was totally reassuring The ride differed from Lotus suppleness, but I guess that has been engineered-in to retain an essential Morgan feel as it was short-travel/stiff damping. Ditto the driving position set well back to admire the long ventilated bonnet and complex panel-beating around the front wing/headlamp. 
The Plus4 is available in 6-speed manual or 8-speed auto; I had and liked the auto setup tho’ thats an age thing! (Plus6 with 335bhp BMW 6-cyl is auto only I think)

The car attracted a huge amount of attention, enhancedno doubt by the Safari yellow paintwork!

A few photos (inc from a factory visit a few yrs ago, to show construction; it’s an interesting day out if you’re ever Malvern way):-

 

So…can I see myself getting a Morgan in future?

Pass the Malbec…!

 

[Badger02]

Nice article, think you should buy one

[DeanB]

That's really nice

[Luke Seagrave]

When the unfortunate day comes that I have to part company with my Lotus Elise, the Morgan will be the car I replace it with. 👍👍

[winthattt]

I drove the same yellow car thanks to Conner and a test day a few Saturdays ago. I preferred the plus 4 to the plus 6. I felt the 4 was smaller, had better steering feel and was more agile. I was impressed by the ride and comfort and it’s plenty fast enough. I  completely get the car for a load of fun, wafting the lanes, partner, picnics, pub lunches, people waving etc. I totally get why people like them. Much more civilised than my S1 Exige and easier (not easy) to get in and out.

Downsides for me were, I don’t like convertibles, it was noisy at speed (not Lotus noisy but much worse than my neighbours JCW mini convertible), no modern features for a long journey (satnav, it does have an amp and speakers) and I felt £76k was a lot of money and I’d be scared to take it on track (cost and no cage).
 

I was impressed but for me a sensible Elise is an Alpine 110 or a Gr86.  I have a GT86 for track days and sprints and it’s slow, comfortable and loads of fun.

if you like, go for it, good car and I think Connor will look after you.

[Elisemadray]

Sounds like you enjoyed your drive Phil  

[Trebor_UK]

On 03/10/2024 at 11:06, Luke Seagrave said:

When the unfortunate day comes that I have to part company with my Lotus Elise, the Morgan will be the car I replace it with. 👍👍

Likewise, deffo an option when my back finally says no to the Elise

[Eric]

Hey Phil

Just for info... Lotus Silverstone has just become an official Morgan dealer, in addition to Lotus (of course), Caterham and, ahem, Subaru.

[maxj0]

I also drove that car a few Saturday's ago at the Central Lotus day. 

It was a total blast - surprisingly quick and the rasping and popping from the exhaust in sport more was hilarous! Roof off. Sun Shining. Great noises from the loud pedal.

The mirrios were frankly useless (I can;t imaging how they let it out of the factory with such nonsense), but overall I loved it. But not perhaps at £70k+.