£100K Garage: James Sutlow

From Berlingo to ballistic Jag estate, James covers all bases in some style for his £100K

Name: James Sutlow
Previously owned: Peugeot 106 Rallye (x2), Peugeot 306 Rallye, Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta
Currently owned: Honda S2000
On the shortlist: Something simple and fun, something practical but quirky, something to cherish.

Mazda MX-5 Mk3
Cost: £6,495
Balance: £93,505
Why I chose it: "The classic PH choice! The obvious replacement in my mind for my S2000, a fun car that can be enjoyed every day with the top down. I used the S2000 for a 40-mile daily commute for a year and soon realised that outright power is unimportant when you're sat in traffic most of the time. When that A-B gets too tedious though, something that can be pointed down the next B-road and put a smile on your face without breaking the speed limit is the ideal. When apportioning my budget I had a rough idea that £15-20,000 would be spent on the roadster option, though with an overspend on the other choices this one ticks the boxes with the 2.0 engine and a lightweight soft top.

Honda NSX
Cost: £39,990
Balance: £53,515
Why I chose it: "As a child of the 90s, the NSX was one of my bedroom wall poster cars and one that I always admired much more than more exotic machinery. I've always preferred the clean, simple lines of the pre-facelift which I think have aged well and retain a classy look. The 3.0 VTEC more than makes up for the power sacrifice of the MX-5 giving me a car that I could take out on the weekends for a blat across the wilds of Exmoor. Black on red is the colour combination to have here ("Cadbury" purple would be a close second) and this immaculate manual example is worth spending extra for.

Jaguar XF R-S Sportbrake
Cost: £52,480
Balance: £1,035
Why I chose it: "Living with an S2000 for the past four years has been relatively painless, but there are always those occasions where I could have used something more practical. You can't go shopping without worrying about what fits in the boot, you can't offer a lift to more than one person and the tip run is always comical... My previous choices are no better in this respect. I love the idea of a fast estate and whilst the Audi RS Avants are the usual go to I'd fancy something a little more leftfield. The XF is a such a superb design and a car that no doubt kicked an ailing British manufacturer in the right direction. I'd have liked the subtlety of an XF R in a dark green or blue shade but lack of options in the classifieds have warranted the selection of this shouty Racing Blue number.

Citroen Berlingo Multispace
Cost: £895
Balance: £140
Why I chose it: "Don't laugh! I decided that three cars was a maximum for my garage and that the XF would be the workhorse but with a grand left over on the budget it would make sense to have something in the garage that isn't RWD for when the weather gets bad and that was cheap enough to not care about. I'd have liked a Nissan X-Trail for this job as my mum's early example has served her well for almost 10 years but I've gone for another of her previous cars. With its van origins and PSA diesel the Berlingo is an automotive cockroach that'll stand anything that's chucked at it and can outperform a Tardis on storage space. And who doesn't want royal blue and terracotta seats anyway?"