What is the difference

[Marcellus]

I'll start with an apology....I do not intent to offend/upset/annoy anyone with this question!!

I have sold my current car as I no longer need a car with a dual personality and can have one which is 100% hooligan!!

So, I'm looking at a "caterham type" car and very quickly get confused between Caterhams, Super 7s, Westfield, Tigers & Dax Rushs.

So my question is "what is the tangible difference between them all"

Or is it like asking whats the difference between a Golf R32, Focus ST, Astra VXR?

Edited by Marcellus on Friday 12th October 15:54

[casbar]

How much its going to cost to buy

A Caterham will cost more new and used. Is it better value, don't know, I've only ever owned Caterhams. This has been covered before, do a search.

[ham]

Hi,
Had a test drive in Westfields demonstrator, found the ride bumpy, the throttle pedel kept sticking and the rain leaked through the hood.
Recently built a Roadsport 1.6 Sigma, best thing I ever did (building and driving) love every minute of it.

[jackal]

Marcellus said:

"what is the tangible difference between them all"

build quality
quality of componenets
difficulty of self-build
subjective feel of the car
handling character
cost
depreciation
where its sits on the "pensioners chariot" scale aesthetically

etc..

in summary: get a caterham if you have the money, else, get a westfield but be prepared to get laughed at and have it plummet to the value of a satchet of cup-o-soup when you come to sell it again

[Murph7355]

In this particular sphere , you definitely get what you pay for. End of story.

[Lost my mojo]

Caterhams are pretty tho...

Go to a show and then go see each individual car and get a demo and make your own mind up.

Or get a Slyva Mojo... obvioulsy!!!

Andy

[menostig]

I have owned and tracked several 'sevens' but only one Caterham. Everything is designed, and works, properly in a Caterham. You get the benefit of 50 years of evolution and hundreds of thousands of development miles. Do not underestimate that. They also don't depreciate like others. And the looks are spot on, rather than not quite right. My Sylva Striker was next best, and loads cheaper, I wouldn't mind another one of those one day although it wasn't as quick on bumpy roads.

[taffyracer]

I'm just about to embark on an R400 build now and have looked at Westfield's years ago and some more recently at a track day, for me the difference is the quality of the engineering, Caterham's simply look designed to be a proper car whilst some of the others look like kit cars, they just look better built and better thought out, they also as mentioned have better RV's, it's a no brainer in my book

[Snake the Sniper]

taffyracer said:

I'm just about to embark on an R400 build now and have looked at Westfield's years ago and some more recently at a track day, for me the difference is the quality of the engineering, Caterham's simply look designed to be a proper car whilst some of the others look like kit cars, they just look better built and better thought out, they also as mentioned have better RV's, it's a no brainer in my book

Whilst I agree with the engineering comment, may I be pedantic for a moment? They are ALL kit cars. Just some are built at the factory, others in your garage.
As for the Caterham's looking like proper cars, and the others different, I'd imagine most of that is down to their size. My Indy sat next to one looks huge! But I don't fit in the Cat's I've been in before, where as I have room to spare in mine.

Edited to say, it's only a no brainer if you have the money to buy one! Mine cost £5k for a bike engine'd version. Can you buy any Caterham at that price?

Edited by Snake the Sniper on Sunday 14th October 15:33

[Marcellus]

thanks for all your input guys...so given my budget (c£10,000) it seems that you all believe that the Caterham will represent the better car!!

[Snake the Sniper]

One thing that may be worth considering is this: would you actually be able to tell the difference between a £10k Caterham and a , just for example's sake, £5k MK Indy? I know my car has obvious faults and is not as good, but I'm not a good enough/experienced enough driver to notice. It's the most planted, fastest thing I have ever driven, and that's goon enough for me. I'm not saying don't buy a Caterham, I would if I had the spare money, just you may be able to have as much fun for a little less money, or save some money for the inevitable upgrades!

[taffyracer]

Yes I believe I would, they may all be be kit cars essentially but the quality difference is clear, for 5k though you might have a point!

[Marcellus]

this is my dilemna.....£10k to spend...Mrs M has approved the purchase...will be using it in the French Alps (as that's where I'll be living)...so whilst I could get a genuine caterham..could I get an equally balanced car with a silly engine in.....say Dax Rush or something?

[Eric Mc]

You might find better Caterham support on the Continent. Or you could try a Dutch Dankewoort - which are even more expensive.

[Snake the Sniper]

How handy are you with a spanner? That may be a deciding factor, as there may not be a garage any where near you that will have a clue about these type of cars. They are easy to work on, but getting parts etc could possibly be a problem on the continent. Especially if you don't know where the part came from originally. However, if you build it, it will make life much easier in the future.

[Marcellus]

I'm not that handy with spanners, but Mrs M is a mechanical engineer so she does the dirty work!!

[taffyracer]

10k should buy a nice Caterham, that'd be my choice, silly engines are all well but if is not backed up by decent engineering then it's useless, for me it's all about the handling

[Noger]

Not sure £10kgets you that nice an example. Bit of pinch point really. £15k gets you more choice.

[Marcellus]

SO given my Budget, and location, if I were to buy a Factory Built Caterham would it be easier to get spare parts (even if I had to pay for shipping from Catherham themselves)?

Or do Caterham change/upgrade parts relatively frequently?

[RobM77]

I don't wish to open the old can of worms again, but bear in mind the following:

• Just because it looks the same doesn't mean it is the same. They all drive very differently - have a few test drives and passenger rides. See if you can find the back issue of Circuit Driver where Mark Hales tests all the 7 clones - he's a 7 cynic, so the best man for the job. My vote (and Mark's) is for the Caterham. Most people agree that the Westfield is closest.

• The Caterham club is probably the best car club I've ever been involved with. This alone would swing it for me.