So what's your car journey been like?
Discussion
It’s a quiet day at work today, so I thought I’d post my “car journey” up on here.
Like most on here, I love cars…absolutely adore them and consider myself a proper petrol head. Anyway, this is my car journey…..
It all started with a couple of bog-standard MK4 Ford Fiestas (1.25 litre). My uncle worked for Ford and we (as a family) got a great discount on them (including free insurance!). I don't have photo's but the first one looked like this:
1997 - Ford Fiesta 1.25
1998 - Ford Fiesta 1.25
...and the other one looked like this:
They were fine to run around in and help build up the no-claims bonus, but after a couple of years , it was time to upgrade to my first real performance car, the Caterham Superlight
1999 - Caterham Superlight
This little beast was built at the Caterham factory in Dartford and going from a 1.25 litre Fiesta to a 135bhp 460kg Superlight was...ermm....interesting!! The handling, noise, acceleration just blew me away and I’d never driven anything like it before.
I ran the Caterham for 2 years and covered 24,000 miles it in! It's still the most fun car I've owned, but not the best due to its lack of practicality, although at the time it was my only car :lol:
2001 - Lotus Elise Sport 135
The Caterham was sold for a Lotus Elise Sport 135 (S2) and although it was slower than the Caterham, it was a great little car to blast around country lanes! Do you notice the “yellow” theme I had going on back then? :lol:
2003 - JCW Mini Cooper S
After having had a couple of fairly impraticle cars as my “only” car and wanting to keep some sort of performance, the Elise was replaced with a JCW Mini. This car had a few mods on it, including a full Miltek manifold and airbox. It dyno'd at 215bhp so wasn't too slow
I had a lot of fun in the Mini and the various owners clubs were a good bunch. I spent WAAAY too much time on Mini2.com
I really loved the little Mini and it was the first car that actually had a decent stereo (HK system), decent performance and good handling (not as good as the Caterham or Elise, but still good).
2006 - MKV Golf R32
After running the Mini for 3 years, I sold it and replaced it with a nice big V6 in the form of an R32 Golf.....BIG mistake!! The R32 was the worst car (excluding the Fiestas) that I had ever owned! Don't get me started on why, but sufficed to say that it was NOT good!
2008 - Lotus Elise SC
In a "return to form" moment, I was very lucky to get a fairly decent price for the R32 and swapped it over for the superb Lotus Elise SC. What can I say, 220bhp, 850(ish) kgs and a real hoot to drive. I loved this little car and it reminded me of the Caterham and my old Elise, albeit with more power.
2010 - Lotus Exige S (260)
After owning a couple of Elises, the chance came up to own (at a great price) a Lotus Exige. I'd always loved the Exige and its aggressive looks, so it was an easy swap. Having said that, I did miss the open top nature of the Elise.
As you can probably tell from the number of photos, I really did enjoy the Exige. It was taken back to Lotus HQ in Hethel for a “260” upgrade which included putting in a lightweight flywheel, new ECU and new fuel pump. The result was a much more “perky” power-range, stronger mid-range and some awesome acceleration!!
However after a few years of being married, my wife and I decided to start a family, so the Exige wasn’t going to be the most practical car to put a baby in. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but through a various series of events, ended up flying to Geneva to the motorshow?!
The show was great, but when I set eyes on this, I just knew it was the answer to replacing the Exige!
….and the rest is history
Feel free to add your car journey
Like most on here, I love cars…absolutely adore them and consider myself a proper petrol head. Anyway, this is my car journey…..
It all started with a couple of bog-standard MK4 Ford Fiestas (1.25 litre). My uncle worked for Ford and we (as a family) got a great discount on them (including free insurance!). I don't have photo's but the first one looked like this:
1997 - Ford Fiesta 1.25
1998 - Ford Fiesta 1.25
...and the other one looked like this:
They were fine to run around in and help build up the no-claims bonus, but after a couple of years , it was time to upgrade to my first real performance car, the Caterham Superlight
1999 - Caterham Superlight
This little beast was built at the Caterham factory in Dartford and going from a 1.25 litre Fiesta to a 135bhp 460kg Superlight was...ermm....interesting!! The handling, noise, acceleration just blew me away and I’d never driven anything like it before.
I ran the Caterham for 2 years and covered 24,000 miles it in! It's still the most fun car I've owned, but not the best due to its lack of practicality, although at the time it was my only car :lol:
2001 - Lotus Elise Sport 135
The Caterham was sold for a Lotus Elise Sport 135 (S2) and although it was slower than the Caterham, it was a great little car to blast around country lanes! Do you notice the “yellow” theme I had going on back then? :lol:
2003 - JCW Mini Cooper S
After having had a couple of fairly impraticle cars as my “only” car and wanting to keep some sort of performance, the Elise was replaced with a JCW Mini. This car had a few mods on it, including a full Miltek manifold and airbox. It dyno'd at 215bhp so wasn't too slow
I had a lot of fun in the Mini and the various owners clubs were a good bunch. I spent WAAAY too much time on Mini2.com
I really loved the little Mini and it was the first car that actually had a decent stereo (HK system), decent performance and good handling (not as good as the Caterham or Elise, but still good).
2006 - MKV Golf R32
After running the Mini for 3 years, I sold it and replaced it with a nice big V6 in the form of an R32 Golf.....BIG mistake!! The R32 was the worst car (excluding the Fiestas) that I had ever owned! Don't get me started on why, but sufficed to say that it was NOT good!
2008 - Lotus Elise SC
In a "return to form" moment, I was very lucky to get a fairly decent price for the R32 and swapped it over for the superb Lotus Elise SC. What can I say, 220bhp, 850(ish) kgs and a real hoot to drive. I loved this little car and it reminded me of the Caterham and my old Elise, albeit with more power.
2010 - Lotus Exige S (260)
After owning a couple of Elises, the chance came up to own (at a great price) a Lotus Exige. I'd always loved the Exige and its aggressive looks, so it was an easy swap. Having said that, I did miss the open top nature of the Elise.
As you can probably tell from the number of photos, I really did enjoy the Exige. It was taken back to Lotus HQ in Hethel for a “260” upgrade which included putting in a lightweight flywheel, new ECU and new fuel pump. The result was a much more “perky” power-range, stronger mid-range and some awesome acceleration!!
However after a few years of being married, my wife and I decided to start a family, so the Exige wasn’t going to be the most practical car to put a baby in. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but through a various series of events, ended up flying to Geneva to the motorshow?!
The show was great, but when I set eyes on this, I just knew it was the answer to replacing the Exige!
….and the rest is history
Feel free to add your car journey
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff