£100K Garage: Ben Robertson
What would happen if you dedicated the entire £100K to Honda? Allow Ben to show you!
Previously owned: Lotus Elise S1, Skoda Octavia vRS, Peugeot 306 D Turbo, Mazda MX-5, seven or eight Peugeot 205s, Nissan Bluebird and an Austin Allegro!
Currently owned: Honda Insight Gen 2 and a Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI.
On the shortlist: "Having recently bought my first Honda (and loving it - a second generation Insight) I thought it might be possible to do a whole £100K garage with only Honda vehicles, from supercar to shopping car. I wanted to fit a ride-on lawnmower in there as well, but they don't come up that often in the classifieds!"
Cost: £11,500
Balance: £88,500
Why I chose it: The daily but fun Honda. I've always wanted an Integra since my Dad had 'the Honda with the flip-up lights" when I was a kid and we lived in Abu Dhabi. This one might be a little overkill for a daily, but hopefully the supercharger will help fill the torque gap lower in the rev range and increase rather than detract from its driveability. I might have to look at a quieter exhaust though by the sounds of it!
Search all Integras on PH here.
Honda CR-Z
Cost: £9,950
Balance: £78,550
Why I chose it: "The daily but fun Honda for the wife! I was at the Goodwood moving motor show when someone crashed a Mugen Civic into one of these and an E-Type Jag, so sadly I never got to drive it up the hill. A girl from work has a white one and she loves it. With my wife being a sustainable development officer for the local council, a hybrid is the obvious choice. I love the space-age interior as well."
Search all CR-Zs on PH here.
Cost: £7,295
Balance: £71,255
Why I chose it: "The 4x4 Honda for mountain bikes. The CR-V has been a favourite of mine since I saw a special mountain biking edition being demo'd at Swinley Forest in the late 90s. It had hydraulic cranes to lift your bikes onto the roof, a hot shower and jet wash in the back, and a fridge in the front for the after-ride beers. I'm not sure if these options are all available on the newer models, but it'd be the perfect wagon to sling the bikes in the back and head off to the mountains for the weekend."
Search all CR-Vs on PH here.
Honda S2000
Cost: £10,000
Balance: £61,255
Why I chose it: "The summer convertible Honda. Nurburgring Blue, hard top for the winter, convertible for the summer. 8,900 rpm rev limit with the roof off. Reliable roadster with a bit more poke than my old MX-5. This one looks in good nick and has the ubiquitous 'lady owner' on the V5."
Search all S2000s on PH here.
Cost: £18,000
Balance: £43,255
Why I chose it: "No list of Hondas would be complete without a Civic Type R! As I've gone for an Integra daily, it'll have to be this ex-racer as my track day special. I've always felt happier with front-wheel drive on a track, although this Time Attack prepped beast might be a bit more of a handful than the 205 GTI I'm used to!
Search all Civic Type Rs on PH here.
Honda CBR1000RR
Cost: £7,289
Balance: £35,966
Why I chose it: "Of course, you can't ignore Honda's legendary motorbikes. A Fireblade is the obvious weapon for the weekend warrior, but can also be used for touring as my uncle regularly proves with weeks away around France, Italy and Spain on his 1999 model. I wouldn't be averse to changing this for a slightly less hair-raising Super Cub if one popped up in the classifieds though!
The CBR goes under Honda 'other models' - search 'em all here!
Cost: £35,990
Balance: £-24 (we'll let it go, just this once)
Why I chose it: "The supercar Honda! This isn't my perfect NSX, but it's pretty close. Pop-up lights, manual gearbox, UK supplied. I'd be on the hunt for some OEM alloys, and ideally it'd be white, but I'd take a manual over all of those requirements just so I could play at being Senna from THAT video. You know the one (well, just in case you don't...). The NSX still has such a presence, the rear sometimes looking slightly longer than it should, but somehow working with that mix of 80s lines and 90s curves. And without the usual supercar servicing and maintenance cost nightmares.
Search all NSXs on PH here.
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You can squeeze a mountain bike of the DH variety in the back of a DC5 - tested in a friends, and it's pushing me ever closer to getting one over a 'practical' civic type r.
Anyone know where the Mugen Civics have ended up/if any are for sale in the used market?
But having owned a DC5 can't blame you, although I'd forget the DC5, CR-V and the CRZ. Go for the FD2, supercharge that. N/A tune the S2000 and headers only on the NSX.
FD2 for daily driver/family car, S2000 for when you fancy a cross country drive (budget for THE BEST tires you can get, these are very sensitive to that - I'd recommend Michelin Pilot Super Sports or Cup 2s if you've got big enough alloys or Yokohama AD08's).
Another vote for CRV and Fireblade here! I wouldn't mind an NSX too.
I did have an integra DC2 but the lack of torque and general boy-racer feel of it mean it didn't stay long. I tracked it at Donington and it wasn't brilliant either.
A type-R civic from around 2005 is on my hit-list of future cars though - in grey with the premium seats.
1. 1990 NSX in red = £40k
2. 1990 CR 125 R motorcross bike = £1k
3. 1990 Honda RC30 motorbike in white = £10k
4. 1993 Integra DC4 in white = £5k
5. 1999 Insight mk1 in blue = £5k
6. 2000 BF225 Speedboat in red (like the won Clarkson used in Top Gear when he was crossing London) = £39k
Total = £100k
Apols for lack of Jazz - I am a big fan of them. I had a hard time deciding between a Jazz and the CR-Z, but as my wife's mother already has a Jazz Hybrid (in neon lime green, no less) I figured I'd go for the slightly more PH-friendly CR-Z.
If anyone does spot a Honda lawnmower in the classifieds, let me know.
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