What FOTU-worthy car(s) do you fancy owning?
Discussion
If you are unaware of the term, Festival Of The Unexceptional for which I think the cut-off is 25+ years old ie 2001 or older. I'm a little disillusioned at the moment in that there aren't really any what I consider to be modern enough to be daily drivable but "special" cars in my budget ie practical enough for family duties, with a nice engine and without exorbitant running costs. That said, there are plenty of ordinary cars that I am happy to drive on a daily basis that meet my requirements apart from the "special" bit, so I have been thinking that a cheapish and sensible daily and a "modern classic" might be the way to go. I would love a performance car ie an 80s hot hatch or a sports car from the 90s/early 2000s but even these (205 GTi, mk1/2 Golf GTi, 986 Boxster, 6-pot Z3 etc) seem to be going for £10k+ and that's still no guarantee of a nice one and the potential repairs spend on something like a 986 Boxster still easily runs into 4 figures and that's assuming that you can find a rust-free example. Are they really worth it? I'm not so sure.
Which leads me to the more ordinary modern classics, which thanks in part to rarity seem to have gained somewhat of a following in recent years. And perhaps there's some merit in these. Relative simplicity, usually NA engines, manual gearboxes and hydraulic power steering and although not necessarily driver's cars, I think that different cars/manufacturers had a different feel/character and less of a homogeneous driving experience than a modern car. Let's be honest, most modern cars are competent but dull, so not much to differentiate between them other than styling, spec and price.
So these are some of the FOTU-worthy modern classics that I quite fancy owning, all 4/5 seaters, as being able to enjoy them with my family is important to me, daily usable as and when required, shouldn't be too ruinous to run and although I would normally favour an estate over a saloon, I'm not going to be loading it up to the roof and using it and abusing it like I would a modern estate/SUV, so I think that I would lean towards a saloon (and as a bonus a saloon should be a bit cheaper). You should be able to get a nice example (if you can find one) of any of these for c£5k or less?
Audi A4 B5 - aside from the original quattro, I think that this and the original A8 are the best-looking Audis ever made and significant in that for better or worse, they led Audi into mainstream acceptance but spare parts may have become difficult to get hold of at this point?
mk3 Golf Gti - I have owned a mk2, a mk4, several mk5s and a mk7 Golf so the mk3 is my only major gap really. Not a great hot hatch by all accounts but if you think of it as a trim level, it was quite a nice car and has a certain "retro" charm? I haven't seen a 16v for sale for years, which would be preferable (what happened to these, did they all get broken for their engines?) but the occasional 8v pops up and the 20th anniversary version looks particularly smart.
Mercedes-Benz 190 E/W124 E-Class - I've traditionally been more of a BMW man (I would love another E30 325i but I think the ship has sailed on finding a nice one for this budget) but I have come to admire this era of Mercedes-Benz in recent years and these two and the R129 SL were probably "peak" Mercedes IMHO. A 2 litre 190 E would probably be acceptable but a 2.6 would be really nice or probably one of the straight six petrols in the W124?
Ford Sierra - Yeah I know that the mk1 Mondeo was probably the better car but the Sierra was the quintessential family car of my childhood, still had the kudos of being RWD, the Cosworth halo-effect probably helped and I've just always liked them. An XR4x4 is probably out of the question and something like a 1.8 LX more FOTU-worthy but a facelift 2.0 GLS/Ghia hatchback would do nicely.
Vauxhall Vectra (B) V6 Sri - again the Mondeo of the era was widely considered to be the superior drive but I always had a bit of a thing for these as it was the first "nice" car that I drove at Oulton Park aged 19 on a Vauxhall customer appreciation day!
Rover 75 V6/800 Coupe - sold these new briefly and although I was a bit young for them at the time, I always really liked them secretly.
Rover 200 R8 - I would have really liked to have owned one of these back in the day but I couldn't find a nice one in my budget at the time, so had to settle for a mk3 Astra instead. Probably triggered the early 90s renaissance for Rover though where for a few years a Rover became a desirable brand again and a bit of a cut above a Ford or Vauxhall. With the 1.4 K-Series and 1.6 Honda petrol engines and smart interior and exterior styling, a great little car.
Citroen Xantia TD - I always rather admired this rather oddball 90s repmobile, probably best experienced with the legendary XUDT or later 2.0 Hdi engine. Felt a lot more solid than a BX and a lot more stylish than the C5 that came after. Alongside the Saxo/ZX/XM, a great era for modern Citroen IMHO.
Volvo 850 T5 - still probably my favourite (and the coolest?) Volvo, very competitive in the BTCC, disarmingly quick and a lovely 5-pot soundtrack.
90s Nissan Primera/Honda Accord - I think it was the (P2?) Primera and the late 90s Accord that was available with a Type R variant. Nissan/Honda both knew how to build a great car in the 90s. Both great to drive, well-built, reliable, so far ahead of much of the competition of the time in many respects.
Of the above, I'm probably leaning most towards either of the Mercedes if for no reason that there is a decent selection of them available around my budget, as some of the others although once plentiful only come up for sale very occasionally!
So what FOTU-worthy cars do you quite fancy owning?
Which leads me to the more ordinary modern classics, which thanks in part to rarity seem to have gained somewhat of a following in recent years. And perhaps there's some merit in these. Relative simplicity, usually NA engines, manual gearboxes and hydraulic power steering and although not necessarily driver's cars, I think that different cars/manufacturers had a different feel/character and less of a homogeneous driving experience than a modern car. Let's be honest, most modern cars are competent but dull, so not much to differentiate between them other than styling, spec and price.
So these are some of the FOTU-worthy modern classics that I quite fancy owning, all 4/5 seaters, as being able to enjoy them with my family is important to me, daily usable as and when required, shouldn't be too ruinous to run and although I would normally favour an estate over a saloon, I'm not going to be loading it up to the roof and using it and abusing it like I would a modern estate/SUV, so I think that I would lean towards a saloon (and as a bonus a saloon should be a bit cheaper). You should be able to get a nice example (if you can find one) of any of these for c£5k or less?
Audi A4 B5 - aside from the original quattro, I think that this and the original A8 are the best-looking Audis ever made and significant in that for better or worse, they led Audi into mainstream acceptance but spare parts may have become difficult to get hold of at this point?
mk3 Golf Gti - I have owned a mk2, a mk4, several mk5s and a mk7 Golf so the mk3 is my only major gap really. Not a great hot hatch by all accounts but if you think of it as a trim level, it was quite a nice car and has a certain "retro" charm? I haven't seen a 16v for sale for years, which would be preferable (what happened to these, did they all get broken for their engines?) but the occasional 8v pops up and the 20th anniversary version looks particularly smart.
Mercedes-Benz 190 E/W124 E-Class - I've traditionally been more of a BMW man (I would love another E30 325i but I think the ship has sailed on finding a nice one for this budget) but I have come to admire this era of Mercedes-Benz in recent years and these two and the R129 SL were probably "peak" Mercedes IMHO. A 2 litre 190 E would probably be acceptable but a 2.6 would be really nice or probably one of the straight six petrols in the W124?
Ford Sierra - Yeah I know that the mk1 Mondeo was probably the better car but the Sierra was the quintessential family car of my childhood, still had the kudos of being RWD, the Cosworth halo-effect probably helped and I've just always liked them. An XR4x4 is probably out of the question and something like a 1.8 LX more FOTU-worthy but a facelift 2.0 GLS/Ghia hatchback would do nicely.
Vauxhall Vectra (B) V6 Sri - again the Mondeo of the era was widely considered to be the superior drive but I always had a bit of a thing for these as it was the first "nice" car that I drove at Oulton Park aged 19 on a Vauxhall customer appreciation day!
Rover 75 V6/800 Coupe - sold these new briefly and although I was a bit young for them at the time, I always really liked them secretly.
Rover 200 R8 - I would have really liked to have owned one of these back in the day but I couldn't find a nice one in my budget at the time, so had to settle for a mk3 Astra instead. Probably triggered the early 90s renaissance for Rover though where for a few years a Rover became a desirable brand again and a bit of a cut above a Ford or Vauxhall. With the 1.4 K-Series and 1.6 Honda petrol engines and smart interior and exterior styling, a great little car.
Citroen Xantia TD - I always rather admired this rather oddball 90s repmobile, probably best experienced with the legendary XUDT or later 2.0 Hdi engine. Felt a lot more solid than a BX and a lot more stylish than the C5 that came after. Alongside the Saxo/ZX/XM, a great era for modern Citroen IMHO.
Volvo 850 T5 - still probably my favourite (and the coolest?) Volvo, very competitive in the BTCC, disarmingly quick and a lovely 5-pot soundtrack.
90s Nissan Primera/Honda Accord - I think it was the (P2?) Primera and the late 90s Accord that was available with a Type R variant. Nissan/Honda both knew how to build a great car in the 90s. Both great to drive, well-built, reliable, so far ahead of much of the competition of the time in many respects.
Of the above, I'm probably leaning most towards either of the Mercedes if for no reason that there is a decent selection of them available around my budget, as some of the others although once plentiful only come up for sale very occasionally!
So what FOTU-worthy cars do you quite fancy owning?
To me unexceptional means white goods cars. A former ECOTY winner or a car that really moved the game on, like the Mk1 Focus isn't unexceptional.
Unless FOTU is just a trendy brand for 'dad's cars' or affordable classics?
The Audi A6 C5 Avant is as well styled as the original A8 and A4 B5. It may be white goods, but well styled cars.
Unless FOTU is just a trendy brand for 'dad's cars' or affordable classics?
The Audi A6 C5 Avant is as well styled as the original A8 and A4 B5. It may be white goods, but well styled cars.
ARH said:
Saw a very tidy Peugeot 205 diesel the other day, I think I would quite like that.
That is a tough one. The 205 was great car, and was everywhere, was the 205 exceptional?I reckon the Mk1 Focus is exceptional, but I am not sure, or don't know or appreciate that the 205 may be equally as exceptional.
Even if a Mk1 Focus estate in a non-metallic colour in a sub Zetec trim level may unexceptional, the main core of the car would still be exceptional and a nice drive.
Many of the suggestions read like normal class car show material to me.
127Sport said:
Mk3 Ford Granada hatch. Much nicer than a Sierra IMHO.
FIAT Marea Weekend, or a saloon with the 2.0 5-cyl - the most under-rated family car of the era IMHO.
Good call on the Marea. The 5 pot is special though. FIAT Marea Weekend, or a saloon with the 2.0 5-cyl - the most under-rated family car of the era IMHO.
Toledo V5? So a MkIV Golf with a stylish saloon body and a V5 engine?
carinaman said:
127Sport said:
Mk3 Ford Granada hatch. Much nicer than a Sierra IMHO.
FIAT Marea Weekend, or a saloon with the 2.0 5-cyl - the most under-rated family car of the era IMHO.
Good call on the Marea. The 5 pot is special though. FIAT Marea Weekend, or a saloon with the 2.0 5-cyl - the most under-rated family car of the era IMHO.
Toledo V5? So a MkIV Golf with a stylish saloon body and a V5 engine?
Away from that, how about a Ulysse, actually pictured at FOTU in this ad...
https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C2106013
Jader1973 said:
Merc 190, W124, and 850 T5 are not unexceptional. Neither is an Accord Type R.
You need a Lada, an FSO, or a Maestro / Montego - cars that were s
te when they were new and have all but died out because they were ste when they were new.
I didn't know the designation on that generation Accord, so I was meaning just a 2.0 hatch variant than the Type R version, which I agree is not exceptional. You may have a point on the Volvo too but I see a few 850 T5-R/850Rs come up as estates but can't remember the last time that I saw a standard 850 T5 saloon, which looked pretty plain/unexceptional unless you knew. Perhaps the Volvo 240 is a better candidate but I don't think that a FOTU-worthy car has to be s***. Who intentionally wants to own a s**** car? Top 3 cars this year were a 2001 Polo, a 2001 Focus and a 1992 Previa, none of which I would say were s***. I think that if it was a popular car once bought in droves by people who weren't necessarily enthusiasts and got to a price level where if something major went wrong, it wouldn't economically be worth saving then that makes it FOTU-worthy and that's not mutually exclusive of it being a good car, just that it isn't or wasn't sufficiently rare for you to bother saving it rather than just go out and buy another one.You need a Lada, an FSO, or a Maestro / Montego - cars that were s
te when they were new and have all but died out because they were ste when they were new.mk1 Focus is an interesting one though. I don't think that it being an excellent car precludes it, they were once very ubiquitous but I still think of it as a modern car and wouldn't think twice about using one daily. A 30+ year old Renault 5/Clio however, although quite chic little cars and a pure hit of nostalgia would give me pause for thought, as even my 10 year old Clio is a bit of a rolling restoration project and tries to shake itself to pieces on a daily basis!
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