What is the difference
Discussion
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?
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
Marcellus said:
"what is the tangible difference between them all"
build qualityquality 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
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.
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
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
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!
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.
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.
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