Picking up a new car is fun, isn’t it? Well, recently I went to pick up ‘my’ new long termer – and one that I’d be waiting quite a while to collect. Fun? Too right.
I’d been badgering the guys at Caterham to give us a long termer Seven for some time. Eventually, after several phone calls and several hundred emails, they gave in – which is why recently I arrived at its Crawley headquarters to collect a ‘Lava Orange’ 310S.
So what have we got? Well, as mentioned this Seven is a 310S meaning it’s powered by a Ford-sourced 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine, driving the rear wheels via a five-speed manual. It produces 152bhp and, in a car which weighs just 540kg, that means it’ll reach 60mph in 4.9 seconds. Brisk enough, then.
Many people (my girlfriend included) cannot abide by the idea of a Caterham. “It’s too noisy,” they shriek “why is everything rattling,” they cry, “where are the heated seats?”, about three of them ask – and so it continues. I disagree with all of them.
Why? Well, because they’re all wrong, obviously. Yes, I understand that driving a Caterham requires a lot of compromise. They’re relatively demanding to drive, completely exposed to the elements and can leave you feeling a little vulnerable, especially on the motorway. However, throw these aside and you’re left with a car which provides an experience that no other vehicle can.
The gearchange, for instance, has all of the precision you could want while the steering gives instant feedback of the road surface. It’s a refreshing change to the more ‘standard’ cars on sale today, and one which leaves you remembering just why you liked cars in the first place.
Our car, I’ll admit, comes in at a rather hefty £32,995. What does that get you? Well, it includes a £2,500 charge to have the car assembled at the factory (you can do this at home – requiring you have the space, time and patience), as well as a further £2,500 for the wide body SV chassis. The S pack costs £2,995, and this includes 15-inch alloy wheels, a fully carpeted interior as well as black leather seats – there’s even a 12-volt socket to charge your phone through. The S pack is the more road-suited of the Caterham additions – another R pack is available, and this brings with it gripper track-suited tyres, as well as a limited-slip differential.
First impressions? Well, our car has done just over 5,000 miles, and feels as right as rain. It has brand new tyres fitted too, and though these will need a touch of running in before they’re at maximum grip, they feel more than adequate at keeping the 310S planted. The engine is a delight to control, rev-happy and eager to get going – much like any Caterham – it’s a unit that responds to being worked hard, which is made all the easier thanks to the gearbox’s wonderful action.
The day is here! Collection of our new long term Caterham 310S. pic.twitter.com/sz9eIDlFEp
— Jack Evans (@jackrober) July 21, 2017
As you can see, I’m already pretty smitten with our new 310S. I think that it deserves a name – I’ll have worked one out by the time a follow-up report is written – as cars with this much character need to be called something, right?
I think that there are going to be a far few eventful trips in this little car – hopefully a few of them around a circuit – and I’m wholeheartedly looking forward to undertaking them. There are drawbacks to Caterham ownership – and I’m sure that there are a few that I haven’t yet discovered – but I’m adamant that they are all worthwhile. We’ll find out over the next six months.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH: Getting to grips with our latest long-term test car
Model: Caterham Seven 310S SV
Price: £32,995
Engine: 1.6-litre petrol
Power: 152bhp
Torque: 168Nm
Max speed: 127mph
0-60mph: 4.9 seconds
MPG (COMBINED): N/A
Emissions: N/A
Mileage: 5,700
