For anyone who loves cars for the driving experience, a Caterham is a must have in your car dream garage. But with borderline no practicality making them a second car at best, and with prices starting just shy of £20,000 (arguably more if you want something that packs a reasonable punch), it is understandable why, for many, owning one will only ever be a dream.
However with “the perfect synergy of fun driving and affordability for the new or experienced Seven owner”, Caterham believe their new Seven 160 is the cure to every car-garage fantasist’s headache.
Under £15,000
Coming in at just under £15,000, they may not be too far off the mark on the affordability front – especially when these start coming through second hand (if you dare buy a home-built sports car from a man in a shed, that is). But everything else isn’t looking too promising.
Tech Specs
The Seven 160 is powered by a tiny 3-cylinder engine out of a Suzuki Jimny and produces a measly 80bhp. Weighing in at just 490kg does mean that it can do 0-60 in less than 7 seconds, though. But that is in the standard model. If you want anything other than a steering wheel on your dash, you’re going to be paying more, adding weight, and losing valuable seconds.
It’s alright though; you can have just as much fun in a Caterham without mind-numbing speed, right? Well, yes. But unfortunately, not in this one. To keep it under £15k and the half-ton mark, the Seven 160 has rid of the semi-independent and fully-independent rear axles seen on other Seven models, and has gone to the dark ages with a live rear axle. Meaning a car aimed at the new, inexperienced Caterham owner is going to be a handful to drive.
Raw Driving Experience
OK, so Caterham has always been about the raw driving experience that, you could say, doesn’t need rocket-like power and fancy mechanics – it should be about the driver being at one with the road and feeling every dip, crevice, and cat’s-eye through their fingertips. But by the time you’ve added a few necessary optional extras, you’ve spent almost £20k on the Seven 160 and have a car that, realistically, most modern-day hot hatches can easily keep-up with.
Verdict
In all honesty, I’d probably keep my second car fund and save for a few more years until I can get at least the Roadsport 140. As the 10-car fantasist type, I have a daily commuter that’s already fun enough to enjoy any weekend A-road assault more than I would in the Seven 160. And it has a roof.
