Up to date cars

This should hopefully bring us up to date.

2004/54-plate.  I traded the ZT in...  and got a ZS.  Reason? I wanted something a little bit quicker.  But I loved the KV6 engine.  The ZT190 wouldn't have been enough of a change and isn't as quick as the ZS180 either.

I got a 5dr MkII in Goodwood Green, with Leather and Alcantara interior.  0-60 in just over 7secs, and it handles superbly.  Had it 2 yrs now, and I think it's almost time for it to go.  We also bought a 2nd ZS180 for the wife, and for use on track days (see seperate page for toys & trackdays).  It was a 4dr MkI but it just wasn't as quick, so we sold it 6mths later.

It really comes in to its own when you hit mid revs...  but I think we are going to get a toy early 2007.  So I may get another work-horse instead of the ZS (maybe another Freelander).

Recommend? Yes.  The interior of the MkI is very dated, but they are very cheap for the amount of car.  If possible, I'd recommend you get a MkII.  Updated interior that is now bearable to look at, wider track at the front and to my eye, better exterior styling.  If getting an older one, watch out for the cam-belt change at 6yrs or 90Kmiles....  it's a bit of a price.

2003/03-plate.  Bought this for the wife...  for a while she was bombing around in a Rover 420GSI, which to be honest wasn't great.  We bought it as a cheap run-about.  Anyway traded it in against an MGZR105 which is powered by the 1.4 K-series.  Just like the K-series in the 216si we had years earlier, it was punchy and did not feel like a 1.4...  0-60 = 10secs.

My mate (who had crashed his Subaru STI with PPP) needed a lift to pick his car up after it had been fixed.  I took him in the wifes car, along the back roads and roundabouts.  He commented on the fact that it was pretty nippy, and was very surprised when I told him it was a 1.4.  In fact his response was "This must be the quickest 1.4 I've been in then".  It really did handle well that little thing.  Ride was a little crashy but who cares.  Interior was bland and dated, with cheap hard plastics.  She kept that for around 2yrs.  We sold it privately and received a call from the new owner a few months later to say it was written off...

Recommend?  The handling made it easier to keep the speed up through corners, which meant you could cover ground quicker than most 1.4's.  When you did have to drop off the boil though, it showed that it needed more power.  Get a 160 with the 1.8vvc,

Well...   after aching for a TVR Tuscan...  and overcoming my fears with the Speed6 engine...  the final straw was the uncertainty with TVR as a company.

In short, I bottled it...  I opted out.  But what an opt out !!  This is a 135R...  developed by Lotus Sport & Performance (limited to 125 models).  Mine is number 124.  It has a 1.8K-series (non-vvc), but the head is gas-flowed/ported and with some ECU tweaks, inlet manifold changed etc etc...  it comes from Lotus with 'at least' 135bhp.  Now, that sounds really puney (and it took me a while to be comfortable with a figure that low).  However, the 135R is stripped out by a further 100kg over a standard Elise.  So it weighs just 710Kg.

It also get Lotus Sport Suspension (adjustable ride height), adjustable front anti-roll bar, special lightweight OZ wheels.  It's designed to run on Yokohama A048 tyres (cut slicks).  Mine also has a Lotus Sport Exhaust (Janspeed) and a PiperX Viper Induction kit over the normal 135R...  so it shifts 0-60 on 5.1secs...  fairly quick then.