I've read all the posts in this thread and they are a puzzle to me. As I commented elsewhere, I still dont "get" the trad morgan but I can accept that they are to the taste of most forum members. Definitely an enthusiasts car and one for which you show a lot of enthusiasm. But in this thread we have a discussion of other sports cars, some bought as Morgan replacements, others bought as additions to the family Mog. And what is puzzling is the nature of some of the cars discussed which are miles away from a Morgan in their nature. Cars like the SLK or the Z4 are heavy, complicated, lack driving edge, dont really encourage sporty driving. Convertibles not sports cars. The old XK jag is even worse - good looking but a lumbering lump of a car.
By now some of you will see what I'm coming to. Why dont you consider a true reliable british sports car like a Lotus. If you want a slightly more civilised version but still with Porsche quality handling rather than SLK, then there is the Evora. For the true enthusiast the Elise / Exige.
This is the board for discussion of non Morgans so I believe you wont mind me raising the L word. But seriously, why would car enthusiasts ( and you have to be an enthusiast to buy a Morgan) go for German hairdresser convertibles ( your description not mine
) and not even consider the other british sports car?
You raise some very valid points Howard and if it had been a replacement "sports car" for myself then I may well have looked at other "enthusiast" alternatives. I've not had a modern Lotus, but they do appeal in some ways as a pure driving machine and in that respect I agree that they are perhaps more of direct, modern competitor to the Plus 4. However, I have another "fine days only" harder edged driving machine that competes for the all too rare dry, sunny days in NW England, and the car is for my wife. So, we both felt that something more civilised, more comfortable, with greater usability was the correct option for us at this stage. I agree that the SLK isn't a true sports car, it's a softer, cruising roadster with higher levels of practicality and safety, and we like it so far.
Also, as I've discussed a couple of times recently with other TM'ers, this years Le Mans Classic trip was a turning point in our Morgan ownership. In truth, the return journey was hard work. Biblical rain through Northern France in 22C temperatures meant that the hood was "up and down like a brides nighty"; too hot and humid with the hood up, too wet to run with it down. So not easy, or pleasant, and the 300 mile journey home from Portsmouth on our deteriorating British motorways was just draining. We enjoyed the Morgan for 50 or 60 mile blasts in this country, but as I've said before, that was getting a little repetitive and the romantic vision of further continental road trips was knocked firmly on the head after Le Mans trip.
Finally, I'll just add a little more feedback now that we've done 1,650 miles in the SLK. The engine is run in now and is just starting to free up a little. It's burned virtually no oil to date, about 1-2mm drop on a 25mm max-min range on the dip stick (whereas I usually find that a new engine will use ~0.5 to 1.0 lt in the bedding in process). There are still no creaks or rattles despite having had the hood up and down numerous times in France. Overall it is still averaging 51.3mpg on the OBC and we're seeing mid 50's on a long motorway run and mid 40's on the shorter mixed town/country trips. The only negative so far is the prodigious amount of brake dust (which is of a rather oily consistency and so hard to wipe off) on the front wheels. The disc rotors are large, ventilated and cross drilled items, much larger than the rears so with a significant amount of the overall braking effort on the front axle. Initially I thought that the excessive dust was resulting from the surface machining marks on the discs, but these have gone now and the swept area is smooth and more polished. I guess it's something we'll just have to live with.
