Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms If I were to buy a trad.............

I think Morgans like all other car brands has it 's mix of driver's, their very different driving styles and the various uses to which they put their car. I thought from the outset, that this was just a 'noise' posting.of no real substance.........so I'm not at all surprised by the conclusion/outcome..

Ah Tim, that puts me in mind of a white Tesla who passed us last summer at perhaps twice our speed: we were extremely amused to find him having his collar felt by the gendarmes at the next village. C'est la vie.

What am I missing here?

As a commited/commitable Aero person I think there is a great place for strict trads and enhanced trads as an experience.

My first introduction to Morgan (driving) was an Aero S1 and I laughed out loud that something that Biggles had used to dent a lamppost went like a stabbed rat, including bends. Track car no. Lazy V8 <4000rpm> Wooohooo.

Later I had a go in PeterJ's V6 trad. I will admit it was a handful and rather put me off. The front and back appeared to be in different timezones. It certainly had some go but I was uncomfortable using the performance on public roads as it felt a bit unfettered.

Since then I have had a go in some sorted Trads and they are pretty handy little beasts. Agreed they needed suspension upgrades to make them good fun. They were not a Lotus Exige or Alpine but they were pretty good and on the speed/width of public roads they were fun. If I think how any other cars from that age feel it's not disturbing. Some of the tuned and upgraded models can surprise modern cars.

Not a 911.2.A.4.x but then where I now live all that would bring is more frustration as I sit behind a 2024 Range Rover Spurt driven by a tourist on the Devon roads. Stopping as every car comes towards them and almost stopping at every pot hole, boy have we got a few of them. Even in my Aero I can drive around them without chewing hedges and inbound tractors.

A strict trad is a different driving experience that does not goad you to drive fast and then becoming frustrated. A tweaked Trad means you can have fun at more socially acceptable speeds.

Me, I am hooligan and love a V8 with side pipes that goes like a total meanie when there is legal room. Thats the issue, legal room. In the S2 on a sunny day in Devon I can select 3-4th and roll along with a big smile and people love the car. I have spent three years trying to work out what to replace it with. Can't find anything. Lotus Exige down here would be a waste as the roads would mean I could never push it. A 911 was on the list but left early as they are fat these days. A good 930 or early model is just daft money.

It is a genuine challenge to find a car that can bring a smile and let you engage modern roads without hitting the Monopoly "go directly to jail" as a whole experience. My daily is an AMG E63 estate so it's not like I don't know what 700bhp feels like?

Alistair,

May suggest for those narrow country lanes either a Caterham Severn 620R or an Ariel Atom, small naroow agile cars. which create a great sensation of speed with your backside just skimming the road, and what you can't get around, you just pass under. The ever present exposed feeling of impending death, does heigthen the driving exerience no end.. I've been priveldged to be a passenger in a R500 being thrashed in very expert hands and it surpasses anything you might get from say a claasic Porsche 930..........just the sensation and raw exposure to the elements at speeds, is unlike anthing I've experienced in any other car, often requiring a change of trousers, a very raw and intense experience at speed down unpredictable country lanes. Not very practical, great to collecting bugs in the face and the occassional A to B in a hurry car.............not much fun on motorways.


Mind you I might need to start to save my pennies for the 1600 bhp BYD Denza Z spyder...............

I'd say you've already found your automotive nirvana.

The Caterham yes, but the Atom isn't particularly narrow.

Far comment, its as wide as the wifes Mercedes Coupe.........so be a bit snugger than the Caterham in any overtaking space/gap but much more fun
.

I looked at Caterhams, and they were on my list. The strangest thing though, which shows how different we all are, is that when I went to buy a new Elise, pockets bulging with intent, that test drive, and I was alone, ruled it out completely. I just didn't get what the fuss was about. Just like Howard with Trads. I could not live with an Elise, and it was one if the fancy ones, but not a chance.

My pal has just bought an Elise from the final batch. It is his second one, but although it goes like a rocket I think it looks naff. He is in thrall to Lotus. Lol

I'm sure I've recounted this story on here before but a friend of mine had a Elise, purchased from new.

On the drive home, after collecting it, he could hear something sliding around the car; at first, he assume something had been dropped in the car. Upon getting home, he scoured the car and couldn't find anything amiss; thus, he though perhaps he was imagining it.

Next drive out, same noise, same check over - again nothing found. After a few more drives, it was wearing thin... imagine the sound of something sliding against a surface when you were doing anything other than going in a straight line.

Dealer got the car in and after a few drives to 'diagnose' the problem, they came to the conclusion that during build, something had been left in the bonded tub. Their solution was to drill a myriad of holes into the bottom of it, whilst on a ramp, to try and find what had been left in. After visiting the dealership, seeing his new car on a ramp, looking like Swiss cheese, he formally rejected the car.

My experience with Lotus, and an Elise, wasn't much better.

If we're discounting Morgans, imho there are only two sports cars that really spring to mind, that suit narrow lanes and less than ideal roads: 2024 or newer Mazda MX-5 ND RF - there is a good reason it was joint runner up in ECOTY 2024 (the one that also featured a Morgan Plus Four) or, the now defunct, Alpine A110.