38 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk
Theultimateguide tomodern classiccarsCARSthatweredeadlyrivalswhentheywerenew
willstillcompeteforyouraffectionswhenthey’re
consideredmodernclassics.Butinadditiontoallthe
usualfactorssuchashandling,performanceandfuel
consumption,whichwereimportantissuesonbrandnew
models,thereareotherelementstoconsideronanolder
car–suchasthevehicle’sreliabilityrecord,itsabilityto
resistcorrosion,andtheback-upofagoodowners’club.
Withthisinmind,webroughttogetherthreepairsof
perpetuallypopularrivalstoseehowtheyhavefaredin
thedecadessincetheyfirstwentonsale.
Ifyoufancyafunbutpracticalretrocar,thenthefirst
MINIand‘new’VolkswagenBeetlewillneverbecheaper
thantheyarenow.Bothareverydifferenttodriveand
havetheircompromises,butinterestinbothisstartingto
pickupandvaluesofgood-qualityexamplesarerising.
IfyoudriveanSUVordullfamilycareveryday,thena
two-seatroadsterfortheweekendscanbearealantidote
andremindyouwhyyoulovedriving.TheMGFandMazda
MX-5werethebestsellerswhentheywerenewandthere
arestillplentyaroundnow,makingthembothsurprisingly
affordable.Buteachcansufferissuesthatcanmakeyour
prideandjoytestyourpatiencetotheextreme.
Finally,theLandRoverDefenderfliestheflagforBritish
off-roaders,andpriceshavegonethroughtheroofsince
themodelwasdiscontinuedafewyearsago.Isitstill
worthsavinguptobuyone,orshouldloversofclassic
4x4slookacrosstheAtlanticforJeep’srarerWrangler?