Auto Express – August 20, 2019

50

MODERN

CLASSICS

Years produced: 1995-1997

Price range: £1,200-£10,000 Rarity:★★★★★

Maintenance:★★★★★Investment:★★★★★

HYUNDAI

COUPÉ F2 EVO

Year produced: 1999

Price range: £400-£1,500 Rarity:★★★★★

Maintenance:★★★★★Investment:★★★★★

Smart

Years produced: 1998-2007

Price range: £300-£3,000 Rarity:★★★★★★★★★

Maintenance:★★★★★ Investment:★★★★★

OLDVolvosarealreadypopularaspractical,solideverydayclassics.

The850addsdecentdrivingdynamicstothelistofVolvoattributes,

andtheRversionsareamusinglyfast,too;Volvoevenracedtheestate

versions.ThemostdesirablemodelisawagoninGulYellowwitha

manualtransmission,butany850RorT5willalreadygetrespectat

acarshowatweekends–andbeabletocarrythefamilyallweek,

too.Thelimitednumbersmeanvaluesareboundtogrowaswell.

THEHyundaiCoupécouldwellbethefirst-ever

Koreanmodeltoattainclassiccarstatus,andthe

mostdesirableofthemallistheF2Evo.Styledin

America,thebase-modelCoupéwastunedbyLotus

tomakesureithandledproperly.TheF2andF2Evo

underwentfurthertweakingbymotorsportspecialist

MSD,andwerefittedwithabodykitdesignedby

PeterStevens,themanwhostyledtheMcLarenF1.

That’saprettyimpressiveresuméforacarthat

cannowbeboughtforlessthan£500.

EARLYexamplesofthequirkySmartcarare
disappearingfast.Thetinytwo-seatermaybe
economicalonfuelaswellaseasytopark,but
itssemi-automaticgearboxisanacquiredtaste,
whilerelativelyhighinsurancecostsputoffyoung
buyers.Theengine,transmissionandelectrics
weren’tbuilttolast,andareanightmaretowork
onbecauseeverythingispackedinexceedingly
tight.Findamodelthathashadarecentrebuild
andit’llbeaninterestingpurchasethatwon’t
takeuptoomuchroominthegarage.

world

Rest of the

Jeep Cherokee XJ

Years produced: 1993-2001

Price range: £750-£5,000 Rarity:★★★★★★★★

Maintenance:★★★★★Investment:★★★★★

WITHthepricesofoldLandRoversclimbingoutof
reach,perhapsit’stimetoconsideranotherboxy4x4
withablue-chipoff-roadbrandheritage.TheJeep
Cherokeewasalreadystartingtolookdatedbythe
timeitreachedtheUKin1993,butithadproven
itselftobeindestructibleintheUS.
Thetop-specLimitedhadarelaxed4.0-litrestraight-
six,whichmadeitagreattowcarandgoodoffroad.It

wasladenwithextrasthatmadeaRangeRoverowner

envious,too.Anewmodelin2002broughtsomenice

improvementsandbetterbuildquality.Despitethe

diesels’improvedfueleconomy, we’dsuggeststeering

clearofthem,becausetheyweremiserabletodrive.

ManyCherokeeshavenowbeensavagedbyrustor

modifiedintohardcoreoff-roaders,butfindanoriginal

oneanditmakesaninterestingandusefulclassic.

expertview

The850wasoneofthe

lasttruly‘boxy’Volvos,

butitstilllooksgreat.And

inRwagonspec,itmixes

do-it-allpracticalitywith

BTCCracingpedigree.

JohnMcIlroy

Deputy editor

SpecialIssue 65

VOLVO

850 T5/R