1 Mazda MX-5 (NA project) | 1992 | 1.6L petrol, naturally aspirated | Weekend tinkering and B-road therapy | Leaks more rain than it burns fuel on some days | Like owning a mechanical golden retriever: enthusiastic, slightly damp, impossible to dislike. |
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2 Volvo V70 | 2010 | 2.0L diesel | Long hospital-site visits and IKEA runs | Turning circle of a small ferry, seats like Scandinavian armchairs | If a sensible pair of shoes were a car. Unexciting, but you miss it the second it’s gone. |
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3 Skoda Octavia Estate | 2017 | 1.4L petrol TSI | Everyday commuter, motorway slogger | Boot appears to operate under different laws of physics; it never fills | Peak engineering compromise: cheap to run, big enough for an engine hoist, anonymous enough to ignore parking wardens nervously. |
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4 Toyota Prius | 2015 | 1.8L hybrid petrol-electric | Hospital shifts and late-night cross-London errands | CVT gearbox sounds like an anxious hoover under full throttle | The car equivalent of taking your vitamins. Not thrilling, but statistically very good for you and your wallet. |
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5 BMW 330Ci (E46) | 2001 | 3.0L straight-six petrol | Self-indulgent Sunday drives | Electronics with the mood stability of a tired junior doctor | When it works, you forgive everything. When it doesn’t, you Google "how much is a bus pass". |
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6 Ford Fiesta ST | 2018 | 1.5L turbo petrol | City darting and back-road silliness | Three-cylinder thrum that sounds angrier than it actually is | Proof that small plus light plus slightly daft equals a big grin. Also, surprisingly good at the big Tesco run. |
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7 MGB GT | 1978 | 1.8L carb-fed petrol | Sunny Saturday experiments in mechanical sympathy | Electrics that treat "earth" as more of a suggestion | Teaches you what a carburettor is, in the same way the sea teaches you what a wave is: repeatedly, and with some drowning. |
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8 Tesla Model 3 | 2020 | Dual-motor electric | Borrowed for work trips to test "future" vs North Circular | More computer than car; updates while you make tea | Instant torque is fun, but I still reach for a non-existent handbrake and miss having actual buttons. |
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9 Honda Jazz | 2012 | 1.4L petrol | Loaner car and emergency family taxi | Rear seats fold in about twelve different origami configurations | Looks like a mobility scooter, hides the load-carrying ability of a small van. The sensible friend you underestimate until moving day. |
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