Machines I Live With
List · 9 items

Machines I Live With

Callum FerrisCallum Ferris · 2 likes
9 items
ListCars · People/Blogs

Machines I Live With

Callum Ferris
@ferris_fixes_it
9Items
2Likes

I spend my weekdays making sure very small machines keep people alive, and my weekends persuading much larger ones to start on a cold morning in Walthamstow. These are the cars that have cluttered my life, my driveway, and occasionally my bank account. Not a buyer’s guide, more a field report from someone who owns too many socket sets and says words like "torque curve" then immediately apologises.

The list

Rank
Machines I Live With — 9 items
NameYearEngine / FuelUse caseQuirkMy take
1Mazda MX-5 (NA project)19921.6L petrol, naturally aspiratedWeekend tinkering and B-road therapyLeaks more rain than it burns fuel on some daysLike owning a mechanical golden retriever: enthusiastic, slightly damp, impossible to dislike.
2Volvo V7020102.0L dieselLong hospital-site visits and IKEA runsTurning circle of a small ferry, seats like Scandinavian armchairsIf a sensible pair of shoes were a car. Unexciting, but you miss it the second it’s gone.
3Skoda Octavia Estate20171.4L petrol TSIEveryday commuter, motorway sloggerBoot appears to operate under different laws of physics; it never fillsPeak engineering compromise: cheap to run, big enough for an engine hoist, anonymous enough to ignore parking wardens nervously.
4Toyota Prius20151.8L hybrid petrol-electricHospital shifts and late-night cross-London errandsCVT gearbox sounds like an anxious hoover under full throttleThe car equivalent of taking your vitamins. Not thrilling, but statistically very good for you and your wallet.
5BMW 330Ci (E46)20013.0L straight-six petrolSelf-indulgent Sunday drivesElectronics with the mood stability of a tired junior doctorWhen it works, you forgive everything. When it doesn’t, you Google "how much is a bus pass".
6Ford Fiesta ST20181.5L turbo petrolCity darting and back-road sillinessThree-cylinder thrum that sounds angrier than it actually isProof that small plus light plus slightly daft equals a big grin. Also, surprisingly good at the big Tesco run.
7MGB GT19781.8L carb-fed petrolSunny Saturday experiments in mechanical sympathyElectrics that treat "earth" as more of a suggestionTeaches you what a carburettor is, in the same way the sea teaches you what a wave is: repeatedly, and with some drowning.
8Tesla Model 32020Dual-motor electricBorrowed for work trips to test "future" vs North CircularMore computer than car; updates while you make teaInstant torque is fun, but I still reach for a non-existent handbrake and miss having actual buttons.
9Honda Jazz20121.4L petrolLoaner car and emergency family taxiRear seats fold in about twelve different origami configurationsLooks like a mobility scooter, hides the load-carrying ability of a small van. The sensible friend you underestimate until moving day.