Latest news with #Mk4
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Six 1990s convertibles from only £1,000 for spring and summer fun (and the one to avoid)
Ah the Nineties. Oasis, the Spice Girls, Cool Britannia, football coming home, boot cut jeans – and cabriolets. These days it's difficult to find new convertibles, but in the Nineties you could barely move for the things; seemingly every manufacturer made a chopped-down version of one of its popular hatchbacks and cute roadsters became cool once again. Now, with some of these cars approaching 30 years old, they're entering that grey area where you might (tentatively, for fear of a tongue-lashing from grumpy old men with beards in MGBs) start to call them classics. Yet there's not a lot of love for cars like these on the market. Many buyers still think of them as old tat – and prices are consequently depressed. But if you fancy some eminently affordable fun in the sun, you could do far worse than one of these. They are modern enough to be reliable and simple enough to be cheap to fix, while the ones that have survived have, by and large, been pampered and well maintained. So if you're pining for a cheap cabrio, don't write them off – there's a lot to like here. The combination of the third-generation Golf's sensible, solid bearing with easy access to the sun makes this cabriolet a tempting option for those not wanting to push the boat out. The Golf is not fast and nor is it that exciting to drive, but its simple mechanicals and easy-to-find parts make it easy to live with and look after. If you can find a rust-free example, it's worth grabbing. A facelift in 1998 brought with it the frontal styling from the then-new Mk4 hatchback – although the rest of the car remained largely the same. Price to pay: from £1,000 We found: 1999 2.0 SE, 89,000 miles, 12 months MOT, £1,800 Watch out for: Rusty front wings and floors, poorly maintained auto gearboxes, missed timing belt changes, dodgy aftermarket immobilisers and sound systems, failing electric windows. Lauded by many as one of the best Rovers ever, the R8-series 200 spawned a variety of body styles, one of which was this pert little cabriolet. They're a bit floppy to drive, but the willing engines mean they can still be quite good fun; go for an earlier Honda-engined 216 (instead of the later Rover-engined ones from 1996) for the best reliability. Many of these are so cheap they've been abused, but hold out for a nice one – it won't cost that much more – and check it's been well maintained. Price to pay: from £1,000 We found: 1994 216, 91,000 miles, full service history, immaculate, £2,250 Watch out for: Head gasket failures (except on early 1.6s), rusty arches and sills, dodgy fuel pump relays. Few cars can offer such a sense of glamour for so little cash right now than the Audi Cabriolet. For a car that was once driven by royalty (and still reeks of Sloane Ranger chic) the Cabriolet is extraordinarily affordable; while the best examples of late V6 versions top out at £8,000, early four- and five-cylinder cars can still be had in good nick for a quarter of that. Inside, you'll find the interior from the 80 on which the Cabriolet is based – beautifully built and modern-feeling, with a surprising amount of room. Buy one now before the rest of the world cottons on. Price to pay: from £2,000 We found: 1995 2.0, 120,000 miles, comprehensive service history, £3,750 Watch out for: Tired suspension, defunct hoods, rusting boot floors, airbag lights, failing heater fans. Of all the manufacturers which tried to turn a humdrum family hatchback into a dashing convertible in the Nineties, Peugeot probably did it the best. Mind you, they were helped by the fact the 306 was already a looker; in cabriolet form with the roof down, you could kid yourself that you're a stylish French businessperson arriving for lunch at a cafe in Cannes with your significant other. As with all Peugeots of this era, 306s can feel rather brittle by now – but if you can live with that, the reward is a fine drive and looks that belie this car's bargain price. Price to pay: from £1,000 We found: 1996 2.0, 93,000 miles, full service history, £2,500 Watch out for: Non-functional air-conditioning, coolant leaks, stuttering power roofs, electrical glitches. The MX-5 is the go-to affordable roadster, with good reason; it's cheap to buy, cheap to run and brilliant to drive. And unlike the others on this list, it's a distinct model rather than a chopped-down saloon or hatchback. This second-generation car is probably the best value of the bunch at the moment, offering greater involvement than the later third-generation models without the cost of the earlier Mk1s. It looks good, feels great and if you can keep on top of the rust – for which MX-5s are known – it should be reliable and long-lasting. A 1.8 is the one to go for, but don't shy away from a 1.6 if money is tight – they're still good fun. Price to pay: from £1,000 We found: 2002 1.8, 59,000 miles, full service history, £2,999 Watch out for: Rust everywhere, misfires due to worn coil packs, gearbox rattle on overrun, propshaft squeaking in reverse. The cabriolet version of the Megane caused something of a stir when it arrived in the mid-1990s – and not just because of the particularly loud Sunflower Yellow launch colour. Renault did well to disguise the fact that the Megane came from humble stock. Even with the roof up it looked smart; with the roof down, exposing the two 'speed humps' behind the rear seats, it went from chic to sleek. Of course, it was comfortable and decent to drive, too, though you'd struggle to call it exciting. But these days there are few more eye-catching cars for the price. Price to pay: from £1,000 We found: 1999 1.6e, 79,000 miles, long MOT, £1,495 Watch out for: Snapped rear suspension, flaky coil packs, dying crankshaft sensors, problematic injection systems on IDE versions. Much has been written about the sub-par nature of the fifth-generation Escort, so we won't re-litigate that here. Suffice it to say that the same is true in convertible form, with floppy handling, a thumping ride, shuddering plastics and loose, flappy fabrics the order of the day. True, the 16-valve XR3i version was moderately quick and smooth, while things improved somewhat with a heavy facelift in 1995. But with so many better convertibles available for the money, the Escort is best avoided. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Factory Five Begins Production of the Mk5
Factory Five Racing is rolling out a new version of its Cobra replica called the Mk5 Roadster. The Mk5 has room for larger drivers and an optional removable hardtop that includes the windshield. Prices start at $24,990 and the car is in production now—assembly not included. In an alternate reality, the original Shelby Cobra never died. It stayed in production and, over the decades, was refined and perfected while retaining its essential animalistic character. While we'd argue that Massachusetts doesn't exist in a parallel universe—not entirely—that timeline with more and better Cobras did take shape there, at Factory Five Racing in Wareham. Factory Five got started building Cobra replica kits in 1995, and now 30 years later they're rolling out the fifth generation of their kit, dubbed the Mk5 Roadster. It's still got two seats, a V-8 and DIY instructions, but the Mk5 is a long way from both the car that inspired it and its own immediate predecessor, the Mk4. In its biggest departure from tradition, the Mk5 uses a rectangular spaceframe instead of a round tube frame. The new frame weighs 55 pounds more than the Mk4 frame, but Factory Five says it delivers a 400 percent increase in rigidity. It's also designed with a more capacious cockpit, accommodating a driver who is 6'5", 330 pounds, and wears size 14 shoes. NFL offensive tackles who are handy with a wrench, step right up. The roll bar is two inches shorter than before and canted three degrees rearward, but because the floor is 2.5 inches lower, there's actually a half-inch more coverage relative to the driver. (A passenger's-side roll bar is optional.) The shorter roll bar enables the Mk5's most striking visual change: a one-piece removable carbon fiber hard top. Unlike hard tops that are designed to fit over a tall roll bar, this one doesn't have the profile of a freshly bought trucker cap. In fact, it doesn't even look like a convertible top, since it includes its own windshield. Yes, you'll need to remove the standard windshield to fit the hardtop, but that kind of project probably won't daunt a customer who built the whole car. The Mk5's composite body is delivered with a blue gel coat that doesn't look half bad on its own, with the goal of lowering prices for subsequent paint and bodywork. Factory Five says that one reason the Mk5 costs more than the Mk4 is that its body molds will be discarded more than twice as frequently, to keep panel gaps tight and minimize paint prep time. On the handling front, the lower front control arms are now forged aluminum, and at the rear both upper and lower control arms are forged aluminum. The frame has two sets of mounting holes, to adjust ride height between street and track setups. Between those front control arms, you can fit the usual assortment of Ford V-8s (or, heresy, a GM LS engine) along with a new option: Ford's 7.3-liter Godzilla crate engine. Derived from the heavy-duty truck powerplants, that monster has an iron block and will doubtlessly impact the car's 2250-pound baseline weight, but it'll fit for those looking for the 427 Cobra brand of overkill. Factory Five president Dave Smith acknowledges that it doesn't really make sense to develop an all-new car, but he wanted to keep the company's signature product moving forward, so that's what happened. Factory Five will keep building the less expensive Mk4 ($20,990) for traditionalists and more budget-conscious thrill seekers, but the Mk5 is the new flagship in a class of one. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
