Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: No data available
Driving involvement; steering feel; performance; handling.
Too hardcore for some; tiring over long distances; no ABS; expensive.
The perfect antidote to over-sanitised modern cars
Once you've lowered yourself into the cockpit and avoided a painful brush with the hot exhaust pipe - which now exits on the driver's side - the Caterham feels like little else you can drive on the road. Turn the ignition and thumb the red starter button, and the eruption and gruff idling means it sounds like little else too.
Depress the clutch pedal and there's a surprising lightness to its action, whilst first gear is selected easily. Pull away and it's the steering feel you'll first notice - with no power assistance, you have a direct connection to the front wheels.
Initially through the gears the Caterham feels quick, but the claimed 0-60mph time of 4.9 seconds seems optimistic. That's because the Ford engine delivers its maximum 120lb-ft torque peak at a lofty 5,600rpm: hit that and then push on to 6,900rpm, and the Caterham is transformed. It'll stay with the fastest Porsche Boxster at least until motorway speeds, when the shed-like aerodynamics take hold (and impending driver deafness starts to set in).
Corners are a revelation too, and roundabouts - preferably on private land - can become playgrounds. Few cars on sale are as adjustable and as friendly to slide using carefully-judged throttle inputs.
On bumpy B-roads our car's optional Superlight suspension with wider front track was stiff enough for a few alarming airborne moments - another testament to the feather-light kerbweight. Bumps-mid corner, meanwhile, also mean a deft hand is always needed to catch the odd slide.
The gearchange on our car was fine, fast and light up to third, but notchiness hindered smooth accurate shifts down from fifth to fourth.
The brakes at first felt mushy at the top of the pedal's travel, but lean hard and they do a fine job of hauling the Seven down from big speeds without locking. However, in wet conditions we still would prefer the added security of ABS.
