Can I SURVIVE A 450 Mile Road Trip In A Caterham Seven 170S?

[@sportzntouring]

Here's why we did this trip, all in Part 1 → kzbin.info/www/bejne/qau9dJSqqbhgh68 Ever Drifted a Caterham? We did → kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZytnpKVfcuhb8U And, if you've not yet seen the Caterham Project V yet... you need to - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmSri2uaZqyVqrM

[@jbadkc]

You are absolutely right. Each trip is an adventure. I used to have a Caterham with a 1600 cc Kent engine and 110 HP. But the weight was 650 KG plus my 90 kgs. Unfortunately, not enough money to keep it and feeding 5 children. 😅 Still miss the car. I envy all these who have one. Enjoy it!!

[@sportzntouring]

Thank you for watching. So sorry to hear you couldn't keep yours. One day, once again you will own one I'm sure. Watch this space! More Caterham content coming soon!

[@RichardHarvey-j2g]

Me too, had a 1700 supersprint, in the 1980s, sold it to pay mortgage kids etc😊

[@simonchaddock4274]

In my youth I drove a Lotus Super 7 series 2. Very similar to the 170s although slightly heavier with a 1500 Kent engine. The big advantage it had was a tonneau cover as well as a full hood. The tonneau had a centre line zip so driving alone it in effect became a single seater. All the heat thus came out past you in the driving seat and provided you kept above 25 mph you remained warm & dry no matter how much it rained. I drove regularly down the M6 although the joints in the elevated section around Birmingham were not much fun.

[@sportzntouring]

That's very cool! I was surprised at how dry I stayed in the rain! Thanks so much for watching!

[@johngeekieart]

Great great video, as a ‘mature’ man and always having dreamed of owning a caterham this has been really enlightening, many thanks..

[@sportzntouring]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@simoncoppingongoogle850]

I'm pleased to see a review with a roof. I've had 3 now and they are additive. The first back in '99 was my only car and i drove 16k miles a year for four years. The hood is a life saver when it's sleeting & snowing. It has stiched in guttering to stop the water going down your back when you get in and out. The rear window zips open to get your shopping in the boot and the screen is heated to stop it misting up. There's a tensioner built into the hood sticks to tention it so it doesn't even flap at a steady 85mph. The lower section of the doors lift up and stay up by the air flow above 30mph to create a good breeze if it suddenly turns sunny. The heater will blow cold as well as hot air. Getting in and out isn't so easy but you soon learn to do a kind of tumble forward manoeuvre like Tony Alcock at the Crown Green Bowls. I think its easier than an Elise due to the narrow sill. Plenty of companies like OMP and Sparco make narrow leather shoes suitable for the office. The only consession I ever made was rolling my left trouser leg like a Free Mason due to an occasional drip from the scuttle during a long journey in the rain. I probably could have sealed it but it was never really a problem. Many reviews sign off that you have to be some kind of petrolhead masochist to buy one, but that's because they only keep them for a short time and don't learn about using the weather gear properly. Don't be put off thinking you can't run a Seven every day, just look for someone on a motorbike and think you've got it easy!

[@sportzntouring]

It's so true! I don't recall ever seeing a review of a Caterham with the roof up, or how usable it is in bad weather. I didn't really think about that when I made this video. I hope lots of people are reassured by both my experience and the superb information in your comment. Thanks for watching!

[@bencausey]

Very much appreciate this down-to-earth, REAL review. Kudos.

[@sportzntouring]

Thank you!

[@tomokokishi3066]

Fun fact: The Suzuki :660cc engine derived from the K segment microcar in Japan. Thus the Japanese fans call this the K-terham 😂

[@sportzntouring]

Haha! Love it!

[@spacedrifter1961]

A nicely put-together review👍. I own a Caterham and recognise many of the experiences you describe.

[@sportzntouring]

Awesome! It's great to know my inexperienced perspective matches up with a real owner's experiences. Thanks for watching 😁

[@RonK]

stop beneath the bridge to put the roof on. You're save in rain as long as you can go fast enough to blow the rain over your head. The moment you slow down, stop under the first bridge you can find

[@sportzntouring]

Great advice!

[@CarswithBrad]

I can't be sure, but I think you really like this car! 😂 Great video dude, one of my faves so far! Caterhams are awesome little cars! 🔥

[@sportzntouring]

Glad you liked it Brad! Thanks for watching! And, ummm yeah, I kinda liked it 😁

[@alexbain9762]

If it rain, you just drive faster ! I built a Seven/4 in 1979 and did 40,000 miles in the first year, company car ! Just drive it !

[@sportzntouring]

Awesome!

[@DavidJackson-zc4eq]

This summer I did 4000 miles around France,Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg in my k series Caterham over the course of two weeks, was amazing fun 😂

[@sportzntouring]

That's impressive! Such a fun car! Watch this space for more Caterham content coming next!

[@107cadman107cw]

Such a simple but enjoyable and informative video.

[@sportzntouring]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! More enjoyment in cars on this channel. More informative car content on my other channel with my friend James... kzbin.info

[@garymurraya]

what a nice guy Bob is...... nice to see as not many in his position would help you out. there are companies, or one at least, where you can "share" the purchase / use of a caterham, which could be a better option

[@sportzntouring]

He is a very very nice guy! To be fair, we were helping each other out that day, picking up his old company car he retained from his former employer... In case you didn't know/see it... kzbin.info/www/bejne/qau9dJSqqbhgh68

[@garymurraya]

@@sportzntouring i saw it..... maybe you should add a caterham to the garage ;)

[@sportzntouring]

Awesome! Thanks for watching! Indeed, I do find myself contemplating that option 😁

[@calvin1966vintage]

Great virgin intro! I've driven my 1995 Caterham 170bhp 1800cc Zetec from Cambridge to Timmelsjoch High Alpine Pass in Italy and back, with a bicycle where a spare wheel should be. Over 2,000miles. Planning a 6,000miles bigger tour to Vienna, down over Pyrenees to Madrid and back. Austrian roads are best, Italian and UK ones the worst, as the Caterham suspension prefers track smooth, not Broken Britain 3rd grade crumbling tarmac!

[@sportzntouring]

That's awesome! Very very cool!! Thanks for watching! Have you seen the Project V? What do you think?

[@calvin1966vintage]

@@sportzntouring Caterham V and the sEVen will struggle on price. EV costs are so high at present that it makes competition with secondhand ICE cars very tough. For example, I could buy a good secondhand Evora 400 and have £40k left over, for the price of the Caterham V. What would you buy? HP may be the only sane option for Caterham in this case. I wish them success but it's not clear to me how they can achieve this.

[@sportzntouring]

@@calvin1966vintage I think the £80k Project V will be competing with something like a brand new Emira... which is also £80k, rather than a second hand Evora. The Project V and the cheaper sEVen can keep their costs down by keeping the battery sizes down, one of the most expensive elements of an EV. It's a nice they have to make given the changes happening in 2030... They'll keep making the ICE Seven until they're not allowed to anymore so I think they'll do ok.

[@calvin1966vintage]

@@sportzntouring True, but why spend more than £40k when an Evora 400 with ~30,000 miles on will still be so good? New - it's overrated!

[@sportzntouring]

@@calvin1966vintage sure, but they're different markets. There's those who feel that way, and those who prefer new cars and are willing to pay the premium... And us folks who buy used need those folks otherwise no new cars would be made 😁

[@Ianzandvoort]

I have driven in this car on the Caterham Open Day in April, I had to drive with bare feet because of my shoe size 11, it was fun!

[@sportzntouring]

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it! It is a fun car!

[@RobertBlake-bs2fv]

If only they were cheaper in Australia. I purchased an elfin last year in the middle of winter during one of the coolest snaps we had seen in years and had the great idea to fly to where it was and drive it home. 3800ks (2360 miles) and some change in 3 days with no heater, no roof, no doors and seats that can be best described as flat sponges on the floor in temps below zero for a lot of the drive, I arrived home sore and tired but would not hesitate to do it again.

[@sportzntouring]

Love that story!

[@oliox8685]

If it's not raining the roof is off....100% ❤

[@sportzntouring]

😜

[@rodshop5897]

This car makes me glad for the comfort of our 71 MG Midget. But of course, I still want one!

[@sportzntouring]

Ha ha! Yeah, even the MG has more room in it than this! But, for the fun both bring, it's so worth it!

[@rodshop5897]

@@sportzntouring Oh yeah, the joy of both cars is that no-frills experience. The elements become so much more real and important, and learning how to dress and pack for even day trips is part of the fun. Pottering along at 45 mph in my Midget is much more engaging than any speed in one of our modern cars. I only wish the Caterham could be purchased with the 1.6 L Ford Sigma engine in the states. I prefer naturally aspirated over a turbo, but understand the constraints they are under. Sadly, the 170S is not available here.

[@xiaobaozha]

Have used the full hood once…half hood ftw 🍻

[@R13AAD]

Epic! Must’ve been an experience!

[@sportzntouring]

It was a lot of fun!

[@texr2000]

Right attitude, roof off unless needed! Mine is a little more raw spec but I have toured in mine and people think wouldn't be a nice as it is to do a few hundred miles in a day. Even after 10years of ownership i still forgot to turn the indicator off from time to time

[@sportzntouring]

Ha ha! Thanks! I'm glad it's not just me with the indicator! Thanks for watching!

[@grahamnutt8958]

Be very careful, Ant 🐜. Remember that girls get very jealous and you mustn't upset Charlotte 🕷🕸 lol. Having said that; the big smile said it all 😁😺.

[@sportzntouring]

Ha ha, I'm allowed to have friends 😂 But, yeah, it was a lot of fun!

[@VintageMovieChannel]

i love these things!

[@sportzntouring]

They're such a little bundle of fun!

[@ycplum7062]

You should be wearing a flat cap, rather than a baseball cap backwards .... unless you are driving a left-hand versy. 😜

[@sportzntouring]

Hahaha! I'm not sure if I'd have still been in possession of a flat cap for long on that motorway lol

[@RonK]

How do you get out of the car when the roof is up?

[@sportzntouring]

You get out of the car pretty much in the reverse of the process of getting in. If you've got a passenger, you get a little close 😳

[@TravellingTechie]

Indicators!

[@sportzntouring]

Haha! Yeah, it took me a while to get used to switching them off 😆

[@TravellingTechie]

@@sportzntouring Yep, I hear you! My father and I built a 360R and getting used to them took a while! Is there no corresponding loud annoying beep, like ours has, to remind you?

[@sportzntouring]

If there was, I couldn't hear it, especially on the motorway 😆

[@ralphsimpson5230]

I usually stop under abridge like the one you drove through, but I am a seasoned driver. Also I didn't need a flunky to put my roof on. Are you a Man?

[@sportzntouring]

Lol! Although, I wouldn't call Caterham's CEO a flunky... Given who he is, he's gonna be faster at putting the roof up than me on my first time in a Caterham 😉 Hope you enjoyed nonetheless.

[@Mexxx65]

....i got bored of watching you driving that gorgeous little Caterham in boring straight lines on just Hwys.....................................

[@sportzntouring]

Sorry to hear that. This is one of the only times we've done that... Interestingly it's one of our more popular videos right now, despite most of our other videos having much more exciting driving sequences... Like Damani's first ride in an SVJ a few videos back.