IT'S not often you get to enjoy an epiphany, but I've just had one on my lunch break. I know what the best car in the world is.The best car in the world is like the best footballer in the world or the best song in the world; you reckon you know what it is, but some bloke in the pub always knows better. But I'm going to stick my neck out on this one, because I reckon I've found a Bohemian Rhapsody-singing George Best on four wheels.
Firstly, it's important to remember there's lots of hugely impressive cars that can't be considered candidates, because they're terrible in at least one aspect. The Peugeot 207CC I drove last week doesn't have any rear legroom. The Toyota IQ's boot is tiny. The Morgan has a confusing handbrake. The best car in the world has to be fantastic - or at least very good - absolutely everywhere.
Fifteen years ago Autocar reckoned my very own motor - the original Mini - was on the mark, as it's a masterpiece of packaging but stylish enough to be a Sixties icon. I love it, but it fails because it's too small, too slow and too unreliable. Next!
Anything covered these days by Practical Classics is out, because the best car in the world has to exude excellence every single day, and it's hard to do that if it's been rotting in a barn since 1994. If I had to prescribe one single car on the entire population of Britain, it wouldn't be something which gets from A to B via the AA.
For ages I thought the ideal candidate for the automotive equivalent of John Lennon's Imagine was actually the BMW 5-Series. I've never liked them because it's still a bit of a Filofax car, carried around by middle-aged executives on their way to causing another credit crunch. But can you think of anything a 5-Series does badly? Exactly.
In fact the one car which does most things brilliantly - and is very good at everything else - is in fact the humble Ford Focus. Exciting it isn't, but I've never driven a bad one, and it does absolutely everything you ask of it.
I invite blokes and bloke-esses from pubs everywhere to tell me I'm wrong.
What is the best car in the world? Let David Simister know he's wrong by leaving a comment...
I know that this ia an obvious one coming from me, but I still reckon the best car is the Nissan 100NX.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Because it's sporty without showing off, 100% reliable (my car is going on 18 and has never broken down), granted there is not a lot of room in the back if you're taller than 4ft, but it IS possible to fit up to six people in this tiny car, including four people on the backseat (if you stack them right ;) ), although it is not recommended. The boot is not big, but big enough to hold suitcases, so it's ideal for everything from shopping and city driving to going on holidays.
The 100NX handles well and will quite happily do 110 miles per hour if you let it, without losing traction. It's a really smooth ride, especially if you take the glass roof out. It's as close to a CC as you can get if you don't mind the manual labour of taking the glass roof out and then putting it back in. Although the brakes on my own motor are quite heavy, that is nothing that can't be fixed, and the whole car is more aerodynamic than the rice bowl you might expect.
Hi Dave, caught your comments re TVRs a while back, although a niche vehicle I cant think of a value for money car that puts a grin on your face wether at 30mph or at the legal limit. I have just brought mine out of hibernation so if you fancy a refresher course in British hair in the wind motoring drop me a line.
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Dave R.