Shyloo Posted October 23, 2020 Posted October 23, 2020 Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 23 October Ten years ago, your electric car choice was limited to a compromised gaggle that did a pretty poor job of persuading drivers that there was potential for an engine-free future. But there was a highlight: the Tesla Roadster, which could crack more than 200 miles per charge (the first production car to do so), hit 62mph from rest in less than 4.0sec and, crucially, handle like a sports car. That’s no surprise, really, because the Roadster’s resemblance to the Lotus Elise is no coincidence: they share around 6% of their components and were both built in Hethel. The Tesla does have to lug around about 400kg more than its petrol-powered relation, but our road test of the time found that it could “canter around any bend at considerable pace” and offered “outright grip levels not far short of that produced by an Elise”. Today, the Roadster is rare and still expensive. But we were intrigued by the prospect of a 59-plate example being offered for £75,000, and not just because of its lurid tennis-ball-green paintwork. This is one of just 250 commemorative Signature Edition cars built, has been with its current owner since the day it left the factory and has covered just 35,000 miles in the intervening decade. It’s a lot of money for a car that some might see as having become outdated (it will take much longer to charge than a Model 3, for example), but its batteries should have another 65,000 miles of life left in them and there’s a huge stack of paperwork to show that it has been well cared for. It’s still faster off the line than pretty much everything at this price point – including most new sports cars – and, because you see so few today, it will turn as many heads as it did when it first hit the road. Alfa Romeo 156 GTA: Exceeding its lower estimate of £7000 by £2450, this lairy 156 GTA – one of just 1973 saloon examples built – is a classy Italian alternative to somewhat less reputable, mid-noughties sports saloons, such as the Ford Mondeo ST 220 and Vauxhall Vectra VXR. Selling points include Alfa Romeo’s rev-happy 3.2-litre Busso V6 engine in 250bhp form, Brembo performance brakes and quicker steering than in the standard 156. As a bonus, this GTA is equipped with the six-speed manual gearbox, rather than the much-maligned Selespeed automatic option. Land Rover Freelander 1.8 3dr, £1475: Right, tin hat time. Whether you like it or not, the Land Rover Freelander will one day, maybe soon, be seen as a modern classic. Why? Partly because so many have been driven to death and numbers are dwindling, and also because Land Rover doesn’t and won’t make another car like it. Yes, there’s the lifestyle-oriented Evoque and family-friendly Discovery Sport, but those are still premium cars. This is a quirky, curvy high-riding runaround in the vein of the original Toyota RAV4 and an absolute steal at less than £1500 1
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