cheltonianmotoring
masterpiece of
engineering.Asimple catch to flick, then one handed fold and stowing takes less than two seconds to complete - it’s really that fast. You showmean electronic hood thatworks as quickly and looks as cool. Although you can’t, because I genuinely believe it doesn’t exist. The second party trick is one that
you never tire of.When I handed this car back, itwas the one thing I knew I’d miss more than anything else on
this pocket rocket. It is the exhaust. Or rather exhausts… there are four of them.And the noise theymake is an absolute joy. Revving all theway to 6,500rpm, there are a number of sweet spots in terms of sound and I enjoyed hitting every one of them. Therewas even a nice crackle on the over-run, but itwas hard to generate, making it all the more rewarding when you achieved it. The dashwas very driver-centric - the central and largest dialwas the rev counter - picked out in bright red, to emphasise its prominence. But enough about the fun stuff…
moving on to the practicalities. Yes, it only has two seats, so you
can’t take the family out. But on the occasions that I took the kids out (individually) they both loved it. They loved the noise, the seats, the roof… my seven-year-oldwas particularly taken by the scorpion images
liberally (yet subtly) splashed around the cabin. The bootwas impressively large
for such a small car too. I’m not sure howthey’ve managed it, but its capacity to swallowtwo large hockey kit bags without issuewas testament indeed. The folder roof doesn’t encroach into the storage space at all, which is a bonus on any convertible. Fueleconomy isn’t horrific -
granted Iwas havingway toomuch fun to think about driving economically (especially once I found the button that switched the exhaust up a notch or two on the noise levels), but with a small engine and very lowweight, it’s not a bank- breaker in terms of fuel.
CatchmoreofToby at
www.cartestdummy.co.uk or followhim onTwitter @tobyaiken
THECHELTONIAN MARCH/ APRIL 2019 41
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