Thursday 31st December 2015
PH 2015 - Carpool Of The Year
PH owners on their cars - but which of the diverse range seen in 2015 attracted the most attention?
First up, though presented in a top 10 format this isn't a contest so we'll not rank them in order or anything like that. We just crunched some numbers relating to our weekly PH Carpool owner interview and picked out the 10 that got the most reads. And, pleasingly, it's as diverse a selection as the cars that have appeared in our weekly Carpool slot, for 2015 including stuff as wide ranging as astation wagon,
Nissan Juke NISMO , mint, various TVRs and .... Takes all sorts but we all love hearing the nitty gritty about the cars PHers drive and if you want share your pride and joy with us just drop us a line at Carpool@PistonHeads.com.
Andy admitted his thing for the RS6 "went very quickly from 'would like to have' to 'must have'" and his Carpool displays some vintage use of Man Maths to offset the Audi's thirst and VED against the family Qashqai also on his driveway. Credit due for extra rarity points in not having an Avant.
Carpool is a chance for us to experience ownership vicariously through those who actually run the things and, unsurprisingly, there was a lot of interest on what life with an Ultima GTR is really like. Having intended to build his own Roger instead found a ready to run example in the PH Classifieds and has set about making it his own. His 'Things I Love' section speaks volumes. Why does he enjoy it so much? "The pure pleasure of driving something completely different and off the wall."
Carpool shows the huge range of cars owned and loved by PHers and, though it takes in everything from Sheds to full-on supercars, it's the cars of any budget with something quirky and interesting that always catch the eye. OK, Mark's submission is a Ferrari. But one with a difference - a modern V12 Ferrari with a manual gearbox. And one that, after a lukewarm reception when new, might just be fulfilling its potential.
A former TVR and Subaru Impreza owner, Andy's PH credentials are pretty much impeccable. As his Chimaera became "increasingly unreliable" and his daily X-Type wasn't doing much for the excitement stakes a fast estate car of some sort looked an inevitability. An Audi S4 was originally considered. Then he stumbled across a V8 Mercedes wagon...
As we said in our intro to Andrew's Ferrari, if you're going to do it why bother being shy or retiring. Sharing a garage with a Polo Bluemotion (and a couple of other things...) he chose to import a LHD example from Germany to save a little cash and realise his dream of Ferrari ownership in spectacular style. Has it lived up to the promise? Click the link to find out!
PHers love a Jag, a V8 and a Q-car - Steve's rather understated looking F-Type carries off all three with some style and rarity to boot. Visually hard to pick out from the ranks of rep-spec F-Type diesels yet not quite as potent as the full-on XFR, the original owner is to be lauded for their determined choice. And denial about its ability to depreciate. Steve had intended to buy a V6 but got a little distracted when he found this rarity. "My logic all along had been: they won't be allowed to make cars with engines like this eventually when everything goes electric, so I'd better own one now while the opportunity is there." We like your thinking sir!
Ourfeature pitching the old-school Subaru WRX STI against the modern German pretender to its crown was one of our biggest stories of the year; credit to S3 owner Paul for responding with his reasons for choosing the Audi. Big enough to carry the family, fast enough to entertain and with a Q-car vibe the shouty Subaru can't help to emulate he makes a convincing counterpoint to our twin test.
Is it just us or is the BMW 6 Series finally maturing into a stylish looking coupe? Maybe we've got used to those bold Bangle lines, perhaps tastes have changed but these days the 6 Series is a more tempting choice than it's ever been before. Chris's love for the car hasn't been as slow-burn as ours - he wanted one from the first time he clapped eyes on it and his enthusiasm for his understated V8 650i is very likely to have you hitting the classifieds in short order...
Fast Fords have a strong following on PH and excitement is reaching fever pitch over the new RS ahead of our first drive early in the new year. Like many RS owners, Rob hasn't been able to resist making his Ford his own, extending to an eye catching Martini livery for the trip to Le Mans. Good man! Raw and unapologetic compared with the more high-tech four-wheel drive successor, interest in these bruisers is sure to benefit from 2016's pending fixation with Fast Fords.
PH loves a Lotus, PH especially loves a Lotus owned by a passionate fan of the brand who uses it properly. If Martin's lovely photographs of his Evora out and about on Scottish road trips don't inspire you to look again at this much overlooked Lotus his enthusiastic ownership experience surely will... A vintage example of how Carpool should be done, Martin's willingness to share his in-depth knowledge of the car can only help further in the temptation stakes.
It wouldn't be fair to describe Rafe's lovely manual V8 E34 5 Series Touring as classic Shed Of The Week fodder - it was simply too nice a car for that. But his intentions were in that ballpark. "My brief was a tough one," he said. "20 years old, estate, V8 engine, manual box for a couple of grand." The car he settled on quickly swallowed its purchase price in work but was undeniably a lovely piece of kit and proof Carpool isn't all about megabucks exotica - just interesting cars with a bit of a story to tell.