Skip advert
Advertisement

Caterham R300

It's been a frustrating month or so for the Caterham, as we've all been too busy to exercise it in its natural environment, the track. Now that the evoactive season is over we'll have to investigate a few off-season events - a Caterham is arguably more fun in the wet anyway. As ours is primarily intended to be a road car, it'll be interesting to see how it performs on the circuit as Caterhams are so sensitive to set-up. On the road it feels about right, with gentle understeer followed by nice predictable ov

It's been a frustrating month or so for the Caterham, as we've all been too busy to exercise it in its natural environment, the track. Now that the evoactive season is over we'll have to investigate a few off-season events - a Caterham is arguably more fun in the wet anyway. As ours is primarily intended to be a road car, it'll be interesting to see how it performs on the circuit as Caterhams are so sensitive to set-up. On the road it feels about right, with gentle understeer followed by nice predictable oversteer if you want it, but track work might highlight a few areas that require change.

The R300 has been back to the factory for its 1000-mile service and while it was there a new rear diff was fitted. The original was very noisy - an issue that Caterham had highlighted before we picked our car up initially, but we wanted the R300 in a hurry and agreed to live with it for the first month or so. Frankly, though, the whole car is so loud that the aural benefit of the new diff is hard to determine. Earplugs remain a good idea.

The bonnet stripe we mentioned a couple of months ago is imminent. Some of the evo team think it doesn't need it, but we'll give it a go and if it looks trite we'll revert to pure white.

Running Costs

Date acquiredJuly 2004
Total mileage2584
Costs this month£195 (service)
Mileage this month320
MPG this month20.2
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

This secret British sports car is a £5m gamble, inspired by Lotus and with Ferrari looks
Wells Vertige
Features

This secret British sports car is a £5m gamble, inspired by Lotus and with Ferrari looks

Robin Wells fancied a new sports car so decided to build his own. The result is the Wells Vertige, and now you can have one too
28 Apr 2026
Volvo XC90 review – still the king of the school run or past its best?
Volvo XC90 front
Reviews

Volvo XC90 review – still the king of the school run or past its best?

Volvo’s star flagship family car has been renewed with more hybrid power, sharper tech and looks and competitive pricing
30 Apr 2026
New Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake review – a good electric car, if not a thrilling driver’s car
Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake front
Reviews

New Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake review – a good electric car, if not a thrilling driver’s car

Mercedes-Benz keeps the Shooting Brake alive with the new CLA – it’s practical, efficient and refined, if not massively fun
28 Apr 2026