How a sub-200bhp runabout exposes the problem with today’s performance cars

Taking delivery of a new long-termer wouldn’t have been cause for comment not so long ago, at least not beyond the standard introduction in our Fast Fleet pages, but in recent years ‘long-termers’ have become increasingly thin on the ground.

There are numerous causes of the shortage. Chronic supply issues and consequent delays in delivering cars to paying customers meaning a significant number of agreed long-termers were diverted into showrooms, while some simply weren’t built. Those same delays decimated manufacturer press fleets, meaning loaning cars to magazines for extended tests became harder to justify. Having adapted to smaller fleets and the savings that come with them, most brands have stuck with them. And, of course, the car companies have cottoned-on to making fewer cars and charging more for them.

> Everyone loves the idea of a GT car, so why does nobody buy them?

Yes, I know. Being forcibly weaned off an endless stream of new cars to call your own is a First World problem. Cry me a river, etc. But having been in this business longer than I care, or indeed remain capable of remembering, the reduced availability of long-term test cars masks a more troubling trend. Namely the chronic lack of new cars we actually want to run.

Admittedly, evo’s positioning makes things more difficult. It never has, and hopefully never will be, a mainstream motoring title. This obviously narrows the field, but ironically our Fast Fleet section has always been the place where we can spend meaningful time with more attainable metal.

Now, thanks to the steady demise of whole segments of the performance car market, we blaggers – and therefore you buyers – are left with slim pickings when it comes to fun, fast and vaguely affordable cars. Especially those that fit with an everyday-use case. Having long since seen the demise of homologation specials, we’re now mourning the loss of two-seater sports cars and bidding farewell to hot hatches, small coupes and quick compact saloons and estates. Hell, we don’t even have sporty diesels anymore.

What we’re left with is a car market that’s completely out of kilter. At one end there is the Shangri-La of supercars, hypercars, and super-SUVs bought by the very small percentage who can afford them. Meanwhile the rest of us face the prospect of buying over-styled, over-priced and largely undesirable crossovers. Or an overweight (and over-priced) EV that offers a one-dimensional driving experience and forces us to bend our schedules to a charging infrastructure that’s still not fit for purpose.

There was a time when even we could get excited about mainstream metal. Ford’s extraordinary run of Mk1 Focus, Puma, Ka and Mondeo – under the guidance of the late and much-missed Richard Parry-Jones – proved that, when a manufacturer made engineering quality and vehicle dynamics paramount, the results could be truly exceptional. Sadly, the car business now seems more concerned with cranking in more profit margin via ever-more extensive platform and technology sharing, restricting supply and/or constructing some crappy ‘luxury’ messaging in the hope we’re stupid enough to swallow it. We’re not, but short of spending the rest of our motoring lives driving increasingly ageing used cars, it’s a case of Hobson’s choice.

As for the long-termer in question, let’s see if you can guess what it is. It is turbocharged but has comfortably less than 200bhp. It doesn’t ride particularly well and has a slightly odd driving position, but it weighs less than 1100kg and – wait for it – has a five-speed manual transmission. Plus, get this, it is also mercifully free of Lane Assist, Emergency Brake Assist, Intelligent Speed Assist, Blind Spot Monitoring and Drowsiness warnings. In other words, it’s absolute bliss.

I can honestly say the first few weeks of custodianship have been a revelation. Yes, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the presence, prestige and performance of the Jag F-type and Maserati Ghibli Trofeo I’ve run in recent years, but within a few days I began to find increasing delight in living with a small, simple, lightweight car. It’s quick too, with an infectiously boisterous character. Obviously, this means I drive it everywhere like my teenage self, but I’m sure that’ll wear off. Maybe.

I also cannot overstate how good it feels to have a reprieve from teeth-splinteringly annoying driver assistance systems. Since daily driving a car free of such ‘aids’, my general awareness, focus and engagement are definitely more acute. Sadly, by the same token, overreliance upon such technology and a lack of underlying skill – or even the will – to override it is the depressing answer to why general driving standards seem to have fallen off a cliff in recent years. They drive amongst us.

This story was first featured in evo issue 318.