How to rediscover the love for cars? Get out there and buy an affordable classic
It took our Eras tests to top up Richard Meaden’s love for cars. It also stoked the urge to buy an S1 Elise
From the moment Peter Tomalin first suggested the idea we all knew it was an absolute belter, but what transpired – and the feedback we’ve had from our readership – exceeded what any of us imagined it could become. For the, ahem, ‘most experienced’ members of the evo team it was a chance to revisit old four-wheeled friends and perhaps see them in a new light. For the brighter-eyed and bushier-tailed individuals, Eras provided a unique opportunity to experience significant cars that were launched years (sometimes decades!) before they were even born.
Being slightly younger than OGs Peter T and JB (that’s old gits, not original gangsters, in case you’re wondering), but older than the young guns, means Eras gave me the pleasure of driving cars I read about as a pre-driving-age teenager and those I was too junior to be let loose in during the earliest days of my motoring journalism career. Retracing my journey from Carweek and Performance Car to the foundation of evo and the decades that followed proved unexpectedly emotional. I’ve had my life flash before me a few times while behind the wheel, but never as enjoyably as this.
The true scale of what we’d taken on only hit us after the ’80s test, which came together like a dream. Largely thanks to the convenience of Audi, BMW and Toyota’s heritage fleets, not to mention Harry Metcalfe and his Testarossa, but also Steve Pidding – owner of the glorious Cassis 911 3.2 Carrera – and the guys at AutoRARA, who trusted us with their pristine, freshly restored 205 GTI.
It set the tone for every subsequent gathering. Indeed, the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s simply wouldn’t have happened without the support and enthusiasm of the evo audience and our wider network of friends and acquaintances. It’s one thing to loan your car for a magazine test, quite another to take three days off work to stand around in a blustery car park while a bunch of blokes you’ve never met tear off into the distance in your pride and joy. As you can imagine, driving all these cars was horrendous so far as fuelling my already out-of-control ownership fantasies is concerned.
The urge to buy an S1 Elise continues to gnaw away at me. Worse, having reminded myself how wonderful a TVR Griffith 500 is, I now have the turmoil of knowing I want one of those just as badly. With good examples of each costing similar money, the quandary is real.
Optimism is a rare commodity these days for all kinds of reasons, but if you’re a car enthusiast it’s especially easy to sink into the depths of despair. Perhaps the best thing to come from the Eras series is a fresh perspective and a renewed sense that some of the best real-world driver’s cars in our lifetimes are genuinely affordable. Whether that’s a classic like the Mk1 MR2 or Clio 16v, pretty much any generation of MX-5, a 996 Carrera or the slightly pricier but still sub-£30k Elise, TVR or Impreza RB5. Look beyond our six-car snapshots (okay, seven cars for the ’00s) and there is a mind-blowing abundance of cars to go at.
I know they’ve always been out there, but sometimes you need a full reset to see the things that you have perhaps become blind to. Especially when hypercars have been hijacked by people obsessed with flaunting wealth and chasing fame. I’d like to think I’ve always believed monetary value is not the measure of a car’s appeal or greatness. Having that belief validated in each and every one of our Eras tests couldn’t have come at a better time, for honestly I’d begun to seriously wonder if I was losing the love. But 2025 ended up being one of the best years I can remember. And 2026, with our Supercar Eras tests, more on which soon, is carrying on the momentum. It’s good to be back.
