Caterham Super 7

Basically a racing car for the road with a variety of powerplants, the Caterham Super 7 continues to define what ‘seat-of-the-pants’ really means. Mainly because said pants are three inches off the floor.

• Comfort

  Surprisingly good given the performance potential. But that's relative; fatties will struggle to get out once they're in, the ride is race car hard and you'll be deaf after ten minutes. The ‘SV' chassis is fractionally wider.

  

• Performance

  The ‘base' 125bhp, 1.6-litre Roadsport hits 62mph in 5.9 and fizzes to 112mph, the 150bhp version of the same engine achieving 4.9secs and 125mph. The Superlight R400 is so named because of it's power-to-weight ratio: it has 210bhp, clips to 62mph in 3.8 seconds and hits 140mph. There's a new R500 due soon - 62mph in 2.88 seconds? We feel sick just thinking about it.

  

• Cool

  A bit ‘enthusiast' for many tastes. It's hard to be cool sitting in a rollerskate, no matter how quick it is.

  

• Quality

  Variable. Old-school toggle switches are OK when made by the factory, but you can still buy a Seven as a kit, so watch out for garage-made cost-cutting. Not much else in there to be honest...

  

• Handling

  If you want the pinnacle of road holding then you're best off choosing some sort of Seven variant. Low centre-of-gravity, incredible grip, rear-wheel drive tactility and no assistance with any of the controls means this is the best car in which to explore performance.

  

• Practicality

  You can sit in it, there's a demonically complicated pop-stud hood to keep the rain off and a tiny boot arrangement, but if you're buying this for practicality you need therapy.

  

• Running costs

  Can be amusingly cheap; lower-engined versions get high mpg and sell well on the secondhand market. Insurance is high on the more powerful cars.