Ariel Atom 4 review

It's a car you need to spec with your eyes open. Go in there with a definite, unbudgeable budget in mind and try your best to resist temptation. Prices start at £45,000 and it is possible to have a perfectly lovely Atom for not much more than £50,000.

Many people go back later to upgrade various parts – and to be honest that's a key part of the ownership experience. After all, where is the fun in just ticking every box immediately and walking out feeling a bit sore that there is nothing left to add and your bank account is a bit empty?

Economy? Well, it's light, it's got a clean engine and if you just potter about you will get 35mpg. Expect a cruising range of 250–270 miles. Although who cruises in an Atom? Plus the fuel gauge is a fibber, plummeting low quickly, so you go and fill up and discover you still had half a tank left.

But the best news of all is how this car retains its value. Broadly speaking, you will get for it used not far off what you paid for it new. The waiting list is long, production is small, the cars are famously strong and tend to have low mileages.