As 2021 draws to a close, it’s time to look back – not on the cars we drove, but the ones we actually bought, with our own hard-earned cash.
The last twelve months has seen a flurry of buying and selling among Autocar’s staff: here are the new, nearly-new and most definitely used cars we’ve added to our own driveways and garages, plus a few we had to let go.
Bought: Hillman Imp
It was my first official day back in the office when somebody started talking about Hillmans. I’ve always liked Imps so casually opened the classified ads. Dangerous. Soon I was on the phone, and two days later I’d agreed to buy this 1965 model.
It was a historic rally car before it broke in 2000, then it sat until a 2017 restoration and has largely sat since, so it needs a bit of love. I might tweak it to be a great road car, or turn it into a historic racer. Will drive it as is for a bit first, then decide.
The engine is the standard Mk1 875cc Coventry Climax-based aluminium unit, with all the fragility that apparently entails. I’ve had it ticking over, though, and it’s incredibly smooth. I have lots of spares including another engine.
I didn’t need another project, but I’m delighted to have one. – Matt Prior
Bought: Kia e-Niro
After jumping from one generation of diesel Honda CR-V to another for the past 15 years or so, my family decided to take the plunge into EV ownership. After much persuasion, reassurance and only a small amount of pressure to go electric from yours truly, we test drove and eventually bought a Kia e-Niro in 4+ specification.
For us, the car offered the ideal combination of premium equipment, a good degree of practicality and, perhaps most important, a healthy 282 miles of range. The lucky dip that is the UK’s EV charging infrastructure has taken some getting used to, but we are making significant savings from electricity over diesel. – Jack Warrick
Sold: Fiat 500
It didn’t have to go. Not really. The engine and gearbox were perfectly healthy at 88,000 miles, and even the clutch wasn’t too bad. The body and trim, after a decent clean, were in near-perfect order.
Still, it was plainly time for a change; there’s always a point at which you start missing modern conveniences. Our 500’s biggest drawback was a nearly unintelligible infotainment system (we never managed to connect a phone) and a decent set of LED headlights.
A latest-gen 500 Hybrid – better on those counts – was briefly considered but rejected. We cleared the decks by selling to a local trader we know. – Steve Cropley