Owning a Seven

I bought my first Seven just over 2 years ago at the time of writing this, in August 2007. Picking her up on the 1st of September, much to the dismay of the lovely staff at Caterham Midlands who were busy dealing with getting all their new cars out on time. Oops!

Is the car comfortable?

Lets be honest, you’re not buying this car for supreme driving comfort are you? That being said, the first day I drove the car, it felt like it was one of the most snug fitting cars I’ve ever had the fortune to experience. The low slung driving position is great and since you’re effectively pinned between the transmission tunnel and sidewall, with some great 4-point (or more) harnesses, you don’t float around in the seat, meaning you’re not strained from keeping yourself upright.

How reliable is it?

I’ve only had 2 ‘break downs’ and both were so simple to rectify it was silly. The main one featuring my battery is discussed in the technical section. The other was my fault for not tightening the connections on the battery correctly! Remember my car is an oldish K-Series engine so they’re not renowned for their reliability, so I’m doing well so far.

I bet your girlfriend hates it?

On the contrary, she loves it to bits I’ve even took my mum shopping in it!

Does it get cold/wet/freezing cold driving it?

Yes granted you are open to the elements so you are gonna get a bit chilly, so put some more clothes on! Mine has the optional (very heavy) heater, which helps a lot! I invested in a half hood from ‘Soft bits for Sevens’ and it is just fantastic at being a great alternative to the full hood.