A car journey always feels more exciting when there’s a destination. With another foreign holiday cancelled and continued travel confusion over green, amber and red, the only traffic lights I want to see are in England this summer on a staycation road trip.
As you know, I am a huge fan of English fizz, so we plotted a tour of three delightful vineyards in East Sussex and Kent over three days. Destination settled, what car should we take?
I am a big fan of electric cars, which are exempt from the £12.50 daily charge for entering London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez). On October 25, this is set to expand from the existing congestion charge zone all the way to the north and south circular roads.
I’ve owned electric cars for 12 years and know their limitations. Sadly, the infrastructure just isn’t there yet, especially in the countryside. I recently took Grant Shapps to task about this on my TalkRadio show. If we all went electric, the transport secretary seems blissfully unaware that the 25,000 charging points he’s so proud of won’t service the nation’s 30m vehicles.
Setting aside the range constraints, until someone makes a convertible electric vehicle, they’re not appealing for this kind of recreational excursion.
One of the reasons I sold my Tesla was because it was soulless, like driving around in a doctor’s waiting room. My current electrical companion, the Jaguar I-Pace, resembles a footballer’s living room. Sadly, the panoramic glass roof doesn’t open. Its only function, it seems, is to highlight when your car needs a wash (when it gets covered with bird poo, in case you were wondering).
For driving around the Garden of England, I wanted to go open top with a petrol engine soundtrack and a huge boot to stow all the cases of sparkling wine we planned to buy.
If, like me, you have a suite of cars, they’ll have different applications. The electric Jag is ideal for buzzing between our homes in London and the north Essex coast. My Aston likes a long-distance overseas adventure. It’s epic for unlimited speed autobahn motoring and hill driving, and perfect for posing outside luxury hotels and villas. It’s convertible, but not nimble enough for an English country road.
The Rolls is good for an outing to the chippy or a nice breakfast run, but far too unreliable for long haul. Thankfully lockdown allowed me to add one more vehicle to my fleet — a Mercedes SL.
Produced between 1971 and 1989, the Mercedes R107 sports car was the second longest single series produced by the auto manufacturer, after the G-Class. They made over 300,000 of them. Before you conclude that they’re common, remember the volume of production means a plentiful supply of spare parts.
Many vehicles ended up in the US, so they’re not that prolific on Britain’s roads and they’re a 1980s television icon. Bobby Ewing had one. So does Greg James from Radio 1, so they must be cool.
Like many classic cars, they do have a rust problem. Early models weren’t galvanised, and they’re all susceptible to the bulkhead rusting (an impossible-to-get-to part behind the engine bay and under the windscreen). If it rusts, you’ll know about it because your carpets will be damp and the car will honk — but not in a “toot†way. It’s fixable but expensive, so you’ve got to be careful when purchasing.
If you have all the money in the world, you’d go to the official SL Shop. They’ve currently got a late run 1989 300 SL on offer with just over 12,000 miles on the clock for (wait for it) £80,000. Fine if you’re looking for an investment, but it’s too much for a usable classic.
Under lockdown, I became obsessed with The Market, the online classic car auction website that’s just been snapped up by Bonhams — perfect for drooling over as you head off to bed. It’s easy to register and their process for profiling cars with hundreds of detailed photos and video footage is light years ahead of traditional auction brochures.
Browsing the site, I was distracted by a Triumph Stag. Throaty, burbling and practical if you do manage to find a well sorted example. However, I have previous — a narrow escape a few years ago with one that had more filler than a faded TV personality. It didn’t drive well, wasn’t particularly comfortable and rattled and squeaked like an old British Rail train carriage.
After some homework, I concluded that the first generation Mercedes SLs built before 1979 were cheap for a reason. They were often riddled with problems. The final run from 1986 are generally the best, but the most expensive. Early 1980s vehicles offer the best value for money, especially if they have over 100,000 miles on the clock. Plus — they’re only a couple of years away from becoming a heritage vehicle (40 years old) which is when they become road tax and Ulez exempt. Bonus!
As for engine size, the 560 series is somewhat lairy, like the US market it was aimed at. I prefer the 300 series; it’s fast enough to cruise along a motorway and powerful enough to motor through the countryside.
The R107 is particularly lovely on a winding country road. The seats and driving position are super comfortable, the roof mechanism easy to operate and the big steering wheel gives a floaty yet relaxed driving experience.
Don’t be swayed by men in tweed jackets who tell you that you need a small wheeled manual sports car. They’re the kind of people who drive MGBs, a car suitable only for short people with a waist size less than 34†who don’t care about looking undignified falling out of the low-slung cockpit.
The car I eventually purchased for a shade over £17,000 was a 1982 Mercedes SL 380 with 102,000 miles on the clock that been previously owned by John Menzies, great grandson of the founder of the newsagent group, and subsequently by a Scottish artist. The provenance was excellent, and the file was thick with invoices for servicing, repairs, upgrades and paintwork.
The running costs are low and the £268 insurance great value. And on the first turn of the key, it purred into life. What a car!
Back from touring the fantastic wine estates of Busi Jacobsohn, Balfour at the Hush Heath Estate and Gusbourne, we certainly don’t feel short-changed. The cellar is fully stocked for a summer of garden parties, and last week, an SL like mine went for £28,000 online.
But here’s something else to consider. After 2025, Transport for London has signalled there will no longer be a tax saving for electric vehicles. It could be that heritage vehicles (or a mobile crane, should you own one) will become the most cost-effective way to cruise around town.
James Max is a radio presenter and property expert. The views expressed are personal. Twitter: @thejamesmax
