I’ve stated in this column before that the ‘greenest’ car you can buy is a good used one. After all, it’s generally estimated that around 25 per cent of the total lifecycle emissions of an ICE (internal combustion engine) powered vehicle comes from its actual production. So, buying used makes sense environmentally, regardless of whether you can actually afford a new car or not.
Apart from all the usual sensible options, such as HiLux’s and LandCruisers etc , which models in particular make sense to me as being potentially great used buys? Here’s a ‘Top 5’ that I reckon are hidden gems, and interesting to boot.
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
To be fair, all the Giulia models are pretty good to drive and can be found for sale at reasonable prices, but the Quadri is the pick of the bunch. The average Merc/BMW/Audi owner is never going to understand this car at all, which is a part of its appeal. Only real enthusiasts understand Alfas. The Quadri has what’s effectively a Ferrari V8 engine with a couple of cylinders lopped off and that’s the heart and soul of this machine. It sounds glorious, goes like sh*t off a shovel, and handles beautifully.
The new car price of this model is too high in my opinion, but a low kms example at under $100k starts getting sensible. Don’t buy it as an everyday car that you’re going to stick big kays onto. Instead, contemplate this as a second car to drive when the mood is right and you’re heading out of town towards the open road. The Quadri is a plate of handmade pasta with fresh white truffle shaved on top and is not to be confused with steak and chips. Use sparingly and enjoy for years to come.
Holden Commodore ZB Wagon
Yup, whilst everyone is chasing the last of the Aussie built VF Commodores, the real smart buy is the last of them all, the ZB German built “Opel”. At around $20k for a very low kays example, the 2.0-litre station wagon ZB is the best of the bunch. They’re properly screwed together and drive as well as most equivalent popular mid-size cars of the time.
The four-cylinder car is better balanced than the six, as well as using appreciably less fuel. The rare diesel engined one appears to carry a bit of a premium over the petrol, but it’s not as nice to drive. The ZB Wagon is a far more sensible buy than, for instance, an equivalent age Toyota RAV4 at 40 to 50 per cent more money. And if the Holden badges project the wrong image for you in your part of suburbia, then stick some Buick ones on instead. The Commodore was sold as a Buick Regal in North American and China.
Range Rover Vogue TDV8
Some would say that the L322 series Range Rover was the last of the real Rangies. Later models became even bigger and more complex. The best of the L322s was the diesel 4.4-litre V8 that ran for the final three years of that series, 2010 to 2012. A terrific engine, it was actually a Ford-built unit, rather than the BMW six-cylinder diesel that was initially installed in the L322. Far more economical in real world driving than the petrol V8 alternatives, the TDV8 remains a sought after vehicle even today, some 12 years after production finished.
In the UK no self-respecting country estate or farm is without one even today. Part of the attraction of the variant is that the seemingly inevitable Land Rover brand reliability bugs had largely been eradicated by this stage of the L322s life. I bought one new in 2011, sold it in 2014 and have regretted doing so ever since. A low kms (under 100K km) for fifty grand or so makes a lot of sense especially if you only plan on using it for weekend towing, etc.
Lotus Elise
The current owners of Lotus are hellbent on turning it into an electric car behemoth it seems, and thereby removing its raison d’etre, which was always as a small scale producer of lightweight (sometimes too lightweight…), fabulous handling sports cars that were accessible to many enthusiasts. Not only does the Elise epitomise those Lotus brand characteristics superbly, it’s also a thing of beauty in most peoples eyes. It’s probably wise to go for the normally=aspirated Toyota engined variant, in my opinion, which promises simplicity and reliability whilst still well under a ton in weight.
I owned one of the very first Series 1 Rover-engined cars for many years and, whilst it represented absolute purity in some ways, it wasn’t as good a car as the 2008+ cars. The great thing is that, as long as the kilometres are kept under control, I don’t really see a nice car from that era ever going under $40k. There simply aren’t very many of them. Don’t be afraid to pay good money for an unmodified one and then keep it that way.
Skoda Octavia RS Wagon
Skoda remains one of the most underrated brands in this country. With the best build quality of any marque in the Volkswagen Group, the Czech-built cars are Audis for the cognoscenti. And the Octavia RS is probably the pick of the bunch. The 2017-2020 NE model, is the one to consider. Track down a lower kms car for around $30k and it’ll almost certainly give many kilometres of great, practical, motoring for anyone who actually likes cars. Whilst I’d always tend to go for the wagon, there’s nothing wrong with the saloon. You’ll pay a lot more for a Golf R of the same vintage and kms than you will for the equivalent Octavia RS. Be smart and go Skoda.
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