BARGAIN GUZZLERS
Do you require only a light wallet for these heavy drinkers? Russ Smith and Team PC ask the question and get an interesting answer
Back in the June issue my regular column highlighted the sad plight of a sector of classics, christened ABTs (Affordable But Thirsty) for the purposes of making a point. Circumstances were not being kind to these wafty big-brand bruisers, mostly with fine British names like Jaguar, Rolls-Royce and Range Rover. Buyers were not keen on MPG figures in the teens. Quality cars were buyable for Morris Minor prices. It seems my comments struck a chord and the next thing I knew this shoot had been arranged to highlight the virtues of these fading heroes. So you might not particularly want to take one on a tour of Scotland right now, but surely owning a classic is as much about smiles as miles? And maybe my words affected a wider audience, too. They were made after observations on Anglia Car Auctions’ April sale. By its June event, where all the cars in our feature were being offered for sale, things were a little rosier.
How much rosier? Well read on and discover whether the team selected classics that confirmed the theory, or not. Is a poor fuel economy figure becoming a turn-off in 2022?
MATT TOMKINS
With Super Unleaded knocking on the door of £2 a litre on the day of our shoot, the displayed average 9.5 mpg on the trip computer smarted a bit as I glugged a good few litres of dead dinosaur juice down the filler neck. But clambering back into the luscious cabin the commanding driving position atop acres of cream cow is truly marvellous. This stunning example of the thirstiest P38 has just one owner and 66,711 miles from new and an estimate in the upcoming ACA sale of £5-7k, which is peanuts really when you consider what you’re getting for the money. Any Range Rover oozes class and, although much maligned, the P38 can be a splendid car indeed when in fine fettle, and in fine fettle this example (with plenty of that all-important service history) seems to be. With the ability to transport four adults in extreme comfort, five in a little less, the V8 up front ensures that trips to the races are dispatched swiftly – especially in Sport mode when this beast defies its size. We stop for photographs and I adopt the classic Range Rover position, perching on the split tailgate with just a Labrador missing for full country gent vibes. The load space behind me is cavernous, too, making the P38 a truly practical proposition, particularly with the seats down and a 3500kg trailer on the back that, given the earth-moving torque when you plant your right foot, shouldn’t present any problems at all.
Was it a bargain?
Guided at what seemed like a good value pre-fuel price boom £5-7000, I was expecting this guzzler to struggle to reach its lower estimate given the cost of going anywhere in i
