The BONKERS Caterham 420R is far more practical than you'd think... 

Why do people harp on about Caterham’s and practicality? It’s ridiculous! I have a blast in mine and then use the Audi or the Golf to do the practical things. Enjoy it for what it is…

Quick tip: If you have the full roof on, there is a zipper to open the rear window in the roof to let hot air out.

I've had 3 now and they are additive. The first back in '99 was my only car and i drove 16k miles a year for four years. The hood is a life saver when it's sleeting & snowing. It has stiched in guttering to stop the water going down your back when you get in and out. The rear window zips open to get your shopping in the boot and the screen is heated to stop it misting up. There's a tensioner built into the hood sticks to tention it so it doesn't even flap at a steady 85mph. The lower section of the doors lift up and stay up by the air flow above 30mph to create a good breeze if it suddenly turns sunny. The heater will blow cold as well as hot air. Getting in and out isn't so easy but you soon learn to do a kind of tumble forward manoeuvre like Tony Alcock at the Crown Green Bowls. I think its easier than an Elise due to the narrow sill. Plenty of companies like OMP and Sparco make narrow leather shoes suitable for the office. The only consession I ever made was rolling my left trouser leg like a Free Mason due to an occasional drip from the scuttle during a long journey in the rain. I probably could have sealed it but it was never really a problem. Many reviews sign off that you have to be some kind of petrolhead masochist to buy one, but that's because they only keep them for a short time and don't learn about using the weather gear properly. Don't be put off thinking you can't run a Seven every day, just look for someone on a motorbike and think you've got it easy!

I took delivery of a 420R with the SV large chassis in December. I'd had a test drive of one, never driven one before. Your observations are spot on in so many ways; the time it takes to warm the tyres when a car has so little weight is terribly important and IF I'm unlucky enough to be on a wet road I'll drive it like a baby carriage ! I've owned some very powerful sports cars but this is the best thing I've ever tried. The steering is incredible. I didn't go for the 620 as I like the soundtrack of naturally aspirated engines; not into supercharger whine personally, thank God I didn't as only a complete pilot could want more than the 420 delivers. A great car with one of Ford's great engines. And a great review, well done !

Just had a great drive in my x-flow Seven, back home through the Dartford tunnel, great noise and jets of flames from the exhaust on downshifts and the best bit... I was only doing between 50 to 40 mph so you can enjoy these cars even at low speeds and without endangering your licence.

I’ve had a 420 for a few years can be quite practical if you plan well… my tips would be … buy a half hood as they are much better than the full hood and always drive with the lights on especially as you have the LED headlights

I have a 420R and you are correct - getting enough heat into the tyres in the wet is difficult. On a cold (

Absolutely love these! Although they're not practical for every day use, I'd still pick one over any SUV! Haha. Awesome colour, too!

I have a self built (kit car) Robin Hood Exmo 25 years old. A 7 type replica. Used it regularly for 8+ months of the year for first 12 years. Did the weekly shop, visited friends etc used it as much as practical. Wife is/ was happy to be out in most weather. Ok roof let's rain in but so what; a small tarpaulin sorts that, when parked up Changed job so couldn't use it as daily car due to needing a big boot. Still have her, but has been off road for 4 years - moved house, needs timing belt and some new bushes n stuff. But still there, once house refurbishment is done.

The only reason I don’t drive my Westie SE every day is because anyone can jump in and drive off if parked on the street and folk don’t respect it when is parked as well, came to find someone trying to get in for pictures after leaving outside a coffee shop in the highlands for 30 seconds.🤦🏻‍♂️

Great review. My Caterham K series (270BHP PT) was the best car I have ever owned & your pure joy of driving that 7 brings back wisps of that- I know exactly what you are experiencing there! People fantasise about a Fezza/Lambo/Mac/Porker etc but I really don’t think that they are as good as a 7. They genuinely just can’t beat the 7 formula. Chris Harris said so on his YT 7 review some years ago. One thing you omitted was the tonneau option. Hood down tonneau & doors on is magic - tonneau is easy to stow, easy to leave the car ‘locked’ & secure & brilliant to drive in rain like this without getting wet, you just need a cap. I’ve driven in heavy hail on motorway hood down/tonneau on & I hardly got wet. What a car. Totally addictive, a pure joy machine. A true elixir. Never beaten. The benchmark for all sports cars bar none. Now, I better sell my Elise…..

Perfect stable mate for your Yaris 😂

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ~an excellent design that incorporates best performance for the buck I vote it the coolest thing to come along since the BAJA BUG I bet it feels like driving a Sprint Car on the road 🤔

05:20 Cool that you talk about squeezing through traffic and a smart fortwo appears. It’s the car I’ve owned that I miss the most.

Daily driving in the wet teaches great car control. I managed to spin at about 10 mph when I wasn't concentrating. That was a long time ago (Vauxhall red top It be and about 210 bhp). Many of my colleagues were however falling off the road at about 80 mph in Subarus and Mitsubishis - know which I prefer as a reminder to always be in 110% control.

Didn't know you can put the roof on with the roll cage. Neat 😁

My main obstacle to purchasing a caterham is my requirement for a special vanity plate. "KAR 120C". Honk if you understand!

Any 7 is awesome, best without roof and doors (mrs like the doors tho!), but very best on dry days with an aero and helmet for max fun and protection. Great vid tho, makes me want to trade up by westie!

The visibility in traffic makes me think of recumbent bikes which usually sport a whip antenna with a small flag at the top.

Don't be daft! Any Caterham isn't practical! THAT was the official Michele Newman announcement when she test drove a Caterham on the old Top Gear. She announced that is was impractical, plus noisy and may have moaned about the wind too. Mind you she also droned on about the Sierra Cosworth being dangerous because the throttle was non linear. It would possibly cause some drivers to crash because pushing the accelerator down half way wasn't giving you half the power. I wouldn't normally even think to make comments containing references to women, kitchens and staying there but i felt in her case it might be acceptable...

Thank you for you good Video and the infos. But please, if you want more followers, control your body tension(language). Then it is much easier to enjoy your voice and content.

I have always wanted one from the first Lotus 7 I saw on TV. Unfortunately these have always brought a pretty high price here in the States so I make due with my old Spitfire. It would still be a fun car to have though.

I had the first hand built Zero in 2009, trick paint, carbon fibre, etc and kids thought it was a playground toy

the car i dram of since i was a kid, was V12 ferraris and Nissans GTR's, i always be intrested in caterhams since i see a anime series called EX-Driver. But man in a month or two im felt in love with it and now its one of my favorite cars ever. I really hope i can buy one some time in my life. good video

The best thing is setting off alarms in a multi storey car park !!!

One of the better reviews on RU-vid. Saw many of them to get a reference for my new car a Dutch made Donkervoort. I think the driving is kinda similar! Thanks!

Why not put the camera where your not taking your eyes off the road and traffic .....hummm .

So it's a motorcycle with four wheels. Awesome! ♥️

A perfect car for an imperfect world.

Took mine to the alps for a sking trip one time. Great trip and just strapped the skis downs with bungie cords

This is the closest thing with 4 wheels to riding a motorcycle 😊

That part roof might be OK on the move, but leave it parked in pouring rain and you'll have to swim into it when you return! Practicality? You have to keep it in a garage 'cause I bet even with the full roof it would leak if it lived outside 24/7. My garage is for my motorbikes, so I run a new MX5. Not as much driver fun as a Caterham - but not that far short and 100% practical.

I disagree. I did the family shop every sunny Saturday for years in my old 1700 crossflow. There are a couple of buts though. You must be on your own to free up the passenger seat and footwell. You can only go to one store or leave goods unattended while in a second. The benefite! I am just off to the supermarket dear...... hang on a minute and I'll come with you. Sorry dear I am going in the 7.

Only compared to a bicycle. Ah! Sorry, forgot about the man maths. I had one Kent cross flow on webbers 160hp semi race 4 speed. Take ear plugs and towels! Those old cross flow and webbers are 10x more characterful than the dull Duratecs and not much slower. K series suits them well too. Without the doors the air gets sucked out the cockpit. Well noted re the brake lights! Good review.

Time for the 620 and an aero screen :)

A late Danish Editor, Mogens Damkier, many years ago named a (Lotus) Seven to be an MC on four wheels! And said that with the roof up, you don't need to take the raincoat off from that! But as seen, it is a little difficult to enter the car, if not being a Circus Artist, able to put the feet behind his or hers neck! Sadly I have never managed to actually drive in one, and as 75 and +6" I doubt it will ever happen? 😢

I enjoyed this. You were driving just up the road from me. I’m hankering after a 7 - need to get my 996 sold!

I have had two 7's. A 1700 crossflow and a Cosworth BDR. Both were far from new and not top dollar but I dropped little on either car. I never had one as my only car but reckoned that I could have an older 7 and a newish hatchback for less that the cost of any perfomance car. Everyone should have one at least once, the most fun that you can have with your clothes on.

If you drive the SV than YES !

Always wanted one since watching the opening scene of ‘The Prisoner’. But in Blue!? What were you thinking of? Sorry but It’s got to be in racing green.

Make sure you have your side screens for longer periods of highway-speed driving, as the wind will eventually damage your eardrums.

Had a westfield for a summer. When I sold it I felt like the wife had left me. Properly heart broken. Going to buy a Caterham. Epic cars.

How about getting one with 4-wheel drive and a 2" receiver trailer hitch? [just teasing]

Wow, this thing is so bad

If you can Daily a Motorcycle you can Daily these .... Stop whining.

You need to take it up a notch now and drive the quick supercharged one!

Do you know if that 2.0 duratec engine is direct injection or multiport injection?

This begs for a k series or beams

7:05 Just drive through it. Or get an aftermarket hood, all of which are better.

Would be nice if you knew what you were talking about.

2:02: Too right on the ground clearance! I once had 'a poor man's Caterham' (not a Westfield, although I won't mention the make for fear of upsetting fans!) and it had a 2.0 Pinto engine and I went up a slight hill and where it levelled off, there was some camber in the road and I cracked my sump on it! Gutted! 🤦🏻‍♂ But as for living with it, I did just that for about two years. I once visited a client about 150 miles away and on the way there, the sun was shining and I had the roof and doors off all the way. On the way back, it was dark and pissing down with rain and the headlights were like candles and the wipers weren’t the best, so visibility was challenging at anything over 40mph. I loved it on the way there but on the way back... not so much. Weather-wise, just a typical English day‼ 🤷🏻‍♂☀🌤⛅🌥🌦🌦☁

You need a half hood from Soft Bits For Sevens / Soft Bits Shop

brilliant video mate. was really well done.

England... no rain ?

I’d have mine in painted matt black, black matt wheel arches and chromed roll cage, with black alloys with chromed rims. Beautiful car and would be a dream car for me. Maybe, one day I’ll have one…

18 month waiting list means you aint getting a new one for a while...

Great review, not many people show with the full rain roof on, i like it and would be nice to own a kit car like this. the roll cage is a must for safety. also beautiful in this Blue colour. wonder if you can review the GBS Zero kit car?

you look like George Russells older brother

Well done! Nice review. Quite a potential rival to Twin Cam!

Travelled just for the T shirt ....

After work who would go home ....

Really needs lesson on how I get my ass in the car. You made it look easy

a beauty, thanks for the video. Would have loved to see how to exit the car with the roof on top...

Maybe use a camelback system for your cuppa in the morning?

Very good and informative video JB, well done. Keep them, coming!

What chassis is this? S3 or SV?

Big up Benson Maccies

doesn't it idle at any time? or just when the engine is cold in the morning?

Awesome, cheers 👍

Absolutely Wonderful... I want one !

Arms going like fuck!

So many hair styles in one video :D

Can I jam an LS motor in it?

Lovely car and a well put together video 👍

Outstanding video! I want one

Great video, just susbscribed

Caterham basically lie about the power to weight ratio of their cars, this car should really be a 375R. They weigh about 560kgs, not 500. Over inflated figures, a bit like their prices! 😂😂 Great cars though I agree but I just don't get the stats manipulation, what's the point? Really enjoyed the video in any case, the thrill of blatting any 7 never gets old 👍

Do stop saying 'like'. Thanks.

It's a shame they have Ford engines in them. Reliability gets flushed down the toilet.

As I have said on other channels,this Car is way over Priced. And you showing that Oil Pan problem makes me double down on this Car is way over price .... Poor design... Buy a factory five Cobra. .. with Prices of Cars to day they are out of reach for most..... Dumb investment...

Who doesn't charge a Phone over night ... Silly.

Tourist to Canada or Relatives on the otherside of The Pond ??

Front turn Signals Ugly as a Wart ......

210hp a joke in 2023 ....

Quisiera uno o al menos una réplica, me encantan🥰