Top 10: Classic super-saloons for under £5000
With the cost of petrol running at an all-time high, the thought of buying a gas-guzzling large-engined saloon might seem a little bit on the silly side - but for those who have the luxury of running one as a second car, or as a low-mileage, cherished classic, there has never been a better time to buy.
We've come up with ten 200bhp-plus saloons that should offer considerable joy for those who like effortless power, a suerb ride and masses of presence. As a Sunday luxury, any of these 1980s and '90s plutocrat-mobiles will make you feel like a government minister on a whistle-stop tour, or a company chairman hurrying to an extraordinary board meeting.
And now, they're all in the reach of anyone with a modest-sized ISA to cash-in...
Alfa Romeo 164 Quadrofoglio
2959cc, 225bhp, 152bhp
£1000-5000
The 164 is the most visually appealing of the Fiat/Saab Type 4 executive cars, as it received its own Pinifarina-styled 'shell, as opposed to the shared Giugiaro look of the other three cars (Saab 9000, Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema). But more importantly, it retained the heart of an Alfa thanks to its epic-sounding Busso V6 engine, which in Quadrofoglio (Cloverleaf) form, pumped out 225 of the sweetest-sounding horses you'll ever encounter. Rare, but worth searching out, and far less troublesome than the uninformed would have you believe.
Add a comment