The six best cars we don’t get in the UK

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C8

It feels almost too obvious to talk about the new C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray first. Almost. GM pulled Chevrolet out of the UK in late-2015 to focus more on its Vauxhall and Opel brands, and we all know how well that went… For PSA. The knock-on effect wasn’t just that we had to wave goodbye to the tremendous C7 but that we’d never officially receive any future ‘Vettes.

The C8 is Chevrolet’s latest and greatest, and by far and away the biggest departure from the traditional Corvette recipe since the first ‘Vette was sold back in 1953. It’s still rear-wheel-drive and it still has a V8, but that big, brutal heart is now mounted in the middle rather than the front. So for roughly the price of a Porsche Cayman you can buy something that’s closer in price, size and performance to a Ferrari 488 GTB. What’s more, the C8 Corvette’s engine is naturally aspirated – that’s right, a 6.2-litre, mid-mounted V8 in 2020. Damn we wish we could have one.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C8 specification

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

The Dodge range is simple. At the sensible end of the spectrum there’s the Neon, a car we have no interest in at all, and the Durango SUV, a car launched with one of the greatest advertising campaigns in history, courtesy of Anchorman’s Ron Burgandy. Then at the muscle end you’ve got the Charger and Challenger. Which would we rather have in the UK? Well the Challenger certainly looks better, but the Charger does the same thing but with four doors. You can’t go wrong with that.

The name is as memorable as they come and the recipe very simple: rear-wheel-drive at the back, space for five in the middle and a big V8 out front. With the SRT Hellcat you get a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 with 707PS. You also get independent suspension all the way round and Bilstein dampers, as well as huge 390mm discs. Useful when the car weighs 2,057kg…

It’s the muscle car at its finest, and we dearly wished we could have one in the UK.

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat specification

Honda S660

A list like this wouldn’t be complete without a Kei car of some description, so what better machine to include than the awesome little Honda S660?

Kei cars are the smallest highway-legal motor vehicles available in Japan. First introduced in 1949, Kei cars could be no longer than 2.8m, no wider than 1.0m and be powered by an engine no larger than 150cc or 100cc, as four- and two-strokes respectively. The regulations have changed seven times over the years, gradually allowing slightly larger machines with higher capacity engines. The last rule change was in 2013, at which time a power limit was also introduced to stop crazy tiny-cc engines producing silly numbers. It was after those rules were introduced that Honda created the S660. 

So named because of its tiny 64PS, 0.66-litre, turbocharged three-cylinder engine (658cc if we’re being precise, adhering to the current 660cc Kei limit), the dinky S660 has two seats and weighs just 830kg. It also has no roof and looks not too dissimilar to a squashed NSX, and rivals the Kei Suzuki Jimny for Kei-awesomeness. Available with a CVT (absolutely not) or a six-speed manual gearbox (yes please), we’re deep into a Google rabbit hole trying to figure out how to buy one…

Honda S660 specification

Kia Telluride

The UK’s new Kia Sorento might take some styling cues from its big US cousin, but the Telluride is the big, beastly original. It is, according to Kia, “the biggest Kia ever” and, to be honest, we can’t help but rather like it…

It doesn’t have a big V8 and, considering the Telluride can carry eight people, its 3.8-litre petrol V6 looks like it lacks a little, with just 291PS and 355Nm. But just look at it. Imagine driving one of these in the UK? What’s more, with self-levelling suspension to adjust the rear ride height depending on the load, and a cabin loaded with equipment (a 630-Watt sound system and a heater system that’ll get the car chilled or toasty before you climb aboard, for example) it’s very well equipped. If ever the world ‘baller’ were to be used alongside a photo of a Kia it would be now.

Kia Telluride specification

Ford F-150

Ah yes, the Ford F-150, an American icon. Pick-ups just don’t hold the same appeal in the UK as they do in the US, and while the new Ranger Raptor goes some way to correct this we dearly wish the big, brash and brutal F-150 would cross the Atlantic to Blighty.

The range of engines is confusing but aims to give buyers maximum choice. You can have a 3.3-litre V6 with a six-speed auto, or if that doesn’t interest you then perhaps a 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 would, or maybe a 2.7-litre EcoBoost V6, a 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 or a 5.0-litre V8? Everything but the 3.3-litre V6 comes with a 10-speed automatic. The big V8 appeals but, truth be told, our money would be on the 3.5-litre Raptor. ‘Murica.

Ford F-150 Raptor specification

Lada 4x4 Urban

Who knew Lada was still going? 20 million Ladas have been built since AvtoVAZ was founded in the Soviet Union in 1966, and in the 1990s more than 130,000 Ladas were registered in the UK. The cars were famous for being cheap but in no way cheerful.

The Russian brand was bought by Renault in 2017, however, and while its modern range is largely uninspiring, one modern Lada looks truly brilliant: the Lada 4x4 urban.

It’s a weird mash-up of old and new (the wheel size says new car, the thickness of the A-pillar says old car that you wouldn’t want to roll), but we absolutely adore it. Granted, the official sales pitch is a little utilitarian, with sentences like “number one in the list of options for the city is an air conditioner”, but it has a 60PS engine, four wheels, four-wheel-drive and an “interior lamp”. Basic, but brilliant.

Lada 4x4 Urban specification