Performance
That brings us onto the important bit. The Caterham Seven is one of the world’s great exponents of pure driving. Don’t expect to find any power steering here, or even servo on the brakes and certainly don’t expect traction control. Instead it’s just you and the car. And what a car it is. The 310 seems to be the perfect balance of the Seven’s outstanding chassis and an excellent amount of power, not so little you can’t have fun, not so much it’s a raving lunatic. Since it comes in at barely half a tonne that 154PS motor means a power-to-weight ratio of 285PS-per-tonne (281bhp-per-tonne). There are more powerful Caterhams available, but more power could just dilute the incredible handling experience the Seven provides, sort of spoiling the point. That handling is almost unmatched, certainly for the price – build a Seven 310 yourself and it’ll start at just £21,995! It’s worth every penny (even if you add the premium of having someone who knows what they’re doing nail it together). The 310 is one of the most tactile, rewarding and agile without being over the edge cars we’ve ever driven. Nail the throttle from a standstill and you can easily get the back end to slide, but at speed the Seven is absolutely glued to the floor. The turn-in is sharp and precise without being twitchy and suffers very little front tyre scrub until you act like an absolute hooligan. The same can be said for the rear in the mid corner, you need to stamp your right foot to elicit much rear movement, such is the grip from the 185/60 Avons, but when needed the back can slide on command. Steering feel, unencumbered by powered assistance, is sublime and while the brake feel may take some getting used to given the force you need to pump through the system, once you’re there it allows one of the finest experiences you will ever have when slowing down.