BTW if you are doing the NC500 then avoid the B869 the takes a circular route from Locninver to Kylesku.

Its the slowest most fidgety bit of singletrack road on the whole route and there is nothing much to see unless you hike across a bog to the Old Man of Stoer

Nice campsite at Clachtoll though and lighthouse at Stoer, we walked the dog out to Old Man of Stoer too and stayed at the lighthouse. Midges in the morning were horrendous though. (You’ll be fine in October).

Get an Aston for £800 for a 4 day weekend… https://bespokes.co.uk/prices/

How mechanically minded are you? It sounds a fun plan and a mate did similar, though for a somewhat longer “summer off” in a large Jeep, though he wanted something two people could sleep in the back of.

If you want a decent return, I’d be considering buying a convertible now, servicing it and getting some miles done so you trust it before your trip then parking it up until spring when demand / prices before selling.

For my money in your situation, BMW E46 325 coupe or convertible for a solidly built / comfort / fun / luggage space compromise.

Take a new mini on a 48 hr test drive. Cover the route in that time and spend the balance of the time in a nice hotel at the end?

Get the train to Inverness, then hire a Tesla. https://ecosse-ev.com/north-coast-500/

Did a week on the south island of NZ in a mk2 MX5 in the depths of winter. Had the roof down all the time unless it was tipping it down – we were toasty with just the heater going and hats on. No need for heated seats.

A 3 series convertible could be a good shout actually.

Z4 would be my choice, 2.5 and 3L models on autotrader for just over £2k. 2L isnt terrible, just not really a fast car (just driven one for a week, now back in my merc diesel estate which is a lot faster).

Other options Merc SLK or if you need luggage space and want comfort then 2003 onwards CLK.

Done this exact journey(with my dad that is..)..its SERIOUSLY taxing on a car if it’s not got ground clearance,larger volume non low profile tyres or a low powered engine.. this was in a 09 focus estate 1.6 petrol auto..and it survived ..knackered 2 tyres but they were on the way out anyway…wouldn’t imagine doing this in anything too low or loud..lots of miles lots of bad roads..we ended up doing 2400 miles and the cars going to need some TLC about now(2 months later) dont think the oils going to be nice coming out..we helped a few unprepared groups with blown out tyres,flat batteries and a myriad of other problems..use a car that’s comfortable and reliable..its going to go through a fair amount of abuse..unless you want to be stuck many miles from civilisation with no way of rescuing yourself..rentals an idea as its someonelses problem if it breaks down..

“if it’s not got ground clearance,larger volume non low profile tyres” Don’t use a TT then!

Actually, I knackered and almost brand new Goodyear Eagle F1 on the Slab up there the other week.
Single track road with passing places (on the other side of the road). Campervan coming towards me – doesn’t pull in to the passing place on his side of the road, and while I slow down, he doesn’t change speed at all and I had to swerve off the road to avoid an accident (as did two cars behind me!). Lunatics! Didn’t stop either.
Was 5pm on a Saturday so that was me on the space saver at 50mph max until Monday morning.

In fact, I once got knocked off my motorbike by a campervan up in the Highlands and ended up in hospital. They were lunatics too!

Lexus IS 220, some in budget with FSH, comfy, reliable and not any of the above.

But for £2k you might be able to rent something from one of the big rental companies Prestige range of cars then you don’t have to worry about breakdowns and duff cars.

He’s not wanting to spend the £2k, just use it to buy a car and then sell on soon after to get the £2k back.

Incidentally, in the summer I drove up from the Midlands to near Strathcarron, basically a mile south of the southern-most bit of the NC500. It was a loooong way. I hired a “luxury SUV” from Thrifty that turned out to be a BMW X5 40d. It was lovely and comfortable, and the sunroof was great for admiring the scenery!

I wouldn’t want to drive (or be driven) all the way up there, in autumn, in a cheap, old, convertible sports car. By the time I got to the NC500 I’d be thoroughly sick of driving.

I keep getting distracted by how cheap old Polo GTis are. Tiny of course. Also, any sort of old Lexus with rwd and a 1uz.

I wouldn’t want to drive (or be driven) all the way up there, in autumn, in a cheap, old, convertible sports car. By the time I got to the NC500 I’d be thoroughly sick of driving.

Good point, well made… Some friends did it on motorbikes recently, I was jealous. However… Have already said if I am going to do it on a motorbike, I’m trailering the bike up to Inverness!

He’s not wanting to spend the £2k, just use it to buy a car and then sell on soon after to get the £2k back.

At least someone paid attention! 😉

Yes, whilst not being a complete penny pincher, I don’t have the readies to burn to do the experience in total luxury. Think small BnB’s rather than 5* hotels. My initial thoughts were if the car only cost me 2 or 3 hundred quid for the time I had it (not including running costs) then the benefits of doing that would far outweigh the negatives.

However… Quickly coming round to the idea of actually putting a bit more into the car, and thinking I’ll keep it a little while longer. My old Passat can go, we don’t need 2 estate cars in the house, and I may be selling my van too. Selling my Passat would free up an additional £1k roughly, so I could easily find £3k or perhaps a little more to work with.

Actually, big question is who is going to be driving because the most fun to drive may be a grim for the passenger.

GF doesn’t like driving, she loves being a passenger (in car or on the bike), so unless I can’t for whatever reason, it’ll be me all the time. But yes had already considered that. I wasn’t thinking of something that was going to give a massive thump in the kidneys every time the accelerator was pressed, more something that was smooth and flowed from bend to bend nicely, power not really an issue and not looking for something too low slung with rock hard low profile tyres anyway ideally.

It really is starting to look like a mk5 Golf GTi is favourite…

Dear me, get with it guys, this petrol head stuff died in the 80s, you’re dinosaurs.

And it’s your girlfriend’s birthday, even if you can’t afford a luxury holiday there must be something more romantic than making the poor woman car sick in dreary Scotland at teh en of October. I predict a relationship thread shortly.

Dear me, get with it guys, this petrol head stuff died in the 80s, you’re dinosaurs.

And it’s your girlfriend’s birthday, even if you can’t afford a luxury holiday they must be something more romantic than making the poor woman car sick in dreary Scotland at teh en of October. I predict a relationship thread shortly.

Someone very wise once told me (it was my mother, everything she ever told me as a child came true pretty much!) that if you don’t have anything positive to say, then don’t say anything at all!

I’m not trying to be “cool” by the way… My GF and I like travelling and seeing places, we’ve both been on about getting up to North Scotland for a while. She genuinely loves road trips, whether in the car or on the back of my motorbike. She’s not keen on driving herself, but she loves being a passenger, and taking in the scenery etc (I will also be taking my Canon DSLR, a couple of lenses and plenty of charged batteries for said trip!). I’m not some teenage boy racer Chav with his underage GF in the passenger seat, attempting to (but failing) impress my peers with my handbrake turn prowess and tales of hitting 100mph on the bypass!

You must be such fun at parties! I really feel for those that know you…

Parties! I’m one of the band and dance rock and roll, I get invited when people want their party livening up a bit. 🙂 But I’m also a fan of Greta.

Have a look a the Pordche on the previous page, you can see the cloud of smoke behind it.

I get invited when people want their party livening up a bit.

Ahhhh… The proverbial social hand grenade! When it’s all going a bit flat, and enough people haven’t been offended yet and nobody’s fighting with each other, they call you! I get it…

But I’m also a fan of Greta.

I’m a fan of anybody standing up for change! If you think me doing a few thousand miles per year in a car or on a motorbike for pleasure is where to start focussing your attention on climate change, then you are seriously mistaken!

Have a look a the Pordche on the previous page, you can see the cloud of smoke behind it.

Not that we shouldn’t be looking for viable alternative futures, but we could take all the cars off the road the world over tomorrow, and nothing would happen to improve climate change!

Where will you be staying on your 4 day trip?

Why not hire a campervan? Who wants to drive fast when you can pull up, chill out and have a brew?

Dear me, get with it guys, this petrol head stuff died in the 80s, you’re dinosaurs.

No – I think you’ll find it was there in the 90s. And the 2000s .. and infact it’s stil a thing. Even if you don’t want it to be.

Probably thinking of group b rally cars those died in the 80s

E46 coupe… would be a Good shout if you find a good one.

Mini cooper/Cooper s

But the answer has already been posted Clio 172 182.

Though if you could find a twingo that would trump the clio

Where will you be staying on your 4 day trip?

Not in a bloody campervan, that’s for sure! I’ll be staying in a bed, with a plumbed in toilet and shower in the room next door, thank you very much!

E46 coupe… would be a Good shout if you find a good one.

Tin worm! Otherwise a good shout, but even the most recent of them are now over 15 years old, and the E46’s always had a problem with the wings perishing anyway.

Mini cooper/Cooper s

The ones I can afford have the same engine as the Peugeot 207GTi, and are known for their faults. Besides, the Peugeot is cheaper, looks better IMO, and is actually a proper hatch. However… My Dad does have a 2018 Mini Cooper S Works Countryman as his everyday car. It’s specced to the high heavens (he bought it as ex demo so every box ticked, original rrp was north of £40k apparently!) including horrendous 19″ rims… He has said he’d lend it to me before if I asked nicely, however, if I’m gonna do the trip in a family sized estate I might as well do it in my old Passat!

But the answer has already been posted Clio 172 182.

Probably a little more hardcore than I was after, if I was doing the trip on my own and only giving myself a couple of days to do it however… I imagine it’d be a perfect tool for the job!

2000 mile trip?
You don’t need sports suspension or lots of power, you need cruise control, a decent stereo and panoramic sunroof.
Subaru forester?
Most of em have heated seats too.

Renaultsport Twingo 133. Like the Panda 100hp but more fun. Or a Clio.

BTW if you find the Twingo, you won’t want to sell it when you get back. Absolutely love mine. And it takes a bike upright with only front wheel off.

2000 miles in 4 or 5 days will be horrible regardless of what you do it in – that’s probably averaging 10-12 hours behind the wheel each day. I’ve done 4000 miles in a week before and it’s tough. I’d get the biggest bargiest, newest rental car you can and tootle round in that, if you must do the trip. Remember, given the time of year it will be dark 30% of the time that you’re driving, so something with hids would also be good

flowed from bend to bend nicely

You mean from passing place to passing place?

I’ve only done a few Scotland trips, but there wasn’t much where I wanted a ‘driver’s car’. The two lane roads were open and not very bendy, and ideal for cruising in something comfortable and easy to drive. Any decent car would ‘flow’, and performance isn’t required unless you are driving very aggressively which would ruin it. Then the single track roads are just crap for actual driving – just admire the scenery.

I’d rather be in a comfy luxury car than a sporty one, hands down. Cheap Merc. Road tripping is about chilling not pressing on. I love road-tripping too, and the best trips are the ones where the driving is least stressful.

2000 miles in 4 or 5 days will be horrible regardless of what you do it in – that’s probably averaging 10-12 hours behind the wheel each day.

Whilst I know it’s not all going to be averaging 60+mph on motorways and dual carriageways, I do think you’re over egging the pudding a little bit! I’ve driven 750 miles in one hit from the midlands to the alps a few times (me doing all the driving) now, and yes it’s tough, but I’ve also been a passenger with my Dad doing 1000 mile stint in one straight go (in a faintly ridiculous 11hrs including the ferry, back when the German Autobahns were mostly unrestricted and he could set the cruise control on his 540i at 150mph!). The hard bit, is that no doubt on the way back, we’ll probably have to smash Inverness back to Worcester in one go, but that’s only 500 miles and mostly on motorways, so…

I’ll probably be splitting the NC500 route itself into 4 days, allowing for the limited daylight hours and the fact there’s a few stops we will want to make (Gin experience for one!) and the slower roads, I’m expecting that 125 miles per day whilst up there is only going to be 5-6 hours per day in the driving seat, and quite a bit of time to do other things…

FWIW, I just checked metcheck… 10hrs of daylight on average for the week we’ll be going, and as the clocks won’t be going back until the day after we head back, that means sunsets around 6pm still…

I’d rather be in a comfy luxury car than a sporty one, hands down.

Don’t know what cars you’ve driven recently, but its been 30 years at least since those 2 requirements have been mutually exclusive. Modern “Hot Hatchbacks” for instance are mostly incredibly civilized places to spend hours on the motorway before enjoying some back roads, and modern 2 seater sports cars usually have electric folding roofs that work as well as heated seats, air con etc. too… Yeah, I really wouldn’t want to do the trip in an MGB GT for sure, but a Z4 or a TT or the like would be fine on the motorway with the hood up and then loads of fun on the back roads with the roof down when allowed!

but a Z4 or a TT or the like would be fine on the motorway with the hood up and then loads of fun on the back roads with the roof down when allowed!

And this is the main point of the journey isn’t it.

Your G/F gets all the scenery and Gin and you, you get the car, scenery, G/F and wind in your hair.

Sounds ace… hope it goes well. Post pics please.

It’s still sounding more like a chore than it is sounding like fun.

I still don’t know which ‘back roads’ are going to be fun. Got examples?

The hard bit, is that no doubt on the way back, we’ll probably have to smash Inverness back to Worcester in one go, but that’s only 500 miles and mostly on motorways, so…

It’s the major cities that you inevitably hit at rush hour that’s going to cause the issue. And the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester is never relaxing.

However. I know what you mean Nd crazy driving is fun (my best is 24 hours continuous driving shared with my then GF. Driving through incredible scenery by the end and all we wanted to do was get where we were going so we could stop driving). But I still think you’re risking losing your dosh.

Though before you commit look at the negative feed back from locals and environmental groups about what the NC has done

Gin experience for one

Remember that drink driving laws in Scotland are different to England- one gin would probably out you over the limit.

It sounds fun to me, but not in a MK5 Golf. The MX5 is the correct answer to your question, and £3k would probably get you a third generation one (an NC). This will definitely be more comfortable than a MK1 (NA) and reliable.

I don’t think it makes sense. You’re looking at a potential investment trap – you buy the car for £2k. It’s probably relatively old. Something goes badly wrong with it. To get your £2k back, you need to spend, say, £1k on repairs. But you’ve spent your £2k savings on the car in the first place. I get the theory, but it only really works if nothing goes wrong. I think you’d have to accept that you might end up effectively losing some or all your money. At least if you hire something, the outlay is predictable.

How much would you lose/use on insurance?

Edit: found this googling NC500 car hire, but I get that it would probably be over budget and not in the spirit of what you’re after.

How it works

The only road I can think of on the route that potentially could be fun would be the route across the top….and even then it wouldn’t take much local traffic to spoil your fun as overtaking is limited .

Single-track is just passing place hopscotch.

It’s not a race track. It’s the locals commute and supply chain .

I get it’s a two way street if they want the business but not many of them want it at the expense of living on a race track

It’s not a race track. It’s the locals commute and supply chain .

I get it’s a two way street if they want the business but not many of them want it at the expense of living on a race track

I grew up on the edge of the Cotswolds, so I understand what you’re talking about and sympathise. However… I wouldn’t put people off from visiting the area, just ask them to be wary of locals going about their business (in particular farmers) and to be patient as a result!

I have friends that live in the lake district… Ambleside at rush hour can be a nightmare, and I can understand why the locals get frustrated. However I expect, when pushed, most of them rely on tourism for their livelihoods, so…

The only road I can think of on the route that potentially could be fun would be the route across the top….and even then it wouldn’t take much local traffic to spoil your fun as overtaking is limited

I guess if you live in the north of Scotland, you’re probably pretty numb to the incredible surroundings in which you live. I take for granted where I live, but it’s also a huge tourist trap in its own right at times.

No I’m aware of it.

I take the big red fun bus to parts of it on a Regular basis including parts of the nc500.

I just can’t imagine them being classed as “fun” roads to drive. I often see people out having fun on them roads in their sports cars which seems to involve driving like a ****, tailgating locals and being shocked when they meet a tractor on a single track road blind bend or leaning in their horn if your going too slow Infront (or driving to the road conditions as I call it)

It’s about as enjoyable on the big red fun bus as it is an mx5 I’m sure.

Ergo go in something comfy 🙂

It’s about as enjoyable on the big red fun bus as it is an mx5 I’m sure.

More enjoyable, I’d say.

Id rather enjoy the scenery through big windows from an elevated driving position than through the tiny windows of a sports car.

I know what the weather is like here in late October. I can’t imagine that driving a couple of hundred miles closer to the Arctic Circle would increase the opportunities to have the top down on a convertible