All my Se7en drives over the past few weeks have been in the Caterham. Although it's taken 2000 miles, I'm finally starting to gel with that car, which raises the question: do I now have a stronger preference for the Caterham? When a gorgeous Monday suddenly appeared after a recent series of rainy weekends, I opted to do back-to-back drives with the cars over the same route to see if my earlier comparison between them still holds. It does. Mostly. Depending on your perspective — or mood? -- the Westfield is either more engaging on a winding road, or is hyperactive. The Caterham is either more fluid, or less immediate. Those descriptions are all true, and which are used will be down to personal preference. For me, the Westfield is the more visceral drive. The one that better overloads the senses. The steering is much quicker and the aggressive alignment means it is always looking to turn, even when the road does not. Although it takes a little more attention to drive the car on long straight sections, in isolation, that aspect doesn't stand out.
The Caterham's steering is much slower, yet slightly more fluid. Whether that latter aspect is simply down to the steering rack speed or some other aspect of the mechanics, I can't be certain. It's probably a bit of both. It does drive bigger, and the driving position is not quite as good, but it also feels a little more solid. Some of that is down to additional chassis triangulation, some to the fact that one chassis is over 30 years younger, and some is likely psychological due to fewer rattles and bangs. It also rides noticeably better, although I think the Core dampers bear some of that responsibility. Surprisingly, the Caterham is also quieter. The induction bark in the Westfield sounds much harder and louder. This is interesting because both engines have Jenvey ITBs poking through the bonnet. I suspect it's simply the different acoustic signature from the Caterham's larger displacement and bigger ITBs (50mm vs. 45mm), which combine to emit a slightly deeper sonic signature. One way to summarize all of this is that one car feels a little more like a race car for the road, and the other like a road car for the track. I could happily live with either one.
The Caterham's steering is much slower, yet slightly more fluid. Whether that latter aspect is simply down to the steering rack speed or some other aspect of the mechanics, I can't be certain. It's probably a bit of both. It does drive bigger, and the driving position is not quite as good, but it also feels a little more solid. Some of that is down to additional chassis triangulation, some to the fact that one chassis is over 30 years younger, and some is likely psychological due to fewer rattles and bangs. It also rides noticeably better, although I think the Core dampers bear some of that responsibility. Surprisingly, the Caterham is also quieter. The induction bark in the Westfield sounds much harder and louder. This is interesting because both engines have Jenvey ITBs poking through the bonnet. I suspect it's simply the different acoustic signature from the Caterham's larger displacement and bigger ITBs (50mm vs. 45mm), which combine to emit a slightly deeper sonic signature. One way to summarize all of this is that one car feels a little more like a race car for the road, and the other like a road car for the track. I could happily live with either one.
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