Various

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Pondering on a modern classic with an eye on an investment too? Here’s some of the cars which take our fancy

MGF/TF

Few marques attract such a loyal following as MG – and that’s great news if you want to mothball an MGF or MG TF. People will still be driving these cars in 10 or 20 years’ time and keeping prices high. All are extraordinary value for money; TF is a better all rounder, offering superior handling (but a harder ride), more powerful engines and plusher trim, while reliability is much superior, too. If the MG brand sadly disappears then all cars will become more collectable.

Mercedes SLK

With its novel metal roof and shrunken SL looks the SLK is future classic personified and £3000 buys a really tidy first-generation SLK with a supercharged four-cylinder engine – spend more and there’s great V6 alternatives and all are great year round classics that cost no more than a C-Class to run even if most SLKs are actually not very sporty to drive.

BMW z3

BMW steered the conventional route with what looks a bit like a miniature Big Healey. Based upon the 3-Series Compact floorpan there’s a wide choice of engines to suit all budgets; the sixes are the real powerhouses but the 2.2 ‘four’ more than suffices. As smooth and easy as any normal 3 Series to drive and own all are very good value and much more individual to the default choice MX-5.

Bentley

Bentley called its Mulsanne Turbo “the return of the silent sports car” and that seems fitting. Despite weighing 2.5 tons, its 320bhp V8 launched it into Aston territory. The Turbo R from 1985 has even better roadholding and all can be amazingly cheap to buy. The Arnage replacement (Red Label has the Bentley V8) is another bargain and

we reckon the four-wheel drive Continental GT is about as cheap as it is ever going to be.

Mini cooper S

BMW’s Mini is that very rare thing – a small, mainstream car that people actually fall over themselves to buy. The reasons are obvious: it looks cool, goes like a roller-skate and wears the right badge. The one Mini that will keep its value when the bubble bursts is the Cooper S, with its 170bhp supercharged engine and super-sharp suspension – and especially the high style convertibles. Find a wellspecced Mini with loads of options – most of them are fully loaded in fact – and you’ll have a fine usable classic. Works tuned packages are great – but don’t touch the CVT auto due to gross unreliability.