Can we have nice things?

Your first car. The one that was the best car in the world from the moment you drove off in it until the moment you crashed it. Your first car will for always be legendary no matter the amount of rust it had. Back in the day when there were only 99 air balloons in West Germany and the Sovjet Union as well as John Rambo were in Afghanistan, the first car love affair was easy to get. 18 year olds were driving Minis, Ford Escorts, Renault 4s, etcetera. However, times have changed since the 1980s.

The 1990s and 2000s, with the VW Golfs, Renault 5s and later Renault Clios as common first cars, were quite alright. I can't say the same about the last 10 years. Take the predecessor of the Toyota Yaris, the Toyota Starlet. This was the second hand car you'd buy as your first car in the early 2010s. Next to being indestructable it had a 1332 cc engine producing 75 hp, 0-100km/h in 11.2 seconds and it only weighed 820 kg. The modern day equivalent of buying a 12 year old starlet in the early 2010s would be to buy a 12 year old Yaris. That 2009 Yaris has a 998 cc engine producing 69 hp, 0-100km/h in 15.7 seconds and it weighs 965 kg. I have driven a Yaris from 2009 and I can personally assure you it is as boring as it sounds. Of course you could instead buy an Aygo wich is still slower than a Starlet, 998 cc producing 69 hp, 0-100km/h in 14.2 seconds but it weighs a little bit less at 775 kg.

This does not have to be a disaster, you'd think. However, in recent years student housing has gone up in price, so did food and so did petrol. The cheapest E5 in Oss (where I live) is 1.91 euros per litre. The choice is therefore limited. The only cars that young people can afford are from the second hand little hatchback department.

Fortunately, there are still cars in the second hand little hatchback department that aren't boring but fun. The Fiat Panda is a good example. James May owned a Fiat Panda until 2014. He had bought Porsches and Ferraris but his daily driver was a Fiat Panda. Why? Because it is a brilliant little car. There are many Pandas to choose from. Horsepower ranges from just over 50 hp to just under 70 hp for basic models from the 2000s and early 2010s. The Fiat Panda Classic 1.2 69 (wich is the one I'd buy) has a 1242 cc engine producing 69 hp, 0-100km/h in 13.2 seconds and it weighs only 835 kg.

So, can we have nice things? Yes, but it is debatable whether first cars today are still at the level they were at in the past. Moreover, with the limited choice there is today and companies like Toyota 'evolving' their low price range models the future seems bleak for the young petrolhead.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think, bump and comment.