Quantum 2+2 Reviews from UK and Ireland

Headlamp covers needed rewiring.

Earth fault on tail light clusters.

Electric windows didn't work.. Ford problem not Quantum.

Holed sump.

The reviews written about the Quantum show one thing, the quality of the kit has to be tempered by the experience/enthusiasm/ability of the guy who builds the kit.

My Quantum has the 1.4 CVH engine; with this the performance is nippy but not ridiculous (think 70mph speed limits and the traffic talibans objection to tyre smoke away from the traffic lights). The benefits this brings are pretty good. Try insuring your MX5 for under £200 a year fully comprehensive and unlimited mileage. Add to that a fuel return of around 50mpg and easy parts availability in a car that turns heads, and you are on to a winner.

The faults I have listed show a common problem with kit cars, they are often built by people who are enthusiastic about getting every body panel lined up perfectly with a reasonable to good level of engineering and mechanical ability, the electrics are shocking (pun intended)! This is largely because of the requirement to cut into the donor car wiring loom. It also doesn't have to look pretty to work. Unfortunately this often means that the gremlins have plenty of opportunities to invade and sooner or later they will. This is the third kit car I have owned and they have all had electrical issues.

The handling is reasonably benign, although the low centre of gravity helps it corner really well, understeer is noticeable at speed, but predictable enough to be a non issue. Having so little weight at the back makes oversteer a possibility, but even that is gentle enough to not cause problems. The low ground clearance causes some issues with speed humps (don't try fitting undercar lighting!!) and pot holes.

All in all this is a great car, if something of a timewaster. Don't buy one unless you are happy to spend hours chatting to the guy in the pub/car park/petrol station about it. They are sufficiently unusual to attract attention, easy and reasonable to maintain, and generally carry Ford reliability.

Constant battle with leaks from the poorly fitting hood.

Overheating - finally cured by fitting custom built uprated radiator.

Very heavy steering for parking etc.

Bad transmission snatch particularly when driving slowly in traffic.

Hard, choppy ride quality.

A beautiful looking and practical sports car let down by poor build quality (mostly Ford, not Quantum) and the donor car on which it is based (Fiesta XR2).

Heavy steering and under-steer spoils driver enjoyment.

Easy and cheap to maintain with standard Ford mechanics.

Lots of bits to increase the trim level.

Need to change the rear springs to something softer; the original XR2 ones are a little hard.

Good little hand built British sports car (I built it). Along similar lines as MX5, MG-F etc, but much cheaper to buy, run, insure. Wonderful to drive in summer and the hood works in winter.