Dad cars: what's the best car your dad's ever had?
We dredge up our favourite dad cars from the dim and distant past
Fiat Panda Mk1
James Howe – Content editor
My dad’s car history is best described as eclectic: a two-tone green Toyota Tercel 4WD, magic-carpet Citroen Xantia and troublesome P38 Range Rover all left their mark on me as a young car enthusiast. None captured my imagination like his Mk1 Fiat Panda, though.
Resplendent in limited edition Sergio Tacchini trim – complete with acid green upholstery and pinstripes – the Panda was a cheap runabout with sticky front calipers to dad, but an object of boxy wonder to me. In stark contrast to the cosseting Ford Granada Scorpio family car, every journey in the thrummy Panda was a tiny adventure.
Ford Cortina Mk4 2.0L
Marc Sibbons – Outreach executive
Not the best but definitely the earliest memory was my dad’s white Ford Cortina Mk4 which he owned whilst we lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when I was just a kid. He affectionately called it ‘the beast’ which I fully embraced and whenever we had a trip out in it I loved the sound of the clunky loud engine. Don’t think I’d share the same enthusiasm for that racket now but it is a nice memory nevertheless.
Click onto page five for more of the best cars our dads have owned...
