Ariel Nomad review

The Nomad isn’t expensive in the grand scheme of silly second (or third, fourth or fifth) cars. Prices start at around £36,538, but you will need to add options. That’s not, er, optional…

A windscreen makes a heck of a difference. It costs £1,938 to add one to the Nomad. Make sure you have the £540 Perspex footwell side panels too – essential to stop wind, water and mud flowing up your trousers. And the roof lights and glow-in-the-dark aerial, if only for amusement purposes. Another £1,498 all told. The heavy-duty adjustable Fox suspension costs £3,416. Quite soon you’ll be staring down the barrel of a £50k bill.

Two things with that. One, this side of a basic build-it-yourself Caterham or Westfield, few lightweights are cheap. And two, Ariels hold their values amazingly well. Depeciation isn’t a term that applies.

Running costs are a more mixed bag. As mentioned earlier, the supercharged version has a ferocious appetite for fuel, averaging around 20-22mpg, while the nat asp version will happily return 26-30mpg. Insurance? You’ll need to talk to a specialist insurance company, but if you’re not doing too many miles per year, it shouldn’t sting.