Currently reading: Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 13 March
The Hummer H2 leads this week's picks - big-engined heavyweights

There’s no replacement for displacement, so this week we’ve gathered together a quintet of big-bore bruisers, kicking off here with the mighty 6.0-litre V8 Hummer H2.

Not to be confused with the weapons-grade Humvee, the H2 was a civilian SUV sold between 2002 and 2009. It takes platform sharing to a new level, being based on not one but two of the things derived from the Chevrolet GMT800 truck. Its V8 makes a lowly 316bhp but a more useful 423lb ft. Of course it’s a vulgar old thing and left-hook only (make sure you get sight of the import paperwork), but no one’s going to scoff as you nose through the traffic.

There are a few for sale. Our find is a 2003-reg with 74,000 miles. It’s the Luxury version with heated and powered leather seats, a powered sunroof and roof-mounted lights. It’s a six-seater with three rows, so not too intimate, and has one former keeper in the logbook.

9 Hummer h2 stationary front

Like many Hummers it was originally imported by Bauer Millett in Manchester, so will have been well prepared. When that business closed in 2014, many of the staff moved to Parts USA in Stockport, established by Neil McDonald, another former BM man. It services Hummers as well as supplying parts.

The 6.0-litre engine is simple but tough, but not so the four-speed automatic gearbox, which can struggle. The seller says it drives perfectly, so fingers crossed there are no issues. We’d check underneath for corrosion, but there’s lots of thick steel down there and rust rarely bites. Tyres can be tricky to find, but ours are described as being like new. Parts USA can source replacements.

8 Bmw 550i 2006 stationary front

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BMW 550i SE, £8995: If, back in 2006, your sales director had a 540i, what would the financial director choose? A 550i, leaving the BMW M5 for the boss. Our 550i is a one-owner, 2006-reg with 71,000 miles, full BMW history and extras worth £9k, including comfort seats.

7 Skoda superb 4x4 2012 stationary front

Skoda Superb 3.6 V6 4x4 Elegance DSG, £5490: We loved the big-engined Skoda Superb at launch in 2009. Today it’s even better value, although in fairness our find has notched up 106,000 miles. Still, it has 13 service stamps in the book and has had the all-important DSG transmission fluid and filter change.

6 Audi q7 stationary front

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Audi Q7 6.0 V12 TDI, £22,500: This Q7 V12 weighs in with a colossal 737lb ft and can hit 62mph in just 5.5sec – remarkable for a car weighing 2635kg. Carbon-ceramic discs are standard; audio is by Bang & Olufsen, no less. This one’s a 2010 example with 124,000 miles.

5 Volkswagen passat estate stationary front

Volkswagen Passat 4.0 W8 4Motion Estate auto, £5799: You’ve bolted two V engines together to make a big fat W, now where do you put it? Yup, in a Volkswagen Passat. That was in 2001, when VW created the Passat 4.0 W8. It made 271bhp for 0-62mph in 6.8sec, and today it’s a rising classic. This 2004-reg has 65,000 miles.

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4 Mercedes 190e stationary front

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Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Cosworth: A BMW M3 E30 of this vintage costs from around £45,000, making this 1989 190E Cosworth a bit of a bargain at £11,500. The M3 is more sought after but the 190 has its own place in motoring history, including sparring with the M3 to create some of the best DTM racing of all time and paving the way for the Mercedes-AMG models we know and love today. Early versions had a 2.3-litre engine but from 1988 it became a 2.5-litre. The example here was registered in 1989 and had covered 138,000 miles. An under-the-radar classic with investment potential.

Future classic

3 Ford mustang stationary side

Ford Mustang Bullitt, £45,950: We’re sticking our neck out here because this Bullitt special is a cynical piece of marketing designed to cash in on the original, right down to its Highland Green paint. Even so, it was a hit with buyers who appreciate its colour (it’s also available in black), Recaro seats and six-pot Brembo brakes. It also has a little more power: 453bhp, compared with the regular 5.0-litre’s 443bhp, courtesy of a modified induction system and the powertrain calibration from a Shelby Mustang GT350. Our price is for a 2019 car with optional adaptive suspension.

Clash of the classifieds

Brief: Find an interesting cheapie for £1000.

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2 Hyundai coupe 2003 stationary front

Hyundai Coupé 2.7 V6, £995

1 Toyota mr2 2002 stationary front

Toyota MR2, £995

Max Adams: If you’re suffering with hay fever and you squint, this lovely 2003 Hyundai Coupé could look a bit like a Ferrari 456. It’s in the right colour for a prancing horse and mine has a few more ponies under the bonnet compared with the regular version thanks to the V6 engine.

Mark Pearson: If you squint, Max, I look a bit like George Clooney, but that doesn’t mean I own a villa by Lake Como. I give you instead the real deal, a beautiful-looking roadster that you don’t need to squint to appreciate. Who would have thought such a modest amount could buy you such pleasure? Look upon my immaculate mid-engined 2002 MR2, with its eager 1.8-litre engine and supercar-rivalling handling, and despair, Max.

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MA: Wake up and smell the coffee, Mark, because my 2003 Coupé was a surprisingly good car in its own right, with few apologies needing to be made for it when it was new. Yours has no boot, and the rear subframe is probably shot with rust issues.

MP: Good! I look on that as weight-saving.

MA: The lack of boot to store things or the rust?

MP: Both. Your thing is nice but a bit, um, dull? Mine’s a convertible, for flip’s sake.

MA: It’s also a Toyota, and they’ve made some of the… wait, I probably shouldn’t finish that sentence in print.

MP: And I’m beginning to think you shouldn’t start them, either.

Verdict: The Fakerrari will go well with my fake Rolex.

READ MORE

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The rise, fall, and remarkable return of Hummer 

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Beastie_Boy 13 March 2020

Always fancied a Hummer H3...

But they seem to hold their value well. 

They are knocking on a bit now but seem to have hovvered around the £15k mark for ages.

runnerbean 13 March 2020

And the sleeper is

 the Mercedes Cosworth, without a doubt.

xxxx 13 March 2020

Reading this

Just makes me realise how dull cars have become. Gone are the days of mainstream manufacturers 7 seater V12's, Passat W8's and little Toyota Roadster's etc.

si73 13 March 2020

Not forgetting the Hyundai

Not forgetting the Hyundai coupe, no one seems to make a sporty coupe anymore unfortunately, but then everyone wants an SUV I suppose.
Takeitslowly 13 March 2020

xxxxzzzz

xxxx wrote:

Just makes me realise how dull cars have become. Gone are the days of mainstream manufacturers 7 seater V12's, Passat W8's and little Toyota Roadster's etc.

 

Conversely, we've always known that any post from you will be dull, uninteresting, error ridden and uninformed. What other mainstream OEM's have produced cars very similar to those you name...oh dear, as always, bereft of forward thinking, run out of energy, never high to begin with. You didn't buy any of the above, when they were available new, you will never by a used example now...see your stock list of excuses and if similar cars were to be introduced, well, how many new excuses could you dream up, not to buy one?. Broke, illiterate, stupid and a fool, just a few epithets that are descriptors of you.