Some cars imbue each journey with a certain attitude and atmosphere, one that begins before you’ve even unlocked the doors. The venerable Morgan Plus Four is one such machine, a glorious visual anachronism that somehow manages to splice lashings of innovation with traditional construction methods.
Morgan Plus Four, a car that spreads the joy
The Plus Four also belongs to that other rare category of expensive automobile, one that garners praise and appreciation, not dark looks, obscene gestures and aggressive driving. It’s a car that seems to spread joy wherever it goes, the timeless looks offering up a friendly face in a world increasingly full of aggressively styled, physically imposing automobiles.
As we’ve previously noted, in our report from the Morgan factory, the modern Morgan remains a unique hybrid of history and innovation, hand-shaped, hand-built using methods and tools that haven’t changed in generations. Today’s Morgans also incorporate modern engines (from BMW) and a refreshingly direct and mutually beneficial relationship between design and engineering.
What does all this mean for the customer? Historically speaking, Morgan owners have tended to be loyal and somewhat hard-headed. In days gone by, waiting lists were measured in years, not months, and the combination of flimsy canvas roof, raucous V8 power and a complete absence of driving aids made for a raw, visceral experience. This was exactly what they’d signed up for.
These people still exist (some 90 per cent of all Morgans ever made are reputed to be still on the road), but these days the whole experience is a little less hairshirted. That’s not to say that Morgan has turned its sports cars into carbon copies of rival machines. The Plus Four starts at around £71,000, about 25 per cent more than a Porsche 718 Boxster.
Only the stubbornest fanboy would argue that the Morgan is the ‘better’ car; most would concede that the Porsche remains a nigh-on unbeatable modern sports convertible. The real truth, however, is that a Morgan can’t be compared to contemporary cars because it delivers such an incomparable experience.
That experience starts when you open the tiny scallop-topped door with the push-button chrome handle, step over the running boards, and sink into the leather upholstery. Set low to the ground, with a snug two-person cockpit, the Plus Four doesn’t envelop or cosset like a modern car. Instead, you get a very real sense of the world outside, with a thin canvas hood, flimsy plastic side windows (through which the wind whistles, especially at speed), and a vertical slab of a dashboard, complete with two centrally mounted traditional dials.
It is closest one can get to operating a time machine. The only concessions to modernity are the (small) display screen directly behind the steering wheel and the familiar BMW gear selector. The Plus Four, with its smaller 4-cylinder engine, comes with either manual or auto box; the wider and far more powerful Plus Six (with a 335hp six-cylinder BMW engine) is auto only.
The Plus Four is no slouch. At just over 1,000kg, its 255hp output slings the small car forwards with verve, making overtaking a breeze, even if refinement and comfort gradually fall away as you get closer to the upper echelons of the speedometer. It helps too that fuel economy is excellent.
The Plus Four is at its best on a dry, winding country road, somewhere you can effectively block out the markers of ‘progress’ that define driving today – driver assistance modes, variable speed limits, cameras, contraflows and congestion.
Yet Morgan ownership isn’t a futile bastion against the modern world, but more of a mechanical expression of mindfulness, a way of feeling closer to the act of travelling, as well as the physical process of making. Even the most lavishly crafted Rolls-Royce or Bentley doesn’t convey the sense of an object formed from carefully applied human processes like a Morgan.
Can you live with a car like the Morgan Plus Four? In our opinion, the Plus Four hits the bullseye of this dwindling sweet spot of cars that are both practical and fun. Sure, the Super 3 and Plus Six are a far more visceral experience, but the Plus Four is far easier day to day, something you could drive regularly yet still lift your mood every single time you fold yourself into the cabin.
The only question mark is whether such enduring delights can survive the transition to electrification. The recent Morgan XP-1 prototype showed the company has a good grasp of the fundamentals and the sketches we’ve seen bode well for the future. Get a Morgan in your life – and you’re unlikely to ever want to let it go.
Morgan Plus Four, automatic model from £71,829 on the road, Morgan-Motor.com, @MorganMotor
