chris3boro
New member
Right thought I'd do a review of my Dad's Westfield.
He's owned it for around a year and a half, he bought it having alread been built using facotrd parts and others have commented on how it looks like it was a factory car, it was done well.
Performance
Ours uses a 1.8 Zetec engine however it's on Jenvey throttle boddies, and was recently on a rolling road and gave 155 bhp. The car weighs 605 kg so it really does shift. As for figures, 0-60 is around 5.5, top speed just around 130 mph due to gearing.
WHen we first got it it didn't seem to perform as hoped, we soon dyno'd it and found it was only producing 115 bhp at the fly due to a badly mapped ECU. This was soon sorted at some cost, bringing it up to 155 as I said. Huge difference out on the road.
Because there's no weight to the car, when flooring it, it doesn't feel as quick as it is because it hardly has any weight to push back if that makes sense, so it accelerates quite flat though your head does get thrown back! WHen following in a 'normal' car, this looks weird as the westy doesn't sit down as it goes, it seems to float....very quickly away. The Westy really goes once it's at around 4,000 revs with it being 16v.
Depending what engine you go for, performance ranges from 'still very brisk' to 'oh sweet jesus'!
Handling
Ah the handling. Well I've driven it on a track a few times and the phrase 'it's like a go-kart' has never been so applicable. No power steering obviously but it's not needed as it's so light. Get this car on the country lanes or a track and the cornering speeds are really incredible! It just sticks 'like it's on rails' and when it does start to do, it's just so progressive and catchable. Also, there's no body roll or leaning-your body might move from one side of the bucket seat to the other but that's it. These characteristics are thanks to a few things....ride height (you can touch the road with your hand when sat down), lack of weight, and a well sorted chassis.
All in all, almost unbeatable around bends.
Practicality
Well it's no MPV, two seats however i am 6ft1 and it's v comfortable to drive and be a passenger, as your legs can run the length of the nose if needed. There's a small 'boot' behind the roll bar which is handy but not big enough for a backpack or anything.
You don't really want to use the car in the wet as it loses its attraction. It becomes a noisy cramped car with the hood up.
Insurance
With it being a kit car and on limited mileage, the premium is kept v reasonable. If you're under 25 then this won't be the case, but for such performance it still offers good value.
Costs
Prices range hugely. New ones can be £15k+ but second hands ones range from under £5k up to £10k depending on spec, mileage and mainly quality of build. Ours was £9k to give you an idea.
Reliability
I suppose it depends on the lump you use but a Zetec engine is generally a safe bet. My Dad spent a bit on getting the ECU sorted as mentioned but apart from that no problems. Something worth pointing out, as there are no toys, there's v little to go wrong.
Image
Every trip in it is an event. WHerever you go, people will look, point, smile etc. Particularly young boys who shout 'nice car' and so on. Because they are impractical as every day cars, I suppose it also tells people it's just your 'play thing' and that when you're out in it, you're out just for a drive and to enjoy it.
Conclusion
To sum up then. Well the Westfield is a weekend car, don't think you can use it for a trip to work or going over large speedbumps etc. If you are looking for a weekend car which has fantastic performance and handles even better, something like this could be ideal. It offers something rare in modern cars-the undiluted thrill of driving.
PICS
Hope you enjoyed reading it
Thanks, Chris.
He's owned it for around a year and a half, he bought it having alread been built using facotrd parts and others have commented on how it looks like it was a factory car, it was done well.
Performance
Ours uses a 1.8 Zetec engine however it's on Jenvey throttle boddies, and was recently on a rolling road and gave 155 bhp. The car weighs 605 kg so it really does shift. As for figures, 0-60 is around 5.5, top speed just around 130 mph due to gearing.
WHen we first got it it didn't seem to perform as hoped, we soon dyno'd it and found it was only producing 115 bhp at the fly due to a badly mapped ECU. This was soon sorted at some cost, bringing it up to 155 as I said. Huge difference out on the road.
Because there's no weight to the car, when flooring it, it doesn't feel as quick as it is because it hardly has any weight to push back if that makes sense, so it accelerates quite flat though your head does get thrown back! WHen following in a 'normal' car, this looks weird as the westy doesn't sit down as it goes, it seems to float....very quickly away. The Westy really goes once it's at around 4,000 revs with it being 16v.
Depending what engine you go for, performance ranges from 'still very brisk' to 'oh sweet jesus'!
Handling
Ah the handling. Well I've driven it on a track a few times and the phrase 'it's like a go-kart' has never been so applicable. No power steering obviously but it's not needed as it's so light. Get this car on the country lanes or a track and the cornering speeds are really incredible! It just sticks 'like it's on rails' and when it does start to do, it's just so progressive and catchable. Also, there's no body roll or leaning-your body might move from one side of the bucket seat to the other but that's it. These characteristics are thanks to a few things....ride height (you can touch the road with your hand when sat down), lack of weight, and a well sorted chassis.
All in all, almost unbeatable around bends.
Practicality
Well it's no MPV, two seats however i am 6ft1 and it's v comfortable to drive and be a passenger, as your legs can run the length of the nose if needed. There's a small 'boot' behind the roll bar which is handy but not big enough for a backpack or anything.
You don't really want to use the car in the wet as it loses its attraction. It becomes a noisy cramped car with the hood up.
Insurance
With it being a kit car and on limited mileage, the premium is kept v reasonable. If you're under 25 then this won't be the case, but for such performance it still offers good value.
Costs
Prices range hugely. New ones can be £15k+ but second hands ones range from under £5k up to £10k depending on spec, mileage and mainly quality of build. Ours was £9k to give you an idea.
Reliability
I suppose it depends on the lump you use but a Zetec engine is generally a safe bet. My Dad spent a bit on getting the ECU sorted as mentioned but apart from that no problems. Something worth pointing out, as there are no toys, there's v little to go wrong.
Image
Every trip in it is an event. WHerever you go, people will look, point, smile etc. Particularly young boys who shout 'nice car' and so on. Because they are impractical as every day cars, I suppose it also tells people it's just your 'play thing' and that when you're out in it, you're out just for a drive and to enjoy it.
Conclusion
To sum up then. Well the Westfield is a weekend car, don't think you can use it for a trip to work or going over large speedbumps etc. If you are looking for a weekend car which has fantastic performance and handles even better, something like this could be ideal. It offers something rare in modern cars-the undiluted thrill of driving.
PICS
Hope you enjoyed reading it
Thanks, Chris.
