Hello everyone, We’ve finally moved to a house with a garage, so I’ll be able to keep any Copen we'll buy indoors. However, there aren’t many Copens for sale around the UK. Most of them are in poor condition, and even 1.3-liter models are rare. I found one 660cc Copen nearby that has been kept indoors for the past decade and also very very rarely driven. This makes me hesitant to buy it. On the other hand, we’re planning to buy one and drive it to Europe this summer. For example, we could drive from the UK to Switzerland. I know that either choice will be a noisy journey, but I’m not sure if a 0.66-liter model can handle long motorway journeys. Has anyone here made long trips before? Maybe I should wait for a 1.3-liter model, but we’re really willing to buy one this summer.
Hi Ondert, I have the 1.3L version and took it on a trip to the EU about two years ago. I drove 520 km in one go, with just a short stop to refuel, and the car handled it with no issues at all. The drive from Calais to Zurich is, of course, around 300 km longer, but I’m confident the 1.3L engine can handle it easily—as long as it's properly maintained. If you're planning to do long-distance journeys, I’d definitely recommend the 1.3L engine. That said, I don’t have any personal experience with the 0.66L version. One advantage of the 0.66L engine is that it usually comes with a turbo, and there are plenty of performance upgrade parts available in Japan if you’re looking to boost power or customize it to your needs.
The 660 will do long motorway trips, I've driven back and forth to London in a single day no problem (about 4 hours both ways from where I was at the time), however, at 70mph the engine will be doing about 4,400rpm so its quite loud. On the way home I limited my speed to 60 instead to reduce the noise, still quite loud but decent mpg. According to my calculations (I have a spreadsheet with the torque curve and gear ratios listed) the 1.3L UK model will do about 3,400rpm at 70mph, much more comfortable and will have more power available at that rpm too! There's also the question of reliability. The 1.3l would probably be easier to deal with if something were to go wrong. (Turbo, valve clearances, timing chain, are some potential catastrophic things waiting to happen on the 660s)
Thanks we'd better to look for a 1.3 then. Yes, 4.5k rpm is will be disturbing on top of the car's noise and rattles. I think better to wait for the right 1.3 model top show up.
Just to add a little... The 1.3 litre also has a reduced service interval - every 6000 miles rather than 3,000 (Servicing). The 1.3 litre version is also more powerful, has lower fuel consumption and, linked to the latter, has a lower road tax (£190 v £255 pa). It's worth noting that the earlier (2007) 1.3 litre cars use E5 petrol whereas the later ones (2008 onwards) can use the cheaper and more common E10 (E10 petrol for 2007 1.3 model). In terms of distance - the car has travelled the 600 or so motorway kms to London on more than one occasion with no trouble at all, though I wouldn't do it with the roof down and luggage on my lap. Finally, the car likes smooth roads - which can be hard to come by
