Legacy zoom recommendations?

Incidentally, today I finally got around to take a couple of test shots with the MD 35-105 f/3.5-4.5 zoom (1:4 "macro") I bought a couple of months ago. It's been quite dark and cold around here lately weather-wise, but today was both sunny AND not too freezing. Not very interesting as a photo, but I think it shows how the 35-105 fares:



I think it's not bad for an old 25€ zoom lens - no CA, sharp enough for my purposes and the colours are quite pleasing, IMO. This was shot at 105mm, stopped down to 5.6 or 8 (can't remember for sure). Sharpness or contrast didn't seem to suffer too much when shot wide open - but then again, it's f/4.5 to start with. Can't say how much better the 35-70 is optically but on the other hand, the 105mm FL has its uses too. I could imagine using this as a travel tele; while rather heavy, it's pretty compact - something like 90mm long without the adapter. Lens hood adds another 20mm.