Best sound for £8k?

[zed4]

lamboman100 said:

Honda S2000 with a VTEC howl is best-in-class at that pricepoint.

No, TVR Chimaera.

[clubsport78]

TobyLaRohne said:

Golf R32's are where you need to look, ok the MPG wouldnt be right up there but you wouldnt care, its close enough!

I'd agree with this. My 2007 R32 is totally stock and the sound is addictive to say the least. I've owned my one for over a year now and it still puts a smile on my face on my daily (fairly short) commute.

Fuel consumption is not great but bearable, with 34ish mpg possible on a good run and mid 20's most of the time. (Mines a DSG box). There are faster cars out there for the money, but as an all round package, it's pretty hard to beat in my opinion.

For £8000 you are probably at the lower end of the Mk5 price bracket, but a grand or so more should see you get a good one. There are a few uncared for dogs out there though and I looked at a fair few before buying mine. The r32oc forum is a good place to start and the classifieds tend to have the best cared for cars at realistic prices.

Feel free to PM me if you want any further info.

[BlackST]

MK2 Focus ST

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hoXifpZ-WXc

[kambites]

In my experience, you aren't going to average 30mpg from anything with a VR6 or Busso lump in it unless you drive entirely on motorways. I'm not convinced many people do out of a Focus ST, either.

Some sort of small non-M BMW with a naturally aspirated inline-6 is probably your best bet.

[Zwolf]

E90/E92 330i manual. Within budget at sensible miles, non-M running costs, pretty modern and the MPG/VED isn't punishing either.