Small & Light?
Discussion
Hi All.
OK, I admit, it's a thinly veiled what car thread.
I'm moving into a town centre soon where parking and general manoeuvrability are set to be a thorn in my side. I'm also getting a mortgage and I'm looking to minimise my potential overheads where possible. One such place I can think of is my car - currently I drive an old Boxster, which likes a drink and is expensive to fix.
Essentially, I'm looking for something very small, light, nippy, that does great MPG, whilst remaining as much of a hoot as possible to drive. Practicality isn't an issue otherwise - I live alone and care not for 4 door cars. I like doing the odd bit of spannering too, so the concept of something I can service myself and is reasonably easy to work on would be appealing.
MPG Wise, I want something that will do 30ish when giving it the bootful, so I'd guess about 45-50 under normal conditions. Of course, this is probably very achievable for pretty much anything brand spankers, but I want to spend about £3,000.
Anyone got any bright ideas?
OK, I admit, it's a thinly veiled what car thread.
I'm moving into a town centre soon where parking and general manoeuvrability are set to be a thorn in my side. I'm also getting a mortgage and I'm looking to minimise my potential overheads where possible. One such place I can think of is my car - currently I drive an old Boxster, which likes a drink and is expensive to fix.
Essentially, I'm looking for something very small, light, nippy, that does great MPG, whilst remaining as much of a hoot as possible to drive. Practicality isn't an issue otherwise - I live alone and care not for 4 door cars. I like doing the odd bit of spannering too, so the concept of something I can service myself and is reasonably easy to work on would be appealing.
MPG Wise, I want something that will do 30ish when giving it the bootful, so I'd guess about 45-50 under normal conditions. Of course, this is probably very achievable for pretty much anything brand spankers, but I want to spend about £3,000.
Anyone got any bright ideas?
MX-5s are dog awful on fuel for that they are.
Panda 100 is something I'm considering, too many doors really, but needs as must. RS Twingo would be a laugh, but well out of my price range unfortunately.
Mk3 MR-2 is a maybe, I had a Mk2 a while ago and loved it. Sort of considering justifying another one to myself.
Panda 100 is something I'm considering, too many doors really, but needs as must. RS Twingo would be a laugh, but well out of my price range unfortunately.
Mk3 MR-2 is a maybe, I had a Mk2 a while ago and loved it. Sort of considering justifying another one to myself.
A mk3 MR2 would be my choice. Fabulous thing to drive and should do 40mpg if driven sensibly (and probably 35 if not). Just make sure the pre-cats have been sorted/removed.
If you're happy wielding a spanner to the point of changing a head gasket, the MGTF is probably worth a look too (see SoTW).
If you're happy wielding a spanner to the point of changing a head gasket, the MGTF is probably worth a look too (see SoTW).
Tib said:
MX-5s are dog awful on fuel for that they are.
Panda 100 is something I'm considering, too many doors really, but needs as must. RS Twingo would be a laugh, but well out of my price range unfortunately.
Mk3 MR-2 is a maybe, I had a Mk2 a while ago and loved it. Sort of considering justifying another one to myself.
I can, from personal experience, tell you that you won't see 45-50mpg from a Panda 100HP. I've had mine nearly 2 years and I'm averaging 35mpg. I know everyone's fuel economy will differ, but I seriously doubt you'd realistically get another 10-15mpg out of one on a long term basis. Panda 100 is something I'm considering, too many doors really, but needs as must. RS Twingo would be a laugh, but well out of my price range unfortunately.
Mk3 MR-2 is a maybe, I had a Mk2 a while ago and loved it. Sort of considering justifying another one to myself.
I wouldn't worry about it having "too many doors". Ignore the extra doors when you don't need them and be thankful they're there on the occasions you do. If anything, the shorter doors (due to there being 4 of them) make getting in/out easier in tight, urban environments.
Thanks for the replies all.
Clio is a maybe, are they actually that decent on fuel though? I've had no experience with them.
What's the deal with pre-cats on an MR2? I've not heard of that one before.
Good shout on thinking about parking. Yeah, a softtop is a bad idea as whilst it's not exactly the ghetto, I wouldn't feel too enthused about leaving a rag-top car outside on the street. Town centre - probably drunkards around somewhere, and it only takes one to slash your roof and you're set with a £500 bill. Hard top would have to be factored into the cost I think really.
Looking around an MR-2 seems to be the frontrunner in terms of driving, I am just a little concerned about whether it's going to do great fuel mileage. When I put my foot through my old MR-2 I'd get teens. Of course it should be an all new - more efficient - engine though.
Smart Brabus is a fantastic idea, but for the supposedly lousy automatic box and claimed reliability problems that I've seen evidence of on this forum. Like the thinking though.
Bit of a surprise regarding the panda averaging 35. Do you drive it hard a fair amount of the time?
Clio is a maybe, are they actually that decent on fuel though? I've had no experience with them.
What's the deal with pre-cats on an MR2? I've not heard of that one before.
Good shout on thinking about parking. Yeah, a softtop is a bad idea as whilst it's not exactly the ghetto, I wouldn't feel too enthused about leaving a rag-top car outside on the street. Town centre - probably drunkards around somewhere, and it only takes one to slash your roof and you're set with a £500 bill. Hard top would have to be factored into the cost I think really.
Looking around an MR-2 seems to be the frontrunner in terms of driving, I am just a little concerned about whether it's going to do great fuel mileage. When I put my foot through my old MR-2 I'd get teens. Of course it should be an all new - more efficient - engine though.
Smart Brabus is a fantastic idea, but for the supposedly lousy automatic box and claimed reliability problems that I've seen evidence of on this forum. Like the thinking though.
Bit of a surprise regarding the panda averaging 35. Do you drive it hard a fair amount of the time?
T0MMY said:
MK3 MR2s are apparently pretty good on fuel, much more so than the similar power/weight MX5s. Might want to get some owners opinions on that but it's what I was hearing when I was researching them.
Mine would do an easy 40mpg, from what I have read (and from friends that have had them) the mx5 is a fair bit worse.mr2roc.org is probably the best site, lots on pre-cats there! I didn't have mine removed (on the advice of a well know specialist) - it's all a bit of a grey area.
danp said:
Mine would do an easy 40mpg, from what I have read (and from friends that have had them) the mx5 is a fair bit worse.
Yep, my MK1 Eunos only did around 30mpg at best, which didn't change when I turbocharged it funnily enough. Shockingly bad given the low power output and the weight of the car.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff