Any of the current crop of small cars actually fun to drive?
Discussion
I'd reconsider the Up. I found the performance fairly adequate. We had one from new for nearly three years. (The 75 bhp one)
An absolute blast to ring the jebs off and it handled, really well. Certainly surprised me at the pace I could maintain on some coastal B roads.
Interior felt solid and well made over all.
An absolute blast to ring the jebs off and it handled, really well. Certainly surprised me at the pace I could maintain on some coastal B roads.
Interior felt solid and well made over all.
Mrspablo has a new Hyundai i10, its a hoot, the little 3 cyclinder 1000cc version. Sounds a bit roty and goes ok to about 50, usual confort features etc. To be honest, its well spec'd for the money. Handles motorways ok and easily gets 40+ mpg even on short, stop/start commutes. We only paid £10k new so there should be some in budget.
Nothing handles like a kart btw, its the possible the most over-used and irrelevant phrase in motoring.
Nothing handles like a kart btw, its the possible the most over-used and irrelevant phrase in motoring.
I know the 500 has been ruled out as too girly but I'm having a right blast in a TwinAir 500C at the moment. It's S trim too which means Abarth-lite bumpers and sideskirts which do butch it up a tiny amount. Throttle response isn't great and the engine clatters into the rev limiter at around 5k but the gearbox is fantastic and it's a hoot to throw around. Worth a test driver Shirley?
Jimmy No Hands said:
I'd reconsider the Up. I found the performance fairly adequate. We had one from new for nearly three years. (The 75 bhp one)
An absolute blast to ring the jebs off and it handled, really well. Certainly surprised me at the pace I could maintain on some coastal B roads.
Interior felt solid and well made over all.
I recently had an Up to drive for a few days. The engine was "fun" but the rest of it was appalling. The body control and roadholding were awful and the gearbox and steering were both nasty. Not fun to drive at all. It was a base spec model but still. Crap. An absolute blast to ring the jebs off and it handled, really well. Certainly surprised me at the pace I could maintain on some coastal B roads.
Interior felt solid and well made over all.
Howard- said:
I recently had an Up to drive for a few days. The engine was "fun" but the rest of it was appalling. The body control and roadholding were awful and the gearbox and steering were both nasty. Not fun to drive at all. It was a base spec model but still. Crap.
Really? From the reviews I read before hand the general consensus was that it was a fairly competent handler, and I must say from our time with it I'd be inclined to agree. We did have a special edition one with a few fancies on and possibly a sport pack, I'm sure there were some suspension differences. Either way it was a ball to roll around in.
stedaley said:
Ive been looking at exactly the same problem,
Managed to fettle it down to the Suzuki Swift Sport 1.6, Zetec S 125 Fiesta ecoboost and the 133 Renault.
But i really cant pick between them... :/ Im looking at around 100-130,
can anyone offer experience owning them?
I keep rattling on about it but we have not long since bought the 100 ps ecoboost and had it remapped and its a hoot, indecently rapid for what it is, we have a C1 as well and the Fiesta is leagues ahead in absolutely every way.Managed to fettle it down to the Suzuki Swift Sport 1.6, Zetec S 125 Fiesta ecoboost and the 133 Renault.
But i really cant pick between them... :/ Im looking at around 100-130,
can anyone offer experience owning them?
Most on your list are a bit wooden, dont worry too much about weight and length, its all about the way it drives and 50 kilos either way isnt going to influence that so much that it will make the difference.
Dont bother with the 125, get the 100 and remap it for £399 from Superchips, basically the same engine.
J4CKO said:
I keep rattling on about it but we have not long since bought the 100 ps ecoboost and had it remapped and its a hoot, indecently rapid for what it is, we have a C1 as well and the Fiesta is leagues ahead in absolutely every way.
Most on your list are a bit wooden, dont worry too much about weight and length, its all about the way it drives and 50 kilos either way isnt going to influence that so much that it will make the difference.
Dont bother with the 125, get the 100 and remap it for £399 from Superchips, basically the same engine.
125 and Mountune would be where id go with it, 165bhp and 245nm from a 1.0l....Most on your list are a bit wooden, dont worry too much about weight and length, its all about the way it drives and 50 kilos either way isnt going to influence that so much that it will make the difference.
Dont bother with the 125, get the 100 and remap it for £399 from Superchips, basically the same engine.
and cant be done with the 100hp variant
Twingo 133 & Suzuki Swift Sport sound like what you are after, not sure if in your budget though?
I sold my Twingo for under £4k earlier this year.
Closest I've come to "Go-Kart" handling in a road car with 4 seats and a small boot, the engine is powerful enough but needs working hard. Think it was 8.5 to 60, 1050kg, 131bhp..
The ride can be slightly trashy on bad strectches of road due to the set up on the cup cars.
I sold my Twingo for under £4k earlier this year.
Closest I've come to "Go-Kart" handling in a road car with 4 seats and a small boot, the engine is powerful enough but needs working hard. Think it was 8.5 to 60, 1050kg, 131bhp..
The ride can be slightly trashy on bad strectches of road due to the set up on the cup cars.
Edited by GTID on Wednesday 19th August 12:42
Far too much focus on the pure numbers. You're not going to tell how fun a car is from it's length or weight or 0-60 when the differences are 1-2 seconds, 200mm or 200kg.
Go drive them.
And I really like my Mrs Ford KA (MY2010). The engine is gutless but the handling is nice! Good adjustability.
Go drive them.
And I really like my Mrs Ford KA (MY2010). The engine is gutless but the handling is nice! Good adjustability.
GroundEffect said:
Far too much focus on the pure numbers. You're not going to tell how fun a car is from it's length or weight or 0-60 when the differences are 1-2 seconds, 200mm or 200kg.
Go drive them.
And I really like my Mrs Ford KA (MY2010). The engine is gutless but the handling is nice! Good adjustability.
^Go drive them.
And I really like my Mrs Ford KA (MY2010). The engine is gutless but the handling is nice! Good adjustability.
I did exactly that at the end of last year to replace my R53 Cooper S
I was disappointed by some of the ones I expected to like the most, pleasantly surprised by some of my ( initially) secondary choices
Getting test drives is a tedious and trying process though
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