City Dwellers: What runabout for petrolheads?
Discussion
Calling anyone that lives in a large city, commutes largely on public transport and when you do get in the car you end up spending time sat in city traffic doing daily tasks, yet you still aspire to own a special vehicle...
What's your idea of a daily runabout that's practical, comfortable, small enough for city life parked on a street - but still ticks the petrolhead box?
Things you or i might do in a runabout:
Drive to Sainsburys and do the weekly shop when hurricane imogen makes walking uncomfortable,
Buy some stuff in ikea,
Visit some friends or family out of town,
Drive to the golf course,
Bug out of the city for a quick b-road blast,
Go away for the weekend,
Chuck some mountain bikes in the back and find some trails,
Commute on a Friday when you can't face the tube...
Whilst we'd all love to do this in a V12 fezza, or the most favoured 911 GT3, this isn't the most practical and eventually you might want to carry something other than yourself - What's the best car for this job?
What's your idea of a daily runabout that's practical, comfortable, small enough for city life parked on a street - but still ticks the petrolhead box?
Things you or i might do in a runabout:
Drive to Sainsburys and do the weekly shop when hurricane imogen makes walking uncomfortable,
Buy some stuff in ikea,
Visit some friends or family out of town,
Drive to the golf course,
Bug out of the city for a quick b-road blast,
Go away for the weekend,
Chuck some mountain bikes in the back and find some trails,
Commute on a Friday when you can't face the tube...
Whilst we'd all love to do this in a V12 fezza, or the most favoured 911 GT3, this isn't the most practical and eventually you might want to carry something other than yourself - What's the best car for this job?
Fiesta ST, Twingo/Clio RS, Colt Ralliart, Abarth Punto/500.
A fair few baby hot hatches about that are more than quick enough for B roads whilst also being small and easy to maneaver around cities. Also being baby hatches they have the added advantage of cheap body panels for when when someone drives into it in the Sainsburys car park.
EDIT: Oh I just read a couple more of your criteria. Get a roof rack for the bikes and you will most likely need to fold down a back seat for a set of golf clubs. Ikea... rent a Fiat Doblo for £40.
A fair few baby hot hatches about that are more than quick enough for B roads whilst also being small and easy to maneaver around cities. Also being baby hatches they have the added advantage of cheap body panels for when when someone drives into it in the Sainsburys car park.
EDIT: Oh I just read a couple more of your criteria. Get a roof rack for the bikes and you will most likely need to fold down a back seat for a set of golf clubs. Ikea... rent a Fiat Doblo for £40.
Really depends on your budget, you could spend £30k on a 911, £20k on an M6, £10k on an Impreza or £2k on a Clio 182 and they'd all fulfil what you wanted to do. The 911 may struggle on bikes but you get the point.
I've moved into London so I've steadily lost the nice cars and will end up with a ~£2k toy - at the moment it's a Clio 182 that's top of the list.
Of course there are always practical cars that are somewhat fun to drive - think Volvo T5 or Merc C320; lower end of the budget, but great for versatility and alright for performance.
I've moved into London so I've steadily lost the nice cars and will end up with a ~£2k toy - at the moment it's a Clio 182 that's top of the list.
Of course there are always practical cars that are somewhat fun to drive - think Volvo T5 or Merc C320; lower end of the budget, but great for versatility and alright for performance.
This is a large part of why I ended up with the Alpina B3 (old, cheap E46 version). In the real world it's a great car for the exact conditions the OP described. Could do a few mpg more but not really an issue on low mileage. Lovely to be in, a little bit special, sounds fab and is low key too. And auto. I'm done with manuals for London!
caelite said:
Fiesta ST, Twingo/Clio RS, Colt Ralliart, Abarth Punto/500.
A fair few baby hot hatches about that are more than quick enough for B roads whilst also being small and easy to maneaver around cities. Also being baby hatches they have the added advantage of cheap body panels for when when someone drives into it in the Sainsburys car park.
EDIT: Oh I just read a couple more of your criteria. Get a roof rack for the bikes and you will most likely need to fold down a back seat for a set of golf clubs. Ikea... rent a Fiat Doblo for £40.
I had the Abarth Punto's baby brother, The Fiat Grande Punto T-Jet. A fair few baby hot hatches about that are more than quick enough for B roads whilst also being small and easy to maneaver around cities. Also being baby hatches they have the added advantage of cheap body panels for when when someone drives into it in the Sainsburys car park.
EDIT: Oh I just read a couple more of your criteria. Get a roof rack for the bikes and you will most likely need to fold down a back seat for a set of golf clubs. Ikea... rent a Fiat Doblo for £40.
It shares the same engine with the A500/AGP, but has a slightly smaller turbo. It was still mega fun though.
Did Ikea trips in it. Mrs had to sit behind me, which was funny.
Sainsburys trips were no problem.
I could park it up and not worry about it getting vandalized.
http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-carpool/fia...
That was a carpool of mine.
Considering i currently drive a Z4 M Coupe, and that's considered not practical enough (although has done an admiral job over the years, ikea included) - i guess that counts out ideas on the MR2/MX5 scale, though appreciate the effort justifying a mk1 MX5.
I tend to find the main difficulty is the natural contrast between 'small city practicality' and 'visit family/friends long distances away in comfort', thus i'm settling on ideas like the latest RS3, M135i, Golf GTI/R etc - but they're all a much bigger commitment than some decent second hand bargains, so before i put my money down on an overpriced RS3, i'm wondering if there's any interesting alternatives.
I tend to find the main difficulty is the natural contrast between 'small city practicality' and 'visit family/friends long distances away in comfort', thus i'm settling on ideas like the latest RS3, M135i, Golf GTI/R etc - but they're all a much bigger commitment than some decent second hand bargains, so before i put my money down on an overpriced RS3, i'm wondering if there's any interesting alternatives.
Just buy what you want.
Hundreds of Thousands of people drive Buses, Trucks and Vans use the roads in tight and congested cities every day, usually without major incident or issue.
You're more likely huge Rolls Royces and Range Rovers or expensive Ferraris or Lamborghinis parked on and driven along some of the tightest Victorian streets in Central London than most places in the World.
I don't buy into this idea that you cannot have a nice/interesting/large car just because you happen to live in a City.
Hundreds of Thousands of people drive Buses, Trucks and Vans use the roads in tight and congested cities every day, usually without major incident or issue.
You're more likely huge Rolls Royces and Range Rovers or expensive Ferraris or Lamborghinis parked on and driven along some of the tightest Victorian streets in Central London than most places in the World.
I don't buy into this idea that you cannot have a nice/interesting/large car just because you happen to live in a City.
Maximise the satisfaction and fun you get from all aspects of motoring rather than trying to cover them all at once with one vehicle. Get a decent car for around town. Something that costs nothing to run, is comfortable, reliable, practical and nice to drive. A Prius or Insight would be ideal. They are fantastic in town, a pleasure to drive. There isn't much I'd prefer as a practical proposition.
With the money you've saved and the Zen of calm you've accumulated in a suitable car, go wild and get a decent motorbike. A Daytona 675R, a Suzuki GSXR1000, an Aprilia RSV, a Ducati 888 or whatever. You'll have loads of fun on the most focused performance machines you can buy, and may find contentment far above what one car trying to cover all based will offer.
With the money you've saved and the Zen of calm you've accumulated in a suitable car, go wild and get a decent motorbike. A Daytona 675R, a Suzuki GSXR1000, an Aprilia RSV, a Ducati 888 or whatever. You'll have loads of fun on the most focused performance machines you can buy, and may find contentment far above what one car trying to cover all based will offer.
I drive a Range Rover Evoque Si4, partly because I have a 2 year old and like to go skiing at weekends but it still ticks most of the boxes. For me the most important thing is the interior, and the car 'feeling special' which the RR does far better than an Audi Q3 or other similar small 4x4s.
Without the kid and skiing requirements though I'd have a Mini Cooper S (Clubman if the space is important) with an auto box of course. The Abarth 500 would have been an option but the auto is utterly undriveable so plan B would be a RenaultSport Clio, or maybe a budget busting M135i if I was feeling extra flush.
Without the kid and skiing requirements though I'd have a Mini Cooper S (Clubman if the space is important) with an auto box of course. The Abarth 500 would have been an option but the auto is utterly undriveable so plan B would be a RenaultSport Clio, or maybe a budget busting M135i if I was feeling extra flush.
279 said:
Just buy what you want.
Hundreds of Thousands of people drive Buses, Trucks and Vans use the roads in tight and congested cities every day, usually without major incident or issue.
You're more likely huge Rolls Royces and Range Rovers or expensive Ferraris or Lamborghinis parked on and driven along some of the tightest Victorian streets in Central London than most places in the World.
I don't buy into this idea that you cannot have a nice/interesting/large car just because you happen to live in a City.
And yet you don't see the owners parking them day in day out in residential streets or in shopping car parks. Hundreds of Thousands of people drive Buses, Trucks and Vans use the roads in tight and congested cities every day, usually without major incident or issue.
You're more likely huge Rolls Royces and Range Rovers or expensive Ferraris or Lamborghinis parked on and driven along some of the tightest Victorian streets in Central London than most places in the World.
I don't buy into this idea that you cannot have a nice/interesting/large car just because you happen to live in a City.
If you really want car A but recognise that car B is appropriate for what you will actually be using it for then there doesn't seem any logic in blowing more money than needed when it's something you don't really aspire to owning. Just get something cheap and cheerful that you don't give a damn about the 70m cretinous low life's that you share this country with who will be smashing it up and turning it to crap within a few years.
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