Inspire me.. (With a hint of a dreaded what car)

[Blanchimont]

I can't decide, so PH people, what's your suggestions?!

The criteria:

200hp +
Practical
4/5 Seats
Decent boot.
Manual.
25+ MPG in the real world.
Petrol only, no Diesels.
2003 or newer.
Sub 100k.

For around 7k, may be able to stretch to 8 for the right example.

So far, I've thought of the Focus ST, but I prefer the Post facelift, and they're all out of budget. But that engine! But the fuel economy!
Mk5 Golf GTI, they're nice, but I don't like those wheels (but I could always swap them!)
E46 330Ci?

I can't decide!

[Crusoe]

e46 M3 if you can find a nice one or a nice 130i if you need lower running costs.

[ratbert]

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=605...

[trickywoo]

E60 545i

There are manuals about but very rare otherwise all your boxes ticked.

With dynamic drive they are miles away from being barge like.

[C70R]

Blanchimont said:

I can't decide, so PH people, what's your suggestions?!

The criteria:

200hp +
Practical
4/5 Seats
Decent boot.
Manual.
25+ MPG in the real world.
Petrol only, no Diesels.
2003 or newer.
Sub 100k.

For around 7k, may be able to stretch to 8 for the right example.

So far, I've thought of the Focus ST, but I prefer the Post facelift, and they're all out of budget. But that engine! But the fuel economy!
Mk5 Golf GTI, they're nice, but I don't like those wheels (but I could always swap them!)
E46 330Ci?

I can't decide!

There's a rare manual BMW 550i Sport on Autotrader at £7k at the moment, which would be hard to pass up at this kind of money. Economy should just about squeak past requirement, provided you aren't doing all your miles around town. A 4.8L V8 with a manual box and BMW practicality/comfort is hard to pass up...

[smithyithy]

RX8?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

[Blanchimont]

Crusoe said:

e46 M3 if you can find a nice one or a nice 130i if you need lower running costs.

The 130i is on the options list, I think the M3 will be out my price range for a good one, I need a tidy one as it'll be a daily.

trickywoo said:

E60 545i

There are manuals about but very rare otherwise all your boxes ticked.

With dynamic drive they are miles away from being barge like.

That's an option, will they do 25+ mpg?

ratbert said:

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=605...

Over my maximum budget I'm afraid.

[Blanchimont]

C70R said:

Blanchimont said:

I can't decide, so PH people, what's your suggestions?!

The criteria:

200hp +
Practical
4/5 Seats
Decent boot.
Manual.
25+ MPG in the real world.
Petrol only, no Diesels.
2003 or newer.
Sub 100k.

For around 7k, may be able to stretch to 8 for the right example.

So far, I've thought of the Focus ST, but I prefer the Post facelift, and they're all out of budget. But that engine! But the fuel economy!
Mk5 Golf GTI, they're nice, but I don't like those wheels (but I could always swap them!)
E46 330Ci?

I can't decide!

There's a rare manual BMW 550i Sport on Autotrader at £7k at the moment, which would be hard to pass up at this kind of money. Economy should just about squeak past requirement, provided you aren't doing all your miles around town. A 4.8L V8 with a manual box and BMW practicality/comfort is hard to pass up...

Found it. That looks freaking awesome! (the silver 56 plate?)

[C70R]

Blanchimont said:

C70R said:

Blanchimont said:

I can't decide, so PH people, what's your suggestions?!

The criteria:

200hp +
Practical
4/5 Seats
Decent boot.
Manual.
25+ MPG in the real world.
Petrol only, no Diesels.
2003 or newer.
Sub 100k.

For around 7k, may be able to stretch to 8 for the right example.

So far, I've thought of the Focus ST, but I prefer the Post facelift, and they're all out of budget. But that engine! But the fuel economy!
Mk5 Golf GTI, they're nice, but I don't like those wheels (but I could always swap them!)
E46 330Ci?

I can't decide!

There's a rare manual BMW 550i Sport on Autotrader at £7k at the moment, which would be hard to pass up at this kind of money. Economy should just about squeak past requirement, provided you aren't doing all your miles around town. A 4.8L V8 with a manual box and BMW practicality/comfort is hard to pass up...

Found it. That looks freaking awesome! (the silver 56 plate?)

Indeed. Such a lot of car for the cash, and incredibly rare to come up with a manual box. It's unlikely to be significantly worse on fuel economy than a Focus ST, and can be made to sound like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaZf9h9PvfQ

The 545i is much more common, and 95% of the car for less money. However, both are rare with manuals.

[trickywoo]

Blanchimont said:

Found it. That looks freaking awesome! (the silver 56 plate?)

Good value that. If all is as it seems I don't think it'll hang around long.

I get 26/27 mpg from an auto 545i without trying. If you cruise above 85mph this will be lower. I get better economy from A / B road runs than M-Way.

Don't rule out the auto. They are very responsive and in sport mode transform the car very effectively from cruise to hoon.

[boobles]

How about 1 of these?


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/h...

[Blanchimont]

trickywoo said:

Good value that. If all is as it seems I don't think it'll hang around long.

I get 26/27 mpg from an auto 545i without trying. If you cruise above 85mph this will be lower. I get better economy from A / B road runs than M-Way.

Don't rule out the auto. They are very responsive and in sport mode transform the car very effectively from cruise to hoon.

That V8 noise!

That's worth knowing. My commute is 5/6 miles of DC at about 55mph, but I get hammered coming back the other way as it's nose to tail, so my car "apparantly" does 42mpg, I can get 36, so it's not too bad.

boobles said:

How about 1 of these?


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/h...

The Integras, whilst gorgeous cars and have presence on the roads, as it parks on the road at night I would like something a little more subtle. If it wasn't my only car, I would definately look at getting one.

[300bhp/ton]

Blanchimont said:

25+ MPG in the real world.

So far, I've thought of the Focus ST

I honestly think that 25mpg from an ST is an unrealistic goal "real world" unless you only cruise on dual carriage ways. And if so, do you really need over 200hp to do that?

Not knocking the ST's, I like the look and noise they make. But read any mpg thread about them, and they seem pretty hopeless. Some people even quoting in the teens.

24mpg or under seemed to be the trend whenever I've looked at a varied dater set.


Now remember, it's a turbo car, personally I'd want to run it on superunleaded and that would be a must if you remapped it. So real world pence per mile running costs are -2mpg from whatever it really does.

For instance, my Impreza did 25.7mpg on the last tank. Now you can fool yourself into thinking that's 26mpg.

But the reality is, it runs on superunleaded. And for the same cost to cover the same distance a car on 95 RON only needed to do around 23mpg.


Maybe it's not a massive, but if it's all boarderline and you do a fair few miles. Then maybe it makes a difference.

[S10GTA]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-53-REG-VOLVO-S60-R-...

Volvo S60R

First one I found but look about, there will be manuals for sale

Edited by S10GTA on Thursday 19th November 15:11

[300bhp/ton]

Blanchimont said:

trickywoo said:

E60 545i

There are manuals about but very rare otherwise all your boxes ticked.

With dynamic drive they are miles away from being barge like.

That's an option, will they do 25+ mpg?

Parkers says 25mpg average
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-fi...


But tbh, it will depend on how and where you drive. I suspect it would be very easy to get it to drop to 17-20mpg or lower. Although on a proper run 28-30mpg+ wouldn't surprise me either.

Really comes down to how much leeway you have on fuelling budget.

[300bhp/ton]

Blanchimont said:

trickywoo said:

Good value that. If all is as it seems I don't think it'll hang around long.

I get 26/27 mpg from an auto 545i without trying. If you cruise above 85mph this will be lower. I get better economy from A / B road runs than M-Way.

Don't rule out the auto. They are very responsive and in sport mode transform the car very effectively from cruise to hoon.

That V8 noise!

I doubt you'll have any V8 noise from one of those tbh. Not in standard guise. Far too quiet and civilised.

[stumpage]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Or How about a Saab 9-3 Aero X

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Sorry you wanted Manual so try this...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Edited by stumpage on Thursday 19th November 15:21

[Blanchimont]

300bhp/ton said:

I honestly think that 25mpg from an ST is an unrealistic goal "real world" unless you only cruise on dual carriage ways. And if so, do you really need over 200hp to do that?

Not knocking the ST's, I like the look and noise they make. But read any mpg thread about them, and they seem pretty hopeless. Some people even quoting in the teens.

24mpg or under seemed to be the trend whenever I've looked at a varied dater set.


Now remember, it's a turbo car, personally I'd want to run it on superunleaded and that would be a must if you remapped it. So real world pence per mile running costs are -2mpg from whatever it really does.

For instance, my Impreza did 25.7mpg on the last tank. Now you can fool yourself into thinking that's 26mpg.

But the reality is, it runs on superunleaded. And for the same cost to cover the same distance a car on 95 RON only needed to do around 23mpg.


Maybe it's not a massive, but if it's all boarderline and you do a fair few miles. Then maybe it makes a difference.

My current car is turbocharged and remapped, and consequently run exclusively on super unleaded, and know the realistic difference between it cost/mpg wise. I normally go buy how many miles I get to a tank, and how much it costs to fill. I find it easier to budget and work out how much more it will cost per month to run that way.

[trickywoo]

300bhp/ton said:

I doubt you'll have any V8 noise from one of those tbh. Not in standard guise. Far too quiet and civilised.

True. In standard trim its pretty hushed but you still know its a V8.

A few hundred quid at Profusion Customs can make it sound like this quite easily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibYLr_DwEw8

[boobles]

Practical you say

Not sure about the MPG though


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...