Sub £5K, -7 Seconds to 60 and 30MPG, Is It Possible?

[Sam1990]

Short of suggesting a BMW, are there many good buys out there for less than £5,000, a good bit of power (turbo'd maybe), fun to drive and that will still see 30mpg most of the time?

Have been looking a Integra Rs and other VTEC goodies but a turbo would be nice, RWD or 4WD would be even nicer but is it possible on that budget?

[nutcase]

How about an early Focus ST (170 BHP). Near enough 7 seconds to 60 I should think, and being gentle with it you'll probably get 30mpg (though not on an average run)

Some decent ones in the classifieds under 5k

[hombrepaulo]

Corrado Vr6

[nogsk]

S2000 ?

[ITP]

9-5 Aero.
Under 3k never mind 5

[KenBlocksPants]

Would need to be Turbo'd to get that MPG.

Modern bmw diesel would work, but not in your budget or course.

What about a V8 (Lexus Soarer?) lazy and good mpg on a run. Quick when you need it?

I'm clutching at straws here

[Animal]

Whar's wrong with BMW? A 330d ticks those boxes - especially with a remap.

[Ian_sUK]

A Clio 172/182 would fit the bill nicely and 30mpg would be a minimum around town figure, into the 40's on a long run.

[FamilyDub]

MK1 SEAT Leon Cupra R?

[nonuts]

KenBlocksPants said:

Would need to be Turbo'd to get that MPG.

What makes you say this? In my experience this is total rubbish.

E.g. my 1.8T Audi S3 would average about 24mpg and my 3.2 M3 which makes quite a bit more power, doesn't sound like a dyson and revs to 7,500rpm is managing around 26-27mpg on the same driving and will do over 35mpg if bimbling along on a motorway which the S3 couldn't dream of.

[EDLT]

Would an MR2 Turbo do 30mpg?

[KenBlocksPants]

nonuts said:

KenBlocksPants said:

Would need to be Turbo'd to get that MPG.

What makes you say this? In my experience this is total rubbish.

E.g. my 1.8T Audi S3 would average about 24mpg and my 3.2 M3 which makes quite a bit more power, doesn't sound like a dyson and revs to 7,500rpm is managing around 26-27mpg on the same driving and will do over 35mpg if bimbling along on a motorway which the S3 couldn't dream of.

Turbo'd to achieve the sub 7 second 0-60 along with the MPG.

I did also suggest a large N/A engine too.

[anonymous-user]

MR2 non-turbo.

30mpg easy, RWD, near-enough 7 second 0-60 dash. Handles like a go kart, makes every drive feel like a race!

[anonymous-user]

EDLT said:

Would an MR2 Turbo do 30mpg?

Beat me to the MR2 - but no, a turbo would do nearer 20mpg unless you never used boost. And where's the fun in that!? Plus turbos EAT tyres.

[marcosgt]

Skoda Octavia vRS.

M

[5lab]

civic type r
volvo s40 t4
mini cooper s (?? not sure on the 0-60)
106 gti?

[nonuts]

doogz said:

If you couldn't squeeze 35mpg out an S3, i'd suggest it was fked, it should have managed that on the motorway, no problems

Based on what, exactly?

As I did own an S3 for a long time and did a lot more miles than most in one including 35,000 miles in roughly 6 months so I think I have a fair idea of what I'm talking about when it come to really driving / owning one. It wasn't 'fked' the whole time either.

[Chris71]

hombrepaulo said:

Corrado Vr6

30mpg in general use? I thought that would have been restricted to gentle cruising on the motorway for a VR6?

Slightly struggling. The Elise will happily do over 30mpg, but it's too expensive to buy, an MX5 isn't quick enough ...Clio 182? Very economical (40mpg at a law abiding motorway cruise I'm told) and within budget, admittedly FWD but superb fun.

ETA Beaten to it on the 182 comment it seems, but they are cracking little cars. My favourite sensible money modern-ish hot hatch.

Edited by Chris71 on Tuesday 14th December 14:06

[neil_bolton]

E36 328i would do that easily.

[300bhp/ton]

Sam1990 said:

Short of suggesting a BMW, are there many good buys out there for less than £5,000, a good bit of power (turbo'd maybe), fun to drive and that will still see 30mpg most of the time?

Have been looking a Integra Rs and other VTEC goodies but a turbo would be nice, RWD or 4WD would be even nicer but is it possible on that budget?

Sort of along the lines of my response to the last one of these.


--pointless requirements


And why?

Well 0-60mph is not a very good metric unless you are only doing short distance standing starts. A rwd or AWD car with the same power/weight will always better a fwd car due to grip and traction.




MPG - what do you mean by 30mpg? Are you just wanting it capable of it? I mean on a run my 5.7 V8 has been clocked at 30.5mpg. But I wouldn't really call it a 30mpg car....

So are you meaning "general" average, or just PEAK mpg ability. In addition to this, what sort of roads will it be driven on? What is your driving style?


And rather importantly, how many miles a year (and how much money to fund it). If you don't do a huge mileage a year, a 25mpg car might only cost you £15-20/month more to run or less even.


Also "some" cars, often turbo or imports will need to run on superunleaded. This is more expensive, so pence per mile it is like doing 2-3mpg less compared to a car on 95 RON.

_____________________

Do you have any other considerations. Such as type of car, type of driving, what you want from it, what you need from it, what it'll be used for?




In short YES is the answer to your question. But it hugley depends.


As a leftfield option, how about something like a Jaguar XJR6 or XJ8 with an LPG kit?? 35-40mpg costs and plenty of poke.

This same logic could be applied to a host of other cars too.