Coupe conundrum...
Discussion
As usual there seem to be many "Which car for £*k?" threads at the moment and I read many of them with interest. One of the more frequent discussions revolves around the lower budget (£4-6k) sports(?) coupe. I guess this is because they are affordable by many and allow enjoyable driving, with some practicality and not astronomic running costs. Which of the available batch is best seems to prompt a lot of debate.
I see in another thread many praising the VW Corrado - a car I admire and would love to own and run the VR6. A close competitor seems to be the Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo. A distinctive looking car with bags of oomph, but what about reliability and build quality?
One of my favourites on style is the Alfa GTV V6, but again, the big question is that of reliability and build. BMW's E36 coupes would also be on my list, but they seem to be everywhere now, so it will never score on exclusivity.
If considering such a purchase there are a few Japanese choices that should be in the running. For the budget how about Celica, MR2, 200SX, FTO, and I'm sure there are more. Personally I am not particularly inspired by any of these and would tend to lean toward the German or Italian entries.
So do any of these genuinely 'tick all the boxes' for a considered purchase of a daily runner that will provide enjoyment and not too much pain, or surprises on cost?.... Discuss.
(Purely out of interest of course)
I see in another thread many praising the VW Corrado - a car I admire and would love to own and run the VR6. A close competitor seems to be the Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo. A distinctive looking car with bags of oomph, but what about reliability and build quality?
One of my favourites on style is the Alfa GTV V6, but again, the big question is that of reliability and build. BMW's E36 coupes would also be on my list, but they seem to be everywhere now, so it will never score on exclusivity.
If considering such a purchase there are a few Japanese choices that should be in the running. For the budget how about Celica, MR2, 200SX, FTO, and I'm sure there are more. Personally I am not particularly inspired by any of these and would tend to lean toward the German or Italian entries.
So do any of these genuinely 'tick all the boxes' for a considered purchase of a daily runner that will provide enjoyment and not too much pain, or surprises on cost?.... Discuss.
(Purely out of interest of course)
Honda prelude 2.2 vtec si... very reliable, very quick and tunable to boot. FWD but easy and relatively cheap to service and no overheating issues as far as I'm aware.
Very economical if you don't use the vtec that much on any given journey but very quick and very revy if you do and don't mind working the gears.
>> Edited by dern on Monday 9th January 22:11
Very economical if you don't use the vtec that much on any given journey but very quick and very revy if you do and don't mind working the gears.
>> Edited by dern on Monday 9th January 22:11
pstruck said:
A close competitor seems to be the Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo. A distinctive looking car with bags of oomph, but what about reliability and build quality?
A little biased as we've had four (!) in total at one time or other, but I'd say Fiat Coupe
They are far more reliable and cheaper to run than most people think. Had a few problems with the turbo ones (which tend to be slightly more unreliable) but both the non turbos have been supremely reliable. I love the fact they look different to most cars on the road (although you either love or hate the looks) and it's nice when the most popular colour is the same colour as a portaloo aranell said:
A close competitor seems to be the Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo. A distinctive looking car with bags of oomph, but what about reliability and build quality?
A little biased as we've had four (!) in total at one time or other, but I'd say Fiat Coupe
I was thinking about a Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo last year, it did make me laugh when a buyer's guide I got for it said "Avoid cars with full factory service history". Usually a good thing, but it said dealers are so incompetent you definitely do not want them messing with a specialist car like the FCT.
Jay GTi said:
I was thinking about a Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo last year, it did make me laugh when a buyer's guide I got for it said "Avoid cars with full factory service history". Usually a good thing, but it said dealers are so incompetent you definitely do not want them messing with a specialist car like the FCT.
I think it depends - I bought my murple coupe from my local Fiat dealer and it had a years warranty on it. The service was so poor for the few niggles I had, I refused to take it back there and spent money at an independent instead. Having said that, before me, the murple one had always been serviced etc at Fiat and she was mint when I bought her and I've had no major complaints yet (touch wood!)
I can think of a few Coupes for under £6k, i have not owned ne im just throwing some cars into the debate. Most cars come with a choice of specs and engines but i believe good examples of the following can be found within budget:
1. Ford Cougar
2. Audi 80 Coupe
3. Nissan Fairlady / 300zx 2+2
4. R32 Nissan Skyline
5. E30 BMW M3
5. Honda Civic Coupe
6. Pug 406 Coupe
7. Porsche 944
8. Rover Coupe
9. Renault Megane Coupe
10. Vauxhall Astra Coupe
11. Vauxhall Tigra
12. Lexus Soarer
Plenty of cars there, some more luxurious than others, some sportier /quicker than others
>> Edited by teen_cerbera on Monday 9th January 22:57
1. Ford Cougar
2. Audi 80 Coupe
3. Nissan Fairlady / 300zx 2+2
4. R32 Nissan Skyline
5. E30 BMW M3
5. Honda Civic Coupe
6. Pug 406 Coupe
7. Porsche 944
8. Rover Coupe
9. Renault Megane Coupe
10. Vauxhall Astra Coupe
11. Vauxhall Tigra
12. Lexus Soarer
Plenty of cars there, some more luxurious than others, some sportier /quicker than others
>> Edited by teen_cerbera on Monday 9th January 22:57
I ran an FTO as a daily driver for a year, it was totally reliable (2 tyres in 12000 miles, that was all), quick enough for a FWD daily drive and caused quite a stir wherever it went. The only thing against it was that being an import insurance was a bit higher than you might imagine.
teen_cerbera said:
I can think of a few Coupes for under £6k, i have not owned ne im just throwing some cars into the debate. Most cars come with a choice of specs and engines but i believe good examples of the following can be found within budget:
1. Ford Cougar
2. Audi 80 Coupe
3. Nissan Fairlady / 300zx 2+2
4. R32 Nissan Skyline
5. E30 BMW M3
5. Honda Civic Coupe
6. Pug 406 Coupe
7. Porsche 944
8. Rover Coupe
9. Renault Megane Coupe
10. Vauxhall Astra Coupe
11. Vauxhall Tigra
12. Lexus Soarer
Plenty of cars there, some more luxurious than others, some sportier /quicker than others
>> Edited by teen_cerbera on Monday 9th January 22:57
My Current car is a Renault Megane Coupe 1.6 16v Sport advertised for £4,200 and bought for around £4,000
It's not to everyone's taste I admit but since i'm usually on the motorway between home and uni it's a good cruising car...
It's not that sporty though...just some white dials and 16 valuves
But it is still a coupe !
But there are alot of better cars out there....
if it was me it would be the Fiat or the R32 Skyline
john
Again, Fiat Coupe 20VT everytime (but I'd say that as I have the Fiat Coupe 16VT!!).
They come in for a lot of stick for reliability but in general they are not unreliable at all - just the usual horror stories making loads of noise and tarring all the cars at the same time; being Itailan everyone is 'expecting' them to be unreliable so claim they are at the first chance.
Worse still is the popular claim that a cambelt change costs ~£1300, yes at a Fiat dealer (to be avoided like the plague) where they drop the engine out but these can be done at more competent Fiat specialists for £400............I could go on, but you get the idea.
For the money they are awesome, fast, practical, good looking cars and would reccommened them to anyone.
If you want to know more look here: www.fccuk.org/forum where you will find the answers to everything coop related and more.
Thanks for listening,
John.
PS - mines for sale if anyone wants one of their own!! (see the classifieds).
They come in for a lot of stick for reliability but in general they are not unreliable at all - just the usual horror stories making loads of noise and tarring all the cars at the same time; being Itailan everyone is 'expecting' them to be unreliable so claim they are at the first chance.
Worse still is the popular claim that a cambelt change costs ~£1300, yes at a Fiat dealer (to be avoided like the plague) where they drop the engine out but these can be done at more competent Fiat specialists for £400............I could go on, but you get the idea.
For the money they are awesome, fast, practical, good looking cars and would reccommened them to anyone.
If you want to know more look here: www.fccuk.org/forum where you will find the answers to everything coop related and more.
Thanks for listening,
John.
PS - mines for sale if anyone wants one of their own!! (see the classifieds).
Still much support for the Fiat then, and its good to hear owners challenging the 'unreliable' claims.
A few other cropping up I hadn't thought of. If I were to be buying though I would be keen for a little more power than some of these offer (200 bhp say) and a few of these are a bit 'lardy'.
What do people think of the Alfa GTV? You have to love the sound of that 3.0l V6, but what is the rest of the car like?
A few other cropping up I hadn't thought of. If I were to be buying though I would be keen for a little more power than some of these offer (200 bhp say) and a few of these are a bit 'lardy'.
What do people think of the Alfa GTV? You have to love the sound of that 3.0l V6, but what is the rest of the car like?
pstruck said:
What do people think of the Alfa GTV? You have to love the sound of that 3.0l V6, but what is the rest of the car like?
Admittedly I'm somewhat biased, but I'd have to say "brilliant" (in my best Fast Show voice
) I've run one for nearly 5 years now as a daily driver and its never let me down. Performance is great for the money and styling IMO is spot on inside and out. Practicality isn't huge, but then not many people buy a coupé to shift wardrobes about
(Having said that, the FCT offers similar performance with bags more interior space at the cost of less delicate handling characteristics) My profile lists the entire history of my GTV from new. Italiaphobes might be quite suprised...
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