What Fun Family Car?
Discussion
decided its time to bin the volvo as its too old and a bit f**kd
its replacement must be the following:
1. properly safe and can transport a family of 4 long distances
2. not too thirsty
3. fun to drive and throw around (but not necessarily ultra-fast, in fact it could be a slower car)
4. interesting and/or iconic
5. ideally reasonably depreciation proof
There is no set budget but i dont really want to spend much. My volvo cost me £1300 quid when i bought it. I suppose I might stretch to 3 or 4k if the car pulled on th old heartstrings. I would love a Focus RS or a Golf R32 but they are out of budget.
My thinking so far is:
1. civic type r (the old one)
2. Impreza RB5
3. E39 530D sport
any ideas welcome
its replacement must be the following:
1. properly safe and can transport a family of 4 long distances
2. not too thirsty
3. fun to drive and throw around (but not necessarily ultra-fast, in fact it could be a slower car)
4. interesting and/or iconic
5. ideally reasonably depreciation proof
There is no set budget but i dont really want to spend much. My volvo cost me £1300 quid when i bought it. I suppose I might stretch to 3 or 4k if the car pulled on th old heartstrings. I would love a Focus RS or a Golf R32 but they are out of budget.
My thinking so far is:
1. civic type r (the old one)
2. Impreza RB5
3. E39 530D sport
any ideas welcome
£2,600 and offset the rest against fuel?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2051062.htm
Other Standard Stuff:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2051062.htm
Other Standard Stuff:
- Clio Sport
- Golf GTI
- Cupra R
- Audi S3
jackal said:
decided its time to bin the volvo as its too old and a bit f**kd
its replacement must be the following:
1. properly safe and can transport a family of 4 long distances
2. not too thirsty
3. fun to drive and throw around (but not necessarily ultra-fast, in fact it could be a slower car)
4. interesting and/or iconic
5. ideally reasonably depreciation proof
There is no set budget but i dont really want to spend much. My volvo cost me £1300 quid when i bought it. I suppose I might stretch to 3 or 4k if the car pulled on th old heartstrings. I would love a Focus RS or a Golf R32 but they are out of budget.
My thinking so far is:
1. civic type r (the old one)
2. Impreza RB5
3. E39 530D sport
any ideas welcome
A total swerve ball maybe, but how about one of these?its replacement must be the following:
1. properly safe and can transport a family of 4 long distances
2. not too thirsty
3. fun to drive and throw around (but not necessarily ultra-fast, in fact it could be a slower car)
4. interesting and/or iconic
5. ideally reasonably depreciation proof
There is no set budget but i dont really want to spend much. My volvo cost me £1300 quid when i bought it. I suppose I might stretch to 3 or 4k if the car pulled on th old heartstrings. I would love a Focus RS or a Golf R32 but they are out of budget.
My thinking so far is:
1. civic type r (the old one)
2. Impreza RB5
3. E39 530D sport
any ideas welcome
We had one when I was growing up, and it was an awesome family vehicle and very practical.
From your list:
| 1. properly safe and can transport a family of 4 long distances | Check - far comfier than you'd think. We went all over in ours, as did my cousins in theirs and some friends who also had them. Loads of space too, and low windows and high up mean it's great for kids - they get too see out. The DfT also places them as the safest vehicle on the road too |
| 2. not too thirsty | So so mpg. A Tdi will return mid to high 20's and over 30 depending how you drive. It will also run on SVO or a blend, so you can buy veg oil from the supermarket if you wanted which is nearer 85p/litre |
| 3. fun to drive and throw around (but not necessarily ultra-fast, in fact it could be a slower car) | Huge fun and sense of occasion. Even B road bashing, sure it's not an Elise, but they are a lot of fun |
| 4. interesting and/or iconic | CHECK! |
| 5. ideally reasonably depreciation proof | Very depreciation proof, so much so that £3-4k might be a challenge to find a newish tidy one (but not impossible). Very, very good residuals. And because you can replace and repair each part (unlike some cars) it means that as long as you maintain it, it's got an easy 20-50 years of use in it |
Department of Transport article:
Failing that, think I'd be looking at things like Jags - X-Type, S-Type and XJ are all available at this money.
And another long shot, but for £2-3k you can get a nice UK spec RHD Cadillac Seville STS. 4.6 litre V8 20mpg and 295hp. Very, very comfy. Loads of toys. Spacious and quite a good drive too.
Also I really like the look of them.
nottyash said:
jackal said:
decided its time to bin the volvo as its too old and a bit f**kd
its replacement must be the following:
2. not too thirsty
My thinking so far is:
2. Impreza RB5
any ideas welcome
Is 26mpg OK for you then? Get a Scoobyits replacement must be the following:
2. not too thirsty
My thinking so far is:
2. Impreza RB5
any ideas welcome
Also I'd personally want to be running it on 98RON+ fuel, so pence per litre wise it would be knocking off another 1 or 2mpg compared to a car running 95 RON.
When I was a kid in a fairly fun family (well, I enjoyed it), I'd have loved my dad to buy something like a Defender. I wasn't interested in absolute pace, I wanted interesting transport. In fact, being thrown about at speed in the back of a "fast" car was more likely to make me throw up than grin.
Not really iconic but I guess a mk4 golf/bora v6 4motion would be a poor mans r32 alternative, very practical, and a very nice sound, quite quick, good traction.... if a little boring compared to the R32 itself.
In the same vein a focus st170 instead of the RS?
Or to throw in a curveball... how about an e36 m3 saloon? Have always loved the look of them myself... more-so than the coupe in fact!... even a 328 saloon/estate of the same era would be good fun if the m3 is a bit too expensive.
On the alfa front, a 166 3.0 v6 would be gorgeous, however... whether it would actually get your family places.. who knows?
Audi s2 avant may be worth a look also.
Mondeo st200?
Quite a few choices actually when you look into it.
In the same vein a focus st170 instead of the RS?
Or to throw in a curveball... how about an e36 m3 saloon? Have always loved the look of them myself... more-so than the coupe in fact!... even a 328 saloon/estate of the same era would be good fun if the m3 is a bit too expensive.
On the alfa front, a 166 3.0 v6 would be gorgeous, however... whether it would actually get your family places.. who knows?
Audi s2 avant may be worth a look also.
Mondeo st200?
Quite a few choices actually when you look into it.
brickwall said:
Massive selection bias in that research - particularly in the case of the Defender. Injury in the crash is a function of both the car AND the nature of the crash.
I'll hazard a guess that Defenders are statistically under-represented in the more dangerous types of crashes - say high-speed A road smashes and motorway pile-ups, whilst they are statistically over-represented in minor lower speed bumps.
We cannot deduce from this article that the Defender is a safe car (by which I mean a car that will protect you well in the event of a crash).
This article does not mean the Defender is a safer car than others for the OP. It may well be, but this article doesn't show that.
Why do you reckon they are over represented for minor lower speed bumps???I'll hazard a guess that Defenders are statistically under-represented in the more dangerous types of crashes - say high-speed A road smashes and motorway pile-ups, whilst they are statistically over-represented in minor lower speed bumps.
We cannot deduce from this article that the Defender is a safe car (by which I mean a car that will protect you well in the event of a crash).
This article does not mean the Defender is a safer car than others for the OP. It may well be, but this article doesn't show that.
(reckon I know your answer, just want to see...
)teen_cerbera said:
£2,600 and offset the rest against fuel?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2051062.htm
Other Standard Stuff:
wow.. thanks i love the look of that AMG that is gorgeoushttp://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2051062.htm
Other Standard Stuff:
- Clio Sport
- Golf GTI
- Cupra R
- Audi S3
what do yu think it will do MPG ?
and are they reliable beasts ?
300bhp/ton said:
26mpg would seem optimistic to me. A friend has a very tidy MY99 Impreza Turbo 2000. He claims the best he's seen is 23mpg on a long run and a lot lower for normal use.
I think we've discussed this before, but that is one abnormally thirsty Subaru unless he treats every drive like a rally stage.GravelBen said:
300bhp/ton said:
26mpg would seem optimistic to me. A friend has a very tidy MY99 Impreza Turbo 2000. He claims the best he's seen is 23mpg on a long run and a lot lower for normal use.
I think we've discussed this before, but that is one abnormally thirsty Subaru unless he treats every drive like a rally stage.
I've seen 28mpg on a run with bikes on the roof (Which moderated my acceleration and cornering 
)jackal said:
300bhp/ton, thanks I like the idea of a defender as well
i guess im more interested by stuff that's different rather than the usual BM/avants/Skoda octavias/Scoobies/leon's/Golf GTI's etc..
can you actually get a decent defender for 3k ?
£3k is pushing it, but it's possible. But the good thing with them, is they are so easy to maintain, upgrade, replace bits on and modify.i guess im more interested by stuff that's different rather than the usual BM/avants/Skoda octavias/Scoobies/leon's/Golf GTI's etc..
can you actually get a decent defender for 3k ?
Even an old 2.5TD powered one, it'll be slow. But you can get a 200Tdi engine off ebay for £350 and its pretty much a direct bolt in conversion.
Even a brand new Defender today is actually very, very similar to the originals from the early 80's. So even if you can't get quite what you after straight off, it gives you scope, as well as a hobby!!
Merc 190E Cosworth maybe for something a bit more leftfield? Don't suppose it'd be the most frugal option (probably comparable to the Scooby at a guess), but it's more interesting than a diesel 5 Series surely?
Oh, and is a Corrado VR6 too small/thirsty for you?
Or a 306 GTi6?
MG ZS180 (easily over 30mpg, parts not a big problem contrary to scare mongering, decent boot and space in the back, handles well, sounds good...)
Oh, and is a Corrado VR6 too small/thirsty for you?
Or a 306 GTi6?
MG ZS180 (easily over 30mpg, parts not a big problem contrary to scare mongering, decent boot and space in the back, handles well, sounds good...)
GravelBen said:
300bhp/ton said:
26mpg would seem optimistic to me. A friend has a very tidy MY99 Impreza Turbo 2000. He claims the best he's seen is 23mpg on a long run and a lot lower for normal use.
I think we've discussed this before, but that is one abnormally thirsty Subaru unless he treats every drive like a rally stage.Either way, you read various claims from teens to higher 20's on the web. Personally, if mpg is an issue I would "expect" more like 20-22mpg, that way if it does 25-26mpg it's a bonus. The other way round would just be a PITA.
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