What car help please!

[mazdajason]

Morning all, another 'what car' thread i'm afraid!
Having sold my Subaru I have 4,500 to spend on my next car not including insurance so I'm looking for some help!
Currently have an mx5 so they are out, I find myself lookin at the bottom end of cooper S's and corolla t sports. Is there better/other cars I should be lookin at?
Don't mind 3/5 door but would like some form of boot space.
Would prefer FWD for winter also as the mx5 isnt the best( but is very fun).
Any help appreciated!

[LuS1fer]

I'd say a Civic Type R EP3 but it may be leggy at that price level. I've only seen Corolla T-Sport write-ups which seem underwhelming.
How about an X-Type Jag V6?

[mazdajason]

Hmm that would make a good barge but i guess they wouldnt be the best on fuel? I suppose i am really looking for a hot hatch after I read back what i have written. Maybe a clio 182 even, or a 172 with a cup pack possibly?
I have looked at ep3 civics and even integras but like you said, i think they are the bottom priced ones I would be looking at.

[mazdajason]

Cheers doogz, so minis are no good in the snow? well we get a lot of snow in Aberdeen so that wouldn't be any good either!
Yea I had to sell the scoob, upcoming wedding and a £300 increase in my renewal meant it had to go - trust me, it wasn't easy.

[V88Dicky]

X-type is a good shout, especially with a Solar Minimum on the way (more horrific winters)

A manual, 3.0 sport would be the preferred choice, but the 2.5 is also very capable.



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[300bhp/ton]

mazdajason said:

Morning all, another 'what car' thread i'm afraid!
Having sold my Subaru I have 4,500 to spend on my next car not including insurance so I'm looking for some help!
Currently have an mx5 so they are out, I find myself lookin at the bottom end of cooper S's and corolla t sports. Is there better/other cars I should be lookin at?
Don't mind 3/5 door but would like some form of boot space.
Would prefer FWD for winter also as the mx5 isnt the best( but is very fun).
Any help appreciated!

Personally I like rwd in the winter over fwd - but you need one with a LSD!!!!

Not sure how Corolla and Cooper S end up in the same sentence, let alone a car comparison

£4.5k you say with boot and fwd.

MINI CS for the looks or DC2 ITR for the drive.

Lots of other cars at this money though, from AWD X-Types to V8 muscle cars. All likely to be able to fulfill your brief.

[Liquid Knight]

My Rover 213S was excellent in the snow and stuff. While 4x4 with stupid wide tyres were getting stuck I drove by. There hasn't been enough snow in this country to bother me (I'm Canadian by the way and know how to drive).

Buy mine and as well having the second most famous Rover SD3 in the world you'd have £4,000 change.

[LuS1fer]

Hot hatches perform best with proper summer grippy tyres so unless you want to be changing to some different tyres in the winter, they may not be a good choice. I have a Golf III GTI which on Kumhos was useless in the snow and now has some odd Dexteros which are great in the snow but very average in the summer.

[pistonchris]

http://pistonheads.com/sales/2705847.htm

Up at £4.495

[DickSkruttock]

Mark 1 Audi S3 post facelift....but I would say that

210/225 BHP, 4WD (haldex), reasonably economic - 30mpg without trying.

Boot space is ok, but only 3 door.

Edited by DickSkruttock on Wednesday 15th June 12:00

[300bhp/ton]

mazdajason said:

Hmm that would make a good barge but i guess they wouldnt be the best on fuel? I suppose i am really looking for a hot hatch after I read back what i have written. Maybe a clio 182 even, or a 172 with a cup pack possibly?
I have looked at ep3 civics and even integras but like you said, i think they are the bottom priced ones I would be looking at.

R53 MINI CS's are not great on fuel. 28-32mpg max and mid 20's highly possible. A V6 X-type would offer up similar mpg to be honest.

Why a hot hatch? Nothing wrong if that's what you want, for me I prefer rwd saloons.

A DC2 will be the best fwd drive at this money and prices start from £3-3.5k for them.

Some others that might be worth considering:


-MG ZS180. Lovely KV6, 4 or 5 door and a really good drive. Well under budget too.

-Rover 200 BRM, a lot cheaper but a highly capable hatch. Don't under estimate them, they aren't a normal R200. They come equipped with a LSD and close ratio box as standard and with a low curb weight are quite spritely.

-BMW 328i. It's RWD, but it's good!

-BMW e46 325TI Compact. A lot cheaper than a same spec/age 325i and it is actually a hatch.

That said I can certainly see the appeal of an R53 MCS.

[anonymous-user]

Buy whatever takes your fancy but then get a spare set of wheels off ebay and stick on a set of winter tyres. Fit them in november and take off in march. Job done.

[GreatGranny]

A good S3 is certainly within budget

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

unless you want something a little more "agile" the Clio 182 would be just the thing but try the seats on a relatively long journey as they do attract critisism.

[DickSkruttock]

GreatGranny said:

A good S3 is certainly within budget

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

unless you want something a little more "agile" the Clio 182 would be just the thing but try the seats on a relatively long journey as they do attract critisism.

That's a CAT D, hence the cheap price for low miles.

You're right about the agility , although they ride very well and the seats are excellent - electric Recaros.

[Tazio1]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2871999.htm

Go buy this, great value at this level, built by tickford originally 25k and reported as one of the best handling fwd cars ever.

[mazdajason]

Yea I had to see lthe scoob, was paying £700 for it but that went up to 1000 even though no circumstances changed!
I like the sound of an early S3, hows running costs - hopefully not on par with a Subaru?
The integra is also very nice, will have to see how much it is with Mr. Insurance with it being an import.
That racing Puma is a bargain and with a few more hundred would see it back in immaculate condition too.
Lion Kinght - got a link to the car you are speaking about?
Thanks agai nfor everyones help, much appreciated!

[300bhp/ton]

There are non import ITR's, the UK ones have round headlights.

[AmiableChimp]

I was in a similar predicament in April when selling my MX5 to be replaced by something a bit more sensible, but still hopefully a wee bit fun.

I ended up going for a Fabia vRS and must say, I am loving the mid range torque and fuel economy of the thing.

Do miss the top down motoring tho...

[mazdajason]

i have looked at Fabia VRS's for the economy and the decent performance yo uget with them, o/h however didnt like them. She is partial to an ITR and a S3 so I will follow them up for now. I think replacing the mx5 will be easy - another mx5 for sure!

[Lets Torque]

Fabia VRS?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...



ETA: It would help if I read the whole thread, wouldn't it..