Fun Hatch for under 7k
Discussion
Brother needs a car to replace his old Felicia and I'm struggling what to think of. Budget is 7k at it's maximum and I don't expecting him to get much for the Felicia. He doesn't like French stuff, or Fiats but still has to be reasonable to insure (he's 19, 20 in January) He's wanting to get something in the next 3 months.
The only good car I can think of is a Suzuki Swift Sport which I enjoyed when I test drove one. Can anyone think of anything else?
The only good car I can think of is a Suzuki Swift Sport which I enjoyed when I test drove one. Can anyone think of anything else?
Yes, I'd avoid the Mini at all costs.
For that sort of money, he may be able to get a decent Civic Type R EP3, and maybe even get it insured for a reasonable price. If I were buying a hot hatch I'd be looking at something like that. Hardy, and great fun to drive. You can get a lot of hot hatch now for a little money, though as a youngster I suspect getting insured on one will be tough.
For that sort of money, he may be able to get a decent Civic Type R EP3, and maybe even get it insured for a reasonable price. If I were buying a hot hatch I'd be looking at something like that. Hardy, and great fun to drive. You can get a lot of hot hatch now for a little money, though as a youngster I suspect getting insured on one will be tough.
New shape Fiesta?
Should get the 1.4 95 or 1.6 Ti-VCT in that budget I'd have thought. Brilliant to drive.
E.g. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011... with a bit of haggling
Should get the 1.4 95 or 1.6 Ti-VCT in that budget I'd have thought. Brilliant to drive.
E.g. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011... with a bit of haggling
Edited by va1o on Sunday 20th November 18:40
Seat leon cupra r 225? Actually reasonable insurance for a 20 year old, Not the last word in excitement, but with a map (plus a couple of reasonable supporting mods) you will have 260-280hp on tap, a nice chassis, one of the best looking hot hatches (imo) of the last 10 years, and an otherwise quite practical car. It can do the boring commute thing pretty well, has very comfortable seats, a nice driving position and with the power on tap goes very well once rolling. He will never get bored of the turbo shove, and apparently they are also reasonable on fuel, too!
surreystyle said:
Seat leon cupra r 225? Actually reasonable insurance for a 20 year old, Not the last word in excitement, but with a map (plus a couple of reasonable supporting mods) you will have 260-280hp on tap, a nice chassis, one of the best looking hot hatches (imo) of the last 10 years, and an otherwise quite practical car. It can do the boring commute thing pretty well, has very comfortable seats, a nice driving position and with the power on tap goes very well once rolling. He will never get bored of the turbo shove, and apparently they are also reasonable on fuel, too!
Hmm, I would have thought these would be a hefty effort for a 20 year old to insure, especially once the insurers got wind of the mods! That said, they are spectacular. A friend of mine had a yellow one, with some breathing mods, a new Miltek exhaust and a remap. It was stunningly quick. Never got it dyno'ed but I expect it would have been somewhere in the region of 270bhp, quite easily. It was such a characterful car. Not the last word in handling or refinement but definitely a good steer and outrageously fast too. You have loads of choice for a hatch with 7K, even allowing say £2500 for the first years insurance for a 21 year old. Best advice would be to get out and drive some, though he might have trouble getting test drives, my advice would be to head to the local autoparc and have a look in their sports / performance section to see what they've got. Not saying he has to buy there, but he could blag a few test drives.
Definitely worth having a go of the usual suspects, a Clio 172 or 182, a Civic Type R, a turbo powered hatch of some description etc. If possible, I would recommend driving at least one naturally aspirated hatch and one turbocharged, to get an idea of how they differ. Some like the throttle response and linear power delivery of naturally aspirated cars, some prefer the surge of power you can get from a turbo. Personally I like both, so it's down to the other merits of the car to be a deciding factor.
Definitely worth having a go of the usual suspects, a Clio 172 or 182, a Civic Type R, a turbo powered hatch of some description etc. If possible, I would recommend driving at least one naturally aspirated hatch and one turbocharged, to get an idea of how they differ. Some like the throttle response and linear power delivery of naturally aspirated cars, some prefer the surge of power you can get from a turbo. Personally I like both, so it's down to the other merits of the car to be a deciding factor.
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