What equivalent car?
Discussion
One of my favourite past cars was an early 90's Citroen ZX Volcane with the 2.0 8v engine. It was comfortable (didn't crash and thump over the crappy SE London roads!), handled well and felt agile / nimble around town and had (at the time at least!) a relatively peppy engine you didn't have to rev the nuts off to get a decent amount of power. In many respect I enjoyed driving it more than the much more powerful Legacy Turbo it was replaced with...
Question is - which modern car would most closely match my old Volcane? I'm guessing a warm / hot hatch of some description but am open to other suggestions that match the general characteristics I described... Only constraints would be a budget of around 7-9K or so...
Question is - which modern car would most closely match my old Volcane? I'm guessing a warm / hot hatch of some description but am open to other suggestions that match the general characteristics I described... Only constraints would be a budget of around 7-9K or so...
Really? An Integra Type R doesn't need to be revved to get it going? I drove a DC2 and my impression was it didn't really get it's ar$e in gear until about 5K rpm...
Polo GTi? Which one, the new twincharged 1.4 or the older 1.8T - given the price range I'm guessing the latter...
4 Motion Golf an interesting one, would a 3.2 A3 Quattro be similar - I'd have thought that both might be a bit heavy and not as "light on its feet" as the old Volcane...
Polo GTi? Which one, the new twincharged 1.4 or the older 1.8T - given the price range I'm guessing the latter...
4 Motion Golf an interesting one, would a 3.2 A3 Quattro be similar - I'd have thought that both might be a bit heavy and not as "light on its feet" as the old Volcane...
I dare say that the 2.0 8v did not feel like it needed revs because it ran out of puff higher up the rev range, whereas a modern 16v may have identical torque at lower revs (like the ZX), but the upper end power makes the lower end seem more lacklustre.
Nonetheless, anything with a VAG 1.8t will probably feel quite torquey if that's what you want. A Skoda Octavia vRS is fairly softly sprung compared to many other hot hatches. Similar story for the Seat Toledo 1.8t (same engine as the Leon Cupra, but with a more forgiving setup).
Also, you might wish to try out a 2.5V6 MG ZS.
Nonetheless, anything with a VAG 1.8t will probably feel quite torquey if that's what you want. A Skoda Octavia vRS is fairly softly sprung compared to many other hot hatches. Similar story for the Seat Toledo 1.8t (same engine as the Leon Cupra, but with a more forgiving setup).
Also, you might wish to try out a 2.5V6 MG ZS.
Edited by Codswallop on Saturday 26th May 20:58
I don't think you'll find a normaly aspirated 2.0L petrol engine that offers the same kind of low-mid range performance in a modern hatch that the 2.0L lump did in the ZX, modern cars are just too heavy. More than likely you will be looking at something turbocharged.
One of the VAG offerings should meet performance and ride criteria, but they do tend to be a little numb to drive especially compared to an older French hatch. Smart money goes on something with the Skoda badge.
The Integra is a very good car that meets approximately none of your requirements.
One of the VAG offerings should meet performance and ride criteria, but they do tend to be a little numb to drive especially compared to an older French hatch. Smart money goes on something with the Skoda badge.
The Integra is a very good car that meets approximately none of your requirements.
Fabia VRS - I liked the torque and the ride wasn't bad but it was missing that certain something.
I've tried an Octavia VRS with the 2.0 turbo and that seemed a good compromise, bit bigger than the Volcane but it was comfy, the engine was smooth / flexible and had a bit of punch. The other one I've tried has been the Focus ST, which (at the moment) is the closest in terms of size, comfort (it rode very well) and the power delivery from the 2.5T was excellent. Not sure how nimble it would be, I didn't have that long a drive in it...
Any more?
I've tried an Octavia VRS with the 2.0 turbo and that seemed a good compromise, bit bigger than the Volcane but it was comfy, the engine was smooth / flexible and had a bit of punch. The other one I've tried has been the Focus ST, which (at the moment) is the closest in terms of size, comfort (it rode very well) and the power delivery from the 2.5T was excellent. Not sure how nimble it would be, I didn't have that long a drive in it...
Any more?
hmm, all of the aforementioned choices are proper hard core hatches, whereas the OP had a car which was in its day a warm hatch...
I recommend a humble Mazda 3 2 litre sport (petrol). Drove one several years ago and had a lovely ride and handling balance, sweet engine...not too fast, but fast enough.
I recommend a humble Mazda 3 2 litre sport (petrol). Drove one several years ago and had a lovely ride and handling balance, sweet engine...not too fast, but fast enough.
StevieB said:
I recommend a humble Mazda 3 2 litre sport (petrol). Drove one several years ago and had a lovely ride and handling balance, sweet engine...not too fast, but fast enough.
Not a bad shout, and probably a very overlooked car. It's getting on for 300kg heavier than the ZX however, so power/weight is still down even with it's 25bhp extra, and I suspect the handling won't be as sharp. Unfortunately this seems to be par for the course for 'safe' modern cars.Slightly biased but if you want a good steer/ride combo then you should try a mk1 Focus ST170. At best a warm hatch in terms of outright pace, on a tighter b road it comes to life and it returns pretty decent mpg.
Also as a closet ZX lover i am so jealous you had a Volcane. I have a Volcane 16v on my list of cars i must own.
Also as a closet ZX lover i am so jealous you had a Volcane. I have a Volcane 16v on my list of cars i must own.
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