Arbarth v Renault Sport v Scirroco

[Saddler77]

Looking for advice from people who has owned any of the following:

Fiat Abarth 500
Megane 250
Clio 197/200
Scirroco (2ltr Petrol)

Reason being that I would like to get a second car and these are the ones that have caught my eye. The car would be shared between me and the Mrs and we also have a 18 month old baby so rear leg room is not necessarily a high priority, and as long as you can fit a push chair and a couple of bags in the boot I am happy. My main car is very practical which I use for work and any long hauls, so the second one can be a bit more fun.

Previously I had a 2007 Civic Type R and although I loved it I found that it could be very harsh on uneven surfaces. I know sporty cars have a stiffer ride but I dont want to end up with a bone shaker, also I am not necessarily looking for the fastest, smile factor is top of the shopping list

I welcome your thoughts

[ZAndy]

If you're bothered about ride quality, ignore any Fiat stuff straight away - and thats from a man who has two.

Clio 200 is pretty stiff too, but rides better than the 197. Similar rev-it-out qualities to your Civic too if you enjoyed that.

Not tried the sirocco, but VW normally has pretty good ride quality, the last Polo I had was very good. Maybe less playful than the Clio though.

Edited by ZAndy on Wednesday 22 August 16:20

[billzeebub]

had a Scirocco for a while a couple of years ago and was very impressed. Quick, stylish, fairly practical and very well put together. I loved the large sunroof too. This would be 100% my choice, but then my favourite car is the Corrado VR6. From what you say it sounds like you would also be best suited to the VW as well. I could never bring myself to spend my own folding on a Renault, any Renault! I would of course be pretty happy if I was given a Renault Sport car as a company motor, but I wouldn't ever buy a French motor..

guess you need to drive them all, but..get the VW

[Dapster]

I'd recommend a Golf GTI rather than a Scirocco. In my opinion the handling on the Golf is fantastic although my only experience in the 2.0 TFSI Golf with the DSG box and the Scirocco tdi with the 6sp man. The Golf has a bigger boot too, plus you can get it in 5 dr which is MUCH easier for loading sprogs into the back.

I had the Golf for a week when my car was being repaired - it was superb and looked great too. The engine pulled really strongly and made a lovely noise, and it was perfectly matched to the DSG. It was quite economical as well - mid 30's despite being driven like a courtesy car. If I was in the market for a hot hatch I wouldn't look anywhere else.

[alfa pint]

Had an Abarth for a few weekends.

Cracking car, but you won't get anything in the boot bar a couple of squashy bags. It's pathetically tiny.

I'm no fan of French cars, but love the Scirroco. My mate's missus has one and it's been ace (although her one's a diesel.)

[supersarbs]

I have owned the 250 megane for the last 2 years and highly recommend it.

Positives

Build quality / reliability seems much better than previous models.

Performance very strong, different class to the other models you've listed IMO.

Ride (if you have the cup chassis like me) is firm but actually soaks up bumps / imperfections well.

On a spirited run, feeling the LSD drag the nose into the corner and eradicating understeer feels very very special, massively flattering my (at best) average driving skills.

Spec as standard on the 'full fat' is very comprehensive, auto everything.

Secondhand these are very good value.

Negatives

Rear sets a little dark, rear windows are high, depending on how well your child travels this may be a factor. My kid is fine.

Economy hovers round 25mpg (stop start traffic on the commute and weekend blasts, not much motorway miles, which puts the average well up)

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Pete

[loose cannon]

if you don't no what you want, just get
the golf or scirocco, Atleast that way nobody will take the Michael because you bought a st French car and your fit in ever so well with the rest of the community,

[braddo]

This thread is begging for someone to suggest a GT86/BRZ.

[Saddler77]

As a newbie on here why the hatred of French cars? In my past I have either owned or driven a Clio, Laguna, megane, 19, spider and an espace. Never had one mechanical fault on any of them. Oh and a new gt86/brz is unfortunately out of the price range