Which car? Fast, practical & fun

[Jrockstar]

Hi there,

I've been reading the forums for a while and decided to register for one specific question; what should I buy?

I'm searching a 'fun' car in the range of 40-60k€ (mainland, so does not buy you that much). I have a lot of track/race experience and preferably seek a 'drivers car'. Without a roof. Thats seats four. And has a decent trunk/boot.

Now thats something that probably does not exist, so if I cant find it i'd like to go for a 'somewhat' practical performance car. List so far:

Performance cars
Audi S4 >2010
BMW 1M
BMW e90 M3 (convertible is too heavy/no space)
BMW 435i (off the list, driven the f30 335, 328 etc this week and its more Lexus than BMW)
Merc c63
...

Convertible
Audi S5
...

What suggestions do you have? For the convertible's I find it especially hard to find anything.

[sinbaddio]

997 turbo?

[Goodsteed]

Wouldn't go for an S5 Cabrio if you're after a drivers car. Or any 4 seat Cabrio to be fair. They'll always be compromised with limited boot space. A 1 M would get my vote. Best residuals and meant to be a brilliant drive.

[Goodsteed]

Wouldn't go for an S5 Cabrio if you're after a drivers car. Or any 4 seat Cabrio to be fair. They'll always be compromised with limited boot space. A 1 M would get my vote. Best residuals and meant to be a brilliant drive.

[95 fiesta si]

would be a e90 m3 or 1m out of those for me. i can imagine the 1m to have the best handling

[Jrockstar]

Thanks!

Off course I also had these in mind, but good to know this is +- the cars that are out there.

@Goodsteed; I've driven the S5 cabrio last week, good car, very stiff chassis(!), capable, better than expected & still an audi (not that much feel etc). As mentioned the new 335i was really bad.

Drove the M135ix yesterday. A bit heavy when travelling slower, not the best in steering feel (but wayyyyy better than the 335), brakes in the 335 where better in terms of feel, but overall - even being 4wd - a very fun car. Under full acceleration, exiting a corner for example, you can feel the front beginning to work and it’s not unsettling or something like that.

As for the 997 turbo, I'm a bit afraid of running cost, Porsche reliability (I know they are good, driven one on track but can also be very costly).

Audi S4 >2010
BMW 1M (fun, fast, overall just great. Only 1 car for sale at the dealer in my country)
BMW e90 M3 (convertible is too heavy/no space)
BMW 435i (off the list, driven the f30 335, 328 etc this week and its more Lexus than BMW)
Merc c63`
997 Turbo
M135xi (Drove the other day, was fun)
...

Convertible
Audi S5 (off the list)

[jamieduff1981]

How about a V10 M6 cabrio? Those things sound glorious with Eisenmann exhausts on

[Jrockstar]

Ha, yea cool cars but a bit too much of everything for me & getting older now. I'd prefer somewhat newer/later generation

[andy-xr]

So what you're saying is, you want a de-facto German car that does any of that stuff. Just pick one, I'm sure they'll all roughly similar

[Dazmo]

You would not go go far wrong with an E90 M3. I'd go for the Coupe unless you really love convertibles - it's lighter, stiffer, less rattly and has more rear seat and boot space. I owned a convertible but wished I'd got the Coupe after later driving one.

All sorts of 911's fall within your budget. This would be my choice. Don't be scared off by running costs, just buy carefully and hunt down a properly maintained cherished car. I ran a 996 C4S for 3 years and a 997 Turbo for 2 and they were both very easy to live with and barely cost any more to run than any fast BMW/Audi/Mercedes.

Or what about a Maserati Granturismo? Might not be driver focussed enough for you, but a bit more special, and looks and sounds amazing.

Or wait for the new Audi TT?

[blueg33]

andy-xr said:

So what you're saying is, you want a de-facto German car that does any of that stuff. Just pick one, I'm sure they'll all roughly similar

That was my first thought. There must be some other options:

Jag XKR (does an RS fall in budget?)
Maser Granturismo or Gran cabrio (latter may be a bit out of budget)
DB9
Lotus Evora (if you don't really need rear seats for people over 5ft)
997 gen 2 of some decription

Of this list, if roof off was important to me it would be the Jag, if not and driving was most important it would be the Evora (my choice), for badge snobbery and interior quality its the DB9, for looks but not build quality or ultimate handling its the Maser, for a reliable good daily driver that is good allround its the 997

The problem for me with most of the cars listed by the Op is that you see them everyday as poverty spec rep cars and shows limited imagination, although they are all undoubtedly extremely competant.

[Jrockstar]

Thanks

Its a coincidence btw that they are all German. Must admit never really looked at jaguar as drivers cars (I know some of them are)

Short list, ive dropped the idea of a convirtible;

M135
1M
997
M3 e90

I think I'd prefer M135/1M. Have not driven e90 M3 and standard 997 so thats on the list

[Jrockstar]

Choose the M135 non X with goodies, fun car!

[Jrockstar]

Brief update:

Almost 2 years with the M135i and it is a great car. It does everything, is fast and practical. But for my liking I'd prefer the '30%' M parts to be somewhere around the 50-60% range.

Its got the optional adaptive suspension kit and that works very well but in the sport setting its not as tight as e.g. a 130i or 1M. Thats were sometimes I'd wish its a bit sharper in steering feel and suspension. The feel is OK enough to set the car in a corner and you know whats going on but you do not feel every tiny bump or change in grip level. Its just a tiny bit digital. As for the suspension there is nothing wrong with it, the setting is nice, but it is not on the same level e.g. the optional BMW performance suspension kit. I've driven a 1 series fitted with that kit for a while and that kit gives you more feedback. Maybe not for everyday use for everybody but perfect for me.
I've fitted the 19" BMW performance wheels and they work great. I'd still prefer 18" but had to settle for 19" since this is the only available size. The 19 offer more grip and a bit more feedback. They come with perelli's out of the factory but compared to the 18" on michelin super sports the later gives way more feedback. Once the pirelli's are worn out I will change back to michelin.