Warm/Hot Hatch/Something Fun! 5k Budget?

[pilchard8]

After lurking here for awhile I've decided to ask a What Car? question. Not a good first post I know...

I currently drive a Mk1 2.0 Focus Zetec but my insurance is due soon (21 now, 22 when insurance renewed) and I'm looking for something a bit more fun!

I've been looking into a Ep3 CTR but after a few quotes my insurance is around 1k mark and I would like to pay a bit less. Is there any other car I should consider? I've been looking at others such as the GTi-R, ITR, 182 cup, NA Supra etc. but still unsure...

Criteria:

4-5k Budget
25+ Mpg
Prefer Petrol
Fun!
Reliable - Im not mechanical
BHP more than my Focus, 150+?

Thanks!

[Chris71]

If you're 21 and male £1,000 doesn't sound that bad for a mainstream performance car.

There are several threads along this theme at the moment and, FWIW I'm going to say the same as I have on the others: Either an Integra Type R or a Clio 182. The Clio is generally thought to be fractionally cheaper to run, a bit more practical and a bit more discrete (no 'VTEC yo!' comments from passing chavs...) but the Integra is, well, a bit of an icon.

[pilchard8]

Chris71 said:

If you're 21 and male £1,000 doesn't sound that bad for a mainstream performance car.

There are several threads along this theme at the moment and, FWIW I'm going to say the same as I have on the others: Either an Integra Type R or a Clio 182. The Clio is generally thought to be fractionally cheaper to run, a bit more practical and a bit more discrete (no 'VTEC yo!' comments from passing chavs...) but the Integra is, well, a bit of an icon.

Thanks for your help. Yeah 1k doesn't seem that bad I was just considering other options instead of stretching my budget. The CTR does seem a more practical car as I will be commuting everyday in it plus I love those Premier Recaros

Is there anything else thats 'Warm" like a VTI or maybe a 172/Willams that anyone can recommend? Sorry for been picky, really stretching the funds here!

[BoRED S2upid]

172 or a Cooper s. Lots of Tuneing packages for the Cooper S so if you get bored of the standard 180bhp you can increase it.

[garycat]

Impreza WRX wagon... should get a decent blobeye for £5K

[Baryonyx]

Mazda MX5, fits the bill.

[aka_kerrly]

In the grand scheme of things just pay another few hundred quid on insurance and drive something you really WANT not a second rate alternative for the sake of your insurance.

Does £200 on insurance really make that much of a difference when you are considering cars that do 25mpg and others that do 35mpg when this difference in fuel over 10k is £600 a year!

[Scottish_ninja]

Warm hatch, budget of 5k and decent mpg?

A corolla t-sport? 190bhp, 1.8litres, 33mpg, reliable, sound fantastic and are extremely practical.

Ok they are a bit soft, but test drive and see what you think. I was always happy with mine, and actually regret selling it for my 147GTA. Considering trading my GTA in for a Tsport compressor.

Stephen.

[aka_kerrly]

Baryonyx said:

Mazda MX5, fits the bill.

Not really, no more powerful than a focus or any quicker.

[coley20]

doogz said:

No way he'll get 25mpg+.

or insurance

[geeteeaye]

doogz said:

garycat said:

Impreza WRX wagon... should get a decent blobeye for £5K

No way he'll get 25mpg+.

Not so sure, my Impreza used to do about 25mpg and to be honest I drove it pretty hard. Driven off boost on the motorway it's not bad at all, thing is a nice bit of A/B road and you'll soon be nailing it Impreza suited me for the style of driving, find it annoying to have to thrash the tits off a tuned N/A whereas with a nice turbo there's tons of torque through most of the rev range.

Just checked a blob-eye WRX wagon on autotrader, says 30.7mpg! Find this a bit hard to believe but if true then I'm tempted to go back.

[kpb]

I recently had an 05 plate Leon FR (180bhp Cupra engine), immmaculate with low miles for less than £5k from a dealer inc 1 yr warranty. Well built if a little tinny.

A slightly older Cupra R can be had for the same money. Driven sensibly I got 37mpg on a run out of my FR. Easily mappable but for 180bhp mine felt very lively as standard. One caveat though - I sold mine after 3 months because the hard ride and short seats made it very uncomfy for my daily commute.

[pstruck]

kpb said:

I recently had an 05 plate Leon FR (180bhp Cupra engine), immmaculate with low miles for less than £5k from a dealer inc 1 yr warranty. Well built if a little tinny.

A slightly older Cupra R can be had for the same money. Driven sensibly I got 37mpg on a run out of my FR. Easily mappable but for 180bhp mine felt very lively as standard. One caveat though - I sold mine after 3 months because the hard ride and short seats made it very uncomfy for my daily commute.

Really? I like the ride in my new (to me) Leon Cupra. Sure it's firm, but not overly so and I find it (and the seats) very comfortable. Reasonable amount of poke in standard 180bhp guise, but a couple of hundred quid for a re-map and 210ish and a good dollop more torque is achievable.

[deadmau5]

http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...

I was in a similar situation in Summer, I'm 21 as well.

I discounted the Clio in the end. Whilst it's fun when you're ragging it, it's nothing special when driven normally. I went for the MR2 Roadster and I'm so glad I did. MR2 is 140bhp, but weighs considerably less than the focus.

[Baryonyx]

aka_kerrly said:

Not really, no more powerful than a focus or any quicker.

All the more fun though, and certainly quicker than the Focus in the hands of a skilled driver. When I compare mine to my petrol Zetec 1.6 Focus, it is quicker, both in a straight line and through the twisties. Loads more fun too, irrespective of speed.

[garycat]

doogz said:

No way he'll get 25mpg+.

My '03 WRX PPP easily gets over 30mpg on a motorway.

[pilchard8]

Thanks for all your replies, very quick too

There's a lot of good suggestions here...

The WRX is nice but I've got a feeling insurance would be way more than I'm looking for maybe when Im older , MX5 would be a great weekend toy but at moment running two cars would be a handful.

The Corolla looks impressive, not heard much about these though and they don't seem that common when the conversation of hot hatch comes up.

Cupra is a very nice choice and I was considering one of these instead of a CTR.

Looks like I'm going to have to test drive a few of these and make my choice!

Thanks

[aka_kerrly]

Baryonyx said:

aka_kerrly said:

Not really, no more powerful than a focus or any quicker.

All the more fun though, and certainly quicker than the Focus in the hands of a skilled driver. When I compare mine to my petrol Zetec 1.6 Focus, it is quicker, both in a straight line and through the twisties. Loads more fun too, irrespective of speed.

In the hands of a skilled driver - oh so a race driver in a mx5 is quicker than joe public in a focus - what a comparision.

The OP actually states he has a 2.0L focus so has circa 140hp 0-60 9s available to him and the focus is well known for its good handling due to fully independent suspension system it has. A MX5 can barely match those figures.

A natrual progression from the focus is the more hardcore hot hatches eg Clio 182, Seat Leon Cupra R, Mini Cooper S, CTR.


dave

[oj121]

Fiesta ST?
Low insurance - grp 13
Plenty quick enough and easily improved
Very good chassis
Cheap to run and parts are cheap
Reliable
Not dull looking or set into a massive stereotype
Easily seats 4 adults

Should suit your budget, your insurance and your running costs. Has room for your mates. All the other cars mentioned are either far higher in your insurance bracket or have 2 seats. Best of both worlds?

[Baryonyx]

aka_kerrly said:

The OP actually states he has a 2.0L focus so has circa 140hp 0-60 9s available to him and the focus is well known for its good handling due to fully independent suspension system it has. A MX5 can barely match those figures

Yes, the Focus handles well (I am a Focus owner too) but it is no match for the MX5 in terms of handling. The Focus handles very well for a FWD car but it can't escape that characteristic. If it has an upside, you can drive a Focus in a very aggressive manner knowing that it's difficult to overpower the car's natural grippy characteristic, and that the lukewarm engines and lack of torque won't get you in trouble in a hurry. Driving a Focus is never an event like an MX5 is though, one is a competant family hatchback and the other is a sports car.

It might be a left field choice given that it's not a typical choice as an upgrade to a family hatchback owner but it's certainly worth looking into.