Sort of a what car
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Discussion

evenflow

Original Poster:

8,876 posts

311 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
Budget up to 11k.
Daily 60 mile commute, B-roads and motorway.
Probably needs to be diesel or small capacity petrol for mpg.
< 5 years old
< 60,000 miles

No other constraints.

Go!

gareth.e

2,071 posts

218 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
bmw 320d/330d or a skoda octavia..

done.

DannyVTS

7,543 posts

197 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
335d(mapped)

Mk1 Mx5 and 10k change


Tuvra

7,926 posts

254 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
Smart Roadster?

GingerWizard

4,721 posts

227 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
Very well heeled classic mini?

You could pick up a Cooper Sport 5 (2000) for that money.


evenflow

Original Poster:

8,876 posts

311 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
gareth.e said:
bmw 320d/330d
A 330d was my first though too. Had BMWs for the last two cars so thought I might fancy a change However, it may still be the best option...

gareth.e said:
skoda octavia..
Never driven or even sat in one. Hear very good things about them though so will check them out.

Tuvra said:
Smart Roadster
Again, never driven one. Are they any good?

GingerWizard said:
Very well heeled classic mini?

You could pick up a Cooper Sport 5 (2000) for that money.
I would LOVE to go down that route. Always fancied a classic Mini...

Thanks all, keep em coming.

GingerWizard

4,721 posts

227 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
evenflow said:
GingerWizard said:
Very well heeled classic mini?

You could pick up a Cooper Sport 5 (2000) for that money.
I would LOVE to go down that route. Always fancied a classic Mini...

Thanks all, keep em coming.
if you found a good one, it would probably cost you nothing when you come to sell it......

hold on......

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rover-Mini-Cooper-Sport-500-...

spend the remaining 1k on a bloody good service and under seal......


or get a 5 speed box put on.....

evenflow

Original Poster:

8,876 posts

311 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
GingerWizard said:
if you found a good one, it would probably cost you nothing when you come to sell it......

hold on......

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rover-Mini-Cooper-Sport-500-...

spend the remaining 1k on a bloody good service and under seal......

or get a 5 speed box put on.....
cloud9 That looks brilliant.

Presumably the requirement for underseal means they are rust prone?
Anything else to look out for? Does the K-series go through head gaskets (a problem I seem to remember was commonish on the Mk1 Elise?)
Is it a 4-speed as standard?

GingerWizard

4,721 posts

227 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
yes they rust. However there is only 500 of these models, with a bit of care it wont.

Its a bit like the DS or Integral Evolutione'... last models are the ones people want....

va1o

16,113 posts

236 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
Golf GT TDI

Dull but a good car for commuting

adycav

7,615 posts

246 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
va1o said:
Golf GT TDI

Dull but a good car for commuting
Or the Octavia vRS diesel, more car for less ££

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

219 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
evenflow said:
Budget up to 11k.
Daily 60 mile commute, B-roads and motorway.
Probably needs to be diesel or small capacity petrol for mpg.
< 5 years old
< 60,000 miles

No other constraints.

Go!
If you want something fun over comfy Id look at sports cars or maybe even a petrol hot hatch. So for the latter that probably means things like a MINI CS R56, Mitsubishi Colt RalliArt maybe even an Abarth 500. Not so sure about the age but I also like the look of the MK I Focus RS.

But that all said I think I'd prefer a sports car. An older Elise or VX220 is certainly in budget.

Myself I've got a smart Roadster. Hugely fun little car and makes a nice noise too.

I've had mine over a year now. Did 12,000 miles in the first year. And for the past 10 weeks or so I've been doing 1000 miles a week in it. Best recorded mpg is 67mpg. But that did involve running at 57-60mph. Drive a bit more normally and 55mpg is quite easy to get. Lowest ever is 38mpg on a PH hoon.

They actually have quite good luggage capacity too as they have two boots. And the soft top is a doddle. You can raise and lower it at 70mph if you want with just a touch of a button.

They are very nimble and lightweight to drive. Far more so than an MGF or MX-5. You can also easily remap them for a 20-25% hp gain. They aren't the fastest in a straight line but feel quicker than they are. On tight B and C class roads they are as quick as any car I've ever been in or driven. You really can hold a lot of speed in the corners and the brakes are good if a little wooden feeling.

The gearbox will divide opinions quicker than anything though. Personally I love it and think it's one of the cars strongest points. It makes it feel so much more speical and really works very well (manual mode the auto mode sucks) with the cars character.

I would never claim it to be an Elise - it isn't! But it probably gets as close as you can while offering a far easier car to live with daily.



That all said, maybe a DC5 ITR would appeal too or maybe a 3.0 Z4.

geeteeaye

2,369 posts

188 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
If you want something fun over comfy Id look at sports cars

Myself I've got a smart Roadster. Hugely fun little car and makes a nice noise too.

On tight B and C class roads they are as quick as any car I've ever been in or driven.

I would never claim it to be an Elise - it isn't! But it probably gets as close as you can while offering a far easier car to live with daily.
Quality 300, you are a gem.

Edited by geeteeaye on Wednesday 27th April 21:46

Benbay001

5,892 posts

186 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all

DannyVTS

7,543 posts

197 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
Benbay001 said:
35k, in less than a year?!

wtf

Benbay001

5,892 posts

186 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
DannyVTS said:
35k, in less than a year?!

wtf
Ha, i saw the mileage, didnt think twice. Proves one thing though, must be nice to drive..

deeen

6,408 posts

274 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
Jaguar S-type diesel

Matt UK

18,084 posts

229 months

Wednesday 27th April 2011
quotequote all
Buy the nicest Alfa GTV V6 or Fiat 20v Turbo you can find and spend the rest off your budget covering additional petrol bill.

£11k is a lot to drop into a car to them have to worry about mpg. £5k buys a huge amount of car at the moment.

Actually scratch them, forgot to notice your 5 year age limit. Why is that by the way?