Track car but also for weekend trips - RX8 or Clio 197/200?
Discussion
This is such a difficult decision!
Alright, so I'm in the market for a car in the next few months (hopefully before June/July) and I have been looking at something that is decently fast, not crazy to insure, and will be a great car to learn how to drive fast in. I live in London so I won't really be using my car during the week at all as taking the tube is much more efficient. However, I am dying to track the car to get better on the weekends and will likely also use it as a vehicle for weekend trips away throughout England when it is not tracking. To be honest, the car may see at most 1,500-3,000 miles per year.
I initially dreamt about a Honda S2000 but the insurance on that thing is far beyond ridiculous. After a lot of searching I came upon the Mazda RX-8 and Renault Clio 197/200 vehicles which seem to be pretty evenly matched except that one is RWD and one is FF. In addition, non-R3 RX-8's and Clio 197's can be found in great condition for 6,500 - 9,000 while R3 RX-8's and Clio 200's can be found for 9,000 - 13,500.
Each car has positives and negatives and gas mileage is not entirely important if the car is not being driven very often. Also, any maintenance should not be an issue as I'm pretty handy with a wrench under the hood of a car as I rebuilt my old 1986 3.8L Buick Grand National V6 Turbo (I am from the USA and this is one of the last muscle cars ever built - http://www.motortrend.com/classic/roadtests/1010_1... ) and am very generous in doing "spring cleanings" at least twice a year.
So which one would you go for? Which one can be made faster with mods? Not that either car would need any but you know how the bug bites you over time...I was all set on the RX-8 until I read about how quick the little Clio was.
Alright, so I'm in the market for a car in the next few months (hopefully before June/July) and I have been looking at something that is decently fast, not crazy to insure, and will be a great car to learn how to drive fast in. I live in London so I won't really be using my car during the week at all as taking the tube is much more efficient. However, I am dying to track the car to get better on the weekends and will likely also use it as a vehicle for weekend trips away throughout England when it is not tracking. To be honest, the car may see at most 1,500-3,000 miles per year.
I initially dreamt about a Honda S2000 but the insurance on that thing is far beyond ridiculous. After a lot of searching I came upon the Mazda RX-8 and Renault Clio 197/200 vehicles which seem to be pretty evenly matched except that one is RWD and one is FF. In addition, non-R3 RX-8's and Clio 197's can be found in great condition for 6,500 - 9,000 while R3 RX-8's and Clio 200's can be found for 9,000 - 13,500.
Each car has positives and negatives and gas mileage is not entirely important if the car is not being driven very often. Also, any maintenance should not be an issue as I'm pretty handy with a wrench under the hood of a car as I rebuilt my old 1986 3.8L Buick Grand National V6 Turbo (I am from the USA and this is one of the last muscle cars ever built - http://www.motortrend.com/classic/roadtests/1010_1... ) and am very generous in doing "spring cleanings" at least twice a year.
So which one would you go for? Which one can be made faster with mods? Not that either car would need any but you know how the bug bites you over time...I was all set on the RX-8 until I read about how quick the little Clio was.
Edited by cib24 on Thursday 15th March 12:01
MrKipling43 said:
Get yourself a 182 Cup for c3,500, strip it, take the remainder of your budget to K-TEC and say 'turn this cash in to mentalness, please'.
I think you'd have a lot more fun in the Clio, it's less likely to give you hassle and, IMO, a much more loveable car.
I seriously thought about the 172 or 182 but I'm not too keen on how cheaply it is made. I have no doubt that around the track the thing is a boss but like I said the car will be used for weekend trips and such and I do have a girlfriend to think about trucking around on occassion as well. I saw the Top Gear review and have read about things like the steering wheel melting and this leads me to believe that the car really is a POS outside of the engine and handling capabilities. Apparently the Clio 197 and 200 are much much more refined...Perhaps I'm just being a bit anal though and should test drive one and see the build quality up close. My views could also be skewed by the fact that I just rented a Fiesta in the states and the car was so much nicer than any pocket rocket I had driven before but it seriously lacked any sort of grunt with that small 1.6 120ps motor.I think you'd have a lot more fun in the Clio, it's less likely to give you hassle and, IMO, a much more loveable car.
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