Best car for a 20 year old with some performance sub £3K

[tomnorton]

Hi all,

So recently I have decided that I want to get myself a car of my own (instead of being insured on other people's!)

Ideally I want something with a bit of poke, sub 10 to 62, and that isn't going to be overly expensive to run and insure. At the moment, an R50 Cooper pre 2006 seems like a good option as its fairly nippy and drives well - what do you think? For peace of mind I don't think anything over 100k miles would be appealing to me either.

Would really appreciate some help and suggestions

Cheers

[Gemmot]

I had a 1991 mr2 gt tbar with 1 yr ncb fully comp for £500 when I was 21 way back in 2001

[sparks_E39]

100k is just a number, it means nothing.

[dieseluser07]

A budget would be nice?

Swift sport is fantastic, old model (up to 2011) is more raw, new model is less raw,slightly quicker and more refined, both have a 0-60 of 8.5 secs ish, quick enough.

If budgets not an issue, the current fiesta st is absolutely fantastic

[kiethton]

Honda Civic EP3?

Clio 197?

[Gargamel]

dieseluser07 said:

A budget would be nice?

Swift sport is fantastic, old model (up to 2011) is more raw, new model is less raw,slightly quicker and more refined, both have a 0-60 of 8.5 secs ish, quick enough.

If budgets not an issue, the current fiesta st is absolutely fantastic

Budget in the thread title (sub 3k)

[tomnorton]

Gargamel said:

dieseluser07 said:

A budget would be nice?

Swift sport is fantastic, old model (up to 2011) is more raw, new model is less raw,slightly quicker and more refined, both have a 0-60 of 8.5 secs ish, quick enough.

If budgets not an issue, the current fiesta st is absolutely fantastic

Budget in the thread title (sub 3k)

Yes £3k budget - Swift sport is a good idea and insurance is low too, I'd be interested to go and drive one! Would love a fiesta ST some day, if only I could afford it.

Thanks all for suggestions

[tomnorton]

kiethton said:

Honda Civic EP3?

Clio 197?

thanks for your reply, Civic is great but after checking insurance without a box its too much

I like the 197 too, seems as so you can get them cheap now and they're not too old and they have decent performance - are they reliable?

[Meridius]

Seat Ibiza Cupra or Leon Cupra with the 1.8T, could also try the Mk2 Leon Cupra FR with the 2.0TFSI

[briang9]

Otavia vRS

[Defconluke]

tomnorton said:

kiethton said:

Honda Civic EP3?

Clio 197?

thanks for your reply, Civic is great but after checking insurance without a box its too much

I like the 197 too, seems as so you can get them cheap now and they're not too old and they have decent performance - are they reliable?

How about the Civic EP2 (more often than not just called Civic Sport)? Looks very similar to the Type R thanks to the factory fit body kit but with a smaller 1.6L engine - I think they were just under 10 to 60.

Amongst friends, the Mk1 Focus seemed quite popular. The 1.6 wasn't the fastest car out there but that didn't slow them down too much and larger engines are available all the way up to the ST170.

[wemorgan]

Check the insurance on some larger cars. Warm hatches can be expensive as every 20 something has one and hence the number of insurance claims is high. A larger family sized hatch might be surprisingly affordable.

[dieseluser07]

tomnorton said:

Gargamel said:

dieseluser07 said:

A budget would be nice?

Swift sport is fantastic, old model (up to 2011) is more raw, new model is less raw,slightly quicker and more refined, both have a 0-60 of 8.5 secs ish, quick enough.

If budgets not an issue, the current fiesta st is absolutely fantastic

Budget in the thread title (sub 3k)

Yes £3k budget - Swift sport is a good idea and insurance is low too, I'd be interested to go and drive one! Would love a fiesta ST some day, if only I could afford it.

Thanks all for suggestions

My apologies didnt see that, in that casd the old swift sport would be perfect, could get a clean example for 3k and it will be very reliable.

One thing i will say is it needs revving high to extract performance but thats part of the fun.

[caelite]

MX5? I'm 23 and mine costs a fair whack less to insure than the plethora of warm/hot hatches I have had in the past, quick enough in a straight line and fantastic to drive. Simple mechanics that are cheap as chips to run.

207 GTI is a good bet <3k. They are pretty rare so insurance is reasonable, engine is great bar a few niggles (an easy to spot timing chain issue), nice torquey power delivery, suspension is firm but delivers great performance in the twistys. I'd still have mine if a Landrover didn't drive into it at speed

Fabia VRS mk1. I had one of these when I was 19. It was by far the cheapest warm hatch to insure at the time. Bulletproof engine, a true 50mpg, 'ok' handling. A truly unique and interesting driving experience (basically a small light hatch with a van engine dropped into it). You will need to throw out your 100k number for these though, they eat up the miles so most have done 15k per year or so, drivetrain is good for an easy 300k if the vans and taxis which share the power plant are an indicator.

Edited by caelite on Sunday 12th March 14:45

[edo]

As other have said look at some less commmon cars, and the insurance bit is a lottery so have a play.

Brabus for4?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

this EOS seems a lot of car for the money. Golf gti engine

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[tomnorton]

edo said:

As other have said look at some less commmon cars, and the insurance bit is a lottery so have a play.

Brabus for4?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

this EOS seems a lot of car for the money. Golf gti engine

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Thanks for this, love the idea of the EOS. My mate has a Scirocco 2.0 TSI with the same engine and it absolutely flies! I know the EOS is heavier but still a good call!

[tomnorton]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

I agree, the Mini seems to be the car I keep going back to! What year is yours - have you had any issues with it?

[tomnorton]

caelite said:

MX5? I'm 23 and mine costs a fair whack less to insure than the plethora of warm/hot hatches I have had in the past, quick enough in a straight line and fantastic to drive. Simple mechanics that are cheap as chips to run.

207 GTI is a good bet <3k. They are pretty rare so insurance is reasonable, engine is great bar a few niggles (an easy to spot timing chain issue), nice torquey power delivery, suspension is firm but delivers great performance in the twistys. I'd still have mine if a Landrover didn't drive into it at speed

Fabia VRS mk1. I had one of these when I was 19. It was by far the cheapest warm hatch to insure at the time. Bulletproof engine, a true 50mpg, 'ok' handling. A truly unique and interesting driving experience (basically a small light hatch with a van engine dropped into it). You will need to throw out your 100k number for these though, they eat up the miles so most have done 15k per year or so, drivetrain is good for an easy 300k if the vans and taxis which share the power plant are an indicator.

Edited by caelite on Sunday 12th March 14:45

Thanks for your reply! The MX5 is a contender but my only worry is practicality. What engine/year is yours? Also like the Fabia but probably after a petrol engine

[PixelpeepS3]

has anyone mentioned a 330i bmw?

my friends 19 year old son found it cheaper to insure his than a 1.4 Peugeot 207 !

[tomnorton]

PixelpeepS3 said:

has anyone mentioned a 330i bmw?

my friends 19 year old son found it cheaper to insure his than a 1.4 Peugeot 207 !

I'd love a 330i but I worry that I'd be screwed if anything went wrong...