A what car thread? Help me decide

[James2593]

Sorry mods, previously put this in GG, I didn't even know this section existed! Could it have been moved rather than deleted?

I currently own a MK2 MR2 and a 2005 Saab 9-3 aero. Storing and maintaining two cars is become a pain in the arse. I live in an apartment with 1 parking space so parking for two is possible but it means 1 is on the street a couple of mins walk away. I had the MR2 up for sale but it's completely the wrong time of year to sell it so i'm going to hold onto it until spring.

My love for driving has been dwindling with my commute being 90% boring motorway and the roads are busier and busier so chances for going out on fast drives with no destination in mind is tedious. To revitalise this I want to do some track days, but when/if I sell the MR2, taking the Saab on a track won't be fun, if it doesn't understeer into the armco within 3 laps, then the brakes will have boiled over and i'll spend most of the day in the paddock waiting for them to cool.

The Saab is nice to drive, it's comfortable, well equipt, fairly economical (35mpg) but it just isn't fun. It's wonderful to sit on the motorway all day long, but it's a real effort to drive fast on A/B roads, it feels like trying to take a cruise ship down a canal.

So, i'll stop waffling. I was thinking of selling both and buying something that can try an do the roles of both.

Requirements are;

No kids but must have 5 seats (this is ultimately where the MR2 doesn't fit my needs.)
Daily commute is 50 miles round trip mostly motorway - fuel economy not majorly important but needs to be 28-30mpg+ really.
Budget of £2k although I will stretch to £3k if required
Fast - nothing silly but needs to be >160bhp
Handle well
Not too bothered by boot size, but the bigger the better. I will occasionally have a mountain bike in there, and it will need to be able take a couple of suitcases.
Needs to have cruise control, the Saab has it and I don't think I could ever have a daily without it ever again. I would be disapointed if my purchase didn't have CC
Fun on A/B roads and on a track. I'm not after something geared towards a track, but I would like to take it on the occasional track day and have a few hours of fun.

I know i'm looking for a car that doesn't really exist, but the ones I can think of that fit the bill are -

Fiesta ST (although I don't like the 'bug' eye model in my budget, and the newer shape is too expensive)
Clio 172/182
Civic type R

Any other suggestions that I can't think of? Golf VR6/GTI or a Polo GTI

[Shaw Tarse]

James2593 said:

Sorry mods, previously put this in GG, I didn't even know this section existed! Could it have been moved rather than deleted?

Yes James, it should have been.

[sawman]

now I may be biased but a legacy/outback 3.0 ticks a lot of boxes (possible exception of track demon - although Colin McRae had some success! )

Comfy on commute
cruise
plenty of space/5 seats
241 bhp
AWD
great balance for a biggish car
almost 28-30 mpg
good fun on A&B roads - had great fun on the helmsley TT a couple of years ago (car fully loaded on the way back from hols - other passengers not so enthusiastic!)


The only car you'll ever need

Edited by sawman on Saturday 25th November 16:42

[A500leroy]

Leon cupra? Vrs Skoda? Forester?

[steve-5snwi]

Would you rather have a car that good 90 percent of the time and poor 10 percent, or would you rather it the other way around ? Given you spend most of your time on the motorway thats where my focus would be, or keep the Saab. The other 3 cars are going to annoy you for most of your trip.

If you really want to change I would try a Ford Mondeo, if you can find one in budget and can afford the fuel bills then how about a ST220, or would uprating the suspension on the Saab be a possibility.

[ZX10R NIN]

In reality you're going to have to stretch to 3k but I'd go about it in a different way:

Buy one of these for the trackdays, you'll also benefit from being able to not worry about traffic when out with nowhere to be:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-Suzuki-GSXR-750-K1...

& then get one of these the commute:

2.0T Vectra

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

3.0 cdti

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I know you only have one space but the bike won't take up much room.

Or if you really only want one car that will do everything you want, then take a look at one of these plenty of people use these at trackdays.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or one of these but you'll have to uprate the suspension but it will have a lot of options tuning wise:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[James2593]

Thanks all, I shall take a good look through them tonight.

The only thing with a Mondeo or the Subarus is that they seem to be not much different than my Saab, so I might aswel just keep it.

I do like the Leon Cupras but I don't know how much gain I will get for the 1.5k more than the Saab.

Even though no-one has suggested it, i'm really leaning towards a Clio 172/182. I'm not fussed about comfort on the commute, I ran the MR2 as a daily for 2 years. I'm thinking the only real gains I will get at my budget is if I go smaller. Hmm.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Clio is a great track weapon but I'd stretch to a 197 with it's stronger gearbox, you'll want one with a Cup chassis fitted.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/pl/track/click?condit...

The ST220 is a much better steer than your Saab which is why you'll see a fair few at trackdays whilst still giving you some comfort on the boring commute but seeing as you stated it's not a concern take a long hard look at the Renaults.

Also take a look at the Megane R26 as they're another cracking drive.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Lukeypoodle]

Sounds like you're describing a 1*2 to me.

40mpg, fairly practical, good fun.

[markirl]

How about a 330i/Ci? Ticks all of your boxes, great mix of comfort, speed, driving pleasure etc

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...