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What warm/hot hatch for £3k?
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What warm/hot hatch for £3k?

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Shominy

Original Poster:

134 posts

90 months

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Monday 17th December 2018
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After much deliberation trying to decide what kind of car I want/need next I've all but decided that something small, warm and cheap is the order of the day. I had contemplated the Octavias and Mondeos of this world but in reality I really don't need anything that big and 90% of my driving is on tight town roads where it's just not worth it.

I'm only like to cover about 4000 miles or less each year and ideally I'd like something that I can keep for at least a couple of years without needing to spend twice what I paid for it each MOT. I don't really care too much about mod cons so as long as it has air con I'll be happy enough.

Obvious answer seems to be the Clio 182. I have never driven one but really like the idea. Other options are Suzuki Swift Sport, Fiesta ST150, mk7 Zetec S, EP3 possibly. I had seen a MG ZR 1.8 for sale locally for £600 but that has since sold which for the price seemed pretty decent. I used to have a 1.3 Swift which I found really fun to drive so the Swift does appeal.

Budget needs to be about £3k or less. Could go a couple of hundred over for the right car.

Am I on the right track or missing something totally obvious?

Shominy

Original Poster:

134 posts

90 months

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[news]
Monday 17th December 2018
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ZX10R NIN said:
Warm hatch wise there are a few crackers:
Thanks for the options as always. Should have specified that I really do want N/A rather than turbo. The Clio 197 appeals hugely but would be worried about needing a gearbox rebuild on anything around the £3k mark since they're supposedly the weak point.

CrippsCorner

2,869 posts

183 months

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Tuesday 18th December 2018
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You don't want turbo, but how about super? byebye £3,000 hot hatches are my bag, and my R53 MINI has been the most reliable car I've ever owned. I've had a couple of Clio 182 and they are a better drive out of the box... but definitely less reliable, at the same time though, they are at least cheap to repair!

nunpuncher

3,399 posts

127 months

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[news]
Tuesday 18th December 2018
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CrippsCorner said:
You don't want turbo, but how about super? byebye £3,000 hot hatches are my bag, and my R53 MINI has been the most reliable car I've ever owned. I've had a couple of Clio 182 and they are a better drive out of the box... but definitely less reliable, at the same time though, they are at least cheap to repair!
You got lucky and bought the only reliable r53 built, or every other car you've owned must have been a complete heap of ste. I've had my r53 for around 2 months and it's constantly needing something fixed. this seems to be a common theme on the r53OC FB group. It is a very characterful and fun little car though. I'm totally sold on the supercharger. Much better than modern turbos.

Shominy

Original Poster:

134 posts

90 months

[report]
[news]
Tuesday 18th December 2018
quotequote all
CrippsCorner said:
You don't want turbo, but how about super? byebye £3,000 hot hatches are my bag, and my R53 MINI has been the most reliable car I've ever owned. I've had a couple of Clio 182 and they are a better drive out of the box... but definitely less reliable, at the same time though, they are at least cheap to repair!
Gotta be N/A I think. I just prefer the power delivery and being high up in the rev range. The Clios appeal more than anything else at the moment. I do like the Fiesta ST150 but just doesn't seem like as good of a deal considering the prices compared to the performance and car you get for it. Helps that there's a highly rated Renault specialist a 5 minute drive from me so if I do end up with something going wrong I can probably get it fixed by a specialist.

JJ55

669 posts

117 months

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[news]
Tuesday 18th December 2018
quotequote all
I’d vote for the Clio, I’m impartial though as I have one smile

All the cars on your list would be good fun to be fair.

ZX10R NIN

27,799 posts

127 months

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[news]
Tuesday 18th December 2018
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With a Renault specialist down the road go for the Clio.

Mr Tidy

22,792 posts

129 months

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[news]
Tuesday 18th December 2018
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If RWD was an option you could try a BMW 325ti Compact. I had one for over 3 years and loved it.

CrippsCorner

2,869 posts

183 months

[report]
[news]
Monday 24th December 2018
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nunpuncher said:
CrippsCorner said:
You don't want turbo, but how about super? byebye £3,000 hot hatches are my bag, and my R53 MINI has been the most reliable car I've ever owned. I've had a couple of Clio 182 and they are a better drive out of the box... but definitely less reliable, at the same time though, they are at least cheap to repair!
You got lucky and bought the only reliable r53 built, or every other car you've owned must have been a complete heap of ste. I've had my r53 for around 2 months and it's constantly needing something fixed. this seems to be a common theme on the r53OC FB group. It is a very characterful and fun little car though. I'm totally sold on the supercharger. Much better than modern turbos.
From what I've read online it does seem I got lucky! Had the car over 3 years now and all it's had go wrong was a sticky throttle body, which was a £40 fix. Other than that I've replaced the battery, and that's it... but I put that down to general wear and tear anyway.

Agree with the supercharger, very addictive! Going to miss the sound when I move on, and of the Milltek too, can't beat the pops and bangs on a MINI smile
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