Exciting New Cars - A Rant

[AndyMX5NA]

I’ve various two seat cars for the weekend but with a busy life I need a reliable daily driver with four seats.

When I was young, which seems like yesterday, there were many great four seaters. I tended towards Scoobies but I could have had a Fiat coupe or a gtv 916 or even a Celica or Cougar or a Cerbera for the brave.

Now what is there - a bunch of lumpen auto box ridden heaps and SUVs and a tiny handful of hot hatches.

Folks say how long you keeping the scirocco as it’s five now - possibly forever?

I can’t bear anything else from VAG ( last 4 cars have been VAG) and there is only the TT in any event which looks like a codpiece. Supra - two seats and hideous (yuk). All alfas - autos. I saw that new 2 series coupe and thought it looked okay - only available a bloody auto. Subaru are not importing the new sti. I almost ordered a Yaris GR but makes the Supra look good. Alpine I think might have a back seat - yeah I’m not a Borrower.

There is one, just one, decent general use daily driver. God bless Toyota for the GR86.

[FamousPheasant]

Fiesta st? I20n? Swift sport?

[Alorotom]

VAG - there isn’t just the TT at all

Up / Polo / Golf / Arteon and that’s just VW
Cupra Leon or it’s Seat equivalent
Audi A1 / S1 / A3 / S3 / RS3 / A5 / S5 / RS5
BMW 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 … and their M and alpine equivalents
Merc A / C / E and their AMG equivalents
The list goes on…

You’re just not looking very hard.

[SuperNads]

The previous generation BMW M2 meets your criteria

[Trevor555]

AndyMX5NA said:

I almost ordered a Yaris GR but makes the Supra look good.

What put you off the Yaris? Was it just the looks?

For a daily that's quick, and interesting, it's surely got to be the best in the "new car" choice available today?

[sawman]

You can still buy a cerbera, in fact it might be a better bet than in the 90’s as it will have been fettled by numerous owners for 20 years.

I do see your point, though. The new cars, esp the electric ones are just to “massy”

The alpine and gr86 do look unfashionably lithe

See jonny smiths latest vid on the tolman 205

[Court_S]

Surely if new cars don’t have what you’re looking for, you just buy a used one?

Just because a car is X years old, doesn’t mean that it’s going to explode. I sold my M140i which I bought from new and have replaced it with an two old BMW’s. They’ve both needed a few bits done which I’ve largely managed to deal with it myself but neither let me down.

Did the sane with my other half’s car; brand new MINI swapped for older cars.

[LeeM135i]

Depending on budget M135i/M235i/M140i/M240i great drive train and with a visit to birds for LSD and suspension work can be an excellent car all round.

M2/M3/M4 if your pockets are deeper, again great engine but with the LSD and suspension tweaks already completed and then some.

The above are probably to last of the 6 Cylinder manual cars on the road.

[cerb4.5lee]

I often wish that Nissan would bring the 200SX back, and that would be along similar lines to a GT86.

I'm personally looking forward to the incoming manual Toyota Supra.

My 370Z is getting on a bit now(11 years old this year), but I do still find it great fun to drive though. I think that you can have fun in both new and old cars I reckon.

[Mr Tidy]

New cars like that are few and far between now.

Apart from the GR86 what about a manual Mustang GT?

Or going a bit older an E9* M3?

[cerb4.5lee]

Mr Tidy said:

New cars like that are few and far between now.

Apart from the GR86 what about a manual Mustang GT?

Or going a bit older an E9* M3?

Both of those are great shouts I reckon.

Both are from the older school, and there is a lot to be said about that I reckon, especially with the incoming electric nonsense!

[Cloudy147]

I think you are describing more of the Coupe type cars looking at most of your examples.

I’ve just done a search on Auto T, and if it’s a brand new manual coupe with back seats that you are after, then the Mustang is your only option, which did surprise me.

If you go auto (and have a large budget) Lexus have a couple of nice looking options, as do BMW. Porsche do the 911 too but beyond that pickings are quite slim now in Coupe+back-seat land as they are out of favour with the buying public it seems.