Time for my very own mid life crisis

[goldar]

I'm getting older and have come to the realisation that i've missed out a lot on cars over the years. Always lusted after certain ones, but never had the funds to afford any of them. My financial situation has much improved over time, but now the cars I once lusted after are getting away. There's no winning in life...

This also leaves me in a dilemma. I've been through it all with shedding and running old expensive cars on a shoestring. The constant maintenance and upkeep is not something I want to spend my time dealing with anymore. I'd love another mk2 golf gti to blat around in, but it's really not a good idea. My current 2000 CLK55 costs me dearly in time and fuel. Commuting 80 miles a day for a year soon catches up with your bank balance. And the weekly occurrence of something new going wrong is tiresome.

So with the above in mind, I need one car to do it all. Something that will provide smiles per mile., whether it's commuting to work, a track day, or touring Europe. I don't mind going silly and buying something really impractical - as long as I don't have to work on it (much), and as long as it doesn't rape my wallet.

I've drafted the following list. It looks iffy due to the age of some of the vehicles, but they're on there because reasons. There are many other cars I could add, but let's leave it at this for now. I'd like your advice on what would fit the bill, and whether it's a good decision or not.

- Lotus Elise s2
- VX220
- Abarth 595 competizione
- S15
- Impreza sti blob
- Impreza sti hawk
- MX5 NC
- MX5 ND
- GT86
- Boxster/Cayman 987.2
- Boxster/Cayman 981

Many thanks.

Edited by goldar on Friday 13th January 08:09

[anonymous-user]

For me, the only car on your list that stands out as being 'special' ie. that will give you a sense of occasion when you drive it, but also be reliable and vaguely practical is the Cayman. There's a number of good cars on your list, but only a handful are special IMO.

[goldar]

That's interesting. What makes you say that?

[hiccy18]

goldar said:

I'm getting older and have come to the realisation that i've missed out a lot on cars over the years. Always lusted after certain ones, but never had the funds to afford any of them. My financial situation has much improved over time, but now the cars I once lusted after are getting away. There's no winning in life...

This also leaves me in a dilemma. I've been through it all with shedding and running old expensive cars on a shoestring. The constant maintenance and upkeep is not something I want to spend my time dealing with anymore. I'd love another mk2 golf gti to blat around in, but it's really not a good idea. My current 2000 CLK55 costs me dearly in time and fuel. Commuting 80 miles a day for a year soon catches up with your bank balance. And the weekly occurrence of something new going wrong is tiresome.

So with the above in mind, I need one car to do it all. Something that will provide smiles per mile., whether it's commuting to work, a track day, or touring Europe. I don't mind going silly and buying something really impractical - as long as I don't have to work on it (much), and as long as it doesn't rape my wallet.

I've drafted the following list. It looks iffy due to the age of some of the vehicles, but they're on there because reasons. There are many other cars I could add, but let's leave it at this for now. I'd like your advice on what would fit the bill, and whether it's a good decision or not.

- Lotus Elise s2
- VX220
- Abarth 595 competizione
- S15
- Impreza sti blob
- Impreza sti hawk
- MX5 NC
- MX5 ND
- GT86
- Cayman 987.2

Many thanks.

The Elise and VX feel amazing to drive, even at 20mph, but far from practical do it all cars. Not driven an Abarth, nor an S15, but I had a tweaked S14 for a while and loved it, but then I drove at three figures everywhere in it.... Blob's and Hawk's didn't talk to me until 80+ so I never bought one, the old Type-R was amazing, but a bit short geared. The MX-5's are more practical than an Elise. Not driven a GT86 as the interior put me off, but YMMV.

I tend to agree, from that list the Cayman would be a strong contender, but the S15 would be easier to work on yourself, and probably cheaper to maintain; corrosion will be your biggest problem, and it will be a problem due to lack of underseal. The rest of the car is solid provided it's not been "tuned" too much, I took my S14 from 60k miles to over 120k with breathing mods and raised boost and the only thing I had to do were front discs and pads, tyres and turbo gaskets.... clutch was pretty tired mind you! Corrosion did for the car in the end, after I'd passed it on, shame.

[stuthemong]

I used an Elise as a daily, loved it.

K series so 30+mpg.

If you don’t need much storage for stuff then it’s fine IMO.

I loved my Elise.

[mattman]

Out of your list - for me it would be the Elise or Boxster/Cayman

Out of those, the Boxster is probably the most practical as the 2 boots provide a surprising amount of luggage space. Its also a Porsche which does feel that extra bit special over an Mx5 or similar. They are more expensive to maintain, but there are some good indy's around that help reduce that.
It also has the roof down option over the Cayman so you can make the most of the 3 weeks of sun we have each year.

I love the looks of the GT86, but they are just a bit too underpowered if you have driven more powerful cars in the past - it leaves you wanting just that little bit more...

You could also add the Z4 to your list - coupe or roadster - but still not quite as "special" for me

[Belle427]

Some practically Cayman or Boxster
Not bothered VX220 or Elise.
Does both but a little leftfield Chimaera but one that's had the issues sorted.

Edited by Belle427 on Friday 13th January 09:09

[keo]

MrBig said:

For me, the only car on your list that stands out as being 'special' ie. that will give you a sense of occasion when you drive it, but also be reliable and vaguely practical is the Cayman. There's a number of good cars on your list, but only a handful are special IMO.

This is where opinions differ and everyone likes different things. I had a 981 GT4 and I found it so boring a nice car but not special. The VX220/ Elise is much more special imo I know the quality is no where near but every drive is an event. Just climbing into one is! They are also cheap to run and depreciation is very small/ appreciating.

Can’t comment on your other cars as I haven’t driven them apart from the GT86 I had a quick test drive off. I liked it, drove really well good driving position. Steering was pretty good for electruc, engine was ok but nothing special. The noise piped into the cabin spoilt it for me. Just sounded fake. I bought an Elise instead and used it as a daily.

I have had a vx220 turbo and Elise 111R and used them everyday, granted I was younger and didn’t do big miles in them. I have an Exige now and I have no problems driving it distances but it is a weekend car. They are surprisingly comfortable if you fit.

[goldar]

keo said:

I have had a vx220 turbo and Elise 111R and used them everyday

Which did you prefer? And where would your money be now?

[J1990]

I'm currently dailying an F-Type V6S AWD - I'd have loved a V8 but the AWD models weren't in budget at my time of buying and the RWD models tend to suffer with water ingress issues unless going for the facelifted model, which I believe has had all of the life sucked out of it with the sound insulation and GPF.

I'd heartily recommend the F-Type over a cayman for that 'special' feeling, it seems to get great admiration from passers by and it doesn't feel quite as 'look at me' as I find Porsche nowadays. Obviously that's a personal preference and opinions will vary but the F-Type both looks and drives fantastic, with a beautiful exhaust note to top it off.

[coldel]

I owned a VX220 Turbo, and its an utterly epic drive. Nothing else comes close (except the Elise of course) on your list to driver engagement and pure driving exhilaration. Everything else will feel that much more numb in degrees. Its an unbelievable bit of kit that doesn't get the kudos is deserves so many people go meh Vauxhall without really knowing that they are talking about.

That said.

I took it on a NC500 trip, five days, and whilst up there it was of course sensational, but after 5 days solid and some very strange weather (it went over 30 degrees a couple of days) you do notice the lack of AC and that you are being baked alive inside the car. And I have to say after a thousand miles and 5 days I was ready to get out the car and leave it there for a few weeks before getting back in again!

Personally, if you are at that stage in life where you want to try cars you could do a lot worse than buy one, enjoy it for a year, then sell it on. Number of owners is not an issue and they rarely depreciate. Every proper petrolhead should own an Elise chassis at some point as they are simply just so much more a drivers car than anything else on your list.

[cerb4.5lee]

hiccy18 said:

Not driven an Abarth, nor an S15, but I had a tweaked S14 for a while and loved it, but then I drove at three figures everywhere in it....

You sound exactly the same as I was in my mildly tuned S14!

I used to hit 140 on the way to work early on a Saturday morning every week. Plus I seemed to find myself in a race with someone almost every other day! Good Times!

I still miss that car a lot and I've also always hankered after the S15 too. I was browsing at a turbocharged GT86 yesterday thinking that could be a lot of fun as well.

[anonymous-user]

goldar said:

That's interesting. What makes you say that?

It's important to stress this is my subjective opinion, whilst attempting to take your criteria into account and yours will of course vary...

Elise still has the K-series. I know a lot of people rate them, but having worked in the industry for many years and selling K-series head gasket kits in serious volumes I have major trust issues.
VX220 - loved them when new, but they are quite long in the tooth now, so I would have concerns they would be maintenance heavy which is something you said you wanted to avoid.
Abarth 595 - great cars, but a very small hot hatch, loads of them around and not hugely practical. Also still a Fiat
S15 - most been ragged/drifted to fk and again, aging now. Potential for crustiness.
Impreza - quick and a rallying icon, but they just don't float my boat. Plus it's still a saloon, I would just want something a bit more leftfield if it was me. The bottom end longevity worries me too.
MX5 - again great cars, but very common and not aspirational
GT86 - been in a few, admittedly never driven one, but I find them very bland. Especially the interior.

Which leaves the Boxster/Cayman. I'm in a similar situation too, and I know that the opportunity to have something special is gradually being eroded, so I would want my purchase to really feel like I'm ticking one off the bucket list. If I could afford one, I'd be chasing a Boxster spider

[coldel]

MrBig said:

It's important to stress this is my subjective opinion, whilst attempting to take your criteria into account and yours will of course vary...

Elise still has the K-series. I know a lot of people rate them, but having worked in the industry for many years and selling K-series head gasket kits in serious volumes I have major trust issues.
VX220 - loved them when new, but they are quite long in the tooth now, so I would have concerns they would be maintenance heavy which is something you said you wanted to avoid.
Abarth 595 - great cars, but a very small hot hatch, loads of them around and not hugely practical. Also still a Fiat
S15 - most been ragged/drifted to fk and again, aging now. Potential for crustiness.
Impreza - quick and a rallying icon, but they just don't float my boat. Plus it's still a saloon, I would just want something a bit more leftfield if it was me. The bottom end longevity worries me too.
MX5 - again great cars, but very common and not aspirational
GT86 - been in a few, admittedly never driven one, but I find them very bland. Especially the interior.

Which leaves the Boxster/Cayman. I'm in a similar situation too, and I know that the opportunity to have something special is gradually being eroded, so I would want my purchase to really feel like I'm ticking one off the bucket list. If I could afford one, I'd be chasing a Boxster spider

Just for a bit of further detail on the Elise chassis options OP

S2 had both the K and Toyota engines. The Ks had upgraded head gasket replacements done by lots of owners and if you get a later one with the toyota engines they are bullet proof - either are good. The VX220 is basically vauxhall parts, easy to source and cheap to maintain. Again the one I sold had all the perishables done from mounts to pipework, again lots of good owners do the maintenance. And as I say they are just vauxhall engines parts are plentiful and cheap. Certainly much cheaper than if you had a BMW or other German marque. Mine was tight as a nut and cornered on rails.

The only real big cost comes in when you damage panels, they have effectively clams front and back, a bit of damage either means repair or full clam replacement which can be expensive.

[Belle427]

I have shortlisted similar cars and the Elise and VX220 are currently in the lead although I am a big Porsche fan.
VX prices have gone up but nice well maintained examples do pop up now and again.
It is difficult to see past the Vauxhall badge for some though and if it were a short term purchase the Lotus probably makes more sense for a quicker resale.

[Audis5b9]

981 Boxster - great fun to drive, surprisingly practical (two boots), and comfortable on a long run.

[ChocolateFrog]

Elise/VX will get tiresome used as a daily. Ingress/egress, mediocre HVAC, arse puckering in snow/ice, all stuff that will make the comfy car with heated seats, windscreen and Carplay/AA seem like a luxury. It's a lot to sacrifice for 3 seconds of booting it on the slip road.

A bit like commuting on a motorbike year round means you don't want to pull it out of the garage on Sunday morning for a blast.

From that list a Cayman would probably be my choice.

Could throw the Z4M Coupe and 5.0 Jag XKR too.

Edit. Didn't see the S15. Almost bought one before I got my Chimaera. Still have a hankering for one although they've doubled in price since I was looking.

[BoRED S2upid]

If this is your do everything car it can’t be the 2 seaters on the list. Can’t quite pop to the skip or supermarket in those and with the state of the roads driving them every day would get tiresome.

Arbarth for me. Fold the rear seats down and it’s a practice little rocket. Tune it to 180bhp easily and it’s a solid little engine with no eye watering costs. Providing your not 6ft+ you will be fine in it although that’s also a problem for the 2 seaters you can’t be big in those.

[SnowySpeeder]

Audis5b9 said:

981 Boxster - great fun to drive, surprisingly practical (two boots), and comfortable on a long run.

This is the answer

Other cars can be more fun on short B-road blats & track days, but 981 is a great all-rounder (and very reliable with reasonable running costs)

[hiccy18]

cerb4.5lee said:

You sound exactly the same as I was in my mildly tuned S14!

I used to hit 140 on the way to work early on a Saturday morning every week. Plus I seemed to find myself in a race with someone almost every other day! Good Times!

I still miss that car a lot and I've also always hankered after the S15 too. I was browsing at a turbocharged GT86 yesterday thinking that could be a lot of fun as well.

Funnily enough I seriously considered a Cerbera as a replacement, but went two wheels instead.

Forgot to mention the fuel pump failed too, in the most benign but miss-timed manner (Asda car park, Xmas eve). The speed I'd been cruising at over the bridge that morning would literally get me the jail now.