"Drivers Car" under 25k
Discussion
Hey there! Following a recent post of mine which went down in flames about LEDs under my car (dont worry, im not gonna do it) I was told that my car is not really a drivers car, which I totally agree with
So, could I get some recommendations on some real drivers cars? My budget is £25k (though I'd prefer it to cost less) I've been looking at the Mazda RX-7, as that has piqued my interest, or even an old vette.
Help!
So, could I get some recommendations on some real drivers cars? My budget is £25k (though I'd prefer it to cost less) I've been looking at the Mazda RX-7, as that has piqued my interest, or even an old vette.
Help!
Any BMW.
Plenty of choice, acknowledged the world over as 'the ultimate driving machine', so why ask further? Loads of respect from other road users, though you might need to be a bit hard skinned as some will be so obviously (but understandably) jealous.
Go for it and get a BM.
I happen to know (I'm on good terms with my local dealer sales executives) that there are some good deals around at the mo. In fact, I almost got tempted to upgrade again last week, based on the sales exec's advice about the need to keep my image up to date and he's now crunching some figures for me. As a bonus, you'll also get a massive buzz from knowing you own/drive a BM.
Plenty of choice, acknowledged the world over as 'the ultimate driving machine', so why ask further? Loads of respect from other road users, though you might need to be a bit hard skinned as some will be so obviously (but understandably) jealous.
Go for it and get a BM.
I happen to know (I'm on good terms with my local dealer sales executives) that there are some good deals around at the mo. In fact, I almost got tempted to upgrade again last week, based on the sales exec's advice about the need to keep my image up to date and he's now crunching some figures for me. As a bonus, you'll also get a massive buzz from knowing you own/drive a BM.
MX5Easy if you don't need four seats and practicality: Lotus Elise. The best driver's car I've ever driven. The only cars up there with it are the Exige and Evora. Lotus really do occupy an entirely different plane when it comes to driver's cars. Forget even Porsches (which are very good indeed!) - the Elise is just wonderful to drive.
If you're on a very limited budget, you can't go wrong with an MR2 mk3 or MX5. My vote goes for the MR2.
If you need four seats, a boot, roof bars, tow bar etc, then a BMW. It doesn't matter what engine, that bit's only for straight lines (and how long you want them to last), in fact lighter models drive better through corners for obvious reasons. If post ~2009 (E90 LCI era), then it must have M Sport suspension otherwise it'll be a total blancmange; before that SE suspension was fine.
If you're on a very limited budget, you can't go wrong with an MR2 mk3 or MX5. My vote goes for the MR2.
If you need four seats, a boot, roof bars, tow bar etc, then a BMW. It doesn't matter what engine, that bit's only for straight lines (and how long you want them to last), in fact lighter models drive better through corners for obvious reasons. If post ~2009 (E90 LCI era), then it must have M Sport suspension otherwise it'll be a total blancmange; before that SE suspension was fine.
I see lotus popping up a lot, might have to go for one of them! never really been a fan of the MX5 looks to be perfectly honest, so I dont think ill be picking up one of those anytime soon. I love the look of the older cars rather than the new (kinda boring looking) cars made these days (I say these days with a grain of salt considering im only 19 
) as for the BMW, my dad would murder me if I brought one of those home, he thinks they're reserved for drug dealers! 
) as for the BMW, my dad would murder me if I brought one of those home, he thinks they're reserved for drug dealers! If practicality is not an issue, you can get lots of good 7s for that price.
RobM77 said:
Easy if you don't need four seats and practicality: Lotus Elise. The best driver's car I've ever driven. The only cars up there with it are the Exige and Evora. Lotus really do occupy an entirely different plane when it comes to driver's cars. Forget even Porsches (which are very good indeed!) - the Elise is just wonderful to drive.
If you're on a very limited budget, you can't go wrong with an MR2 mk3 or MX5. My vote goes for the MR2.
If you need four seats, a boot, roof bars, tow bar etc, then a BMW. It doesn't matter what engine, that bit's only for straight lines (and how long you want them to last), in fact lighter models drive better through corners for obvious reasons. If post ~2009 (E90 LCI era), then it must have M Sport suspension otherwise it'll be a total blancmange; before that SE suspension was fine.
Blah blah blah unreliable blah blah blah timing chain blah blah blah swirl flaps blah blah blah JD power blah blah blah PCP. If you're on a very limited budget, you can't go wrong with an MR2 mk3 or MX5. My vote goes for the MR2.
If you need four seats, a boot, roof bars, tow bar etc, then a BMW. It doesn't matter what engine, that bit's only for straight lines (and how long you want them to last), in fact lighter models drive better through corners for obvious reasons. If post ~2009 (E90 LCI era), then it must have M Sport suspension otherwise it'll be a total blancmange; before that SE suspension was fine.
TarpaTow said:
Any BMW.
Plenty of choice, acknowledged the world over as 'the ultimate driving machine', so why ask further? Loads of respect from other road users, though you might need to be a bit hard skinned as some will be so obviously (but understandably) jealous.
Go for it and get a BM
Spot the fanboi.Plenty of choice, acknowledged the world over as 'the ultimate driving machine', so why ask further? Loads of respect from other road users, though you might need to be a bit hard skinned as some will be so obviously (but understandably) jealous.
Go for it and get a BM
Electro1980 said:
If practicality is not an issue, you can get lots of good 7s for that price.
On your two points:RobM77 said:
Easy if you don't need four seats and practicality: Lotus Elise. The best driver's car I've ever driven. The only cars up there with it are the Exige and Evora. Lotus really do occupy an entirely different plane when it comes to driver's cars. Forget even Porsches (which are very good indeed!) - the Elise is just wonderful to drive.
If you're on a very limited budget, you can't go wrong with an MR2 mk3 or MX5. My vote goes for the MR2.
If you need four seats, a boot, roof bars, tow bar etc, then a BMW. It doesn't matter what engine, that bit's only for straight lines (and how long you want them to last), in fact lighter models drive better through corners for obvious reasons. If post ~2009 (E90 LCI era), then it must have M Sport suspension otherwise it'll be a total blancmange; before that SE suspension was fine.
Blah blah blah unreliable blah blah blah timing chain blah blah blah swirl flaps blah blah blah JD power blah blah blah PCP. If you're on a very limited budget, you can't go wrong with an MR2 mk3 or MX5. My vote goes for the MR2.
If you need four seats, a boot, roof bars, tow bar etc, then a BMW. It doesn't matter what engine, that bit's only for straight lines (and how long you want them to last), in fact lighter models drive better through corners for obvious reasons. If post ~2009 (E90 LCI era), then it must have M Sport suspension otherwise it'll be a total blancmange; before that SE suspension was fine.
I've had two Caterham 7s and they're great, but I was (perhaps wrongly) assuming that an Elise would be the minimum bar these days for a daily. Besides, in many ways the Elise is the better driver's car; it's not as clear cut as you might think just looking at the weights and performance.
Swirl flaps and JD Power etc: Firstly, the OP asked for a driver's car, not the most reliable car. A Toyota is going to be more reliable, but that's not really the question is it? Besides, reliability these days is splitting hairs; whilst the internet is full of people complaining, they are a tiny percentage of owners - people generally don't fill internet forums with posts saying how their cars aren't breaking
Furthermore, all these "reliability" surveys are not really pure reliability, they factor in repair costs and customer expectation, and it's there that BMW (and Porsche for example) fall down compared to other manufacturers. Anecdotal I know, but I'm on my 7th BMW over 300,000 miles and I've only had one problem a few years ago. From others I know it's the same story (my Dad's on his fourth for example).If you're in any doubt, do the Lotus Experience at Hethel. The Elise is a car that will literally soak up abuse hour after hour, mile after mile, hard (and I mean HARD!) brake after hard brake, and you will not see any degradation of performance.
Light weight does that. Nothing else does.
Light weight does that. Nothing else does.
TarpaTow said:
Any BMW.
Plenty of choice, acknowledged the world over as 'the ultimate driving machine', so why ask further? Loads of respect from other road users, though you might need to be a bit hard skinned as some will be so obviously (but understandably) jealous.
Go for it and get a BM.
I happen to know (I'm on good terms with my local dealer sales executives) that there are some good deals around at the mo. In fact, I almost got tempted to upgrade again last week, based on the sales exec's advice about the need to keep my image up to date and he's now crunching some figures for me. As a bonus, you'll also get a massive buzz from knowing you own/drive a BM.
Plenty of choice, acknowledged the world over as 'the ultimate driving machine', so why ask further? Loads of respect from other road users, though you might need to be a bit hard skinned as some will be so obviously (but understandably) jealous.
Go for it and get a BM.
I happen to know (I'm on good terms with my local dealer sales executives) that there are some good deals around at the mo. In fact, I almost got tempted to upgrade again last week, based on the sales exec's advice about the need to keep my image up to date and he's now crunching some figures for me. As a bonus, you'll also get a massive buzz from knowing you own/drive a BM.
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