Coupe daily driver advice

[Shifter1]

MonkeyMatt said:

A lot of people on here will not recommend the TT, I know a several people who have owned all generations of TT and they have been very good cars! maybe not the ultimate drivers machine but later generations do drive well (think Gof GTi). As a daily you could do a lot worse

Or a lot better.

[Shifter1]

Azzurrinick said:

I'll throw in a curve ball. Don't dismiss the Alfa Brera Prodrive S, the V6 will give you the performance and with the Prodrive upgrades it actually handles like a sports car. It does sounds like you will need to get the Porsche, you won't be happy to compromise with a TT, you will always be searching for that perfect Porsche.

Is the Prodrive version a Q4? If so I would agree it could be a good left field suggestion.

[Azzurrinick]

Shifter1 said:

Is the Prodrive version a Q4? If so I would agree it could be a good left field suggestion.

No, the Prodrive is 2 wheel drive only, Q4 will only come with the standard model.

[Olas]

The TT is a golf in a frock, will be cheap to daily.
Porsche not so much

[Mr Tidy]

I just remembered Modern Classic magazine did a comparison test of the Cayman, BMW Z4M Coupe and Nissan 350Z in this month's issue.

While all 3 of their testers agreed that the Cayman was by far the most accomplished/rounded option, a couple of them admitted that if they were buying they might be tempted by the Z4MC.

They likened getting the Cayman to pulling the prom-queen, but the Z4MC to some wild excitement round the back of the bike sheds, or something along those lines!

Apologies for the gratuitous photo, but mine was well within budget and anyway I'm still in love!

[ZX10R NIN]

jd4392 said:

Hi all,

First post as there is only so long I can keep mulling this over alone.
In a few months I'll be moving into a house where I will finally have a garage/driveway and be able to have a car that I care about without worrying about it being parked on the road. It'll be my first reasonably quick car and I'll be using it every day for my commute (only 12 miles each way) so I want okay(ish) fuel economy and reliable enough that I'm not left stranded all the time. My budget is around 16K and I've pretty much narrowed it down to three (quite different) options at different price points.

- 987 Cayman (can probably stretch to a gen 2 with around 60k miles on the clock)
- Z4 Coupe 3.0 si (a good one for around 10K)
- Mk3 TT 2.0 tfsi (the sensible option)

My heart is with the Cayman as I've always wanted a Porsche, but am I living in a dream world thinking that I can use it as a daily driver without going bankrupt? The TT seems like the sensible option to me - newest by a mile, quick enough and I'm assuming will be most reliable and cheapest to run. The Z4 came up recently as an option to save a good chunk of cash but still keeping it interesting as my first coupe. Alternatively I could ignore all of that and get a mk3.5 MX5 but I don't think It will have enough grunt to keep me interested for long (the Mrs' mini is quicker). Advice please? Any other options that I've not thought of? Cheers!

I'm going to throw a curveball into the mix, it involves a budget stretch & some haggling but by doing so you'll land yourself a proper drivers car which will be sensible to daily maintenance wise it'll be sensible money wise.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

The first gen is considered the more raw version out of the two with the Gen2 getting more sound deadening, I will say drive one before dismissing them as they're a much better steer than the regular car which in itself is a good base.

Gen2

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[blueg33]

I had a 200sx years ago but have never warmed to the 350z or 370z, they always feel a bit heavy and clumsy to me. I have the same thoughts about the V8 vantage, so its probably just me

[cerb4.5lee]

blueg33 said:

I had a 200sx years ago but have never warmed to the 350z or 370z, they always feel a bit heavy and clumsy to me. I have the same thoughts about the V8 vantage, so its probably just me

I do understand what you are saying and I've had a 200SX and it was and still is the best car I've had overall. But there is just something about my 370Z that I love as well, and they are completely different cars but both have really got under my skin.

[TameRacingDriver]

blueg33 said:

I had a 200sx years ago but have never warmed to the 350z or 370z, they always feel a bit heavy and clumsy to me. I have the same thoughts about the V8 vantage, so its probably just me

Yes, I certainly felt my 350Z was more of a 7/10ths than a 10/10ths car. It wasn’t all that pleasant to drive flat out IMO. It was lovely in all other respects though.

[Shifter1]

cerb4.5lee said:

I do understand what you are saying and I've had a 200SX and it was and still is the best car I've had overall. But there is just something about my 370Z that I love as well, and they are completely different cars but both have really got under my skin.

Really? It has been years since I drove a 200SX. But I don't remember it being anything special to drive. Maybe the fact that at the time I owned a RX7 turbo didn't help the 200SX to make an impression.

[cerb4.5lee]

Shifter1 said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I do understand what you are saying and I've had a 200SX and it was and still is the best car I've had overall. But there is just something about my 370Z that I love as well, and they are completely different cars but both have really got under my skin.

Really? It has been years since I drove a 200SX. But I don't remember it being anything special to drive. Maybe the fact that at the time I owned a RX7 turbo didn't help the 200SX to make an impression.

It has been the car that I've had the most fun in overall and that is why I rate it so highly. It was my first performance RWD car so I have very fond memories of it. I also learned how to slide it at low speeds so it always made me smile.

My Cerbera was miles faster and it sounded awesome but it wasn't as much fun as the 200SX for me. The 200 was running around 250bhp and it was such an easy car to enjoy/get the best from its performance. I'd love another one.

[Shifter1]

cerb4.5lee said:

It has been the car that I've had the most fun in overall and that is why I rate it so highly. It was my first performance RWD car so I have very fond memories of it. I also learned how to slide it at low speeds so it always made me smile.

My Cerbera was miles faster and it sounded awesome but it wasn't as much fun as the 200SX for me. The 200 was running around 250bhp and it was such an easy car to enjoy/get the best from its performance. I'd love another one.

I see what you mean. It's really a pity we don't have cars like the 200SX today. RWD, manual, fun and affordable sports cars or sport coupes. Ok, there is the MX5 and the GT86. But somehow the GT86 has always left me cold. But I guess it's the closest we have today to cars like the 200SX. Besides that anything else will be either more money or not really that fun.

[cerb4.5lee]

Shifter1 said:

I see what you mean. It's really a pity we don't have cars like the 200SX today. RWD, manual, fun and affordable sports cars or sport coupes. Ok, there is the MX5 and the GT86. But somehow the GT86 has always left me cold. But I guess it's the closest we have today to cars like the 200SX. Besides that anything else will be either more money or not really that fun.

Totally agree and I wish there was something like the 200SX as well. If the GT86 was offered with a turbo engine that would be pretty close to ideal for me. I've often toyed with buying a GT86 and putting a turbo or supercharger on it.

[Shifter1]

cerb4.5lee said:

Totally agree and I wish there was something like the 200SX as well. If the GT86 was offered with a turbo engine that would be pretty close to ideal for me. I've often toyed with buying a GT86 and putting a turbo or supercharger on it.

Yes I agree. GT86 + turbo could be an interesting and fun beater. I have the impression the next generation GT86 will be a more interesting car. I remember reading the chief engineer saying something like he wants it to be more fun to drive than the new Supra. Never drove the new Supra so don't know how difficult that would be.

[TurboBlue]

Here's an eclectic bunch for your consideration - you said you wanted other idea's!

BMW Alpina B3 BiTurbo
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Nissan 370Z
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Fiat Coupe 20V
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

edited to remove LHD car

Edited by TurboBlue on Saturday 22 February 20:53

[Blanchimont]

Thales said:

From where?

I got mine from a main dealer. I paid £16500.