Best £2k Hatch?

[Lee540]

Hi all,

Recently new on here and loving that there are so many different cars and owners, making this surely the best place for this question..

Fancy a sporty hatch for the first time, that can be any engine size and any fuel... must be around about £2k can go a little higher but would prefer not to.

Things I've looked at:

- Clio 172
- Focus ST170
- Seat Leon Cupra T
- Volkswagen Golf GT TDi
- Peugeot 206 GTi 180

Nothing is really taking my fancy though.. this is coming from a BMW 540i..

Unfortunately the Honda Civic Type R is just a little out of my price range I suspect, as is the Mini Cooper S.

Any owners with recommendations? I'm expecting this to be less bias than an owners club forum.

Thanks

Lee

[MissChief]

i reckon you could get a very well looked after, mint low(ish) mileage 306 GTI-6 for £2k. Might be a bit too old for you, but great cars. (Slightly biased. I have one. It's certainly not worth £2k though!)

ST170 is pretty uninspiring I have heard. Not particularly fast but thirsty for it.

Do you really want a diesel?

[Jamie VTS]

Out of your list I would go for a 172, what about a Saxo VTS or 106 Gti?

Default answer: MX5

[300bhp/ton]

Lee540 said:

Hi all,

Recently new on here and loving that there are so many different cars and owners, making this surely the best place for this question..

Fancy a sporty hatch for the first time, that can be any engine size and any fuel... must be around about £2k can go a little higher but would prefer not to.

Things I've looked at:

- Clio 172
- Focus ST170
- Seat Leon Cupra T
- Volkswagen Golf GT TDi
- Peugeot 206 GTi 180

Nothing is really taking my fancy though.. this is coming from a BMW 540i..

Unfortunately the Honda Civic Type R is just a little out of my price range I suspect, as is the Mini Cooper S.

Any owners with recommendations? I'm expecting this to be less bias than an owners club forum.

Thanks

Lee

There really isn't a best, only preferences. Personally for this money I think you'd struggle to top the ability of a Rover 200 BRM, a very sorted car with a close ratio box and a LSD. The MG ZS180 is also very good if you want a size bigger, although lacking the LSD.

Pug 106 GTI/Rallye is a lightweigh compact hatch if you want maximum nimbleness. The Ford SportKA is also a riot, although not so speedy.

There's also a healthy number of coupe you might want to consider such as a Puma.

[garos]

There is thread on the go about the 325ti compact, its worth a read, see what you think, might just be a bit over your 2k.

[Lee540]

Thanks for replies.

I've owned quite a few cars and never like to own the same car twice..

I've had a Saxo VTS and a Ford SportKa.. both great handling, Saxo suprisinly quick but bad image, even though mine was "track" prepared.

I hadn't thought about the 306 GTi-6, good shout.. I'll have a looksie.

[300bhp/ton]

I'll say again, don't overlook the Rover 200 BRM. Very very good car to drive.

[Lee540]

300bhp/ton said:

I'll say again, don't overlook the Rover 200 BRM. Very very good car to drive.

I'll have a look thanks.. I'm not a badge-snob. I'd drive anything that was a good car

[Hudson]

The petrol mk4 golf's are cheaper as diesels are "in" at the moment, so you might be able to pick up a GTI 180 for cheap. they get bad rep about the handling, but you can get some JOM coilovers for about £150 that'll help sort that.

(Obvious bias as I have one (the V6) but hey ho)

Failing that, my dad had a 306 GTI-6 for a while which was great fun to drive, but as much as i try to avoid car stereotypes, the French electrics were not the best. Keeps you busy though .

Or, as another suggestion, a Proton Satria 1.8?

[Lee540]

Its a minefield out there for sure.. the choice is too vast!!!

Cheers for all the replies, I'm typical guy that'll just go ohh.. I like that and it'll be completely miles away from what I was supposed to buy.. that's how I ended up with the V8 for the last 2 years!!

What are VW Golf 4-motions like? How do you pick a good GTi Turbo? There are soooo many! Belt intervals?

[Hudson]

Lee540 said:

What are VW Golf 4-motions like?

They're not as quick as they look on paper due to the 4wd system (i think) but they're still nice and fast, sound great, and most of them are pretty high spec (heated seats, pimp pretend-wood centre console and so on ). Oh and they're chain driven so no cambelts.

I would test drive one if you can however, the MK4 does get a lot of bad reputation but i really like mine.

[Lee540]

Used to have a 1999 VW Passat 2.8 4motion with a manual box, so familar a little.. it did destroy its own waterpump and mangle the block though, fortunately it was fixed under warrenty. I didn't know they were cam chained.. interesting to know.

[fozzymandeus]

2.0 Alfa 147. £2k will buy you a nice clean one.

[Lee540]

fozzymandeus said:

2.0 Alfa 147. £2k will buy you a nice clean one.

Alfa reliability scares me, I'd have a GTV in a heartbeat! screw the sensible option..

Too worried about costs getting out of control with it going wrong continuously..

[PaperCut]

Not saying it's the 'best' but what about a SAAB 9-3 Coupe? 2.0 HOT AERO?

[Lee540]

PaperCut said:

Not saying it's the 'best' but what about a SAAB 9-3 Coupe? 2.0 HOT AERO?

I have tried the Saab, actually, not a bad car.. for me it lacked a sense of feel but comfy and well equipped.. worried about the fact that Saab dont exist anymore?

[fozzymandeus]

Lee540 said:

fozzymandeus said:

2.0 Alfa 147. £2k will buy you a nice clean one.

Alfa reliability scares me, I'd have a GTV in a heartbeat! screw the sensible option..

Too worried about costs getting out of control with it going wrong continuously..

147's a peach, just change the cambelt and variator every third time you have to take it for a drive and you're set.

[Joe M]

Dont rule out the ST170, the handling on them is excellent, and the can be thrown about even on rough roads. Out of what youve listed they would probably be the best condition car you will get for your 2 grand.
They do struggle in a straight line a bit, but it doesnt matter what you buy, there will always be something else that will muller you down the straights.

[Javam]

Lee540 said:

Alfa reliability scares me, I'd have a GTV in a heartbeat! screw the sensible option..

Too worried about costs getting out of control with it going wrong continuously..

Did 40,000 miles in a GTV TS with 0 problems. It was 8 years old and had 60K on the clock when I bought it.

Included a 3000+ mile trip to Italy, camping round germany, laps of the ring and back home and 5 or so other trips to Italy and back.

That makes it about the most reliable thing I have owned and much more reliable than my 540i (manual) which I loved and regret selling, but stranded me on the side of the road 4 times over the same sort of mileage.

For 2K you would get a GTV V6 with a bit of careful shopping.

It is what I would have with that money and no constraints to worry about.

[Lee540]

Javam said:

Did 40,000 miles in a GTV TS with 0 problems. It was 8 years old and had 60K on the clock when I bought it.

Included a 3000+ mile trip to Italy, camping round germany, laps of the ring and back home and 5 or so other trips to Italy and back.

That makes it about the most reliable thing I have owned and much more reliable than my 540i (manual) which I loved and regret selling, but stranded me on the side of the road 4 times over the same sort of mileage.

For 2K you would get a GTV V6 with a bit of careful shopping.

It is what I would have with that money and no constraints to worry about.

2.0 TS is looking like a better option over the V6?