What 'sensible' winter car thread

[menguin]

As the nights draw in and the rain continues relentlessly, I've decided I'll put the MX-5 to bed for winter and get a sensible winter car. Now, my specification:

Up to £4k
4 wheel drive
Petrol
Turbo or large displacement - 200+hp
Hatch/saloon/coupe - something smallish

My current favorite is an S3 with remap giving around 260hp. I've also been considering a Celica GTfour (but not sure if £4k will get a good enough one). I've looked at scoobys and Evos but not sure I could live with the looks - too in your face for my liking (but please try to persuade me otherwise!).

So, over to the folks on PH - what have I forgotten? What are my alternatives?

[Pixelpeep]

what about a Mark 4 Golf V6 4Motion ? too similar to the S3 ?

[Pixelpeep]

i tell ya what... that new PH classifieds thing is pretty amazing.. never really played around with it before.

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds?Cat...

click on that fella !

[menguin]

I'm not a massive fan of the Mk4 appearance, but could be persuaded... What is the performance compared with the Audi? The appeal of the S3 is the remap giving 260+, with the V6 I'd get a nicer noise, but less extra performance potential.

[Pixelpeep]

menguin said:

I'm not a massive fan of the Mk4 appearance, but could be persuaded... What is the performance compared with the Audi? The appeal of the S3 is the remap giving 260+, with the V6 I'd get a nicer noise, but less extra performance potential.

It's not particully fast to be honest - 146 bhp/ton supposedly.

0-60 is 7.0seconds from what ive read

Favourite a few years ago was that + VF supercharger. what a noise

[N88]

Blobeye Impreza WRX for me.

[MadMark911]

Menguin - Forget the Scooby / Evo looks - they both have proper, permanent 4wd and in bad weather, their handling is so progressive! Their 4wd is so much more effective at finding grip on snow than the haldex system that the VW/Audis have - you wouldn't believe it!
On winter tyres you can pretty much go anywhere .... the only limiting factor on deep snow being ground clearance. However, 2 years ago, my 2003 Subaru WRX towed my BMW 330i up a hill in 10" of snow without any problems - on summer tyres (ContiSport 3's) and would do full sideways drifts round roundabout / donuts round empty car parks .... So much fun and I miss it - my new Audi A3 Quattro is not a patch on the Scoob ....

[menguin]

MadMark, I know what you mean - I'm sure the actual driving part of the Evo/Scoob would be better than the S3.. So many models/variants to choose from though! What would be the best model for £4k?

[edo]

S3 or 4 Motion golf/bora
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

Subaru
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

Or?

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

Possibly not sensible!

X-Type?
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

[menguin]

Had a mate with a Pulsar - fast, but I'd prefer something a little newer (I already have a 1992 turbo'd MX5 for my nineties fix)

Would a £4k Subaru like this:

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

Be a moneypit - or are they generally reliable? Any scary possible costs?

[menguin]

How about this one:

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

[carmadgaz]

Fits none of your criteria but I had an old £350 Escort during the snow in 2010, damn thing went almost everywhere and it was cheap so I wasn't worried about bending it.

I have an MX-5 for this winter... Glad I've got the Landyshed too

[Robb F]

This is lovely

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

[freakynessless]

Robb F said:

This is lovely

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

That is lovely!

[anonymous-user]

Might be pushing it at 4k but Mazda 6 MPS?

None of this haldex nonsense but not the looks of the Scoob either (if you dont like the looks)

[Captain Muppet]

My winter shed is a turbo MX5 with a welded diff and snow tyres.

It's been my winter shed for 5 years now. Before that I used an MR2.

[rb5er]

I dont think a bugeye or blobeye wrx is in your face at all. Classics and sti`s yes maybe a bit eyecatching for some but wrx bugs and blobs blend in quite well, especially in wagon form. They certainly drive better than anything else suggested too.

The GT4 would be my 2nd choice but in my eyes looks much more attenstion seeking than a wrx.

Edited by rb5er on Monday 29th October 13:52

[menguin]

Yeah after a bit of browsing the bugeye is growing on me - specifically the ones without F1 wings on the back. Is the difference between Sti and WRX worth paying more for the Sti - if there is one around for 4k...

[rb5er]

All standard STI`s will come with the big wing you dont like, they are faster but harder riding, it depends what you want from a car.

[jay140285]

I had a 2003 WRX Blob eye and it was brilliant, only changed due to the miles I was going.

Really miss it and great in the snow etc.