The mk3 Astra GSi or the 106 Rallye?
Discussion
Evening all,
Just briefly musing on my current garage and thinking that as I rarely play my bass guitar anymore, I could sell it and free up some cash that's tied up in it. The released cash would be used to get me into a late 80's/90's hot hatch. Mt Audi A8 does perfectly for commuting duties, but I want something small and fun to fly about the B roads (I live in rural Northumberland with twisting country lanes on my door step). Whilst I've no problem taking the A8 onto those roads, it's a bit big and a bit fast/effortless. I'm after something a little slower that loves to be revved.
The things I am mainly thinking of at the moment are the cars I've mentioned above. Either the mk3 Astra GSi or the 106 Rallye (likely an S1 if I can find one).
or
I am leaning towards the Pug quite heavily as it looks a bit better (not to say the Astra doesn't look good) and seems to be a better drive based on the critical acclaim heaped on it. I gather the Astra may not be superlative in every sense but it should give me enough of the buzzy, thrashy fun I am after. I'm not after something blisteringly quick, just a car that needs to be worked hard to get the best of it. I'll put a straight through exhaust on it and just take it out on quiet days for a quick whizz.
My budget for the car would ideally be £2000 or less. I'll be insuring it as a second car on a multicar or getting classic insurance on it.
Any other cars I should be looking at? I've discounted the mk2 Golf GTi as the sub £2000 examples I've looked at in the past have been dog turds. What about the mk3 Golf Gti? The Citroen ZX (was it the Volcane that was the hot one?) etc etc?
Just briefly musing on my current garage and thinking that as I rarely play my bass guitar anymore, I could sell it and free up some cash that's tied up in it. The released cash would be used to get me into a late 80's/90's hot hatch. Mt Audi A8 does perfectly for commuting duties, but I want something small and fun to fly about the B roads (I live in rural Northumberland with twisting country lanes on my door step). Whilst I've no problem taking the A8 onto those roads, it's a bit big and a bit fast/effortless. I'm after something a little slower that loves to be revved.
The things I am mainly thinking of at the moment are the cars I've mentioned above. Either the mk3 Astra GSi or the 106 Rallye (likely an S1 if I can find one).
or
I am leaning towards the Pug quite heavily as it looks a bit better (not to say the Astra doesn't look good) and seems to be a better drive based on the critical acclaim heaped on it. I gather the Astra may not be superlative in every sense but it should give me enough of the buzzy, thrashy fun I am after. I'm not after something blisteringly quick, just a car that needs to be worked hard to get the best of it. I'll put a straight through exhaust on it and just take it out on quiet days for a quick whizz.
My budget for the car would ideally be £2000 or less. I'll be insuring it as a second car on a multicar or getting classic insurance on it.
Any other cars I should be looking at? I've discounted the mk2 Golf GTi as the sub £2000 examples I've looked at in the past have been dog turds. What about the mk3 Golf Gti? The Citroen ZX (was it the Volcane that was the hot one?) etc etc?
There seem to be a lot more decent looking 106 Rallyes around at less than £2000. In fact, there really aren't many mk3 Astra GSi's around at all. Neither car has to be perfect, but it seems like they are mechanically simple enough that getting some good use out of them at this price point shouldn't be difficult.
Baryonyx said:
There seem to be a lot more decent looking 106 Rallyes around at less than £2000. In fact, there really aren't many mk3 Astra GSi's around at all. Neither car has to be perfect, but it seems like they are mechanically simple enough that getting some good use out of them at this price point shouldn't be difficult.
Yeah very simple, just watch those rear axle bearings. the stigs dad said:
2k will get you a leon cupra and a remap. Much better than the Astra and the 106 IMO.
My brother used to have a Leon Cupra R 225 and whilst it was a smashing car, that sort of thing is a bit big. I was leaning more towards something with a smaller footprint and ideally, I'd be avoiding big turbos (so no C20LET conversion for the Astra). The A8's V8 provides enough instant torque, I'd rather have something that really demands some gearbox action and revs to shift in my B road car.
Clio 182:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Ford Puma:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Any reason for going for the Rallye over the GTi in the 106? The reason I ask is that the GTi can be tuned quite easily if you fancy turning it into a project at some point. The Rallye will be more fun as a toy though.
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Ford Puma:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Any reason for going for the Rallye over the GTi in the 106? The reason I ask is that the GTi can be tuned quite easily if you fancy turning it into a project at some point. The Rallye will be more fun as a toy though.
poing said:
Clio 182:
Any reason for going for the Rallye over the GTi in the 106? The reason I ask is that the GTi can be tuned quite easily if you fancy turning it into a project at some point. The Rallye will be more fun as a toy though.
I'd take a 106 GTi (or a Saxo VTS for that matter) but I'd prefer the Rallye. I know there isn't a great deal in them, but 106 GTi's are either chavved to the max or overpriced these days it seems. The VTS doesn't suffer so badly but I would like something a little more special than the Saxo - even the GTi seems a more attractive proposition.Any reason for going for the Rallye over the GTi in the 106? The reason I ask is that the GTi can be tuned quite easily if you fancy turning it into a project at some point. The Rallye will be more fun as a toy though.
I've also considered 306 GTi-6's, loads of these look dog rough now but I suppose there are some good ones out there.
the stigs dad said:
2k will get you a leon cupra and a remap. Much better than the Astra and the 106 IMO.
A Cupra R 225 with a Revo stage map and supporting mods will easily make 270bhp, even a standard one will obliterate a Rallye or GSI in terms of pace, but OP has a 4.2L A8 for a daily car, so I can understand wanting a small, raw and thrashy car for fun - the Cupra is too big and too powerful to really be worked in the same way as the older hot hatches can, simply because their performance limits are much lower than the Cupra's.Ive owned a MK3 Astra GSI and a 106 GTI, I preferred the Astra.
Mine was modded a bit with stainless exhaust, fast road cams and some fancy suspension, where as the 106 I owned was standard.
The Astra was of course quicker and made an excellent noise, very raspy, handled well apart from the torque steer!
106 is a far better car to throw around though, went round corners like a go-kart, and the interior was nicer too. Pedals are very cramped though, if you are a big guy you may struggle.
I had them both for around a year (not at the same time) and never had a problem with the Astra, apart from wearing a hole in the exhaust on speed bumps as it was very low and the exhaust is the lowest point. The 106 however I had loads of problems with, a belt slipped causing huge damage in the engine
Im off to look at GSI's in the classifieds now, I would have another.
Mine was modded a bit with stainless exhaust, fast road cams and some fancy suspension, where as the 106 I owned was standard.
The Astra was of course quicker and made an excellent noise, very raspy, handled well apart from the torque steer!
106 is a far better car to throw around though, went round corners like a go-kart, and the interior was nicer too. Pedals are very cramped though, if you are a big guy you may struggle.
I had them both for around a year (not at the same time) and never had a problem with the Astra, apart from wearing a hole in the exhaust on speed bumps as it was very low and the exhaust is the lowest point. The 106 however I had loads of problems with, a belt slipped causing huge damage in the engine
Im off to look at GSI's in the classifieds now, I would have another.
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