Another what car thread...

[PHuzzy]

Apologies for yet another what car thread.
I'll keep it simple.

My current steed is a 300bhp Impreza and it does everything well. It's reliable, pretty quick, sounds good, looks aren't to everyones taste but does look good in an aggressive way.
The problem with it is the fuel consumption. I'd say 80% of my mileage now is motorway and it'll only average 25-28mpg on a run. On a proper hoon 8-12 mpg is usual but it doesn't sting too much as it's expected.

What I'm after then... something which can be fun when pushed but reliable and efficient on the motorway.

Not too fussed on style apart from an estate.
Number of seats isn't an issue either.
Preferably RWD.
Max 4.5k with haggle room.
Over 35 MPG on a run.
Fun to drive.
Fairly comfy on long trips.
Decent reliability. I'm good with spanners but prefer driving to fixing/maintaining.
Prefer something which sounds good/can be made to sound good.
Insurance isn't too much of an issue, although Honda S2000s are extortionate.

So far, I'm thinking of an MG TF, a BMW 3something and the trusty Mx5, although having had a mk1 the fuel consumption isn't proportionate to the performance!

[dema]

not sure that fun,fast and good sounding goes well with the 35mpg part, but bmw E46 330 is what springs to mind if you can ad some cash.
Would a really cheap motor do for the week and the impreza for fun?

[PHuzzy]

dema said:

not sure that fun,fast and good sounding goes well with the 35mpg part, but bmw E46 330 is what springs to mind if you can ad some cash.
Would a really cheap motor do for the week and the impreza for fun?

I'm bored of the Impreza, it's too easy to drive fast.
I don't necessarily want something fast. Just something which is fun when pushed.
A RS Clio is another thought but I'm reluctant to go back to FWD.
The MPG is more of a wish than a must but 30ish+ on a motorway should be fairly easy to get.
I don't care if it does 5mpg on a hoon.

[dema]

I'm not on the position to buy but I've been looking at GT4 recently

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

or something completely different

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...

[RobM77]

dema said:

I'm not on the position to buy but I've been looking at GT4 recently

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

Good at what they do, but not really fun sadly. I swapped mine for an MR2, which was miles more fun. That's a thought for the OP actually - an MR2?

[PHuzzy]

RobM77 said:

dema said:

I'm not on the position to buy but I've been looking at GT4 recently

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

Good at what they do, but not really fun sadly. I swapped mine for an MR2, which was miles more fun. That's a thought for the OP actually - an MR2?

The GT4 is far too similar to the Impreza.
I have thought about an MR2, a mk2 turbo but from what I've heard they're not too great on fuel.
I'm looking at e36 328 sports at the minute and they seem to do most of the things I want quite well.

[RobM77]

PHuzzy said:

RobM77 said:

dema said:

I'm not on the position to buy but I've been looking at GT4 recently

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...

Good at what they do, but not really fun sadly. I swapped mine for an MR2, which was miles more fun. That's a thought for the OP actually - an MR2?

The GT4 is far too similar to the Impreza.
I have thought about an MR2, a mk2 turbo but from what I've heard they're not too great on fuel.
I'm looking at e36 328 sports at the minute and they seem to do most of the things I want quite well.

I was referring to the delightfully driveable MR2 Mk3. My swap was from a Celica Carlos Sainz to a mk1 MR2, but still a valid comparison relatively - the MR2 wasn't as fast but it was miles more interesting and fun handling wise. With regard to the Impreza vs Celica comparison, to be honest on a B road I preferred the mk1 Impreza to my Sainz, and I expect the same would be true of the ST205 and the mk2/mk3 Impreza. The Celica is more of a long distance GT car.

With regard to the 328i Sports Coupe, I owned one for a while. My mission was to keep it in 'as new' condition and not just drive an old banger, so I replaced suspension, bushes etc and everything that wore out over time. I spent £5500 on it in 18 months! (I sold it to a PHer in the end). It was a very good car to drive indeed, and I was very fond of it. I wouldn't say it's as fun as a purpose built sports car like the MR2 though - the 3 series is great for a four seater saloon, and although I do prefer the drive of a good 3 series to some so called 'sports cars', a decent sports car like an MX5, MR2 etc will be a better driver's car, I think that goes without saying.

[TroubledSoul]

RobM77 said:

I was referring to the delightfully driveable MR2 Mk3. My swap was from a Celica Carlos Sainz to a mk1 MR2, but still a valid comparison relatively - the MR2 wasn't as fast but it was miles more interesting and fun handling wise. With regard to the Impreza vs Celica comparison, to be honest on a B road I preferred the mk1 Impreza to my Sainz, and I expect the same would be true of the ST205 and the mk2/mk3 Impreza. The Celica is more of a long distance GT car.

With regard to the 328i Sports Coupe, I owned one for a while. My mission was to keep it in 'as new' condition and not just drive an old banger, so I replaced suspension, bushes etc and everything that wore out over time. I spent £5500 on it in 18 months! (I sold it to a PHer in the end). It was a very good car to drive indeed, and I was very fond of it. I wouldn't say it's as fun as a purpose built sports car like the MR2 though - the 3 series is great for a four seater saloon, and although I do prefer the drive of a good 3 series to some so called 'sports cars', a decent sports car like an MX5, MR2 etc will be a better driver's car, I think that goes without saying.

I've owned multiple MK2 MR2's and was always amazed at the way those MK3's could corner when following them...

I also had an E36 328i Sport and replaced the shocks and springs. Very good car but I think after the Impreza it would leave you disappointed.

Now, interestingly, I sold my 2006 Hawkeye Impreza STi Spec-D 2 months ago as it was costing me a fortune in fuel. Guess what I bought? An E46 330cd, for £4.5k! Strange coincidence eh? I thought at the time that it was a real bargain as it looked fairly clean, but for wheels needing a refurb and some usual wear and tear for a car of this age (2005). The others that were similar were all around £6.5 - £7k.

I'm a bit anal about cars with high mileage and replacing the suspension, so knew I would do this anyway, but I believe that the previous owners tried to MOT it and it failed on the shocks being completely knackered, as it was advertised with 12 months' MOT and only had about 6 weeks left when I went to view it. I've now fitted (last week) a brand new Bilstein B12 Pro kit, which is supplied from Bilstein with matched Eibach springs, as well as new steering rack ends, tie rods, front control arms and the bushes for them, rear trailing arm Powerflex bushes and stiffer BMW OEM anti roll bars and Powerflex bushes.

Handles fantastically now and keeps me entertained enough that in combination with the fuel savings I don't miss the Impreza as much as I thought I would.

Try and get a 204bhp model, these are all 2003 onwards and it will have a 6-Speed box if it's a manual. The bargains are out there, although £4.5k cars that are worth buying don't come up too often, so keep your eyes peeled.

Now I just need to get mine remapped.....

[PHuzzy]

RobM77 said:

I was referring to the delightfully driveable MR2 Mk3. My swap was from a Celica Carlos Sainz to a mk1 MR2, but still a valid comparison relatively - the MR2 wasn't as fast but it was miles more interesting and fun handling wise. With regard to the Impreza vs Celica comparison, to be honest on a B road I preferred the mk1 Impreza to my Sainz, and I expect the same would be true of the ST205 and the mk2/mk3 Impreza. The Celica is more of a long distance GT car.

With regard to the 328i Sports Coupe, I owned one for a while. My mission was to keep it in 'as new' condition and not just drive an old banger, so I replaced suspension, bushes etc and everything that wore out over time. I spent £5500 on it in 18 months! (I sold it to a PHer in the end). It was a very good car to drive indeed, and I was very fond of it. I wouldn't say it's as fun as a purpose built sports car like the MR2 though - the 3 series is great for a four seater saloon, and although I do prefer the drive of a good 3 series to some so called 'sports cars', a decent sports car like an MX5, MR2 etc will be a better driver's car, I think that goes without saying.

Of course, however due to the mainly motorway mileage I'm doing now my priorities have changed. I loved my old Mx5 and was tempted by a VX220.
Now though I just want something that can be fun when prodded but most of the time is just an easy 35mpg motorway muncher. The bonus with the 328 is the noise it can be made to produce with a decent exhaust?!

[TroubledSoul]

PHuzzy said:

Of course, however due to the mainly motorway mileage I'm doing now my priorities have changed. I loved my old Mx5 and was tempted by a VX220.
Now though I just want something that can be fun when prodded but most of the time is just an easy 35mpg motorway muncher. The bonus with the 328 is the noise it can be made to produce with a decent exhaust?!

I'm pretty sure you won't see a great deal of difference between a 328i and an M3 in E36 form. If you are set on an E36 then definitely look at the M3, pref an Evo with the 6th gear.

[300bhp/ton]

Op you mentioned an MGF. These can be good fun (check out the MGF or MX-5 thread in GG at the mo).

But I wonder if you'd feel the lack of torque. The VVC motor is a gem, but it's a screamer and won't give you the big shove an Impreza does from mid rpm.

In fact in terms of sensation a smart Roadster is closer to the Impreza in terms of power delivery, although the smart simply isn't quick in a straight line. But it does do grin factor rather well.

Have you considered a BMW Z3 2.8, not the sharpest driving tool ever, but should still be a lot of fun. The 2.8 will give good shove too and return pretty good mpg overall.

MR2 MK2 Turbo might be another candidate, although on boost you may find it no better on fuel really than your Subaru.

A BMW e36 M3 might be another one worth looking at, although I suspect mpg might still be challenging.

[big_boz]

OP, You want to change from a car that you know and clearly like for the benefit of an additional 7MPG on a run?

That will save you c.£4 per 100 miles on a run @ 28 vs 35MPG...its only a £6 per 100 mile saving if you get something that will do 40MPG on a run.

Keep the 'prezza or you will end up kicking yourself

[TroubledSoul]

big_boz said:

OP, You want to change from a car that you know and clearly like for the benefit of an additional 7MPG on a run?

That will save you c.£4 per 100 miles on a run @ 28 vs 35MPG...its only a £6 per 100 mile saving if you get something that will do 40MPG on a run.

Keep the 'prezza or you will end up kicking yourself

That doesn't account for if he is doing a lot of additional miles now though. I sold my Impreza because my monthly miles went up massively after a job change.

[PHuzzy]

big_boz said:

OP, You want to change from a car that you know and clearly like for the benefit of an additional 7MPG on a run?

That will save you c.£4 per 100 miles on a run @ 28 vs 35MPG...its only a £6 per 100 mile saving if you get something that will do 40MPG on a run.

Keep the 'prezza or you will end up kicking yourself

Indeed but over the two years I've had the 'buru it's averaged 22.19mpg.
It's not that I'm changing because of the fuel, it'll be a nice addition to a new car though.

I'm bored of the Impreza now, it's too capable and therefore boring.
It hits 60mph in 4.7 secs and once that 'rush' is up, all you have left is masses of grip and easy access to more speed.
It doesn't reward you for good driving, I think the opposite and that it'll flatter crap drivers. My mum could get into that car and drive it quickly!