What car? R32/130i/Focus ST/Audi S4 B6

[anonymous-user]

Need to get a new car now and the remit is - 4/5 Doors, Sounds Great, Not too big, Manual Gearbox. Up to 10k ish budget.

If anyone has experience of the above then please chip in. Also any alternatives welcome but I can't think of any Tbh

OH will be using through week and myself to drive weekends so it needs to fit the roles of family transport and something to enjoy on a weekend blast.

4k miles per year so mpg not a big concern but I'd rather not have 4 figure bills on a regular basis.

It also needs to be quick enough to put a smile on the face.

[Lumpyuk]

If you are looking at an Focus ST i would recommend looking for the Mountune 260 mod, always put a smile on my face during my 4 years of ownership look out for faulty CV joints and see if the oil housing has been replaced as there quite common for failing now.

Edited by Lumpyuk on Wednesday 4th December 12:45

Edited by Lumpyuk on Wednesday 4th December 12:45

[Terminator X]

I have the 130i - sounds great especially as I have the carbon air box, bit of a sleeper as only twin tailpipes give it away, has great poke for a fairly small car + RWD of course! Get between 26-30mpg always. Tiny downside is the gear stick/box can be a tad notchy on a random basis; seems to be a regular issue albeit someone on here is investigating a fix as we speak.

TX.

[SuperVM]

I have similar requirements, though my wife doesn't use my car in the week. However, I find that if my toy cars can't lug the family, then I rarely ever use them. This time I've gone with an E39 M5. I suspect you'll feel that your four figure bills and size requirements will kill that one. The sound with the resonator delete mod is incredible though.

[anonymous-user]

Had the M5 and she couldn't get used to size of it.
Mountune pack is a must for me on ST as it puts the car more on a par with the others
130i sounds like I'd need to budget for exhaust etc and maybe winter tyres?

[GAjon]

Mazda 3 MPS might be worth a look at as a viable alternative.

[Krikkit]

E46 M3? Down to sub-£10k, back seats aren't ridiculous, and fits all other requirements perfectly!

[anonymous-user]

E46 M3 would be my choice sadly SWMBO has stipulated 4/5 doors

[Four Litre]

Can only talk for the S4. Amazing car and the engine loves to rev, loads of power/torque so you wont ever be stuck for overtaking etc.

However, petrol consumption is on the verge of insaine. Its perm 4x4 as opposed to the TT/s3 etc that have haldex, this seems to really make the difference. One evening coming home I swear I could actually watch the fuel gauge move down!

Appreciate that you dont by a V8 for MPG, however having owned a 5.5AMG and now a 5.0 ISF, both are worlds apart on MPG.

Apart from that it was an amazing car.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Four Litre said:

However, petrol consumption is on the verge of insaine. Its perm 4x4 as opposed to the TT/s3 etc that have haldex, this seems to really make the difference.

yeah nothing to do with with being much bigger and heavier or having a much bigger engine

[pimpchez]

GAjon said:

Mazda 3 MPS might be worth a look at as a viable alternative.

I have one ,they only sounds good fully catless .

I have taken out the second cat and resonator ,and upgraded the backbox (70% smaller backbox to my eyes) along with 4" tips and its only noisey after 5000 rpm which by that point you have completed your overtake .


its getting remapped the weekend so lets see how it performs then.

For the money other than noise nothing touches it for age/speed/kit/tax/practicality/looks .I have a mk2 i paid 9500 for it with 48k and full mazda history.

[MarJay]

Another vote for the 130i. Comfortable to cruise in, good enough handling to have a lot of fun in, and if I were a modern internet kiddie I might post a meme picture with 'Dat Engine' photoshopped over it. The engine is an absolute gem, a peach, a diamond. Normally aspirated grunt. Docile up until 3krpm, then takes off like a scalded cat, but without a vtec style step in power.

It's also practical and despite all of my previous cars being keyed, this one has survived unscathed despite being more expensive and shinier than my previous cars.

A very very good car.

[anonymous-user]

Four Litre said:

Can only talk for the S4. Amazing car and the engine loves to rev, loads of power/torque so you wont ever be stuck for overtaking etc.

However, petrol consumption is on the verge of insaine. Its perm 4x4 as opposed to the TT/s3 etc that have haldex, this seems to really make the difference. One evening coming home I swear I could actually watch the fuel gauge move down!

Appreciate that you dont by a V8 for MPG, however having owned a 5.5AMG and now a 5.0 ISF, both are worlds apart on MPG.

Apart from that it was an amazing car.

So the S4 was worse on fuel than ISF or 55K AMG? Not sure I can justify 'only' 350bhp and single figure mpg

[ManOpener]

C55 AMG saloon?

[Four Litre]

1974nc said:

Four Litre said:

Can only talk for the S4. Amazing car and the engine loves to rev, loads of power/torque so you wont ever be stuck for overtaking etc.

However, petrol consumption is on the verge of insaine. Its perm 4x4 as opposed to the TT/s3 etc that have haldex, this seems to really make the difference. One evening coming home I swear I could actually watch the fuel gauge move down!

Appreciate that you dont by a V8 for MPG, however having owned a 5.5AMG and now a 5.0 ISF, both are worlds apart on MPG.

Apart from that it was an amazing car.

So the S4 was worse on fuel than ISF or 55K AMG? Not sure I can justify 'only' 350bhp and single figure mpg

Weirdly yes - by far. This is also down to the gearing as in the s4 (manual) you cruise on the motorway at around 3700rpm, whereas the auto much less. Went from the ISF to the C55 and was a noticable difference. Then onto the ISF, which is better than both (and strangely more powerful!)

[TonyHetherington]

I've got a B6 S4, and did a detailed breakdown of my costs here over 30k miles, if it helps

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I love the car - so much, I don't know what to replace it with. I do now only do 5k miles a year though, so the fuel issue isn't as key for me than if I did more.

[matts4]

I see around 22MPG average and 16mpg around town.

It will drop to 5mpg on hard acceleration mind.

Great car, great noise, great place to sit, good spec and enough space for kids and luggage etc.

Keep thinking of replacing mine, but struggle to see anything else which ticks all the boxes. (had it 6 and half years, never owned a car previously for more than 2 years)

[Ved]

R32 for me, and was until May this year. Suits all your requirements and will also depreciate a bit less too I suppose.

[TonyHetherington]

matts4 said:

Keep thinking of replacing mine, but struggle to see anything else which ticks all the boxes. (had it 6 and half years, never owned a car previously for more than 2 years)

I'm in the identical situation - previous 'highest' was 2 1/2yrs, now had S4 for 4 1/2.

[scherzkeks]

I'd buy an R32 or a 130.

A FWD focus is not particularly refined or my cup of tea in the bends. The S4 is extremely heavy, suffers from high consumption, and for my money is less sporty than the R or 130. It is too large to be chuckable, suspension components and brakes wear fast, and the V8 is too large to be positioned the way it is over the front axle.