Best All Rounder Sub 2.5k?

[Bordtea]

Hi all

These seem to pop up fairly often - another recommend me a car... sorry!

Ok so basically I have a strict budget of £2500, looking closer to the £2000 mark really. I'm looking for cars with the best combination of speed, fuel consumption and comfort. Around 7 seconds to 60 minimum and no lower than 37-38mph real world figures (say sat on a motorway at 80). At the top of my list at the moment is a Clio 182; around 7 seconds to 60 and can realistically hit 40mpg. Decent spec aswell and can pick up good condition ones for around 2k.

The main focus for this car will be a driving holiday around Europe with two friends, one who owns a E46 330d remapped and the other an E46 325ci... So I need something that would be able to keep up with these. I've considered the six cylinder E46s but decided that they would be too costly to run despite being within my budget

So far my two most likely options seem to be the 182 and possibly a remapped 320d. Possibly a Seat Ibiza FR, but not too keen on them. I fear I've missed out a few fairly obvious and probably some me obscure options, so hit me with any suggestions!

Cheers
Bordtea

[StefV]

In the tradition of recommending cars you own at every "what car" thread, I will suggest...
Saab 9000 aero (manual).

Confort: not seen anything that beats it. Best seats ever. Ideal for long, long runs.
Speed: yes please. 0-60 in 6.5 or so, not bad for FWD! Only 225 bhp, but these are turbo'd, and the car is surprisingly light.
Mpg: On a long run across Europe at 85-90 on cruise control, A/C on, I always see 33-34 mpg. At around 60-65 and A/C off (still on CC), I have seen up to 39mpg.

Not sure what the current market for these is, but 5 years ago they were already dipping below 1k, so I'd imagine 1k will get you a very good one. And leave you another 1k in case you are worried about fuel consumption...

[cheddar]

That Clio 172 or 182 (doesn't make much difference which one) is the top pick, epic car, full of brio and amazingly punchy for its output.

You won't get 40 mpg out of that feisty 2 litre but you will muller your mates in the twisties.

[Bezerk]

http://www.audioassault.co.uk/Subs/15%22_Subwoofer...

[wemorgan]

Is the best car a Clio 172 for 3 adults in European road trip? Really?
I've driven a Citroen AX 3-up to Italy non-stop, but that was out of necessity, not choice.

I like above Saab 9000 Aero choice. Imagine that the 9-5 is also in budget these days.

[Riknos]

wemorgan said:

Is the best car a Clio 172 for 3 adults in European road trip? Really?

The other two will be in their own cars...

[wemorgan]

Riknos said:

The other two will be in their own cars...

Ah, I misread that bit. In that case I'd buy the car with the longest fuel range.

[Motorrad]

Diesel is cheap in europe, petrol is not.

Therefore you want an E39 with a 6 cylinder diesel engine. Preferably a touring so you can fit loads of kit in it or sleep in it at a push.....

[s m]

A ti? Meets your mpg and speed requirements and has cruise and aircon

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-BMW-325-TI-SPORT-CO...

[Yiliterate]

Toyota Celica...

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

[Leins]

s m said:

A ti? Meets your mpg and speed requirements and has cruise and aircon

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-BMW-325-TI-SPORT-CO...

Only problem is they're such good fun to peddle that you end up blowing the MPG figures out of the water!

[HustleRussell]

E36 328i. More grown up than a hot hatch, superb handling and very long legs. Spend £2,100 and have £400 set aside to make the thing drive as it did from the factory.

[JordanTurbo]

Bordtea said:

....Around 7 seconds to 60 minimum and no lower than 37-38mph real world figures (say sat on a motorway at 80).....

BIB may have a problem with that in built up areas

[ajh38]

How many miles are you planning on doing a day? I wouldn't want to be in a small hatch back for a long motorway stretch. I think an e36 is a good shout.

I know that it's not quite there dynamically and I know that it doesn't do the fuel consumption but I'd be interested in something a bit like this;

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

[JDLP]

I'm a fan of the FRs, great cars after a remap!

What about a Leon or Golf with the same engine?

[edo]

Pushing the mpg a little, but this would be where my 2k would go.



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[ikarl]

Mk2 MR2

Only a 2 sweater, though didn't see if you need your friends in your car, if so it's a rubbish option.

If not, you could get a good rev3 car that will easily be quick enough, comfortable enough, reliable enough, and won't lose any money on. Plus, it would be the best looking!

[davepoth]

A hot hatch isn't ideal for this sort of trip unless you want to be tired at the end of each day.

I'd be inclined to go Barge - the fuel economy numbers you're talking about will only be achievable at 70-80, but if you are going on an Euro tour that involves a lot of Germany (and what tour doesn't?) you will want a car with a big engine to maintain a decent economy at the higher speeds you'll be running at (100-110 is about right for the derestricted sections; I was getting less than 20mpg out of an E30 316 on those!). As a result something in the 2.5-2.8 litre range on a 3 or 5 series sized car is going to be about the sweet spot.

However, if I was buying just for the trip and was going to sell afterwards, I'd try and get something with a V8 in it. The couple of hundred pounds in extra fuel will really be worth it, I promise. Everything is better with a V8.

[HemiCommander]

The Clio 182 is indeed an excellent choice. Mine was by far the best car I ever owned, it was absolutely faultless in 3 years and 30k miles and did return a real world 40mpg. You would have to stick to 70 on the autoroutes to achieve this though, above 70 the mpg starts to plummet. Mine went on two european road trips, probably 5-6k miles combined and it was absolutely fabulous.

I don't think you'll find anything else for your budget to match your criteria that is as good a combination of performance, fun and reliability. There are loads of other options if you want to sacrifice one or more of these though.

[ikarl]

davepoth said:

Everything is better with a V8.

Got to agree with this