Discussion
Having been a 'lurker' for a couple of years, I thought it was finally time to introduce myself properly and do my own 'readers cars' thread. It's probably the thread I spend the most time reading and love looking at everyone else's pride and joys. Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to load my own pics as they're too large, so all the pics have been obtained from the t'interweb.
So here's what I started out with when I passed my test.
I thought I'd done quite well for myself with my racing green Seat Leon 1.6S. Poky enough with the 1.6 engine, it was certainly quick enough for a newly qualified driver and caught me out a couple of times coming too quickly out of roundabouts. It was useless in the wet and used to oversteer if pushed a little too hard. But looking back on it, it was a very nice place to start my driving adventure and gave me a taster of nippy hatchbacks. In fact I liked the Seat so much I bought another one..
I only owned my first Seat for a year and quickly yearned for more power. Having spent many an evening pondering what to get next, I settled on a 2002 Seat Leon Cupra 180 in black. When I bought it, the previous owner had put the alloys on from a 225 Cupra and red brake calipers, which I thought complimented it really well. Unfortunately they'd also put some god ugly 'turbo' badges on it which were quickly taken off. I had the car a couple of years during which time I got side swiped by a dozy old mare on the motorway, before taking out a deer on a quick A-road. It was never really the same after I took out Bambi and I got rid of it for this..
A 2004 Renaultsport Clio 182 in silver. I knew absolutely nothing about the little pocket rocket before I bought it. I didn't even take it out for a test drive, but the minute I clapped eyes on it, I knew I needed it in my life. That high revving 2.0 NA engine was completely different from the 1.8T engine I was used to, but having got used to it, gave me a great deal of satisfaction. Sounding wonderful with those trademark twin pipes, blipping it whilst driving through the limehouse link used to put a smile on my face on my way to work. 2010 saw the arrival of my son, and having struggled to get his car seat into the back of the tiny Clio, I knew it was time for a change. Along came this..
I knew I needed something big enough to transport the little one and the bags and bags of bits he (and the missus) come with, but didn't want to compromise on performance. The 2004 ST220 in ink blue was perfect for me. The throaty V6 with the comfort and space of a family saloon, I've spent many a mile cruising along in my current PAJ. I've kept the car completely standard as I don't actually think it needs much doing to it. Apart from possibly getting the front bumper resprayed in the near future, the car is in pretty good nick and feels really tight for a car that's done almost 85k. Saying that, I'm always on the look out for new rides and spend many hours going through the classifieds. Something with a slightly better economy rate would be nice!
Thanks for reading, hopefully I can update my first thread in the not too distant future with my next motor!
So here's what I started out with when I passed my test.
I thought I'd done quite well for myself with my racing green Seat Leon 1.6S. Poky enough with the 1.6 engine, it was certainly quick enough for a newly qualified driver and caught me out a couple of times coming too quickly out of roundabouts. It was useless in the wet and used to oversteer if pushed a little too hard. But looking back on it, it was a very nice place to start my driving adventure and gave me a taster of nippy hatchbacks. In fact I liked the Seat so much I bought another one..
I only owned my first Seat for a year and quickly yearned for more power. Having spent many an evening pondering what to get next, I settled on a 2002 Seat Leon Cupra 180 in black. When I bought it, the previous owner had put the alloys on from a 225 Cupra and red brake calipers, which I thought complimented it really well. Unfortunately they'd also put some god ugly 'turbo' badges on it which were quickly taken off. I had the car a couple of years during which time I got side swiped by a dozy old mare on the motorway, before taking out a deer on a quick A-road. It was never really the same after I took out Bambi and I got rid of it for this..
A 2004 Renaultsport Clio 182 in silver. I knew absolutely nothing about the little pocket rocket before I bought it. I didn't even take it out for a test drive, but the minute I clapped eyes on it, I knew I needed it in my life. That high revving 2.0 NA engine was completely different from the 1.8T engine I was used to, but having got used to it, gave me a great deal of satisfaction. Sounding wonderful with those trademark twin pipes, blipping it whilst driving through the limehouse link used to put a smile on my face on my way to work. 2010 saw the arrival of my son, and having struggled to get his car seat into the back of the tiny Clio, I knew it was time for a change. Along came this..
I knew I needed something big enough to transport the little one and the bags and bags of bits he (and the missus) come with, but didn't want to compromise on performance. The 2004 ST220 in ink blue was perfect for me. The throaty V6 with the comfort and space of a family saloon, I've spent many a mile cruising along in my current PAJ. I've kept the car completely standard as I don't actually think it needs much doing to it. Apart from possibly getting the front bumper resprayed in the near future, the car is in pretty good nick and feels really tight for a car that's done almost 85k. Saying that, I'm always on the look out for new rides and spend many hours going through the classifieds. Something with a slightly better economy rate would be nice!
Thanks for reading, hopefully I can update my first thread in the not too distant future with my next motor!
Nice progression! What made you choose the Mondeo? I know they are meant to be good, but a similar vintage BMW straight 6 could have provided slightly better MPG, performance etc. Just interested that's all.
My second car was a 1.4 Bora so similar to your seat (first car was a seat ibiza) looking back like you I realise it was a brilliant car, loads of room, reliable, quality interior and when properly revved was nippy enough.
My second car was a 1.4 Bora so similar to your seat (first car was a seat ibiza) looking back like you I realise it was a brilliant car, loads of room, reliable, quality interior and when properly revved was nippy enough.
CB2152 said:
Very nice cars. I was toying with the idea of an ST220 when I bought my 9-5, and funnily enough had to talk myself out of buying a Clio 182 to go alongside!
Welcome to PH proper
Thanks for the nice welcome. Out of curiosity what variant of 9-5 did you go for? I'm toying with the idea of going down the route of a 9-3 or 9-5 for my next car. Again, I think you get an awful lot of car for your money compared to the German alternatives. Welcome to PH proper
Thanks! Depends what you determine a 'good one' is, but if you mean someone who enjoys nicking people who need nicking, then I guess that's me. I don't go round handing out tickets like its confetti, I'm more into driver education to be honest. Sometimes however, people just don't seem to get it and the only way they're going to learn is through some points or a court summons!
You can't live in London, because I can assure you we don't have any particularly quick cars! Where I live however, that's a different story. Scooby's, Evo's, Mondeo ST's and Volvo T6's all seem to be the norm! Maybe I work for the wrong force???
You can't live in London, because I can assure you we don't have any particularly quick cars! Where I live however, that's a different story. Scooby's, Evo's, Mondeo ST's and Volvo T6's all seem to be the norm! Maybe I work for the wrong force???
MondeoBiB said:
Thanks for the nice welcome. Out of curiosity what variant of 9-5 did you go for? I'm toying with the idea of going down the route of a 9-3 or 9-5 for my next car. Again, I think you get an awful lot of car for your money compared to the German alternatives.
I went for the Aero. Had a 2001 9-3 Aero before, but ultimately found the ride too hard for where I live, so went for the 9-5 after a year 
If you get a slightly earlier model you seem to get more as standard... Mine's quite poverty spec compared to most...
To be honest I'm more than happy with the car as it is. If I had a few more pennies and used the car more I'd think about a few mods including the exhaust. But for a standard system, I think it already sounds great. Like a 'mini V8' with that burble low down and growl when you open the pipes!
I owned an 02 (pre facelift) leon cupra and i enjoyed the power mine had, after a remap. although i found its handling very poor and i find myself after a 'proper hot hatch' im after a clio 182 or a fiesta st (also open to suggestion) because i want something with character.
what did you make of the 182 compared to the leon cupra?
i do like the mondeo too but i'll save my bargery until i have kids haha
what did you make of the 182 compared to the leon cupra?
i do like the mondeo too but i'll save my bargery until i have kids haha
Hi James! I loved my Cupra. I had the 180bhp version which was powerful enough for me at the time, I bet the 225 is awesome. The Cupra and the 182 don't really compare. You could 'point and squirt' the Cupra and it would go quickly in a straight line whereas the Clio was much more of an all round car in my opinion. You could compare it to a go-kart with its low centre of gravity and grippy tires. I loved it and regret getting rid of mine. If I could afford run one at the same time as my Mondeo I'd get another in a heartbeat. A cracking little car!
lewisf182 said:
Nice progression! What made you choose the Mondeo? I know they are meant to be good, but a similar vintage BMW straight 6 could have provided slightly better MPG, performance etc. Just interested that's all.
I'm always interested in this kind of decision too. But what's interesting on PH is that those who have had both a similar vintage 6-cyl 3 litre BMW and have also had an st220, in all the cases I can think of (including myself) they have had the BMW first...Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff