Here we go...What car? (bit different)

[l354uge]

Hello all, time has nearly come to get myself another car.
Only issue is I have £1500 to buy and insure a car (can stretch to £2000 but I dont like using overdrafts or finance)
My criteria is quite open really, main three is it has to handle well (in the fun to drive sense, not pull 2g through maggots and becketts sense),be reliable and ride well (call me an old man if you want, my friends do! but I enjoy abit of compliance, ride comfort and decent nvh in my cars)

I will be doing alot of long journeys from home to uni, home to work, uni to karting events, uni to racetracks, uni to interviews etc. Hence the reliability needed, high mpg would also be welcome.

I like all body styles apart from stupid jacked up soft roader style, I'm bit of a we for estates and proper coupes and saloons however, one quirk I must specify is the car cannot be too wide, my uni house for next year has a very narrow lane to the parking.

Im rather open to manufacturers, I appreciate all of them, some cars leave me cold but im sure PH can find some interesting options!
Im 19 with 2 years driving experience and 0 NCB (not because of crashes I must add!)

Main choices so far are; 306 d turbo (high mpg, great handling, quite alot of space), 205 GTI 1.6 (No explanation needed), Accord type-s (saloon, made a Btcc version), Saab 9-3 turbo (bit pricey, but I love them), Bmw 323 (surprisingly good insurance), 106 rallye (may have issues with the pedals and my size 11s)

Anyway, suggest away guys!
(anyone who finds me a reliable, high mpg car with rwd for this budget gets 9000 internet pints)

[Mr LoTo]

MR2 mk2

Non-sun roof models & sun-roof models are not as sought after as the t-bar versions... So if you can accept a sun roof & cloth interior you can pick up a bagain...

As always buy as new as you can afford, younger with more miles is better than older with less miles...

Toyota reliability & running costs...
30+ mpg
Mid engined handling & comfy for long distances...

Storage space is limited but packing in sports bags rather than suitcases means you can get more in than you imagine...

[Matt UK]

Well, let me be the first to say a Mk1 MX5.

30mpg average I reckon, but the pay-back for that is great reliability. Find a non-rusty one and there really is very little to go wrong that you can't easily sort yourself.

[l354uge]

I should of also put I need quite alot of storage space and room for people would be best as I basically have to move all of my belongings around twice a year and ferry people to karting events.

A mr2 is tempting though, ditching my friends and making two trips home tempting im not sure.
mx5s are lovely cars but I just dont seem to want one right now!

[l354uge]

Just looked at a quote for an mr2 and its rather extortionate!
A no to that then..

[Driver101]

At 19 with no NCB bonus, your insurance is going to eat most of not all of your budget.

Cheap and reliable would see me looking at something Japanese. Something like a Honda Civic would be near the top.

[kiethton]

Going to sound totally out of kilter to the general PH consensus but what about a Citroen C4, brother has one for the same purpose (but 1.6 90bhp diesel due to mileage).

Insurance at 21 (after writing of his old fiesta a few years back) was £350...

A 1.6 petrol/VTR (for more fun) are cheap to buy and due to image cheap to insure.

Other than that how about a focus ST170? (Even came in estate form), handles well great box etc all is good

[l354uge]

Anything newer than '03 makes me abit weary as theres more dpf, dual mass, electronic crap that can cost twice the cars value to fix!

I like St170s but the insurance is a tad much unfortunately.

[TheVole]

Puma 1.7? I'm 19 as well and mine was bought and insured within £1500. Meets most (or all, I've already forgotten some of them) of your criteria.

[Matt UK]

k11 Nissan Micra

[l354uge]

TheVole said:

Puma 1.7? I'm 19 as well and mine was bought and insured within £1500. Meets most (or all, I've already forgotten some of them) of your criteria.

Good shout

[Codswallop]

Left field choice - how about a Seat Toledo 2.3V5 170?

Fairly good steer, lovely 5 cylinder narrow angle Vee engine, loads of equipment, great value for money, reliable, and cheap to insure (group 13).

Plus they sound great with a sporty exhaust. I still miss the sound of my old one;

[l354uge]

Insurance is kinda of doable and i like the quirkiness, but dont those vr engines just turn petrol into noise? my friends vr6 did

[Johnny 89]

Mazda MX-3 V6

Similar to what the puma has to offer with that soundtrack

[l354uge]

Just been looking at the funnily enough! what are they like to drive?

[Codswallop]

l354uge said:

Insurance is kinda of doable and i like the quirkiness, but dont those vr engines just turn petrol into noise? my friends vr6 did

Economy was pretty good imo. I got about 39mpg on the motorway, and mid to high 20s when in town or hooning. Looking back at my PH garage I averaged about 33mpg over 26,000miles, which I think is fairly decent.

[Johnny 89]

l354uge said:

Just been looking at the funnily enough! what are they like to drive?

They are quite a nice steer. It's been a while since I had mine but a very nice drive it was. Not overly fast with circa 130bhp but it's not really what they're about.

[l354uge]

Thanks for your opinions guys, opened my eyes to a few id never of considered.

one I may be shot down for liking is one of these the insurance is criminally cheap

[l354uge]

Purity14 said:

Civic VTI

Scene tax has gripped them it seems, shame because the insurance isnt too bad

[Mr LoTo]

How about a honda crx 1.6, not the v-tec due to insurance, but with rear bench seats which can be used (just), or folded down for more load space, it could be a good punt... I owned one for a few years & enjoyed it, honda reliability, just watch out for the rust now-a-days...