Best 90s FWD coupe
Discussion
Hello everyone
It's long over due i joined piston heads so hello. Im interested in down sizing (in terms of value) from my s2000 to something else thats still pretty peppy but cheaper, freeing up some budget for a house.
My budgets going to be about 2k. Ive decided that a 2 door coupe is what im after and think anything FWD from the tail end of the 90s, early 2000's will suit quite nicely. Another two seater could be an option but i want my rear seats back tbh given this will be my daily.
Im keen on the Toyota Celica 6th gens as with my Honda the engines sound bullet proof. Preludes and FTOs look hard to come by, especially in manual trans so other options outside of the jap market look like alpha gtv, ford cougar and hyundai coupes but i dont know anything about any of these.
My knowledge of cars and engines is more 'theoretical' than practical so i wont be in a position to fix anything and i wont be modding anything past a set of 2nd hand rims off ebay if at all.
Im going to see what sounds like a very well looked after Cougar tomorrow. Any wordly advice on any of this would be grand
Cheers
Lee
It's long over due i joined piston heads so hello. Im interested in down sizing (in terms of value) from my s2000 to something else thats still pretty peppy but cheaper, freeing up some budget for a house.
My budgets going to be about 2k. Ive decided that a 2 door coupe is what im after and think anything FWD from the tail end of the 90s, early 2000's will suit quite nicely. Another two seater could be an option but i want my rear seats back tbh given this will be my daily.
Im keen on the Toyota Celica 6th gens as with my Honda the engines sound bullet proof. Preludes and FTOs look hard to come by, especially in manual trans so other options outside of the jap market look like alpha gtv, ford cougar and hyundai coupes but i dont know anything about any of these.
My knowledge of cars and engines is more 'theoretical' than practical so i wont be in a position to fix anything and i wont be modding anything past a set of 2nd hand rims off ebay if at all.
Im going to see what sounds like a very well looked after Cougar tomorrow. Any wordly advice on any of this would be grand
Cheers
Lee
I had a '96 Celica GT and absolutely loved it! Got a bit of stick from my friends for owning it but it was a lovely car. Not really a proper sports car but great driving position and minimal body roll. Huge amount of bootspace with the back seats down (you're probably not familiar with bootspace with a S2K!).. Paid £2k in 2006ish - you should get a good one for that budget now. Good luck!
Cougar is based on the MK2 Mondeo and front suspension is from the ST200.
I had an ST24 which wouldnt be a million miles away from the Cougar and I was always impressed with the handling and the smooth V6 engine. The 2.5 tends to have good low end shove so driving through town and low speed areas was effortless.
The Cougar did however have a different dashboard and seemed to be influenced by the USA - not to my taste but that's just my opinion.
Make sure you get the V6 if you get one and if the lower arm bushes or the suspension is baggy then this will affect the handling a lot.
I had an ST24 which wouldnt be a million miles away from the Cougar and I was always impressed with the handling and the smooth V6 engine. The 2.5 tends to have good low end shove so driving through town and low speed areas was effortless.
The Cougar did however have a different dashboard and seemed to be influenced by the USA - not to my taste but that's just my opinion.
Make sure you get the V6 if you get one and if the lower arm bushes or the suspension is baggy then this will affect the handling a lot.
In all honesty despite coming off the back of an s2k speeds not my utmost priority at the minute (those pesky cameras) so i need a fine blend of perfroambce and practicality. The celica i do like the look of and there still seems to be plenty of. The fiats look hard to come by and the fto in manual trans are gold dust. The facelift fto was my boyhood realistic dream car at one time. Id love one but any i do find are 200 miles away and are tagged 'project car' which i dont have time for.
Ill have a scope for the fiat coupe a bit more i think. The guy i was hpping to see about thw cougar wasnt in and the car wasnt there either so back to the drawing board on that.
Called at Motor hub near bradford today. Anyone know anything about that place. Was mental. About 5 stories of an old multi storey car park of imports and exotics. 99.9% of cars out of my range but worth a walk round all the same
Ill have a scope for the fiat coupe a bit more i think. The guy i was hpping to see about thw cougar wasnt in and the car wasnt there either so back to the drawing board on that.
Called at Motor hub near bradford today. Anyone know anything about that place. Was mental. About 5 stories of an old multi storey car park of imports and exotics. 99.9% of cars out of my range but worth a walk round all the same
You can still find 2.2 Honda Preludes, Toyota Celica in 2.0GT or later VVTI form.
Also worth looking out for VW Corrados and late 90s Audi Coupes, the V6 are good GT, the 5 cylinder are also entertaining.
Another wildcard is the Toyota Levin, a JDM model that can come with the black top 20V NA engine
Also worth looking out for VW Corrados and late 90s Audi Coupes, the V6 are good GT, the 5 cylinder are also entertaining.
Another wildcard is the Toyota Levin, a JDM model that can come with the black top 20V NA engine
I had an Alfa GTV V6 for a while and it was awesome. Beautiful engine, good handling, lots of fun. I think that a V6 might be a bit out of budget though.
I also had a Celica for a while. That was a great car, although it wasn't the occasion that being in the Alfa represented, it was very reliable, and handled pretty well.
I test drove a Cougar and was distinctly underwhelmed. I had hoped for more from the V6, but it felt heavy and slow to me.
I also had a Celica for a while. That was a great car, although it wasn't the occasion that being in the Alfa represented, it was very reliable, and handled pretty well.
I test drove a Cougar and was distinctly underwhelmed. I had hoped for more from the V6, but it felt heavy and slow to me.
Audi TT can be had for that budget and will be the 'nicest' car to be in
Alfa GT can be had and will be the prettiest
Toyota celica will be the most abundant and probably reliable
all not technically 90's cars
you have no chance of finding a decent Fiat Coupe, Corrado etc for 2k that wont cost you the same again in year 1 to maintain
i wouldn't touch a ford Cougar with a barge pole, they weren't good when new
but there is this
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Alfa GT can be had and will be the prettiest
Toyota celica will be the most abundant and probably reliable
all not technically 90's cars
you have no chance of finding a decent Fiat Coupe, Corrado etc for 2k that wont cost you the same again in year 1 to maintain
i wouldn't touch a ford Cougar with a barge pole, they weren't good when new
but there is this
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
A Volvo C70 is probably worth considering at that price point, I had a well specced manual T5 GT many years ago and while it wasn't huge fun in the corners it had plenty of shove in a straight line. Very comfy, comes with plenty of toys and the sound system is ace if you find one with the Dynaudio option.
As an example there is a tidy looking 2.0l cab on Autotrader at the moment for a midge over 2k with just 42k on the clock.
As an example there is a tidy looking 2.0l cab on Autotrader at the moment for a midge over 2k with just 42k on the clock.
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