Car that is fun on track and Ok for commuting

[Derek Chevalier]

Was at Silverstone at the weekend in our 182 and felt like a moving roadblock at times. Am doing a fair bit of driving in our Disco and while it is very comfortable it isn't the most fun. Thinking of getting a car that can be used for both roles and is quicker than the 182. Am tempted by.....

Fiesta ST: 2016 for around £13k. With the Mountune will lap Bedford in under 1:30 which is pretty quick, and seems good at the limit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKJ0eNHu5vk

I could spend another £4k and get a Megane 275. A more serious proposition (probably quicker than my old R26.R round a track), but to get one with the "correct" spec pushes the price up (not sure how much it matters)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtelVhTYHjI

Finally, I could really push the boat out and get the new Civic Type R, which seems cracking, but £17k over the Fiesta will buy a lot of track days, pads and tyres. Thoughts?

Others I've discounted

S2000: Not that much quicker than the 182, and tricky on the limit (I'm not a driving god)
MX 5 1.5: Looks great fun but probably a bit slow. Not sure the 2.0 is a better driver's car
Boxster/Cayman: Not sure how much track day consumables would cost, and don't seem as cheap second hand as they were a few years ago.

[TameRacingDriver]

An S2000 will be a fair bit quicker than a 182 IMO. They are something like 4 seconds quicker to 100 mph. OK they are harder to drive, but surely a lot more rewarding when you get the hang of it.

A remapped Fiesta might be as quick but I can't see it being more fun

[SidewaysSi]

Elise. Beats everything as a road and track car IMO. Plenty of choice from £12k-60k.

[mikey P 500]

Have to say I have never ever considered lap times as a criteria for picking a car or track car. But from your list I think the boxster or mx5 would be more fun than a fwd hatch and improve your driving more, (would also recommend a gt86 on track).

[Derek Chevalier]

TameRacingDriver said:

An S2000 will be a fair bit quicker than a 182 IMO. They are something like 4 seconds quicker to 100 mph. OK they are harder to drive, but surely a lot more rewarding when you get the hang of it.

A remapped Fiesta might be as quick but I can't see it being more fun

My friend has an S2000 and is a way better driver than me (which I think you need to be to drive the S2000 properly) and he was only inching away round Castle Combe (I think because you can take more liberties in the Clio) which surprised me.

[Derek Chevalier]

mikey P 500 said:

Have to say I have never ever considered lap times as a criteria for picking a car or track car. But from your list I think the boxster or mx5 would be more fun than a fwd hatch and improve your driving more, (would also recommend a gt86 on track).

If you're constantly looking in your rear view mirror and having to get out the way of faster traffic, it takes away the fun. Had this problem when I first went to the ring in the Megane, but rectified once I learnt (to a certain level) the layout. Round Silverstone the Clio just wasn't quick enough.

[Derek Chevalier]

SidewaysSi said:

Elise. Beats everything as a road and track car IMO. Plenty of choice from £12k-60k.

Maybe a bit controversial to say this but unless you are getting a pretty serious Elise they aren't that quick around a circuit

[MKnight702]

How hard core are you?

If you are prepared to dress appropriately for the conditions then a Caterfield, I did 38,000 in 3 years using my Westfield every day.

If you are less hard core then the Boxster is apparently extremely good fun to drive. I worked with someone that raced two Westfields who was taken aback by how much fun the Boxster was when he borrowed one.

[anonymous-user]

Silverstone is very, very fast though. Even in a remapped ST you’re going to be getting out of the way of quicker stuff all the time on the straights. If you’re otherwise happy with the 182 I’d just take it to tracks which suit it better, somewhere like Brands Indy for example is a very happy hunting ground for a nimble car like that.

[iguana]

A properly driven & set up 182 is not a slow car on track, I'd rather smack my head against the wall than have a fwd tracker, but if it floats your boat go for it.

Are tons of threads on exactly the same subject, try a search- I know it can be rubbish but seriously this question is asked weekly.

[CABC]

why is silverstone important? it's quite different to most other uk tracks and needs a different type of car to enjoy.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say the Megane ticks a lot of the boxes & if you want to keep on track budget wise then look at a 265 which will be just as good & a remap will see you happy powerwise.

Trophy

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Lux with the Cup Chassis

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

275 Trophy

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or a RS250 that's been tuned by K Tec & running 290bhp

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

An alternative to the Fiesta ST is the Pug 208

208 GTI Prestige (I think these came fitted with an LSD)

http://eu.hlserve.com/Delivery/Delivery.aspx?hm_CI...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A leftfield choice is the Astra VXR with a bit of suspension work they can be a fun drive:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A truly leftfield option is one of these:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


You'll still have 4-5 years Warranty left which would bode well for the track use/abuse but I'd probably go with the Megane.

RWD wise I'd go for a 370Z very robust & a good steer.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Blanchimont]

I would look at an earlier Megane 250.

I daily mine, and use mine as a track car. The Trophies are around 20k, and early 250's are around 9k.

The trophy, with Ohlins, wouldn't keep up with a similar powered 250 with decent coilovers on it. The Ohlins are good, there are much better coilovers available for the same price. The 19' speedline wheels are lighter than the 18' standard ones, but due to the size of them I would buy some aftermarket 18's for them.

The 250 is essentially the same mechanical car than the Trophy. I had a facelift 265 which I loved, but the track day bug bit, and I sold it and ended up in a well specced 250.

A mate of mine has a well specced, hybrid turbo'd 250hp Megane 250 up for sale for 9k. Been driven hard, but properly looked after. PM me if you want some more info in it.

[Steve H]

Got to agree with the Megane suggestions, I've driven one round Spa then drove it home again and it did both very well. Which one you get would mostly depend on budget I guess.

I don't agree with the idea that a Clio is slow or that Silverstone requires a powerful car though, I was also at Silverstone the other weekend (Opentrack) and with 200 horsepower was finding plenty of traffic to pass .

[Derek Chevalier]

MKnight702 said:

How hard core are you?

If you are prepared to dress appropriately for the conditions then a Caterfield, I did 38,000 in 3 years using my Westfield every day.

If you are less hard core then the Boxster is apparently extremely good fun to drive. I worked with someone that raced two Westfields who was taken aback by how much fun the Boxster was when he borrowed one.

Caterfield probably a bit hardcore - will need it for driving round M25 and probably won't be much fun mingling with the artics! Need to do some more research on the Boxster

[Derek Chevalier]

charltjr said:

Silverstone is very, very fast though. Even in a remapped ST you’re going to be getting out of the way of quicker stuff all the time on the straights. If you’re otherwise happy with the 182 I’d just take it to tracks which suit it better, somewhere like Brands Indy for example is a very happy hunting ground for a nimble car like that.

You're right, and to be fair all the other circuits we've been to (Combe, Bedford, Cadwell, Snetterton etc) it's been fine. Probably just using it as an excuse to get something a bit quicker!

[Derek Chevalier]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd say the Megane ticks a lot of the boxes & if you want to keep on track budget wise then look at a 265 which will be just as good & a remap will see you happy powerwise.

Trophy

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Lux with the Cup Chassis

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

275 Trophy

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or a RS250 that's been tuned by K Tec & running 290bhp

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

An alternative to the Fiesta ST is the Pug 208

208 GTI Prestige (I think these came fitted with an LSD)

http://eu.hlserve.com/Delivery/Delivery.aspx?hm_CI...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A leftfield choice is the Astra VXR with a bit of suspension work they can be a fun drive:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A truly leftfield option is one of these:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


You'll still have 4-5 years Warranty left which would bode well for the track use/abuse but I'd probably go with the Megane.

RWD wise I'd go for a 370Z very robust & a good steer.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Thanks, Megane seems a strong option. I test drove the Fiesta and GT86 on Saturday. Fiesta seemed a lot closer in spirit to a 205 1.9 than the 182 - very sharp turn in with little roll. GT86 was also fun - bit slower than Fiesta but nicely balanced chassis. For £13k I could get either a year old Fiesta, or 4 year old Gt86/Megane.

[Blanchimont]

Derek Chevalier said:

Thanks, Megane seems a strong option. I test drove the Fiesta and GT86 on Saturday. Fiesta seemed a lot closer in spirit to a 205 1.9 than the 182 - very sharp turn in with little roll. GT86 was also fun - bit slower than Fiesta but nicely balanced chassis. For £13k I could get either a year old Fiesta, or 4 year old Gt86/Megane.

Drive a megane, and make sure you put it in sport mode as it really helps it come alive.

[james_gt3rs]

iguana said:

A properly driven & set up 182 is not a slow car on track, I'd rather smack my head against the wall than have a fwd tracker, but if it floats your boat go for it.

+1 Same power to weight as a standard Elise. With a good driver will be one of the quicker cars on a typical track day.

[culpz]

I see that you're keen to notice that there's a substantial difference in price between a Fiesta ST and a Civic Type R. However, there's also an even bigger gap between the 182 and any of those cars mentioned.

With that out of the way, i'd go for a Megane 250. It's natural progression from the 182 and definitely won't feel slow, even as standard. I struggle with you thinking that the Clio slow in any way, especially when considering an MX5.