What car? Niche edition.
Discussion
Long time lurker and first time poster here.
My 240k mondeo ST shed is a little overkill for my walkable commute these days so i've been pondering on what to replace it with, i have a bit of a thing for uncommon cars aslong as parts are accessible and i plan on doing most of my own maintenance myself on the driveway.
I work in a motor factors so parts prices aren't a massive issue as i get them reduced anyway, but so far i've got it down to these two cars...
BMW 325Ti or Toyota Corolla T Sport.
i don't particularly want to spend anymore than 2k so i'm not expecting anything that won't need some sort of work or a 12 month ticket needing doing.
i want something i can modify and understand that the BMW has a much bigger potential for this, however i'd love the idea of turning the Corolla into the car it should've always been handling wise.
i'll say i've had the usual suspects in this category before (EP3, Clio 172, 6n2 gti, WRX etc)
let me know what you think...
My 240k mondeo ST shed is a little overkill for my walkable commute these days so i've been pondering on what to replace it with, i have a bit of a thing for uncommon cars aslong as parts are accessible and i plan on doing most of my own maintenance myself on the driveway.
I work in a motor factors so parts prices aren't a massive issue as i get them reduced anyway, but so far i've got it down to these two cars...
BMW 325Ti or Toyota Corolla T Sport.
i don't particularly want to spend anymore than 2k so i'm not expecting anything that won't need some sort of work or a 12 month ticket needing doing.
i want something i can modify and understand that the BMW has a much bigger potential for this, however i'd love the idea of turning the Corolla into the car it should've always been handling wise.
i'll say i've had the usual suspects in this category before (EP3, Clio 172, 6n2 gti, WRX etc)
let me know what you think...
JakeT said:
I have a 325ti. It has done a circa 100k. I've had it from 60k. I keep thinking about selling but I am not totally sure if I should or not.
I also have a 325Ti - it's a magnificent combo, but not outright fast. What that does mean is you can wind it up without getting too silly, and enjoy a fantastic engine note, manual gearbox, shortish wheelbase and RWD sillyness.Mods are easy, as they're easy cars to work on (mostly). Best mod is drop in the 3 litre engine from a 330i.
E46 compact hands down. It’s a lovely engine with a superior soundtrack, the cabin is a nice place to be, it’s right wheel drive, and any modifications should be starting from an acceptable baseline so you’re improving something fundamentally sound rather than fixing something fundamentally flawed.
I’d even say that time has been kind to the looks, but that’s subjective.
I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with the corolla and they’re good value, but the 325ti suits your original remit perfectly.
I’d even say that time has been kind to the looks, but that’s subjective.
I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with the corolla and they’re good value, but the 325ti suits your original remit perfectly.
There’s a Ti on ebay atm with full m3 conversion.
I can’t find it at the moment but I’ll try and track it down.
Found it:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
I can’t find it at the moment but I’ll try and track it down.
Found it:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
luckystrike said:
E46 compact hands down. It’s a lovely engine with a superior soundtrack, the cabin is a nice place to be, it’s right wheel drive, and any modifications should be starting from an acceptable baseline so you’re improving something fundamentally sound rather than fixing something fundamentally flawed.
I’d even say that time has been kind to the looks, but that’s subjective.
I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with the corolla and they’re good value, but the 325ti suits your original remit perfectly.
I would have to admit having something RWD and capable of a powerboost in the future would be nicer. the soundtrack also is lovely. for me the only thing is making sure it's manual and the sport kit. i don't mind if it's the facelift model or not. whereas i would have any corolla t sport. I’d even say that time has been kind to the looks, but that’s subjective.
I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with the corolla and they’re good value, but the 325ti suits your original remit perfectly.
pidsy said:
There’s a Ti on ebay atm with full m3 conversion.
I can’t find it at the moment but I’ll try and track it down.
Found it:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
That's beautiful. i've drooled over the e46 m3 compact on here many times.I can’t find it at the moment but I’ll try and track it down.
Found it:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
pidsy said:
I’ve had both an e36 318ti and an e46 325ti - and the 36 is pretty Jurassic compared to the 46. The 46 is a great chassis and a fun car to drive.
i had a prefacelift 346 328ci auto. great car but the gearbox let it down so much for spirited driving, same engine as the 325ti i believe?ZX10R NIN said:
Lovely car, not for me though. i really need/want a manual as it'll be a fun car.I had an E46 325ti Sport for over 3 years and loved it!
It was supposed to be my "practical" car and for some reason I decided to replace it with an E91 325i which just felt a bit too lethargic, refined and uninvolving, so I only had that a year until I replaced it with an E90 330i.
The 330i is definitely quicker than either of them, for some reason less refined than the E91 but definitely more involving - possibly because of the lack of lethargy!
It was supposed to be my "practical" car and for some reason I decided to replace it with an E91 325i which just felt a bit too lethargic, refined and uninvolving, so I only had that a year until I replaced it with an E90 330i.
The 330i is definitely quicker than either of them, for some reason less refined than the E91 but definitely more involving - possibly because of the lack of lethargy!
Mr Tidy said:
I had an E46 325ti Sport for over 3 years and loved it!
It was supposed to be my "practical" car and for some reason I decided to replace it with an E91 325i which just felt a bit too lethargic, refined and uninvolving, so I only had that a year until I replaced it with an E90 330i.
The 330i is definitely quicker than either of them, for some reason less refined than the E91 but definitely more involving - possibly because of the lack of lethargy!
I don't doubt that, for me if i was spending that sort of money i'd go for a 130i personally.It was supposed to be my "practical" car and for some reason I decided to replace it with an E91 325i which just felt a bit too lethargic, refined and uninvolving, so I only had that a year until I replaced it with an E90 330i.
The 330i is definitely quicker than either of them, for some reason less refined than the E91 but definitely more involving - possibly because of the lack of lethargy!
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