N/A, medium sized, solid, reliable & fun?

[Kentish]

What is there out there that is normally aspirated, very solid and reliable, easy to work on, and fun to drive.

Must be a 4 seater with a reasonable size of boot.

It can be old but must be good quality. I guess that means German or Japanese

I want to run a cool comfy reliable semi-barge, something .....that will go on forever.

I'm not too fond of any post 1993 Merc's to be honest.

[Facefirst]

325i saloon?

F40?

[phylet]

1992 mercedes S class.

[300bhp/ton]

4.6 V8, 5.0 V8 or 3.8 V6.

Big comfy, capable (IRS/RWD), well specced, reliable and different.




If not, then maybe a Jaguar XJR6/XJ12/XJ8/XJR8

[HellDiver]

Why did I know 300hp would suggest some yank ste? WE DON'T WANT YANK CARS! Thankyou.

[trickywoo]

e39 in 528 form.

[RobM77]

Facefirst said:

F40?

Turbocharged sadly. Otherwise a great suggestion :-)

[Kentish]

I do like something a bit different but I'm not so sure about a yank as a dialy runner

Good suggestions otherwise, keep them coming!

I am a bit of a BMW fan so I'm lenaing toward maybe an e34 or e39 currently.

My mate has recently bought a 2002 530d Sport with a blown turbo for £1400. It's all fixed now and had had a good valet and looks beautiful.

That would be marvellous but I'm sure they don't come along very often

That's the kind of thing I'd really like, something that'll last foreever if cared for and will not look out of place & overly dated in 10 years time.

Whilst on holiday a nice e34 525TDs passed me as I wandered around town and it still looked great and I thought that I'd be quite happy smoking around in one of those on a daily basis.

[Kentish]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I like Fiero's and have owned 2, sadly that is also the number of seats they have

[300bhp/ton]

HellDiver said:

Why did I know 300hp would suggest some yank ste? WE DON'T WANT YANK CARS! Thankyou.

So lets see. Once again you seem to not contribute, and I bet if I ask you a question, you'll again for the 100th time shy off and not answer.

Now as we all know you drive an American Ford 1.8 Mondeo.

Exactly how many other American market cars have you owned and driven to be able to make these proclamations and assumptions?

And using that experience, what technical reasons make these cars ste and less capable?


Also, when were yo voted to be the voice of the entire PH populous?

[10 Pence Short]

300bhp/ton said:

HellDiver said:

Why did I know 300hp would suggest some yank ste? WE DON'T WANT YANK CARS! Thankyou.

So lets see. Once again you seem to not contribute, and I bet if I ask you a question, you'll again for the 100th time shy off and not answer.

Now as we all know you drive an American Ford 1.8 Mondeo.

Exactly how many other American market cars have you owned and driven to be able to make these proclamations and assumptions?

And using that experience, what technical reasons make these cars ste and less capable?


Also, when were yo voted to be the voice of the entire PH populous?

A large proportion of 80s and 90s US cars are utter ste, though.

As for the OP, how about a Galant VR4?

[Kentish]

10 Pence Short said:

300bhp/ton said:

HellDiver said:

Why did I know 300hp would suggest some yank ste? WE DON'T WANT YANK CARS! Thankyou.

So lets see. Once again you seem to not contribute, and I bet if I ask you a question, you'll again for the 100th time shy off and not answer.

Now as we all know you drive an American Ford 1.8 Mondeo.

Exactly how many other American market cars have you owned and driven to be able to make these proclamations and assumptions?

And using that experience, what technical reasons make these cars ste and less capable?


Also, when were yo voted to be the voice of the entire PH populous?

A large proportion of 80s and 90s US cars are utter ste, though.

As for the OP, how about a Galant VR4?

Ah, good call 10PS.

A black one with some tastefully upgraded black alloys - all standard other than that

[Spiritual_Beggar]

Golf R32?

3.2l N/A V6....with glorious soundtrack.

Comfy interior (especially with the Recaro seats). VW, so pretty reliable.

Opinions differ, but I find the thing bloody good fun to drive! And 4wd makes it perfect for the wet UK weather

[Kentish]

Spiritual_Beggar said:

Golf R32?

3.2l N/A V6....with glorious soundtrack.

Comfy interior (especially with the Recaro seats). VW, so pretty reliable.

Opinions differ, but I find the thing bloody good fun to drive! And 4wd makes it perfect for the wet UK weather

Uhhm that gives me an idea ....Passat 4motion.

Although, I was thinking along the lines of something not so mechanically and electronically complex.

I'm thinking old school - like the BMW suggestions

[300bhp/ton]

Kentish said:

That's the kind of thing I'd really like, something that'll last foreever if cared for

The thing is, I'm not sure a BMW is the answer here.

Now don't get me wrong, as I'll try and be objective. And as a side note I've owned two BMW's in the past also.

But for many years I've been involved with classic cars, I'm also a fan of many British sports cars and others, many of which hale from BMC, BL and the like.

All of these are always slated for being rust buckets.

Yet strangely it seems most more modern Jap and German stuff is in fact no better and maybe worse than 70's British stuff.

For instance, I chopped in my 1993 Nissan due to excessive rust issues. This is a common fault with them.

Looking at cars last year the Honda del sol CRX and DC2 Integra Type R were both on my list. Yet despite many examples being less than 10 years old, they seem to suffer with many rust issues.

To reflect on this further, my M reg (1994/5) e36 BMW was far, far rustier than my 1977 Triumph TR7 or my 1978 Land Rover.

So what I'm saying is, don't be blinded by urban myth that anything German or Japanese doesn't rust or have issues. They do, and in my experience are as common as any other car maker (often more so) and can be more expensive to put right.

In the past I've also owned a Jaguar XJ-S. It was of 1982 vintage. I owned it from around 1999 up until 2004/5'ish.

It did suffer a bit of rust and needed some TLC every once in a while to keep it looking tidy. But mechanically it was quite reliable and affordable to run.

I don't doubt a BMW could be a good buy and affordable to maintain (many are and lots of people do). But just go into with your eyes open, that just because its German and a BMW does not make it invulnerable to time and the laws of physics.

Kentish said:

and will not look out of place & overly dated in 10 years time.

This will always be a matter of taste and opinion. So as long as you can accept this, then it should be fine.


If you are looking at bigger saloons as you now appear to be. Then a Lexus LS400 is great value at the moment, as is the UK spec (RHD) Cadillac Seville STS with its 4.6 DOHC V8, these were sold at Vauxhall dealers from 1998-2004'ish.

The big Jags are always worth a look as mentioned in my other post. And there are probably a few big Jap cars to look at, although many will be turbo charged. I think Honda used to sell a 3.0 V6 Accord coupe at one point which might fit the bill quite well.

[300bhp/ton]

10 Pence Short said:

300bhp/ton said:

HellDiver said:

Why did I know 300hp would suggest some yank ste? WE DON'T WANT YANK CARS! Thankyou.

So lets see. Once again you seem to not contribute, and I bet if I ask you a question, you'll again for the 100th time shy off and not answer.

Now as we all know you drive an American Ford 1.8 Mondeo.

Exactly how many other American market cars have you owned and driven to be able to make these proclamations and assumptions?

And using that experience, what technical reasons make these cars ste and less capable?


Also, when were yo voted to be the voice of the entire PH populous?

A large proportion of 80s and 90s US cars are utter ste, though.

Yes I quite agree that they are, as are many 80's and 90's Jap, German, British, French and Korean cars too.

But by the same measure I posted what, 0.1% of the available cars in that time period? So much more a minority of the available cars.

[Petrol Only]

Celica Gen 7 T Sport?

Good looking, Yup.
N/A, Yup
Quickish, Yup 0-60 7.2
Comfy, Very most comfortable car I have ever driven personally. Happily driven 4+ hours in it. (I am 6'6") Great engine note for a four pot.
Big enough boot and rear seats fold flat.
Rear headroom st unless your under 5'5"
Reliable? Yup plenty sat on 140k+ plus still going strong.
Only major problem may not fit semi barge criteria
Also very cheap now

Am i biased? Yup!

However this is probably going to be the first car I have owned ill run into the ground. Its fantastic for what i need. As ill have the fun car coming soon.

Edited by Petrol Only on Monday 10th May 11:39

[GravelBen]

Kentish said:

10 Pence Short said:

As for the OP, how about a Galant VR4?

Ah, good call 10PS.

Except for the requirements to be N/A and reliable

NA Legacies are good cars, obviously slower than the turbo versions but still a nice drive. Depending on budget the 3.0R is a cracker, with a sweet-sounding flat-6 to round off the package.

[ExPat2B]

Pretty much the same critera I had when looking at cars to buy.

I chose a Lexus IS300 over the other options after driving and inspecting them all ( 3 series/5 series/GS430/ Rx8/ Merc 320 )

It is fun to drive, nicely weighted steering, good feedback, easy to get the tail out. Comes with an LSD as a standard option, and the traction control/ASC is less intrusive than the BMW 330 for example. My personal opinion is that the suspension is far better judged than the BMWs, it is compliant and stable with plenty of feedback, not isolated like the larger Lexii... a bit like you are driving in a bath of oil, all sensations are present but everything is smooth and well damped.

Boot is good sized on the Saloon. If you want more space in the back the sportback is available.

Reliability wise, it is universally regarded as being the most reliable car in its class. There are no reported issues. Servicing is cheap and parts are cheap from Toyota. My only gripe is that access to the spark plugs is difficult as the throttle body is in the way, but the brakes, belts, filters etc are a 20 min job, very easy to DIY. No rust problems at all - unlike the BMW and Merc I looked at ( most 3 series have some arch rust present and Mercs are terrible in that period )

My only complaints are that the interior is a bit black and plasticy. The 5 series for example looks nicer, as does the GS300 ( but is no better built ). The suspension can be a bit "talkative" for my tastes on a rough UK motorway, but that is the compromise for good handling. On european smooth motorways it is very very quiet and smooth. The Fuel economy is not fantastic either, its okay when driven sensibly but can be a bit shocking when pushed hard.

I will be keeping mine for a long long time, I have driven to Milan, The Nurbergring, South of France, and used it for a London/M25 commute, and it did everything I asked perfectly.

Another thing to watch is that the performance figures are a bit misleading. For some reason set the second gear to finish at 59mph, so it needs another gear to hit 60, This adds around a second to the 0-60.........in reality it accellerates like a 6 second 0-60 car gear whilst in gear. I have had no problems keeping my friends 330 sport next to me in a little test we performed, and my friends Rx8 does no better.

[Shropshiremike]

ExPat2B said:

Pretty much the same critera I had when looking at cars to buy.

I chose a Lexus IS300 over the other options after driving and inspecting them all ( 3 series/5 series/GS430/ Rx8/ Merc 320 )

It is fun to drive, nicely weighted steering, good feedback, easy to get the tail out.

Can you get ones with a manual box?