Another one of those 'which car' threads...

[Dave The Jackal]

Having trawled the forums for months, researching what my £10k could get me, I'm now in the fortunate position to actually buy; however, the problem is, a broken leg and what could be lasting damage means my plans might be out the window...

I had all the usual suspects in mind - S1 Elise, Boxster, VX220, S2000 etc. i.e. all soft tops, all quick enough and all great handling.

Practicality wasn't an issue, we have an ST-2 for the shopping, I wanted something fun, something a bit 'special', but if my leg turns out to be a problem (I could have a stiff left ankle for 12 months, maybe permanently), I may have to turn to the dark side and look at automatics, at least in the short term.

The only autos I've driven have been in the States, so any advice on decent, sporty, preferably soft topped auto options would be appreciated! £10k is the limit and given the circumstances, I may end up going down the cheap and cheerful route, spending less and putting the rest aside until I can (hopefully) get what I really want in a few months' time.

Cheers!

[kambites]

Boxster Tiptronic?

You might find a 4-pot Z4 auto for that.

ETA: If you're entertaining cheap things, the MGF and MGTF were available with a CVT (rather odd thing) and there was an automatic MX5, although they're quite rare.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 13th July 17:43

[Dave The Jackal]

Thanks Kambites, my first thought was the Boxster Tip, but I've read bad things about it and it gives quite a lot away to the manual in performance terms, but that's something I'm just going to have to accept I think!

The Z4 is out I'm afraid, my girlfriend would leave me in a heartbeat if I got one (a WAG wannabe t-boned her in one 5 yrs ago and she's still having physio!).

As for MG and MX5, I could probably just about bring myself to drive either, but an auto might be a step too far!

May have to remove the soft top blinkers... any experience of auto 350Z, or 330Ci?

[300bhp/ton]

Dave The Jackal said:

Having trawled the forums for months, researching what my £10k could get me, I'm now in the fortunate position to actually buy; however, the problem is, a broken leg and what could be lasting damage means my plans might be out the window...

I had all the usual suspects in mind - S1 Elise, Boxster, VX220, S2000 etc. i.e. all soft tops, all quick enough and all great handling.

Practicality wasn't an issue, we have an ST-2 for the shopping, I wanted something fun, something a bit 'special', but if my leg turns out to be a problem (I could have a stiff left ankle for 12 months, maybe permanently), I may have to turn to the dark side and look at automatics, at least in the short term.

The only autos I've driven have been in the States, so any advice on decent, sporty, preferably soft topped auto options would be appreciated! £10k is the limit and given the circumstances, I may end up going down the cheap and cheerful route, spending less and putting the rest aside until I can (hopefully) get what I really want in a few months' time.

Cheers!

I can think of two potential options.


1. Would be one of these:

(this is mine)


or the Brabus version:


You can get a Roadster for £5-6k these days and a Brabus is a bit more. Personally I prefer the cleaner lines of the regular Roadster to the more fussy Brabus, but both look good and are quite rare.

I recommend them because they have no clutch pedal, they drive like a sequential gearbox with 6 ratios. Ok the gearbox isn't to some liking and in auto mod really isn't great, but work with the box and it becomes a joy of these little cars. It also works far better when on it at WOT than it does in town driving.

However these aren't fast cars. The stock Roadster has 80hp (100bhp/tonne power to weight ratio) and will clock 0-60mph in 10.5 sec. But the thing is it feels faster than it is, and because the power is so deployable on the roads it makes the car a real riot to drive.

On a PH run a few months back the Roadster did a very admirable job of sticking with a well driven Porsche 968 on B and C class roads, so even with only a few ponies they are still capable A to B sports cars.

They are also fairly light at 790kg and nice to use daily (I use mine as a daily).

They canbe remapped for about £400 which will give you 100hp (25% HP increase ) which will make them sportingly quick.

The Brabus ones already have 100hp and can be remapped to 120hp or thereabouts, although they do come fully loaded with all the options so tend to weigh a tad more.

I admit, they aren't an Elise, but they are a small, lightweight sports car that are a lot of fun to drive.

They also sound pretty good (better than most 4 pot motors), have cheap tax, cheap tyres and will do high 40's/low 50's mpg.



Swapping to the other end of the spectrum:

Some V8 muscle:

Something like a C4 Corvette is well within reach.


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1863613.htm

They have a bit of a hard ride, but offer some good old school type thrills. Should be very reliable and very cheap to run, and even ok on fuel for a big engine (20-22mpg+). They also hold their money well too.

If you want something a bit more modern than the Porsche, then you could look at things like these:



It's a Pontiac Trans Am. It has the same engine from the C5 Corvette (which is pretty much the same engine as the current Corvette). And a good 4 speed auto box. Evidently it's a lot bigger and heavier car than an Elise, but they can still be fun. Although the full vert isn't as sharp as the coupes.

I've got the sister car to the Trans Am, a Chevy Camaro, but mine has T-tops, so weighs less than the verts and has a more taught chassis.

This is mine:


Sadly don't have a pic to hand with the roof off.

While it is very different to a lightweight sports car, I can honestly say that if I go for a blast in the Roadster, get home and jump straight in the Camaro and go for a blast on the same country roads (something I often do at weekends/evenings ) I certainly don't feel short changed. It's a very different car, but it still feels alive and fun. And you still feel happy exploring its limits.



Just some ideas anyhow

[kambites]

The 330ci is pretty much what you'd expect of a saloon car with the top lopped off. Better than most, perhaps, but nowhere near as sharp as the saloon.

I've not driven a 350Z cab, but wasn't hugely impressed by the coupe. To be fair though that's not because it's a bad car as such, it's just not my kind of car - more of a muscle car than a sports car.

If you're discounting the MG or Mazda on image grounds, I guess a TT will be out too.

You might get a Corvette C5 Auto in that budget, just about.

[Dave The Jackal]

That's awsome thanks for the reply and the pics - I have to say I've got a little soft spot for the Smart, but discounted it, perhaps wrongly, purely on the performance figures. In fact a neighbour was selling his Brabus a couple of months ago, probably should have blagged a test drive...

Not sure the yanks are really my cup of tea - don't get me wrong, I hired a 'vette in Vegas a couple of years ago and it was incredible, I loved every second in it, but it wouldn'y work so well for me in England I don't think.

[Dave The Jackal]

Ah the TT... My g/f likes them and my passenger experience in a 3.2 was a lot of fun.

Image wise, I think it's a slightly different proposition to the MG and Mazda - I was one of those bowled over by it's styling when it was released and I still think it's an enormously successful design, so it could be a contender, especially as I've just done a quick Autotrader search and they're going for around £7-8k...

[SVX]

My 2p's worth - auto convertibles can be very usable, and not necessarily "the dark side"; for my £10K I'd be looking for a late Mercedes SL - R129 either in 320 or 500 guise, yes a bit wafty but lovely to drive.

[kambites]

The SLK might be worth a look, too.

[S Line Luxury]

you can buy a stunning example of a Audi TT, i fancy one myself, great reputation in the motoring trade

[Silent1]

First things first, you've really got 2 classes of car there. The elise and the vx220 and in a different league to an S2000 or a Boxster, the former are razor sharp and lightweight, the latter when compared are more of a tourer/sports car. If you're even considering the latter i'd be very suprised if you put up with the niggles of the former.

[StefV]

XKR?

[Dave The Jackal]

As for niggles, I could probably live with the no frills, dodgy weather protection, 'rawer' propositions like the Elise and VX, as I ride motorbikes too (or at least I did - it was a bike crash that did for my leg...)

After an evening of quiet relfection/mild panic, it's become clear that, my desire to drive again as soon as possible, coupled with a need to get to the office under my own steam, means I'm going to have to get an auto asap, so for now at least, the Lotus and Vauxhall will have to wait.

Front runners therefore look like:
Boxster S Tiptronic
TT 3.2 V6 DSG

Others to bear in mind according to you guys:
Smart Brabus Roadster

Not too keen on Mercs, so SL and SLK are out I'm afraid.

Am I missing out on any real gems by opting primarily for soft tops? Are there any 'must drive' auto coupes or saloons that would do the trick? I'd love an M3, but worry about running costs - is a 330 a decent/cheaper alternative? 350Z? Leggy old 911?

[300bhp/ton]

I'm probably dividing opinions again, but I'm quite a fan of these:


Also available as a vert too:



As a rule they generally got a good write up and from what I can tell were liked more than the SLK they are based on. Tiff from Fifth Gear gave the coupe a really good write up and even TG admitted the vert was a better bet than a vert 350z in their Iceland write up.

They are more small GT than outright sports car though. But they are still small, nimble and RWD. Also fairly exclusive and good looking.


If you want more poke, then keep an eye out for the SRT-6 variant (not sure if auto though). They have a supercharger and another 100hp!



I'm a big fan of the XK8/R too, but it is a bigger car again.

[Crusoe]

Alpina almost as quick as the M but with an auto?
Slightly over budget but others around, 330i would also work if not as special.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1695395.htm

[Dave The Jackal]

The Alpina is a lovely, lovely thing - talk about special!

The Crossfire is very interesting - not something I'd considered at all, or ever really given any much thought about at all in all honesty. I'd always written it off as a brash, sloppy yank interpretation of a slightly dynamically dull Merc, but now I look at it and think it's actually quite handsome from some angles and seems quick enough... just not sure I could bring myself to do it. The ones I see near me (Cheshire) tend to be driven by the perma tanned, yellow sweater brigade. I'm neither a member of a golf club nor a saga lout, being (relatively) too young I think at 32.

Same goes for the XK - lovely cars, but reserved for my father's friends at the moment.

[baby g]

350Z is a lot of fun, could use an aftermarket exhaust to spice up the noise a little but good fun. Hired an auto in the states, not up there with DSG boxes but not bad for an auto.