Another What Car Thread...

[catazy]

Selling my Accord Type R shortly after 5 years so looking at a replacement...

Thoughts so far (in no order):

Leon FR
Leon Cupra
Mazda 3 MPS Aero
Honda S2000
Civic Type R

Anyone got other suggestions \ thoughts on the above cars?

Budget 10-12.5K, want something no more than 5 year old, 30-45k on the clock, reasonable insurance (got 10yrs ncb, no points, no accidents)

Cheers

[Chris71]

What do you want specifically?

If you liked the Accord and you're looking for a mid-sized hatchback then a Civic Type R or even the more recent Integra (DC9? I forget, the six speed one...) would seem to fit the bill.

With 10 years NCB and no accidents you should be able to insure just about anything. If you fancy going for something more exotic and have access to a garage (or prepared to rent) then maybe consider a second car - you could get something more extreme for the weekends (TVR, Lotus, Caterham or something Japanese with a huge turbo) and a dependable workhorse for the week.

[catazy]

Hi,

Looking for something quick-ish (0-60 in the 6 - 7.5 sec range) and something relatively comfortable and reliable. Can't really afford high maintenance costs. Track car & runabout probably bit too pricey for me at the moment (one day tho!).

Liked the accord's vtec but the DC5's are a bit dated \ pricey for my liking. New CTR's heard some bad reviews. Thought about the impreza but it would have to be the hawkeye but wrx is a bit dull and of course sti is out of my price range...

[adycav]

Try a BMW 130i, you should be able to find one in your budget.

Fantastic 265ps straight six engine, lovely rwd chassis, decently fast and sounds great.

If you enjoyed your ATR (and let's assume that you did as you kept it for a fair while!) you WILL enjoy ringing it out to the red line.

Mine was much cheaper to insure than the Focus ST I had before it. Fuel economy is very impressive for the performance - 40mpg on a run is easy.

You won't want a FWD four cylinder car ever again, I'm sure.

[Chris71]

catazy said:

Track car & runabout probably bit too pricey for me at the moment (one day tho!).

It's worth doing a few sums. I've run two cars for ages because I couldn't afford to run the sort of car I'd like to use at the weekends as my only car.

Simply insuring something like a fun daily driver like an M3 would cost more than my basic running costs for a base-spec Focus and a Caterham. Specialist insurance and low mileage on the fun car can be great - it cost £220 a year to insure my TVR S3, for example, when E36 M3 quotes were coming back at well over a grand - that gave me plenty of money to run the Focus as a runaround.

The downside is you often find yourself in the wrong car, but financially running two cars can actually be cheaper than one all-rounder.

[catazy]

Hmmm, 130i has just made the shortlist. Whats teh space like inside? Always looked a bit cramped in all honesty but then again I might just be comparing it to the 3series!

[adycav]

catazy said:

Hmmm, 130i has just made the shortlist. Whats teh space like inside? Always looked a bit cramped in all honesty but then again I might just be comparing it to the 3series!

The front is fine and in my opinion the room is the rear is more than adequate. I suppose that it depends on your needs though - if you have three 6ft+ teenage sons it may not fit the bill.

In real-world terms the traditional 'blokes in the front, women in the back' approach worked well for me when going out with friends/family.

Should be fine unless you have a morbidly obese missus!