Seeing as i can afford to afford to with work picking up and things going really well ive decided i want to buy my first ever turbo charged car.

There are a few things i need it to be capable, and ive got 2000 - 3000 to spend.

Must be reliable, as ill use it daily, i don't want something i can drive once, something will go wrong and itl spend a week on the drive whilst i catch the bus to work, so don't really want anything old Ford or anything too old or classic, probably 2000 onwards id say, i know i wont get great fuel consumption but i don't want anything that does daft mileage to the gallon.

Insurance isnt too much of an issue.

Ive been considering a few cars, like classic shape impreza wrx, astra gsi/sri turbo, i know ford didnt really do many turbocharged cars later on, other than the Focus RS mk1 and that, i really cant think of any other later turbocharged fords in that price range either?

any other ideas?

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3433595.htm

 

Toyota Glanza?

 

i was going to suggest one of these good cars, not that fast in standard form, pretty slow tbh but have good potential and are reliable if maintained properly

 

I do like but forgot about the leons, but not that quick? i wanted something 200bhp or above to be honest, theres a mint astra mk4 sri turbo on ebay for £2200 on a 52 reg just been rebuilt with new turbo and reicepts to proove etc.. hmm decisions decisions !

 

Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo.. you'd get a nice one for that money and theyre pretty fookin quick!

and 155mph , its like a Ferrari, but cheaper and smaller lol

 

http://pistonheads.com/sales/3403934.htm

or a renault 5 gtt or a punto gtt both 1.4's

 

defo look at the cupra 225 and anything with the 1.8 20v turbo engine is worth a shout tbh. subarus can be had for cheap and are a great way into turbo power
you can rule out the 2 above suggestions as you state it needs to be reliable

 

that leons is prob about 260 bhp and will go very well mate will be on par with a 280to300 bhp scooby

 

Scooby will suit all your requirements apart from their a bit juicy,not as bad as some people say but your talking mid 20's realistically day to day.long runs they can be really good but your a young loon and you WILL want to floor it now and again,more often than not!!!!

Golf gti turbo would be my choice,appalling as standard but literally a chip and remap gets your 200bhp.
Watch gearboxes though,can be a real weak point,although they can be repaired for £250/300 you'll still have to get it in and out,if you can't do it yourself it's gonna be a £5-600 job,(including the box) but you'll probably want to throw a new clutch in as well so another £150 on top,starts looking expensive then,my suggestion would be get one that's had the repair done first.
Mileages not really an issue with them,seem to get better with age.

Personally I like the astras and they do seem cheap,there's always loads for sale on migweb but they seem a bit unloved,there's boys over there been trying to shift them a long time and just end up breaking them in the end.

A good compromise could be a mk3 astra gsi with a turbo conversion,Saab or c20/z20let.

There's plenty of these around £2.5/3k and they look nice,a bit retro and are actually very reliable.again stage one on these is 260/270 bhp and that's plenty enough in a small car like that.

You could have a chat with chip on here as to that engines ability as he's built that beast of a nova in his sig using I believe a mainly standard internally c20let.

If you want to go a little less mainstream,but not as cool then anything Swedish will give you a good history of turbocharging,a nice Saab 9-3 IMO can look really good,very strong and reliable but I'm getting ever nearer 40 so my looking cool days are long gone.

Again the volvo s40 t4/v70 t5 is a ton of car for the money,but a bit old man.

I suppose the coupe could be considered "coolish" and their a very cheap car.I was in one last year,red,leather,no rust or dents,90000 miles and it went like fuck,handled nice too,all for £1000.

 

One of these ?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3439611.htm

Steve

 

yay just noticed piston heads back to how it was...

ps was gonna say a t5 volvo...

 

skoda is a good shout had one with 160k on the clock and was still very good and its still going very strong 180bhp remap to 220 for a few hunderd pounds

 

depends on your age and insurance status etc....avoid imprezas if you cant afford the premiums
you could go for a golf GTI mk4 like my runaround....but they arent fun
the cupra 225 is a good car, even an S3 could creep in at the top end of your 3k budget

 

Seat Leon Cupra, won't geat an R for that money but with a remap you're over the 200bhp barrier. Bullet proof motors if you look after them

 

The C20LET is a good engine.

I do not rate the Z20LETs atall. Everyone I know has bother with them.

 

I thought the one i posted was an R and about 260bhp?

 

First generation Octavia vrs. No brainer if it's a reliable daily with a bit of poke and decent space inside you're after

 

how old are you and how many years no claims? how far is your daily drive to work?

 

Only choice is a Golf GTI , service it regular and it'll last forever.

 

+1 . Very subtle and ok looking , a friend recently just sold one 05 32k miles, think it went for £2500 or thereabouts. Good on fuel aswell

 

No votes for the corsa vxr then

Good value
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-SEAT-IBIZA-CUPRA-20VT-BLUE-/280776004939?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item415f8dd54b

Spend the rest livening it up abit..

Or http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-SEAT-...item2eb95992aa

 

I have a standard '04 plate MK4 Astra GSi Turbo as my daily driver and I couldn't recommend one enough. It's a very quick car in standard trim, can be had within your budget and it costs me £600 a year to insure (26, no claims, convictions or mods)

I have so much fun showing up people in it.

I've had it 3 years now and it's only ever cost me tyres and a backbox. Pretty good if I dont mind saying so. I can only speculate that the issues people have with the Z20LET are sue to poor servicing or cheap oil. I use Fuchs Silkolene Pro-s 5w30, a genuine GM filter and sump plug every 12k miles (once a year) and it's still as smooth and quick as when I got it.

Lee

 

Better choice is the Leon Cupra R 225 which is a Golf with 75bhp more and better suspension/handling IMO

 

Anything with a 20vt engine in is a good shout, me personally im an Octavia Vrs fan

 

Save a bit more and get a MK1 Focus RS, best all rounder TBH. Or you could probably get a CAT C repaired cheaper.

 

Seems like a bargain! Not too keen on the colour though

 

Ibiza cupra 1.8 20vt go well they don't weigh anything.

 

im really thinking of breaking the evo and buying a ibiza cupra r

 

My Bro had an Octavia VRS and we both found it very lacklustre compared to the Astra, was quite noticably slower. Amazing brakes on the VRS though I must say, my head hit the windcreen a few times!

I've always found the 20vt's a little less nippy than say the Vauxhall or Ford offerings, they should have just gone 2.0t, I mean 150 bhp in a Golf is not exactly inspiring is it when they do a 170bhp diesel version.

Although, the cupra 225's sound quite interesting. There's one that overtakes me in a 30 zone now and again on the way to work, drives dangerously like a tit but the car looks good and seems to go well.

Lee

 

http://pistonheads.com/sales/3428555.htm

Cant beat a good old Scooby, newish one too..

 

+2

remap and some suspension mods they're very capable cars.

also stand up to heavy shunts very well too

 

I'm sorry, but nothing else comes close for me

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3441165.htm

That's just an example picked at random. There are better ones for slightly more money.

 

Yes you can, with virtually any other option

But I do agree that you get a lot of car for so little money i.e. that really decent one that sold for £6k on here a few days back, really decent car with a shade under 400bhp.

 

They are ridiculously cheap now arent they. What happened?

Lee

 

Audi TT ?

or an audi S4, you get two turbos then, sub 5.6 to 60, limited to 155

 

Shame your budget was <£3000 as I'm considering selling my Focus T190 for nearer the £4000 mark. Now happy and reliable and goes well for 190bhp.

 

Got mates with a golf Gti and a Vrs skoda both very good !

 

Datsun....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-200SX-UK-S14a-318bhp-/150705823921?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2316c460b1

Them pics dont do it any justice, the lad lives near me and drives past my house quite often and it looks really well as it goes past, sounds nice too.

A mate of mine got a tidy genuine one about 3 weeks ago and paid £1500 for it, if you can get one at that kind of money then you're onto a winner.

 

My vote. Would be for a ibiza cupra. I am putting mine up for sale in next week or so. Imperial blue rare full leather. Has few mods it goes really well and fullmost is extremelly reliable