I have narrowed it down to these 3 cars as you can pick them up for 1k these days. I take my daughter into school everyday and pick her up so she wants me to have something a bit flash that she does not feel ashamed of getting into (14 this year so going through that stage!) Also I want something a bit practical, good fun to drive and something that wont cost the earth to run as in fuel and parts.

Practical I thought of the Saab 900 Turbo 5 door.....Looks ok-ish and read they are meant to be fast......Dont know about MPG, parts and how nice they are to drive though?

Volvo S40 T4..... I think these look fairly sleek.....Again, not driven one and do not have a clue on MPG etc.

Then the E36 BMW 328i Coupe. Not exactly practical but it has a good sized boot and rear seats.....although only 3 door. Same as above, not driven one so dont know what they are like MPG wise, parts etc.


I cover around 250 miles per week. Mostly A roads but some town driving. What of the above cars will not kill my bank as in MPG? What would be the best to drive.....I am used to front wheel driven cars which makes the BMW a bit scary as would not have a clue as in taking bends fast.

Any help would be great.

 

i've had a 328I, great car, but 20mpg around town and 30mpg on a run is hard to swallow

 

Be a 325i coupe for me,m50 is a stronger engine and performance is the same in the real world.
Don't worry about the handling their very well balanced and nit sierra like.
Saab is the height of uncool,but a nice quick comfy car,Volvo pretty sad as well but loads of tuneability and reliability too,bit thirsty though as you'll be boosting everywhere.
Found my BMW pretty good on fuel,although the auto's are hideous on petrol.

 

Thanks for fast replies!

So rear wheel driven cars like the 328i are not that bad as in handling? I am used to 205 GTI's, 306 GTI-6's so a big engined rear wheel driven car will be all new to me as in handling.

 

Autocar had a triple test of the Volvo T4, E36 328i, Merc C280 back in about 1997.

The Volvo pulverized the other 2 in real world performance increments but IIRC they picked the 328i as their overall choice.

I've got a 328 as a family bus - I wouldn't say it was particularly lairy even with a LSD on but mine has ASC ( stability control ) as well which you can switch off.

ETA - re fuel consumption - I get about 31/32 on my B-road commute but I don't have to queue anywhere in traffic. It can go up to nearly 38/40 on a long motorway cruise such as when I go to Cornwall or similar. I'd say you could get down to high teens/20mpg quick if you have to do stop/start town traffic though. Mine's a manual box

 

Thanks for the helpful replies.

I have just spoken to a mate who has a BMW 1.6 Compact......Although its actual engine is a 1.9 8v.......Are these any good, economy, parts etc.....I know the performance will be rather dull though!

 

The Saab is a great car, providing you mean the classic shape? Fast, reliable and plenty of toys. Abbott racing do a lot of tuning parts too! I gurantee you won't see another at the school gates whilst the others are a daily view!

 

I wish it was the classic shape bud......It is the shape I think they called the 9-3 but this one is the year before so it was still called a 900 although is basically the same shape as the 9-3. I am interested in the BMW Compact now, looks good and I bet MPG will be nice but performance I am sure will be dull.

 

Mpg is no fun though. The 900 after the classic lost all its appeal and build quality is not the same! Have you thought about a corrado 16v?