What would you buy and why?
R32 Golf mk4
Civic type R
Clio 197
Focus ST

Personally I'm thinking Clio or type R, anything else to throw into the mix and opinions on the above guys?
Cheers
It will need to have back seats and a bit of boot space etc for daily duties too

 

An Impreza?
Evo 4/5?
Celica GT4?
Pulsair?
200sx?

Ye i'd go jap, Impreza for the noise, evo for the bang per buck not a lot comes close.

 

Focus st out of that list for me, a few bolt on mods and you have 300bhp, sound awesome and when it breaks, being a focus they are usually easy to fix.


Would feel like a chav in a type r or a 197!

 

Honda all the lag without the turbo but I've driven a couple of the older ones and when on song they are great fun. I wouldn't touch anything with a Renault badge with a barge pole as 90% of the recoverys we get into work wear the badge lol. Apparently the r32 golfs aren't that quick so I'd plump with the st and get it tuned to 300bhp

 

R32 will feel a quality car and likely to be worth most in another 5 yrs I think.

Bmw 330i is a nice car too.

 

St focus.

 

Go and drive the a few from your list and see what you think. We could say the ST is the best but you might not like it.

 

Yeah without driving a cAr u can never really make an informed decision to be fair

 

mk1 focus rs

 

I see one of these on way to and from work everyday, a mechanic at the garage down the rd owns it, it's got black wheels (sorry Glenn) and little bit lowered and looks mean as fook when it's coming towards you. Nice to see one that doesn't look standard. Never driven one myself but they look nice

 

The Civic does nothing at all for me. Tinny and awful inside, and you have to rev the cock of it the whole time. I love the 90s Type-Rs, but cars like that just can't cut it these days.

I really like the 197. I have a 172 Cup and it is an absolute riot. The 197 is meant to be a great car, but I don't think it would make as good a daily as the Focus. Like the Civic, it is going to need some abuse to move, which can get tiresome.

Out of that list, I would take the Focus ST.

Have you not considered a MK5 Golf GTI? The MK4 is a bit old-hat in that company. Whilst I like the Focus, it is a bit "chavvy" in some respects. The Golf is a bit more understated, and might be a bit more fuel efficient as it's a 2.0 rather than the 2.5 in the Focus.

As someone else said, a 330i or something would make a good compromise, though not the best value for money in the world

 

An r32 with straight through pipes just drove past me, sounded fookin awesome

 

It's a mate who's buying not me ....I like the focus personally after owning an st225 but don't they suffer with a bottom end problem, blocks cracking or something?
I agree you have to rev the tit's off a type r but when it kicks in its great!

 

They do sound nice, but they are over hyped speed wise imo. Not much quicker than my mrs's tired old Zt 190 estate even when on lpg.

 

e36 m3 for me all day long

 

I've started really liking mondeo st220s lately. Especially the estates I think they look awesome. I motd one yesterday but anything in or around the engine bay looks a wanker to work on. I did some plugs on one once and that was fun to say the least

 

Fuck me that's a trip back to the dark ages with its trim inside lol


mrk4 escorts look more up to date pmsl

 

I love an e36 but driven a few evo m3s now and was seriously unimpressed with the power, drove my mates tuned 328i and that went loads better for some reason

 

You could get an older S4 like mine for that kind of money ...

4.2 V8 6 speed manual, sounds nice with Miltek exhaust



Likes to drink the fuel a bit though

 

I had an ST220 and it was excellent. Totally reliable. Think in 30k miles it had an ABS sensor and that was it.

Don't really like Audi's but that looks nice!

 

300zx, skyline but ST for me all day long

 

Jaguar XKR, Alfa Romeo 147, 156 gta, evo 6, BMW e39 M5.

 

Cheap, fast or reliable, you can only ever have two out of three I'm afraid

For £6k and being used for a bit of daily/family duties a mk5 golf gti or mk2 Octavia VRS are a good shout, very reliable and that two litre engin, the early one with the cam belt not chain is as good a road engine as it gets, they kept it going long after in the golf r
Both great cars

 

328 and e36 m3 evo have very similar power until the last 2500 rpm and then the m3 goes to work but a poorly set up set of throttle bodies and vanos and a lot of ponies escape. The M3 chassis is much better as long as well cared for.

 

e36's imo are the most understated of all bmw's. I get why, the e30 is iconic and late e46 still looks pretty modern... the e36 doesn't really fit in there. However their build quality is superb possibly the best of the bunch. I wouldn't hesitate to buy an e36 m3 but you will find it hard to get a nice evo for 6k now.... they are shooting up in value.

 

Mk5 Golf GTi

 

evo4/5 for that money will trounce anything else anyone has mentioned. you can buy a 6 for that money but it would be hard to find a good one

 

True, evo 4/5's are crazy cheap for what they are! I doubt you would find a good 6 though

 

Mk5 golf gti is a good shout, feels like a quality car to drive and has come along way since the mk4. The mk4 r32 will hold its money if that is of any concern and looks cool but I'm not sure they are actually very good (although I've not driven one in anger).

Clio 197 is a nice all rounder but you could also go for a 182 Trophy which is awesome and going to rocket in value (or so folk say). I like the Megane Trophy as well if you can get over the way it looks at the back..

Impreza is a good everyday car, I've got one (replaced my Clio 182 which replaced my e36 M3) and personally I prefer the Impreza out of the 3 but it depends on what turns you on.

 

Sapph cossie

R32 sound lush with a decent pipe setup, but tbh imop its a slouch...


I'd be looking at early evos or the ST, the latter is awesome but not without its faults.

Outside the box well, starlet turbo and spend the loose on giving it some more beans....proper little weapons if mods are thought through properly and will induce some serious grinnidge

 

3mps of course

 

I know it's a ford site but I'm gonna stick to what I think about e36 bmws, this is coming from a mechanic also, I'm going to say and have said this to people before that I believe the Bmw e36 is the best car ever made, ever! I've seen these cars do things other cars can only dream of, my friends 316 is on 320,000 miles and has only just had its first clutch and has never ever broken down,
Not even once! He uses it everyday. We got quite a good drift scene at our
Local oval race track and I've also taken part with an old e36 I had. There's at least 5 bmws there either 323, 325 or 328 that have been drifting there once a fortnight since they started it there over 5 years ago and there on the same engines! Just my opinion but I think everything about them is awesome and I've had quite a few
Now. If I had to get rid of my Cossie then a nice 318is m coupe would be the next car in my garage

 

Problem is mate none of the cars in your list are fast lol

 

Finally someone who knows what fast means lol

 

But can you understand the kind of thing I'm looking for?
I don't know you, so I don't know your IQ , but thanks for trying

 

I would be looking at an older M3/M5, Evo 4/5/6 etc.
R32 isn't quick, but sound nice and will go up in value, I reckon.

Not sure why people rave about the Clio 197. I drove a mates all the way home from Colchester to Hereford and was VERY underwhelmed!
Nothing like a 182 Cup I drove which was awesome.

 

Obviously it depends what you really want from the car, an R32 would be good, but I certainly wouldn't call a mk5 golf gti fast, but I appreciate we all have different standards and opinions.

If it's going to be your main car and you'll be keeping it for a while, the sensible compromise is the newest one you can have for your budget.

Have you considered a chipped diesel for instance, or is that out of the question? Also do you have any preferences of manual, fwd, rwd, awd, etc....

 

I can't believe some of the cars people are suggesting. It appears to me that the OP is looking for something practical enough to use every day, but still quick enough to put a smile on his face, not some twenty year old super car slayer that is going to cost a fortune to keep on the road.

 

Ah, didn't realise it was a daily/practical car.
I'd probably go for a BMW 330d Touring in that case.

 

I also think a little perspective is required...

Yes, a Focus ST or Golf GTI isn't as quick as some of the X-billion-bhp cars on this forum, but you need to remember that the vast majority of people in this world drive cars with, what? 100bhp? 150bhp? A car with 2-230bhp is more than fast enough in the real world.

Even in my old ST220, which wasn't fast at all by the standards of this site, if you drove that car at even 30% of what it was capable of, you'd be locked up in reality.

People are obsessed with bhp.