DaveZS

Fancy a new daily car, needs to be fun to drive, up to about 8 years old, not cost mega money to run etc.

Been thinking about:

Clio 197
Corsa/Astra VXR
Civic type R (EP3)
Mk1 FRS (getting on a bit now?)
...

Last 2 cars have been a 200sx and a rover 25 beast

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Go and roadtest them and make your own mind up. One person might love a certain car and another person might hate it.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Mk2 focus st...

vaughant

iTrader: (1)

Mk5 golf gti.

But as Glenn says,go and drive them all,do some research and make your mind up from there.
Frs,lovely motor but as you said a bit older and gonna need more care,won't lose money though.
Corsa/Astra nice quick cars but loads of electrical issues.
Honda,nice but every ones got one,can't fault the overall package though.
Clio,not for me,but have a huge following,they can't all be wrong!!!
Probably suit a track car better than a daily,I know a boy who had one with no issues though and he caned it daily.

Others to consider.

A3,various engines.
St mk2
Bm derv/merc derv,various models,even petrols as their superb value.

£8k is a great budget.

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

I used to use my ST daily but to be honest 240 miles on a tank full of juice is just rubbish. Depending on your mileage I would be looking at something NA and nimble to make it fun, clio would be good!

Magnum PI

Id be test driving:

Skoda fabia vrs
Skoda octavia vrs
Seat Leon mk2 cupra
Volvo c30 2.5l (same engine as focus st)
Focus

Mondeo st220 in that price range?

HarryRS

Corsa/Astra electrical issues First I've heard of that lol!

I would recommend the Focus Rs or the Astra Vxr

Be careful with the Vxr's though ensure the box has no play in there at all as its a common fault on both Corsa and Astra and its a huge bill!

Astra > Corsa though as the Corsa is very problematic... Wheel bearings, Rust, Radiator leaking.

Astra problems as stated normally the box. Sometimes MAF problems..

Owning all 3 though including the Focus Rs I would say the Focus is yards better standard! But a Stage 3 Astra VXR is very fun!

As said test drive them all but for sheer fun and rawness Mk1 Focus all day

Also check out my Fabia I'm selling awesome little cars and very quick and with the right set-up they handle like there on rails! All mine needs is a pd150 hybrid turbo and another map and your near 220 bhp with a shit loads of torque! Probs a little quicker then my Focus when it was standard!

DaveZS

Cheers for the replies! Test drives will happen, but I want to narrow down the list a bit. I'm in no rush so have time on my side.

Fabia vrs was one I thought of but thought they were looking a bit dated now, and I don't like the new shape. Brother has a octavia vrs, good car, but I don't want the same.

Fuel economy is putting me off the ST's, tell me they aren't as bad as I think?

Seat Leon is a good shout!

Audi's I tend to find a bit bland, 3 series is another one to look for, but I'd only regret not having a M3 if I bought anything less.

Gazzonator

iTrader: (9)

What about one of these?

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/c...-3t-mps/967801

pani_k

iTrader: (1)

Your 200SX would've been on par with an ST. Average anything between about 21-26mpg depending on how right foot heavy and how much stop start traffic you encounter.

davidfox280585

you say a mk1 rs is getting on but most are low mileage now

DaveZS

Right foot heavy and mapped for super unleaded. One of the reasons I bought the rover

Brendan

iTrader: (1)

Id be test driving:

BMW 330d
Skoda octavia vrs
Audi a3
Focus


Happy car hunting!

v man

BMW 330d
Golf mk5 gti

Anything German is always the best bet

Rs1

iTrader: (1)

Very nice beemer diesel in the for sale section that would cover all your needs i reckon, its at the lower end of the scale aswell.

From an MSD employee so well looked after. Plenty documentation etc.

Shings

I use my Focus RS every day rain or shine, sometimes up to 660miles a week if I'm on site.

I love it!!!

Enjoy driving it.

Perfectly reliable.

Good Looks.

Job done.

It's Czech Mate

Octavia VRS 2.0 tfsi

Shings

A friend of mine has one of these with a remap - feels about 240 horse ish.

Goes well, not as out and out performance car like my FRS but still quite capable and a little more practical.

I like it.

danneth

best shout yet, will pick them up cheaper than that as well if you look around, i'd be surprised if you find something as cheap which is as new with the same spec and performance

Shings

Or as bland.

I love the idea of them but they're just a bit bland

danneth

Lets be honest it's the hot hatch market, not much to rave about with looks, I think they look ok and very under the radar.

Valuewise nothing else gets close for me.

car.crash

These threads always come to nothing. It's just rate and slate, followed by stories of....
My mate had one and it had his wrong so they all must be rubbish. If you don't know what cars you like then buy the cheapest gayest thing you can find like most people and have a holiday with the rest

phil_rs

iTrader: (3)

Seat Leon Cupra R mk2 240bhp engine or Golf mk5 GTI 240bhp anniversary

Shings

I agree under the radar - bland LOL

It's Czech Mate

Yeah thats what I love, its a normal car with a mild turn of pace and it makes a decent noise too. With a stage one they are very good, fuel efficient and practical with the big boot

Not an out and out thrasher but as an everyday car now i've changed my job im becoming very attached to it

BRAM

iTrader: (1)

Good cars, I loved the one my girlfriend had we would defiantly still have it if she didn't need to drive all over for her job.

The only bad thing was the tax over £400 everything else was faultless.

car.crash

That's cheap for a 250mph car.

craigfocus

240 miles is that town driving im looking at them aswell but the juice does put off a little, what about the megane 225 my mates got one mapped and it goes some

danneth

The Tax is a letdown, but coming from a CTR the insurance was cheaper, so made up for it in my case

Magnum PI

Seat Leon is the VW Golf/Audi A3, but with a 'sportier' suspension set up

I have a 59 plate Leon a mark 2 facelift model & its a good car, i've had it for 12 months now Paid £9K for it

It's a 1.4 TSi, so 1.4 Turbo with 125bhp (my 1.6 focus has 100bhp)

The equipment list as standard is huge

rear parking sensors, dual zone climate control, heated power folding mirrors, in built bluetooth with voice control, 17" alloys, cruise control, loads more besides.

with the Mark 3 Leon out this year, it will hit residual values of the mark 2, both pre facelift & facelift models

The Cupra R is a stonker as mentioned above with 240bhp & is tuneable.

so if your not a badge snob & want VAG, go for the SEAT or SKODA equvalent model in the VAG group.

found this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1501?logcode=p

CrOwSoN15

I agree, £7.5k for 250mph is an absolute steal.





Aren't the MPS' just as poor on fuel as an ST though?

I'd be looking for a the Clio 197 out of the first bunch, awesome cars!

Magnum PI

thoughts on these:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...37rh?logcode=p

danneth

Not even close to being the same

CrOwSoN15

Hm, I clearly haven't read something right somewhere then

It's Czech Mate

I don't find the Mps has suspension/handling as well resolved as the focus, great value tho if you can get them a bit cheaper

danneth

If you stick to the Aero model with the Eibach setup it's alot better, wouldn't compare it to such as a Focus RS, but can more than hold it's own with most other hot hatches.

gingeRS

focus RS mk1....can get a good one for £7k if you shop around

shouldn't depreciate too much further unlike EVERY other car
great daily's

DaveZS

Some decent suggestions here. I like the look of the Seat Leons, will check them out along with the MPS.

As said before, I like the Octavias but my brother has one already...

DaveZS

In the end went for a Clio 197! Nice revvy little engine and the handling is spot on! Happy days