Own a Type R, A3 S-Line, S3, 350z, Golf 5 GTI, Z4 or similar?

[Spuderoony]

Just a thought. From what I've read a Type R Civic might give you around 35mpg. Lets say it does, and saves you at best 50% of your fuel costs, i.e. £85 per month. Over a year, that's close to £1k.
How much will you lose in depreciation by swopping?

I got a good deal on my RX-8 which was well under the asking price, and considering its year and the fact it's only just done 30k miles, I'll barely lose anything, if current Pistonheads prices are anything to go by.

Mini Cooper-S Works?

Forgot this one. A definite consideration. Though they're quite expensive for what they are, I think. My budget would only get me an 05 I think?

What he said - it's got 4 usable seats and I'm currently getting high 30s for fuel economy on my daily commute and when the roads allow it, the 220bhp peak power at 8k rpm is fun

It's got all the benefits of the Civic Type-R with none of the drawbacks

It fits nicely into your budget too and I'd be surprised if it's more to insure than your RX8 Drop me a line on MSN if you want more details!

Might take you up on that, thanks. Doesn't the 5 stop at 2005 or something though? Did they not replace it with anything decent, or has it become part of the main Civic line now?

Thanks for all opinions so far. Keep 'em coming!

 

[Bakedgoods]

On pistonheads there's an 05 for just under £12,000.

I do have to admit it does seem fairly expensive for a small car. The performance of them is pretty decent though and if you read the reviews there's rarely a bad word said.

0-60 is about 6.6 seconds, rock hard chassis and good builty quality.

I don't think I could bring myself to spend that sort of money on one though for some reason.

 

[Simmz]

As fun as the 350z is, you won't see much of a difference on the mpg than you do the RX-8.

The Vauxhall Astra VXR is quite fun to drive too, but again you are looking at low 20's.

Z4 will average mid/late 20's depending on the model you choose.

 

[ci_newman]

On pistonheads there's an 05 for just under £12,000.

I do have to admit it does seem fairly expensive for a small car. The performance of them is pretty decent though and if you read the reviews there's rarely a bad word said.

0-60 is about 6.6 seconds, rock hard chassis and good build quality.

I don't think I could bring myself to spend that sort of money on one though for some reason.

Is this about the DC5? Although the 0-60 isn't astonishing, straight line speed isn't what this car is about

They demand a premium over the equivalent cars because they are pretty rare and therefore in theory haven't depreciated at the same rates as the competition - individual preference really though

 

[Bakedgoods]

It was about the Cooper-S JCW

 

[ci_newman]

It was about the Cooper-S JCW

Be more specific in future dammit

 

[wassap]

Ive got a Focus ST3, love it to bits, its good for 28mpg on a motorway cruise @ 80-90mpg, 23-25 round town, and 35, when driven in granny mode.

It likes to munch on tyres, bank for a set of fronts every 12k (although my last ones lasted 19k), rears every 30k, apart from that nothing has gone wrong, and mine is at 81k now.

 

[wassap]

A3 ride quality is very subjective to what people want or expect. I didnt mind the hard ride of our s-line but could see why some people wouldnt like it. Those people should be looking to buy and SE instead though. Same with my 5 series M-sport that sometimes gets knocked for being to hard but again those people should look at the SE version for wafting comfort.

The M sport is too hard for what it is tho, same for the SE A3, my Focus ST has a better ride than a A3 SE tbh.

To me the M sport'esque cars are normal cars with nice trim, they are lovely on smooth roads but quite jiggly on a less than perfect roads (which 90% of our roads are!).Mind get rid of the run flats on the Beemers and it makes the world of a difference.

 

[Booner!]

on a motorway cruise @ 80-90mpg,

 

[Barks]

Does anyone here own an S3? The figures make interesting reading, sounds like it is one hatchback-slaying beast of a motor. Can't imagine the 2.0T is as fun to drive or has the character to match, say, an R32 though. Anyone?

 

[Minxy]

The M sport is too hard for what it is tho, same for the SE A3, my Focus ST has a better ride than a A3 SE tbh.

To me the M sport'esque cars are normal cars with nice trim, they are lovely on smooth roads but quite jiggly on a less than perfect roads (which 90% of our roads are!).Mind get rid of the run flats on the Beemers and it makes the world of a difference.

I thought the SE was quite soft on suspension personally but then again perhaps that comes down to what I expected. The Sport is 10mm lower and the S-Line is 25mm lower which makes both models slightly more uncomfortable than the SE. Plus obviously the tyre sizes differ, on the SE you get more rubber between you and the tarmac than with the higher models.

 

[WHAT!!!]

I know its not as new as you would like but You can save money and not end up with the type R spaceship edition.

ep3 Civic Type R Facelift.
Can be picked up with the AC on a 06 for around 8.5k
Petrol I get 250 miles for £44 mixed driving. 28-30mpg ish on motorway
Insurance at 23 with 3 yr nocb is 580FC
0-60 in 6.4 and parts are cheap

Who are you insured with Dave ?

Im 25 and got 2 years No Claims and cheapest i could find was £722

I got a 07 FN2 GT

 

[Dolph]

Does anyone here own an S3? The figures make interesting reading, sounds like it is one hatchback-slaying beast of a motor. Can't imagine the 2.0T is as fun to drive or has the character to match, say, an R32 though. Anyone?

Yep, I do, and I chose it over the R32 (or a V6 A3) because it's quicker, better specified as standard and handles better.

About the only place where the R32 is subjectively better is in engine noise, but apart from that, the S3 is the better car.

What sort of information did you want on it? It's certainly as quick as the figures suggest, and most of the cars tend to put out more than specified when put on a rolling road (that is correctly calibrated).

 

[Dave85]

Who are you insured with Dave ?

Admiral

 

[Dandle]

The Sport is 10mm lower and the S-Line is 25mm lower which makes both models slightly more uncomfortable than the SE.

Its the other way around. Sport is 25mm lower and S-line 10mm lower than sport.

 

[Barks]

Yep, I do, and I chose it over the R32 (or a V6 A3) because it's quicker, better specified as standard and handles better.

About the only place where the R32 is subjectively better is in engine noise, but apart from that, the S3 is the better car.

What sort of information did you want on it? It's certainly as quick as the figures suggest, and most of the cars tend to put out more than specified when put on a rolling road (that is correctly calibrated).

Extremely jealous mate. I'm no where near old or wealthy enough to even dream of buying an S3, but I do like to consider "If I won £20k and had to buy A or B what would I get" scenarios

I take it you give other high performance car drivers quite a shock when they get demolished by such a subtle looking hatchback.

 

[Minxy]

Its the other way around. Sport is 25mm lower and S-line 10mm lower than sport.

As it turns out we are both wrong.

The Sport is -15mm lower than the standard/SE and the S-Line is -10mm lower than the Sport.

 

[Dandle]

As it turns out we are both wrong.

The Sport is -15mm lower than the standard/SE and the S-Line is -10mm lower than the Sport.

 

[MrMoonX]

Focus ST gets me around 250miles for £45

 

[Type_R]

Golf Mk5 200PS here, had it from new and the best I have ever seen from it is 38 mpg on long journeys and averaged about 10 mpg around Mallory doing about 20 laps!

On average it does give me 350 miles on a full tank. Thats 28 mpg.