Cheapest car that's fun to drive

Janesy B · 6 Jun 2009 at 19:45

In what way? All 80's cars fail at safety so I wouldn't worry.

richard104 · 6 Jun 2009 at 19:53

Janesy B said:
In what way? All 80's cars fail at safety so I wouldn't worry.

They like to oversteer in corners and then roll a lot. This rolling coupled with a tin foil roof equals bad times. But granted they are almost 20 years old so its to be accepted.

Thomas. PLease. · 6 Jun 2009 at 19:54

saxo vts i would go for. Same car as the 106 gti, cheaper but with a worse image.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1061250.htm

Great fun to drive, if you think they are too small or don't like them then maybe a 306 gti-6

Rich1988 · 6 Jun 2009 at 19:59

gobbo said:
I'd say MX-5, fantastic car to drive, if I didn't have the 200SX i'd have got one of them.

I want another SX

Confused · 6 Jun 2009 at 20:40

fonzee said:
good suggestion bar the fact he wanted good looks

Teg Si would probably be better, one with LSD.

Preludes aren't far off the pace/handling of the Teg, but for a much, much lower price.

You can get a JDM 4th gen (92-96) with LSD to improve the out-of-corner acceleration.

numnutz said:
Nope 2.2 in the Prelude (H22 / H22A)

and 1.8 in the DC2 type R (B18C5)

The Vtec in the DC2 kicks a lot harder than the Prelude, but the preludes better to drive off vtec thanks to it's bigger capacity.

Although interestingly, the Preludes 280mm brakes are considered an upgrade to the DC2's standard 260ish. Maybe not so interesting.

The H22A is a great engine - it's a shame it doesn't have more aftermarket options available, and the extra torque from the extra 400cc does help, too

fonzee · 6 Jun 2009 at 20:55

Rich1988 said:
still ... fwd

in many eyes the greatest handling fwd though, think it'll do

IronLung420 · 6 Jun 2009 at 21:39

Confused said:
Honda Prelude 2.2 VTEC.

cee-S-dee · 6 Jun 2009 at 21:49

Certainly a MK2 MR2-Turbo. Such great cars and I think £ to performamce is hard to beat. I've had mine for nearly 2 years now and its been reliable considering its 18 years old! It's only needed tyres and the rear arb bushes replacing in my ownership.

A rewarding drive and the sound of the turbo winding up behind you always makes me smile! They also look pretty cool imho :-)

but i am biased.

Here's mine.

Rich1988 · 6 Jun 2009 at 21:59

Are mr2s reliable? I always imagined they would be a bit of a bitch to work on?

Janesy B · 6 Jun 2009 at 22:01

As long as you have the hands and arms of a 5yr old you should be ok.

moss · 6 Jun 2009 at 22:04

Janesy B said:
As long as you have the hands and arms of a 5yr old you should be ok.

I found you need the hands of a 5 year old and very very long arms to reach down into the engine bay (maybe because im fairly short too!)

cee-S-dee · 6 Jun 2009 at 22:27

Rich1988 said:
Are mr2s reliable? I always imagined they would be a bit of a bitch to work on?

Yes for a performance car i'd say they are reliable. Mines done 115k miles and is still on the original turbo. If you look after them with regular oil changes, routine maintanence and let it cool down after a run, then they won't give you much trouble.

They can be a bit of a pain to work on as the engine bay is quite small and its pretty much in the centre of the car. For general maintanece though they are no harder to work on than any other car.

kaiowas · 7 Jun 2009 at 20:19

Janesy B said:
In what way? All 80's cars fail at safety so I wouldn't worry.

You're right they're all death traps and after my recent accident I am now posting this from beyond the grave.

Janesy B · 7 Jun 2009 at 20:20

Only because your MR2 has a massive crumple zone where an engine should be

Berger · 7 Jun 2009 at 20:36

Janesy B said:
Only because your MR2 has a massive crumple zone where an engine should be

I crashed a Sierra years ago and was fine until my dad caught up with me.

Dogbreath · 8 Jun 2009 at 00:05

Rich1988 said:
Are mr2s reliable? I always imagined they would be a bit of a bitch to work on?

Working within the MR2 turbo engine bay would put you in good stead for a career in gynaecology

They aren't the nicest cars to work on if you need to do any major jobs involving the drivetrain, fuel and coolant systems, and even something as mundane as an oil change is a PITA with the Rev1/2 cars. Some Jap engineer decided that mounting the oil filter upside down right next to the turbo was a good idea. Get the oil nice and hot ready for a change, and you literally need asbestos gloves to remove it. Then of course you unscrew the filter and it pees oil everywhere.

Reliability will depend on how it's been treated of course, but it's a turbocharged mid-engined car so you are going to be disappointed if you think it's going to be as reliable as a Corolla or some other Jap yawn box. They do have a number of faults that they all seem to suffer from sooner or later, just as with other cars.

marcus_667 · 8 Jun 2009 at 00:08

Fiesta Rs turbo / escort rs turbo

id say look for a cheap sierra cossie but they seem to have gone up in price quite a bit

found this http://pistonheads.com/sales/793094.htm

pretty good spec

6 grand though isnt exactly cheap

monkeyspank · 8 Jun 2009 at 10:31

mr2 turbo - most reliable and cheapest to mantain car I've ever had by far.

Biohazard · 8 Jun 2009 at 10:38

Renault 19 16v, Clio 16v, 5 GTT or valver conversion, 205 GTi, 106 Rallye, AX, Starlet.... Metro?

Sanchez · 8 Jun 2009 at 12:52

richard104 said:
They like to oversteer in corners and then roll a lot. This rolling coupled with a tin foil roof equals bad times. But granted they are almost 20 years old so its to be accepted.

They'll only kill you if you lift off mid corner I think. Drive properly and you should be okay.

And at 6' 4" I'm not sure you could fit into a 205!