New Car

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 01:46

Hi Guys
Im after a new ish car, for about 6-8 k pls. I do 200miles per week,
mix of both motorway and country roads.
Im after something sort of sporty as well as economical above 35mpg combined if possible.
I would also like something less than 5 years old with less than 40K on the clock
I currently drive a Hyundai Coupe. :cool:

Peerzy · 5 Jul 2009 at 01:50

I'll get lashed and there may well be better options but I had pretty much the same spec as you and walked away with a Fiat Bravo about 8 months ago and I'm still dead happy with it; 150bhp (now 179bhp) Tjet engine is great.

Click Me

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 01:58

ooh thats pretty, but fiat, are they any good these days. Have u had any probs with it?

Edit- is that the 1.4, does it have a turbo on it?

Peerzy · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:08

ste2005 said:
ooh thats pretty, but fiat, are they any good these days. Have u had any probs with it?

Edit- is that the 1.4, does it have a turbo on it?

Have a read through the thread, it's a 1.4 Tjet (Turbo) they come in 120bhp and 150bhp (same engine, different turbo and tune).

You won't have any reliablility issues with Fiat these days. 8 months in and no problems yet, mums had hers for about 6 months and no issues on hers either. Only downside is the rear leg room isn't great if either person in the front has the seat all the way back. Engine is rock solid so no need to worry about it falling apart like old Fiats.

Spent £380 on mine getting it professionally modded with an induction kit and remap which has taken it to 179bhp. No idea on 0-60mph but it's quicker than 7seconds as I've had a Mk5 Golf GTi, Pratically kept up with an old shape Civic Type R that couldn't pull away so I'd say somewhere about 6.6-6.8 seconds to 60.

Not bad considering the 150 is insurance group 10 (£600 for a 19 year old!).

They're dead cheap too, in November last year my 150T Dynamic (with climate control, cruise control, tinted rear windows, MP3 radio, ipod connector, bluetooth handsfree and brand new £900 Fiat alloys) cost me £7500 (was 14 months old at the time and had 11k on the clock) from a main dealer.

Most people will simply write it off for 'being a Fiat' but if you are serious about buying a car it only takes 45minutes of your time to nip down to a local Fiat dealer jump in one and have a quick drive. You'll known pretty much instantly if you want one so what harm could it possibly do.

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:14

Just had a scout on Auto trader, and there are some nice models going, whats it like MPG wise if youre driving it normally?

Morba · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:15

why the age and mileage stipulation? you are losing out on a lot of good cars because of that.

however, ST220. ok the consumption isnt in line with what you want but its not like you are doing loads of miles, so the cost difference wont be that much.

Peerzy · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:21

ste2005 said:
Just had a scout on Auto trader, and there are some nice models going, whats it like MPG wise if youre driving it normally?

Driving normally just around town I get 35MPG. I did a 400 mile round trip to Devon and back a few months back and just stuck the cruise on at 70mpg and got 48MPG for the whole trip so it is possible to get it pretty high. Hooning it about town and toying with chavs in 1.1 106's can see it go as low as about 27-28MPG.

Average since I bought the car is 34MPG over 7000 miles (5500 town, 1500 motorway).

You're only doing 10k a year so MPG won't make massive differences, considering you are gonna spend £8k on a car the difference between 25MPG and 35MPG will be something tiny like £250~ over a whole year.

[TW]Fox · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:32

The only thing Sporty about a Fiat Bravo is the fact there is ample room in the boot for your tennis equipment, so thats out.

He doesnt sound like the sort of person for whom a Mondeo ST220 is the obvious choice (Why saddle yourself with the running costs of a 3 litre V6 Sport Saloon if you don't really want one?)

Something like a warm Focus should do. Focus 'Sport' even says 'Sport' on the back. Maybe a Fiesta ST?

Morba · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:35

well i was tempted to ignore a few rules and suggest an Elise. running costs wouldnt be that much given the small amount of mileage really.

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:37

Morba said:
why the age and mileage stipulation? you are losing out on a lot of good cars because of that.

however, ST220. ok the consumption isnt in line with what you want but its not like you are doing loads of miles, so the cost difference wont be that much.

I fancy something slightly newer then what i previously owned. My hyundai is getting on to 7 years old, and its going to need a fair amount of work doing to it to pass its next mot, nothing major but toted up its going to cost more than 1k.

Mileage, i always thought that cars with less miles on had fewer things going wrong with em, and since im not really after a diesel i thought a low milage petrol would be my best bet. what do you think?

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:40

Morba said:
well i was tempted to ignore a few rules and suggest an Elise. running costs wouldnt be that much given the small amount of mileage really.

Lol, i wish i could even get into one of these, im a bit on the podgy side, as well as being 6ft2, ive got no chance of getting into one of these.

But a sporty ford sounds fun.

Edit- Probably not a fiesta ST, they suck petrol like its going out of fashion, and im slightly concious about the rising cost of fuel.

Peerzy · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:49

[TW]Fox;14418146 said:
The only thing Sporty about a Fiat Bravo is the fact there is ample room in the boot for your tennis equipment, so thats out.

So a car thats quicker than a Golf GTi wouldn't be classed 'sporty'?

ste2005 - The only 'sporty' Fords worth it are the three ST's (Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo) - sadly none of them will hit the 35mph you want, the ST will cost too much and the Mondeo doesn't really meet your other requirements. The other bigger engine Fords (I'm thinking 2.0 Focus etc.... are not in the same league, still have drinking problems and are not even very fast).

Just have a look at the Bravo, providing you can see past the badge (and I totally understand some people can't) it's a good car with a cracking engine.

However - why be worried about the rising cost a fuel. Say it goes up an extra 20p a litre. It's going to cost you an extra couple of hundred quid a year if you average 30MPG. Why is that such a big deal when stuff like Mondeo ST's will cost £400 to tax, £8000 to buy and £800~ to insure? Whats an extra £200 a year? It really shouldn't make or break buying a car.

Morba · 5 Jul 2009 at 02:51

ste2005 said:
Edit- Probably not a fiesta ST, they suck petrol like its going out of fashion, and im slightly concious about the rising cost of fuel.

Oh, im 20st and can fit in them

why worry about fuel, you wont be doing starship mileage

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 03:00

Morba said:
Oh, im 20st and can fit in them

why worry about fuel, you wont be doing starship mileage

LOL, never been in one just what other people have described to me

@ Peerzy, I like the look of that but I also like the look of an fiat500 abarth. I wouldnt have an ST as my Hyundai will keep pace with anything that the ST can do, and i dont have to burn £20 notes to fill the thing with fuel and to insure it.

I do like the look of the focus, and their are some nice focus sport 1.6 to 1.8 going for around my budget, and mileage :cool:

Peerzy · 5 Jul 2009 at 03:03

Morba said:
why worry about fuel, you wont be doing starship mileage

This.

I filled up with 54litres yesterday. I paid £1.03 and it came to £55.71.

I have to fill up once every 2 weeks, so thats £1448 a year.

Say I paid £0.85 over the same year, it would cost £1171.

Say I paid £1.19 over the same year, it would cost £1670.

Thats the lowest I've paid since I started driving 2 years ago and the highest I've paid since I started driving. Even in that massive swing of 35p a litre it would only cost me an extra £500~ a year to run my car. Considering your budget is between £6k and £8k does it really matter if fuel goes up by 2p for the next 12 months. It'll cost you nothing really compared with the outlay and other costs involved with running a car.

Peerzy · 5 Jul 2009 at 03:07

ste2005 said:
LOL, never been in one just what other people have described to me

@ Peerzy, I like the look of that but I also like the look of an fiat500 abarth. I wouldnt have an ST as my Hyundai will keep pace with anything that the ST can do, and i dont have to burn £20 notes to fill the thing with fuel and to insure it.

I do like the look of the focus, and their are some nice focus sport 1.6 to 1.8 going for around my budget, and mileage

A 1.6 or 1.8 Focus are not sporty/fast cars in anyway. Iirc they are about 10seconds~ to 60. A massive difference between the 7seconds~ the Bravo does me in. Is the sporty thing really that important to you, do you just want a car to look fast or do you want it to be fast. I know 0-60 isn't everything but it's an easy way to quantify things.

The 500 Abarth and a 1.6 Focus could not be any more different cars, one is suppose to be a very small pocket rocket and the other a sensible slow family hatchback.

If you want a slow sensible 5 door family car then you can't get much better than a Focus.

Bravo + £380 tuning will be quicker than the 500 Abarth, cheaper to run (insurance/tax) be the same size as the Focus and look the best.

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 03:16

Peerzy said:
Thats the lowest I've paid since I started driving 2 years ago and the highest I've paid since I started driving. Even in that massive swing of 35p a litre it would only cost me an extra £500~ a year to run my car. Considering your budget is between £6k and £8k does it really matter if fuel goes up by 2p for the next 12 months. It'll cost you nothing really compared with the outlay and other costs involved with running a car.

This is true but fuel has gone up 20p in six months, it could go up by another 20p again, im on a tight budget when it comes to weekly fuel allowance

Does anyone know a good seat model, cheeper than VW, but still the same car?

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 03:21

Dont get me wrong, the fiat looks a nice car, and it meets all my requiremnts. If i see one local to me, i might go 4 a test. My only problem with it is it just looks a bit boring. I know the fords do, but i prefer the shape of the ford to the fiat. Just my taste in cars i like slightly quirky.

Dorje · 5 Jul 2009 at 03:48

Seeing as you're coming from a Hyundai Coupe which has a good sporty drive, I doubt the Fiat Bravo will interest you much bar the initial novelty in turbo delivery.

Seat's equivalent hot hatch to the VW's is the Seat Cupra R, 225bhp standard iirc and as with all turbo's easily tuneable to produce significantly more.

ste2005 · 5 Jul 2009 at 04:01

The Seat Leon does look nice, and the cupra is within my price range, what are they like to drive, is it just a lot of go, and rubbish in the bends?