So do loads of cars which do not have the pathetic issues of the rx8
Yeah, my vote is with a Leon of some shape/description or a Fabia vRS.
The Clio is fun to drive and quick, but that's about it. I'd not like to try and cover 20K in one, that's for sure!![]()
perhaps, but the running costs are obsceneActually I think there are very few cars that can match the RX8 for looks and driving fun in a budget of £5k
i don't understand why people recommend the fabia but not the clio. they are both small cars, and not a place i'd be wanting to spend 20k a year in.
if you want to recommend a skoda, recommend the octavia. strange how skoda don't make a golf-sized car, although the fact that the octavia is built on the golf platform answers my question![]()
Apart from the fact that the interior is a bit nasty, there's not a lot wrong with the vRS, diesel-haters aside. It's good with fuel, reliable, and from what i've seen it doesn't break the bank to insure either. And it would certainly turn heads.
That's not to say the Clio isn't a good car either, but I certainly think the Fabia has it beat for looks, although this will vary from person-to-person. It won't get close for performance without a remap, but they're hardly expensive.
And although the interiors in both are horrid, the Fabia's won't break apart at speed.
The Octavia is also a good, decent recommendation, but it depends what the OP is looking for with regards to size. The Fabia, Leon, and Clio are direct competitors to one another (small family hatchback) whereas the Octavia is more a competitor to cars like the Mondeo (large family hatchback).
I agree i would hardly call the Fabia a small car, i would class it as average in terms of car size.
The Fabia is 3.9m long
The Clio is 3.9m long
The VW Golf is 4.1m long
The Seat Leon is 4.3m long
The above stats are based on a 2005 model, and are hardly miles apart in terms of size, its only slightly smaller than a VW Golf![]()
It's not THAT small - I mean come on, even though they're based on the Polo, neither the Fabia nor even the Seat Ibiza are "small" cars.
20k+ in a clio?
not spent any significant time in a 172/182, but would that be comfortable?
You know your 'large family hatches' are smaller than your 'medium family saloons' ...yet many of those hatches are available as a saloon, so what does this make it then? ...boot type doesn't really have much to do with it in my opinion.
Compacy Executive cars (these are smaller than family cars though) - BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Mercedes C class, etc.
Executive Saloons (most can be bought as estates too) - BMW 5 series, Jaguar XF, Mercedes E class, Audi A6, etc.
Luxuary Saloons - BMW 7 series, Jaguar XJ, Mercedes S class, Audi A8, etc.
Super Luxuary - Rolls Royce Phantom, Maybach ? ...perhaps, not really sure about these.
Err tbh I would think the Laguna is a bit larger, the 3 series really isn't that big. I noticed quite a difference when I swapped from an E46 to a MK3 Mondeo. Although less than swapping from that to the Jag. The XJ is just short of 5.1m long, that's 16.7ft![]()
Cheers for all the replies.
After talking to him he's not keen on the Clio, mainly due to the size.
Budget could scrape to 6K (not sure if that helps a a lot)
He's going to look at an Astra GSi (Mk4 Turbo) which was my idea (flame suit on) It's just short of 5K and 200BHP out of the box. Not the best but fairly good on fuel and nippy.
What's the reliability like. He'll be covering around 20K a year.
Yea I should think so, I haven't checked the precise figures, but sounds about right. I do know the MK4 Mondeo Estate is 'noticeably' larger than the old E39 Touring. It's a bit longer but quite a bit wider and chunkier over all.