Another spec me thread! (Sorry)

ljt

ljt

ljt

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Right then, apologies for another spec me thread, but I'm throwing it out there for some suggestions that I may not have thought of!

First off, my budget is a maximum of £10k (not including insurance), but anything cheaper would be nice.

My previous car was a Fiesta ST, I had this for 3 and a half years, its been great while I had it, but I've grown out of it now. I'm getting on a bit (26 :p ) so my criteria for a car has changed.

First and foremost, the main requirements are;

  • Comfort. The ST's suspension is a bit too hard and crashy for me now, so I want something more comfortable.
  • It needs to be bigger and more refined, in case I take it for a long journey.
  • It doesn't need to be diesel, as my annual mileage will vary from 3k - 7k a year maximum.
  • Would be nice to have something that is known to be reliable, and its running costs ideally wont be astronomical
The "nice to have" list is as follows;
  • I'd like something at least as quick as the Fiesta ST although I could compromise depending on other things
  • Ideally it would be an automatic as I've driven an automatic, and it suits my style of driving (lazy :p )

If any more info is needed then please ask

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your suggestions!
 
330ci sport auto (hoping the suspension is more forgiving than a fiesta st, even though the sport has harsh suspension (in some peoples eyes))

failing that, an SE for same price will get you somethig newer, as would an SE saloon
 
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Your request for it being an auto makes it trickier to do with a none 'premium' car and thus avoid premium car running costs.

The best bet I can think of is a face lift Volvo S60 2.5T SE ...it's 210hp ...so fast enough, it's very comfortable, well equipped ... known to be pretty reliable on the whole and it should be a little cheaper to run than an S60 T5 ...on the other hand it's close enough than you might as-well consider the T5 too. I 'think' the 2.5T SE has a slightly softer set-up though so a bit more comfort.

The Subaru Legacy 3.0R is worth a look too as they are decent enough cars that fit your criteria and are easy to find with auto-boxes ...that aren't crap. Fuel consumption is apparently a bit heavy on these for what they deliver though.

If you want to tone it down a bit, (although I can't promise this will keep up with a Fiesta ST) ...then there is a lot more choice ...cheaper choices too.
 
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[TW]Fox;17169263 said:
Comfortable and reliable and Morba suggests a 7+ year old 330Ci Sport.

Awesome. OcUK rocks!
Click to expand...

Fox comes in to **** someone elses contribution with none of his own.

Awesome. OcUK rocks!

My contribution: For reliability *something jap*. Perhaps a nice Accord or a Mazda 6.
 
Gaijin said:
Fox comes in to **** someone elses contribution with none of his own.

Awesome. OcUK rocks!
Click to expand...

You are never around to defend me when that happens to me. I have a relevent opinion, this is that his suggestion is poor :p

My contribution: For reliability *something jap*. Perhaps a nice Accord or a Mazda 6.
Click to expand...

I like that - pick two random cars out of the air to mask the fact your post was effectively no better than mine - unless you care to name a Mazda6 automatic or an Accord automatic thats quicker than a Fiesta ST ;)

If its something jap it has to be something Subaru for the performance?
 
Finding a comfortable, automatic car ...with performance to at least match a Fiesta ST and 'reasonable' running costs and a good reliability track record is a little tricky tbh. I'm not sure what the ops definition of 'reasonable' running costs is exactly so I'm hedging my bets on the side of caution.

If I could start recommending older BMW's and Jags it'd be easy ...but I don't think this is what the op is after really. It might all go to plan ...then again if it doesn't it could get rather costly.

Take out the desire for an auto and it's much easier again, Mondeo ST220, Mazda 6 MPS and Skonda Octavia VRS all jump out to say hi. Yo uwant an auto ...then trickier, but Volvo, Subaru and Saab are all there. I think Saab's use GM auto-boxes though and I have no idea how good they are really.
 
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[TW]Fox;17169263 said:
Comfortable and reliable and Morba suggests a 7+ year old 330Ci Sport.

Awesome. OcUK rocks!
Click to expand...

At first it was a **** take given a post you made not long before regarding people wanting reliability from a 7+ year old BMW. Thought i'd add the se bit as a more sensible option of this because let's be honest, he's going to struggle and a bm isn't far off :)
besides, there are a few 2005/06's available.
 
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A Legacy 3.0R or GTB ticks all your boxes apart from economy - ragged or not, you're looking at very low 20mpg. They're much more comfortable than the ST and the performance is obviously far better. On the other hand, whilst it is bigger I'm not sure it's more refined if you're talking about interior trim; they're still stuck in 90's black plastic JDM land. If you mean more planted, solid and reliable then yes, it's all of those.

The auto boxes are made of less chocolate than they used to be and are actually pretty reliable if you don't treat them like it's a hire car. Hugely expensive if they do go so bear that in mind.

I can't offer advice on the insurance costs, sorry. The insurance group is the same as the WRX from what I recall but this might have changed.

They're a bit bigger than the ST, too ;)

legacygtb.jpg
 
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Hi guys

Thanks for your suggestions so far, certainly some suggestions I hadn’t even thought of!

I’ll try to clear up a few points that were a little obscure. The automatic, as I’ve said is more of a nice to have and not a necessity.

Again performance of the Fiesta ST (sub 8 secs 0-60) isn’t a necessity, as the fact of the matter is, I’m not one for gunning it at the traffic lights etc, but I don’t want something that feels lethargic.

Ideally I don’t want an estate, as I have no use for the extra boot space. I mentioned something bigger than the Fiesta, purely because I would have thought a bigger car would be more refined/comfortable etc. I was thinking mondeo/accord size.

With regards to running costs, I was a bit vague when I said “not astronomical” in running costs;

Fuel economy is not really a big issue with what little mileage I will be doing in a year (3k – 7k max.)
The reliability issue was linked to my requirement for low running costs. Servicing/new tyres etc isn’t too much of a problem, I have roughly £400 - £500 free cash flow a month after mortgage and bills have been taken out, but I don’t want it all to be absorbed by savings for potential expensive repairs. Hopefully this is a bit clearer :p

I had looked at Mazda 6 MPS, Mondeo ST220’s, but I would like to hear from people who have driven a Fiesta ST, and the Mazda/Mondeo’s to tell me whether the ride comfort is softer or not.

Thanks
 
If you don't mind another hatchback you could have a look at Audi A3s, £10K should get you a nice example.
 
[TW]Fox;17169369 said:
You are never around to defend me when that happens to me. I have a relevent opinion, this is that his suggestion is poor :p
Click to expand...

You've never needed anyone to defend you in the past and I'm not going to start now :p

OP: Beware of the higher tax bracket of the 6 MPS - I think its in the £400-£450 bracket :(

I was also looking at the ST220, not sure about the reliability however.

Not sure if Toyota have a viable option but worth a look if reliability is the main concern.
 
I haven't driven a Fiesta ST but I did own a Mondeo ST220 ...they are very comfortable actually, more comfotable than a BMW 3 series.

The Legacy I suggested isn't the one pictured by [FnG]magnolia ..I was actually thinking of this one ...I know the one pictured is manual but they come in automatic form too as shown here and you can have a less drab interior trim colour if you like.
 
Right then, I'd never even thought of a subaru before posting this!, so I've been looking at some on the auto trader and spotted this one;

Subaru 3.0 R

I haven't really drilled into how good a deal it is yet, but it looks in good nick from the photos, well within the budget and I quite like the look of the interior.

I also like both the Mk3 and Mk4 mondeos (more so the Mk4) I would like a Titanium X Mk4 with the 2.5T engine in, but alas, these are out of my budget, and I don't really want to have the bottom priced ones for fear of regretting it in the near future.
 
a little update so far....

I've test drove a Mazda 6 MPS, which I found far less "crashy" in the suspension setup than the fiesta ST, but still not smooth (although i didnt expect to be being a sporty version of the normal 6) The thing that put me off the most was the less than smooth clutch, it really was hard to make a smooth gear change, really "snappy" for want of a better word, which I don't think I could live with. Its a shame, as I really liked the look of them

I also went to a local dealers who had an S40 SE and and S60 SE in, so I sat in both, I really wasn't that keen on the interior of the S60, it seemed very dated, so thats off my list too

I liked the dash of the S40 a lot more, I could happily see myself in one. However I was ideally looking for atleast a 2.4 Auto in one, as from reading the reviews it isn't really a 'drivers' car, so would suit an automatic more. However these are quite few and far between!

I also hear that servicing and parts are quite dear for Volvo, anyone care to shed some light on potential costs from experience?

thanks

Lee
 
I've found myself thinking the opposite with the two Volvos, I think the S40 is a bit 'cheap' and plastic inside, where as the older S60 is much better, much more solid, less cheap plastic, nicer layout ...no silver plastic is a bit help here.
 
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