Warm/Hot Hatch, 5 Door, ~35MPG, <£2K

danza

danza

danza

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As title.

I'm looking for a new job which means I'll have to hand the keys to my Swift Sport back to my employer (possibly very soon as I'm up for a second interview with one company next week).

The wife wants a 5 door hatch to replace the Swift which needs to meet the criteria as per the thread title, i.e. under £2K, ~35MPG etc. The newer the better too. I've managed to steer her away from the truly mundane Focii that are available which is a plus in my book.

I get to keep my CTR which is nice, and having a second hot(ish) hatch is no bad thing.

So far, I've come up with:

-MG ZR 160 (~04 plate, 50K doable)
-Seat Leon Cupra (Y-03 plate, 90K+)

Now, I know the potential pitfalls of both these cars (HGF on the MG which is also based on a prehistoric design and an old, possibly tired turbot on the Leon coupled with likely >100K miles), but I am willing to suck up these issues (or find I fortunately totally avoid them if I find the right car).

So, are there any other cars worth considering (MUST be 5 door and a hatch)? Whatever the car, I'll be self-servicing as far as is reasonably possible to keep costs low.

Any thoughts?
 
Actually the more I look around, the less sense it makes to even consider the ZR as there are some very nice looking Leons about at this money...
 
mglover070588 said:
I wouldn't want to be spending £2000 on a Leon Cupra - Surely that is too low?
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That was my initial assumption (before looking), but there are quite a few around the 2K mark, which makes me think that they can't all be nails? Obviously the newer ones are more likely to have issues, but I guess they are worth a look.
 
used low-mileage Civic 1.8 VTI would do you ok :)

warm rather than hot hatch - but nippy, and LSD at front is a hoot

I get 33 ish on long runs,less round town of course

I bought mine at 76K miles, and I'm now at 156k miles, still on original clutch etc - all its had is a cambelt change,oil changes, front/rear suspension struts, and one replacement set of discs - throughout its life - impressive really
 
Maximum Triceratops said:
Accord type R but you wont et 35mpg
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I think I'd struggle to get anything like even 30 out of one TBH. That and there really aren't any decent ones around for £2K.

There are lots of pre-facelift early Leons, so I think I'll be aiming for one of those unless anyone can suggest anything better. I'll be avoiding Ovni yellow like the plague though - seen a few for sale with terribly faded paint!
 
Forget the ZR, nightmare to drive, maintain, and to look at lol.

My mate obsessed over them for ages, bought one and now he hates the thing.

1.8t is such a good engine though, very reliable, and really nice to drive. My experience is with an older S3, so a bit different with power and added 4wd, but the engine alone made me love that car.

Plus, with just a forge recirc and an air filter its dead quiet but on boost it sounds like a jet :D
 
paradigm said:
Pfft.

I can get 40~ out of my Leon Cupra R. 30-35MPG is par for the course with "normal" driving.

Obviously driving it like you "should" gets me around 18MPG average.
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Oh good, glad you poked your head in here. :)

Glad to read it's not so bad. The car will mainly be driven by the wife and she's got a significantly lighter right foot than me, so MPG should be about the same as my Swift Sport (~35), which revs around 3.5K at 70 and sounds like an angry wasp.

What is the Cupra like for cruising at 70-80? I imagine it'll be a lot quieter than my CTR?
 
It's certainly far quieter than my friends CTR, they are far more refined and better built (interior quality wise) than the Honda. Mine sits just about off boost at 70MPH, which obviously means that you can eek 40MPG+ out of a motorway run.

Go much beyond 75 and you'll be spooling up the turbo and taking a plunge economy wise.
 
paradigm said:
It's certainly far quieter than my friends CTR, they are far more refined and better built (interior quality wise) than the Honda. Mine sits just about off boost at 70MPH, which obviously means that you can eek 40MPG+ out of a motorway run.

Go much beyond 75 and you'll be spooling up the turbo and taking a plunge economy wise.
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excellent I'vebeen considering a Cupra R too to replace my Honda - glad to hear 70mph is just under the turbo boost area as I don'tspeed on motorway - and anywhere near 40mpg would be great

I'm guessing 4.5k should get a half decent mid-range mileage one?
 
I ended up buying a ZR myself and it's been a solid little motor. I have the 1.4 as that's all I could insure at the time. As for them being difficult to maintain and drive well just lol. They're really no more difficult than any other hatchback to look after and driving it is hardly difficult. In fact it's easier to work on than my last pug. They may be known for head gasket issues but every car has its faults and this happens to be the ZRs main one. Way blown out of proportion I think and hardly a costly repair either. At the end of the day it's always a risk buying a second hand motor. As for the drive it's a personal thing, I think it's fine for what it is, yeah the gearbox isn't as smooth as say a new fiesta but then again I hate cars where everything is so smooth and light I don't feel attached to anything so actually prefer it. Maybe I just got a good one perhaps.

Not saying go buy the ZR, just don't write it off all together due to someone's mates experience with one without having a look. Like I said with cars sometimes you just need luck, you can't always predict a failure.

You seem naturally inclined to go for the leon anyways and if you prefer the appearance of it then go for that as it's a pretty solid car also. My friend has just sold his leon (not sure on model of his) and he had nothing but good things to say about it except that the door seals on his started leaking. Not sue if it's a common fault as I've never had one but that'd be an easy spot.

Anyways best of luck with whatever you go for. Personally I think they're both pretty good motors, especially with them both being so cheap at the moment.
 
Astra G/Mk4 1.8 16v SXi/SRi is 'warm' (8.5s 0-60) handles well enough and book figure gets you 37mpg, which I used to easily achieve on a long run.
Although I know nothing about them I am also obliged to mention the ford focus (which I'm not sure why you're labelling 'mundane', surely they wrote the book on good handling modern hatchbacks???)

Then again you seem to want to get something 'unusual' and hot rather than getting the best car you can for your money. If you're wanting to keep the costs low should you be looking for something so highly strung?
 
Well I wouldn't class a Cupra 180 as particularly highly strung. My (irrational?) dislike for the Focus is in its ubiquity and the oddball centre console layout (which I can't stomach).

If I land this job, I will see a nice pay increase so slightly higher running costs than a bog standard 1.8/2.0 NA aren't a real issue to me.

I'll do some proper homework when/if I get this job.
 
Leon/MK4 Golf and you can actually pay 2k and get a good one.

I'm trying to sell mine for 2k at the mo but the milage may be a bit high for you (148k) but it's really solid now I've spent a bit on it in the earlier ownership days, I did 750 miles last week and got 42.5mpg average :) 1.8t stage one remap.
 
Picked up a Leon Sport 1.8 20V T this evening. One male owner, full Seat history, 2001 Y plate, Pirelli P6000s all round (lots of tread), 53K on the clock for a measly £2250. The cambelt needs doing, but other than that it's pretty much spot on. Nigh on immaculate inside, and excellent externally. Could do with a polish as the paint's a bit swirly.

The only issues I've found so far:

- Mirror adjuster playing up *edit* it's actually not. Turns out that in one position both mirrors move, and you adjust the NS mirror separately in the other position
- Door lightbulb dead
- Head unit is being a pain (more like I tried inputting the radio code without reading how to do it properly in the manual, thus putting it into 'safe' mode)

Saw a couple of others before this one, and the difference in condition between them was night and day. Another I looked at was a one lady owner car, and it was a total and utter shed. To say it was filthy under the bonnet was an understatement. This only further cements the fact that lady owners are not always a good thing to have on a car! Did really want leather seats, but you can't be too choosy at this end of the market. I'll get some pics up at some point.
 
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