Man of Honour
- Joined
- 5 Jun 2003
- Posts
- 91,820
- Location
- Falling...
Hi chaps,
Well after my day catching up with people at the Rolling Road day it reminded me of how great it is being able to own your own car. Owing to changes in my circumstances I shall be handing back my company car and seeking out my own.
I’m in 2 minds, of either buying or leasing, but seeing as I like to tweak my cars, I doubt leasing will be the right way to do. As such my budget is around £7k, but the less the better of course!
The criteria are fairly broad but there are some must haves:
RWD or AWD
Petrol
As many mod cons as possible (I love my cruise control and comfort – must be getting old
)
Those are the 2 major issues, tax, mpg and insurance aren’t really much of a concern for me, and I’ll only be doing around 8-10k miles a year max on average. We have a second car at home so the car doesn’t have to be that practical, but I’m not adverse to 4 door or 2 door, or 2 seats or 4-5 seats.
Whilst I love them, things like Imprezas and Evos are a little too garish / conspicuous for me – I’m much more of fan of subtlety – hence why I enjoyed my ST24, and my MX5 – they don’t look special but are a little bit more “fun”
However, I am open to ideas. Not adverse to convertibles.
I have tested driven a few cars recently, and are all complete opposites to one another, but there were things about them that drew me to them.
The 4 cars I’ve recently tried are: 350z, Z4, Mazda 6 MPS, GT86
Now the GT86 would have to be leased as there aren’t any in my budget or financed – so perhaps that’s out of the picture. However, since it may help you guys to have a think about what I’m after, I loved how it drove, sure it wasn’t that fast, but it was fun, the cabin was pleasant place to be, and you could squeeze 2 people in the back if you had to. I love how you can the oversteer is progressive and you can have a lot of fun with the car even at lower speeds, and it is surprisingly able to cruise on the motorway with little fuss or feeling like a “smaller” car, and sits on CC happily whilst still being able to listen to the radio and your passenger without having to shout. I like the styling and it had all the toys I’m interested in (Sat NAv isn’t something that is important to me). It does have potential for turbo charging/modifying so it has appeal for me. I’m afraid I’m a fettler – I can’t help it!
Exceeding 200bhp should be easy enough – but you do have the trash the engine a fair bit to get the best out of it, which on a country road is fine, but could get tiresome?
The 350z – I love these, the way they look, the way they sound (but only with an after market exhaust to make them come to life) as well as a decent breathing mods does to it. The GT pack makes it a very comfortable place to be and relaxing to drive. They’ve got decent enough performance out of the box, and handle very well despite being a heavy car – which is something to think about. I also think they’ve aged really well and still look “cool” now. Potentially big performance tweaks will be feasible (but at big cost – but other than a few bits does it really need it?). Also, it only has 2 seats – is that an issue? Not really, but something still to consider – I’ve seen a few good ones within my budget. Having had a go on cruise, on a dual carriageway for 10 mins, it was comfortable and a pleasant place to be. The cornering whilst heavy, is compliant, and changes direction well, and likes a bit of “steer from the rear” which makes me smile, it has an LSD which adds the pleasure to the corner. The brakes offer great feedback. Sure, it’s not a sports car, but it’s a good compromise between a comfy cruiser and something which likes to be driven in a spirited manner. The torque curve is pretty flat, and makes it easy to drive lazily, as well as giving it some beans. The 276bhp should be increased reasonably to nearly 300 with a little work.
Z4 – haven’t really seen many in my budget, I drove the 2.0 SE so wasn’t all that powerful, but the chassis was sublime, though desperately needed more . You do feel cocooned and the interior although simple (this was the SE) everything felt functional. It was a nice place to be and can’t deny that the driving dynamics were fab, however, although this was around my budget, it didn’t have many of the mod cons I’d have liked – I guess that’s because it was the lower spec version. I also think I’d need a test drive in a 2.2. or 2.5 to really get much more enjoyment out of it as it did feel very underwhelming power wise. It was an older car than the 2 previous, and did feel it, but was still in great condition. Whilst I’m not ruling it out, I doubt there is one that will tick my boxes for the budget I’m looking for? However it was woefully underpowered compare to the rest – and perhaps that’s why it didn’t impress me as much?
6 MPS – right, COMPLETELY different car to the others. However, I REALLY liked it. Sure it’s heavy. Sure it’s big. And it does look REALLY boring. However in a strange way, I like that. It understeers a bit, but add that throttle and thanks to the AWD the back comes back round comfortably– it handles surprisingly well. The engine note is a little dull and unimpressive, though again, this car with a 2.3L turbo charged engine is EASY to modify and get to 300bhp (breathing mods + remap) and sounding a little more meaty. The torque curve again is relatively flat making it easy to drive aggressively, or lazily depending on your mood. It’s got seats for 5 people, all the toys you could want and a decent boot. It won’t attract attention. I liked how it delivered it’s power, and I liked how quiet it was on cruise at 70mph. The chassis is remarkable for such a big car – stiff, and handles corners with confidence and ease. It’s not exclusive, it doesn’t stand out, and it doesn’t attract attention – I don’t know if that’s good or not. What I do like is that it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing , and lends itself to my fettling nature easily.
So I’m not really sure what I want. For the money and bang for buck, the MPS will probably offer the most. But there’s something about the 350z that also appeals enormously. I think I’ve discounted the Z4 and GT86… are there other cars that may be worth looking at? I’m also thinking, do I need a 4 door/5 seat car? Then again does it matter? I don’t have kids yet and have access to another 4 door car….
Trying to think what’s more important to me – the funky or the subtle, the agile or the faster is better…. Or all of them?!
Well after my day catching up with people at the Rolling Road day it reminded me of how great it is being able to own your own car. Owing to changes in my circumstances I shall be handing back my company car and seeking out my own.
I’m in 2 minds, of either buying or leasing, but seeing as I like to tweak my cars, I doubt leasing will be the right way to do. As such my budget is around £7k, but the less the better of course!
The criteria are fairly broad but there are some must haves:
RWD or AWD
Petrol
As many mod cons as possible (I love my cruise control and comfort – must be getting old
)Those are the 2 major issues, tax, mpg and insurance aren’t really much of a concern for me, and I’ll only be doing around 8-10k miles a year max on average. We have a second car at home so the car doesn’t have to be that practical, but I’m not adverse to 4 door or 2 door, or 2 seats or 4-5 seats.
Whilst I love them, things like Imprezas and Evos are a little too garish / conspicuous for me – I’m much more of fan of subtlety – hence why I enjoyed my ST24, and my MX5 – they don’t look special but are a little bit more “fun”
However, I am open to ideas. Not adverse to convertibles.I have tested driven a few cars recently, and are all complete opposites to one another, but there were things about them that drew me to them.
The 4 cars I’ve recently tried are: 350z, Z4, Mazda 6 MPS, GT86
Now the GT86 would have to be leased as there aren’t any in my budget or financed – so perhaps that’s out of the picture. However, since it may help you guys to have a think about what I’m after, I loved how it drove, sure it wasn’t that fast, but it was fun, the cabin was pleasant place to be, and you could squeeze 2 people in the back if you had to. I love how you can the oversteer is progressive and you can have a lot of fun with the car even at lower speeds, and it is surprisingly able to cruise on the motorway with little fuss or feeling like a “smaller” car, and sits on CC happily whilst still being able to listen to the radio and your passenger without having to shout. I like the styling and it had all the toys I’m interested in (Sat NAv isn’t something that is important to me). It does have potential for turbo charging/modifying so it has appeal for me. I’m afraid I’m a fettler – I can’t help it!
Exceeding 200bhp should be easy enough – but you do have the trash the engine a fair bit to get the best out of it, which on a country road is fine, but could get tiresome?The 350z – I love these, the way they look, the way they sound (but only with an after market exhaust to make them come to life) as well as a decent breathing mods does to it. The GT pack makes it a very comfortable place to be and relaxing to drive. They’ve got decent enough performance out of the box, and handle very well despite being a heavy car – which is something to think about. I also think they’ve aged really well and still look “cool” now. Potentially big performance tweaks will be feasible (but at big cost – but other than a few bits does it really need it?). Also, it only has 2 seats – is that an issue? Not really, but something still to consider – I’ve seen a few good ones within my budget. Having had a go on cruise, on a dual carriageway for 10 mins, it was comfortable and a pleasant place to be. The cornering whilst heavy, is compliant, and changes direction well, and likes a bit of “steer from the rear” which makes me smile, it has an LSD which adds the pleasure to the corner. The brakes offer great feedback. Sure, it’s not a sports car, but it’s a good compromise between a comfy cruiser and something which likes to be driven in a spirited manner. The torque curve is pretty flat, and makes it easy to drive lazily, as well as giving it some beans. The 276bhp should be increased reasonably to nearly 300 with a little work.
Z4 – haven’t really seen many in my budget, I drove the 2.0 SE so wasn’t all that powerful, but the chassis was sublime, though desperately needed more . You do feel cocooned and the interior although simple (this was the SE) everything felt functional. It was a nice place to be and can’t deny that the driving dynamics were fab, however, although this was around my budget, it didn’t have many of the mod cons I’d have liked – I guess that’s because it was the lower spec version. I also think I’d need a test drive in a 2.2. or 2.5 to really get much more enjoyment out of it as it did feel very underwhelming power wise. It was an older car than the 2 previous, and did feel it, but was still in great condition. Whilst I’m not ruling it out, I doubt there is one that will tick my boxes for the budget I’m looking for? However it was woefully underpowered compare to the rest – and perhaps that’s why it didn’t impress me as much?
6 MPS – right, COMPLETELY different car to the others. However, I REALLY liked it. Sure it’s heavy. Sure it’s big. And it does look REALLY boring. However in a strange way, I like that. It understeers a bit, but add that throttle and thanks to the AWD the back comes back round comfortably– it handles surprisingly well. The engine note is a little dull and unimpressive, though again, this car with a 2.3L turbo charged engine is EASY to modify and get to 300bhp (breathing mods + remap) and sounding a little more meaty. The torque curve again is relatively flat making it easy to drive aggressively, or lazily depending on your mood. It’s got seats for 5 people, all the toys you could want and a decent boot. It won’t attract attention. I liked how it delivered it’s power, and I liked how quiet it was on cruise at 70mph. The chassis is remarkable for such a big car – stiff, and handles corners with confidence and ease. It’s not exclusive, it doesn’t stand out, and it doesn’t attract attention – I don’t know if that’s good or not. What I do like is that it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing , and lends itself to my fettling nature easily.
So I’m not really sure what I want. For the money and bang for buck, the MPS will probably offer the most. But there’s something about the 350z that also appeals enormously. I think I’ve discounted the Z4 and GT86… are there other cars that may be worth looking at? I’m also thinking, do I need a 4 door/5 seat car? Then again does it matter? I don’t have kids yet and have access to another 4 door car….
Trying to think what’s more important to me – the funky or the subtle, the agile or the faster is better…. Or all of them?!
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