330ci vs TT225 vs S3

Molemanmus

Molemanmus

Molemanmus

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I'm in the market for a new fun car and can't seem to decide between these, I understand that they are all very different cars but all look impressive on paper, does anyone have any thoughts? Opinions on owernship?

Budget is around £3000

330ci
+ Bigger
+ Lovely smooth straight 6 engine
+ RWD
- A bit bland
- Not much can be done in the way of performance gains.

Audi TT 225
+ Nimble? How are the handling on these compared to the other?
+ Turbo - a lot of BHP increase to be had without costing the earth.
- Basically a 2 seater

Audi S3 B8
+ Same engine as the TT
- Heavier
- Not as nice looking

These are my initial thoughts so far. The car will primarily be used for fun and a bit of commuting....not covering that many miles a year < 7000 I estimate.
 
I doubt the vehicle price is much more.

It's just as quick and there is probably better examples out there then the ci's as everyone rags them ;)
 
JonnyGeee said:
I doubt the vehicle price is much more.

It's just as quick and there is probably better examples out there then the ci's as everyone rags them ;)
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I'd have thought quite the opposite, i've not seen a £3k 330d that isn't ruined.

Edit to actually be constructive:
What size of car do you actually want and want else do you need it to do? MX5 is always a good shout for a fun car you can use every day. Otherwise i'd suggest a newage Subaru Impreza WRX, 225bhp with AWD and the parts are very cheap, granted it won't be as good on fuel but the total cost of ownership probably won't be any worse than an ageing beemer. FOr £300 remap you'll be at about 260-270bhp and the upgrades are pretty much endless if tuning is your bag.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...wrx/subaru-impreza-41t-wrx-turbo-2004/3683632
 
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An old 330d makes no sense for £7k per year - as above most are gubbed at the budget anyway.

The 330ci is not noticably bigger than an S3 btw, very similar particularly in terms of cabin space.

The BMW drives better than the others, if you can find a well sorted one. In performance terms there is very little in it (real world, not looking up stats). BMW bit brisker once on the move, but it's very smooth so doesn't really feel like it whereas if traffic light gp's are your thing the other two feel quicker off the mark due to the haldex system. The only thing making the 0-60 look "bad" is the change to 3rd.

Out of the two Audi's I'd have the TT every time so long as it is practical enough for you to own it. A tidy one still looks very nice today. Then again I wouldn't even consider them next to a 330 IF I could find a reasonable one for £3k

If interior isn't of any concern to you then I think a remapped or prodrive wrx is also worthy of consideration as above. Feels much quicker than a TT or S3 mapped to similar power
 
I wasn't a fan of the TT and went for a 330ci a couple of years ago - can't beat the handling but expect it to break. A lot :p
 
Sorry should have made this clearer, ideally I would want a car that could comfortably seat 3 people for a few short journeys every so often however I would be willing to compromise on this if for example the TT was a MUCH better purchase over the others. I'm not too concerned about MPG (anything between 25-30Mpg on a sensible run should be fine).

I'll be honest I do like a nice interior, I haven't thought about WRXs and I'll definitely look into them, however I can see them being very similar to my previous car, Galant VR4.

As for the 330d....I think that would be a terrible move, the initial cost is much much higher for an okay example and it seems pointless getting a diesel for my requirements.


sovietspybob said:
I'd have thought quite the opposite, i've not seen a £3k 330d that isn't ruined.

Edit to actually be constructive:
What size of car do you actually want and want else do you need it to do? MX5 is always a good shout for a fun car you can use every day. Otherwise i'd suggest a newage Subaru Impreza WRX, 225bhp with AWD and the parts are very cheap, granted it won't be as good on fuel but the total cost of ownership probably won't be any worse than an ageing beemer. FOr £300 remap you'll be at about 260-270bhp and the upgrades are pretty much endless if tuning is your bag.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...wrx/subaru-impreza-41t-wrx-turbo-2004/3683632
Click to expand...
 
Bimmer every time. The engine is just perfect for the car. Sounds amazing and the power delivery is great. Really opens up after 4k to the redline.
 
Vita said:
Bimmer every time. The engine is just perfect for the car. Sounds amazing and the power delivery is great. Really opens up after 4k to the redline.
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Agreed with this, you really need to rev it to get the best (no surprise in an naturally aspirated engine) out of it but like you said 4k to the redline is pretty damn sweet! Below that and it feels fairly pedestrian.

MPG wise, 80% of my driving is commuting a very short distance to work, about 3miles on the dual carriageway and a further 2 miles of fair free moving town driving, I average about 25mpg.
 
Atari said:
I wasn't a fan of the TT and went for a 330ci a couple of years ago - can't beat the handling but expect it to break. A lot :p
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I think you've been particularly unlucky.

I've had my 330Ci facelift coupe for a year now, and in that time the only thing that has failed is the PAS pump, something that could go on any car with PAS.

Other than that I've only had to change the drop links and that wasn't urgent.

It won't necessarily break a lot. That's not to say they're uber reliable or anything, of course they're not, the youngest are 10 years old now. But they're not all falling off the roads.

Buy on condition.
 
No, I'd agree with you completely. I picked a bad one and ended up nuts deep into it to the point where things would break and it'd be worth diddly squat to try and break :p

They are fantastic cars and I know a few chaps who have had no real dramas with theirs, there's a couple of jobs that will potentially need to be looked at but nothing really difficult - cooling system and suspension being the two main ones.

Don't get an autobox would be my advice :)
 
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