New "fun" car time - looking for suggestions

Gibbo said:
Apart from the understeer and hair dresser looks the 5 cylinder TT RS is an insanely quick car and hugely chuckable.

TTRS with stage 1 map is about 4s to 60, stage 2 is sub 4s and around 8s to 100mph they are more or less stock GTR quick with a couple of grand thrown at them for a remap and exhaust. Very chuckable, very easy to drive very quick.

But can you put up with hair dresser comments and the dull handling and having to manage understeer, you can remedy it some with ARB's.
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Don't think you'd get a TTRS for £15k though. Even if you could it would be bottom of the barrel.
 
They start at £20k so you'd probably want £22-23k to have a pick of a decent bunch.

You could pick up a Leon Cupra 280 for just over £15k and tune to 400bhp with a stage 2. The MQB platform is very capable handling wise, shared with S3 Golf R etc.

Few examples:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...e-from=15000&search-target=usedcars&logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...rchad=used,nearlynew,new&model=leon&logcode=p

And stage 2:
https://www.vagtech.co.uk/portfolio/seat-leon-cupra-280/

Only thing is it's FWD.

However saying that ... :eek:

 
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For that money i'd be looking at Elises/VX220's or possibly an Evo X myself i think.

You could go way cheaper and get something like a classic scoob (what i did after i got rid of mine) or an MX5 or even a mk3 MR2 and then look to change the engine to a 2ZZ and make it the 'japanese elise' :p

Think my ultimate would be a K20'd elise, has anyone ever done that with a VX220 as i've never really seen any engine swap info with those people tend to just supercharge the 2.2's?
 
All the obvious choices of Impreza, EVO, Elise have already been mentioned. Having driven Imprezas for 17 years I would be biased in saying get a decent one with sensible mods. However, another option worth considering is to get an older Clio 172/182 or Civic Type R to use as a track car. You can pick them up for a few £k complete with cage, coil overs and spare wheels.

Stick a set of slicks on one set of wheels and do a few track days to get the hang of it, and then enter some hillclimbs, sprints and races. They are eligible for various series and the civics even have their own race series which limits the mods you can are limited to keep the budgets low and the racing close. What you spend in a season on fuel, brakes and tyres would be similar to what you would lose in depreciation and servicing on a £15k high performance car. For 10-15 weekends of the year you'll have a huge smile on your face, and if anything breaks you can get 2nd hand parts for a few hundred pounds at most from a breakers yard.
 
Sorry I've not replied sooner, I've been reading the comments but not had chance to formulate a decent response.

So I've booked a test drive of the Porsche Cayman via a dealership in Solihull, Birmingham, and have also requested a test drive for the Nissan 370Z. Nissan called me back but I missed it. Hoping to have both drives on the same day for a decent comparison.

I would say any and most FWD cars would be out of the option for me, regardless of how capable or what potential they have. I picture myself getting frustrated with damp/wet grip levels when at low speed trying to accelerate. The image of wheel spin and hop out of junctions and on to round abouts is stuck in my head :D

Caterham/kit cars would be fantastic in terms of their driving experience. Ultimately though it would be rather difficult to take the wife out to a nice meal in one.. the toy still needs to be nice enough to go out with on an evening or similar.

Focus RS - not deliberately not mentioning it. It's a great car I'm sure, fantastic even. But a big waiting list and zero chance of driving one (until my colleague gets his) means it's likely to not be an option for me. Rarity + seemingly targeting of Fords in Birmingham recently puts me off also.

Audi TT RS - yes out of £15k cash budget, but well within budget should I choose to finance at all. Good shout, hadn't thought of one. Definitely sound great and go very well. Did they do it in manual at all? I'll have to check.. handling I imagine to be a bit dull being an Audi, but then so's a standard Subaru so could hopefully change that.

Turbo MX-5 is still screaming at me for some reason, so I can't dismiss that idea until I somehow try one.

Clarkey, appreciate the offer of a go of the Silvia, I tend to pass Wolves a lot recently due to work, so may take you up on that one day now the evenings are getting brighter again. Very kind of you to offer, thank you.

BMW 135i is a great car, but again doesn't really say "fun" to me or appeal to me.

I look at a lot of cars that I think are great but wouldn't personally buy, I'm sure it sounds crazy but I guess that's just personal preference.

:)
 
If I could have afforded a 370 Nismo I'd have probably gone for that over my 350. But my 350 is now better than the 350 Nismo.

I love the mx5 turbo idea (having done it myself with a whopping 236bhp) it just put a grin on my face, everytime I drove it - and it surprised a lot of more capable cars.

The s15 is also a good shout IMO.

TTRS whilst a little numb (from what I've been told, I've only drive a TTS) in terms of handling, is stupidly fast and good fun for that thrill point of view. :)
 
ScoobyDoo69 said:
Audi TT RS - yes out of £15k cash budget, but well within budget should I choose to finance at all. Good shout, hadn't thought of one. Definitely sound great and go very well. Did they do it in manual at all? I'll have to check.. handling I imagine to be a bit dull being an Audi, but then so's a standard Subaru so could hopefully change that.
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Yeah they do a manual. Which is probably what I'd opt for if on a budget/no warranty. They are stupidly quick, don't let the 340ps put you off if you think its not enough.

I guess handling is all subjective to what your used to, it grips well and is forgiving in the sense that you can trust the car to get you round the corner. In terms of steering wheel its probably the same as any TT.

If you're planning to modify it then you can make it a 10 second car.

 
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If going for a manual TTRS the clutch's are weak and will need to be upgraded to a SMF and performance clutch if you are intending to modify. You can get performance Haldex unit's as well to make it send more power/torque to the rear for not too much.
 
Kosta, when I finally finish mine it. If you still want to experience a turbo 5, you're more than welcome to the keys to mine for an hour or two
 
It'd be good to compare the Nismo to non Nismo 370Z. But I'll see what the dealer has, if no Nismo available, I can at least get the feel of the normal 370Z.

Good to know about the manual TT-RS - I'll look into them as well.

Phil, very kind of you. :D
 
Honestly the TTRS will blow away anything else you're considering in every way including interior fit and finish. That or a cheaper/older TTS would be my choice.
 
ScoobyDoo69 said:
It'd be good to compare the Nismo to non Nismo 370Z. But I'll see what the dealer has, if no Nismo available, I can at least get the feel of the normal 370Z.

Good to know about the manual TT-RS - I'll look into them as well.

Phil, very kind of you. :D
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I drove a couple of TT RS both manuals, one was completely standard from Audi dealership and another was a friends stage 1 car with anti roll bars.

The completely standard car is still a very quick car, I really cannot think of any sub 400BHP road car that is really faster. Off the mark just simply floor it at 1000rpm, no need to hold revs as the cars turbo and torque from the 5 pot give it some really nice low-down power and it will just go, the engine really is a master piece from Audi as it almost feels NA as the car has power throughout the entire rev range, not just 3000rpm and above, there is torque and power much lower down. I think the standard car hits 100mph in around 10s and more power comes very easy and low cost.

Handling wise there is a lot of grip but the car has strong understeer so much so I found it really fustrating on several attempts I put the car into a roundabout or corner and the car always wanted to push, even absolutely mashing the loud pedal did not bring the rear round at all, it just understeered more, was a complete mess at the limits of handling. :(

The stage 1 car even though was only around 60BHP more felt like it had over 100BHP more, in a straight line the acceleration was superb, were talking GTR quick and it sounds pretty good too due to the 5 cylinder and at this power levels 60mph comes sub 4s with ease and 100mph around 8.5s for what is a £500 remap. My mate did eventually go stage 2 and uprated clutch, but I never drove it but I think it gained another 20-30BHP and was hitting 60 in around 3s and 100mph in around 7s, he used to take it to the airfield days and run it against Lambo's, 911 turbo's and it beat them, simply because it was so easy to launch the car from a standstill with relative little stress on the drive line.

Handling on the car with the uprated anti roll bars, kept the car flatter but it still had understeer, the problem is Audi put the engine in front of the axle so there is no so much you can do, you simply cannot defeat physics on this car, yes you can improve it but end of the day it is still a FWD quattro system with a big heavy lump in the nose, if you can adjust your driving style to cope with understeer you can cover ground incredibly quick not much on the road would keep up with one but will you be grinning like a Cheshire cat or will you be fustrated because the car lacks true balance.

The other thing the Audi has going for it is the interior and overall quality, it will be far better and nicer inside than the Porsche or Nissan, is a very nice place to sit and commute in, it is also comfy as well, its a great all rounder and should only be dismissed if you want a car more focused on driving involvement and balance.

In the end my mate upgraded to a Porsche Boxster Spyder with less power, it kind of tells you everything really, he sacrificed power for handling and balance.

I think if you drive a Cayman S, 350/370Z and an Audi TT RS you will find it hard to resist the Porsche as the handling/balance is incredible, the engine loves to rev and the flat 6 behind your ears sounds so mechanical and great. The Cayman S is as good as it gets in a road car for balance and feel, truly incredible. The 350/370Z have stronger mid-range punch but compared to the Cayman simply cannot compete unfortunately for driving dynamics and driver enjoyment. The Audi is at the opposite end, supercar performance for little money acceleration wise but dull to drive in comparison. Drive all three and see which one suits you most.

Problem for me with Audi TT, no matter how fast one is, well its still an Audi TT and in fairness the Golf R is a better drive, no idea how VW did it but the Golf just has better balance than the TT, but pointless to mention as they are still rather new and very expensive unless you can still get them on the crazy lease deals VW was once offering.
 
I have no doubt that the TT-RS will be numb in comparison to the others. How numb is the question that will need some answering.

You have to remember I came from a very short geared 400bhp STi where there was just so much involvement in keeping up with the gear changes :D The thrill from the short burts of acceleration were also a big part of the involvement. Acceleration feel is much more exciting with short gearing.

Who knows, the TT-RS might well be the one for me. Reality is that it's steering and very understeery nature will put me off.

Other options that I haven't considered are cars that have had some money spent on mods already. However, a feel for the standard car is required before I even begin to think about modified versions.

But this is what test drives are for. I'm in no rush to buy anything. The longer it takes, the more I have to spend. :)
 
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