Advice on any of these cars..

Jamesyboyjim said:
Try not to use 2k, Astra and reliable too often in the same sentence. :p

I've known many Astra's in my time and reliable is not a term I'd use! Although where about's are you? A friend of mine is (I think still) selling a 200bhp Astra for 2.5 grand I believe.
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Haha Fair point, I think I've pretty must ruled Astra's out!

Janesy B said:
Anything cheap and reasonably pokey has a chance of being abused. Fiesta ST just has a 2.0 duratec like you'd find in a Focus or Mondeo of the same age, it's nothing special but it is reliable.
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Very true, I didn't realise the Fiesta ST is non-turbo! I will have another look into them, going to check insurance first as it could be a deal breaker.

Nasher said:
Also the ST is built to be thrown around and will still be sharp, the Astra isn't :D
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Very true, I wondered if Ford had a Barry Boy Racer mood board up when they designed it :p.

Acme said:
Corolla / Celica T-Sport
Clio 172/182
Fiesta ST150
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I'm going to have a look into the Corolla and Celica too!

Thanks again for all the responses, I must say, I'm leaning towards the Swift at the moment, as although it's one of the least exciting options, it should be reliable.
 
Corolla T-Sport will trade blows with an EP3 Type R in a straight line and the engine sounds glorious when you are doing so, but it has to be said that the suspension setup on the Corolla needs a lot of fettling to get it to the same level as something like a Type R or an ST.

The Celica feels a lot sportier because it is lower to the road, lower driving position, and so on, but it is no faster. (some people say it is slower)

It does have hydraulic PAS though, whereas the Corolla is electric.

PM me if you want any more info on them, I've had one of each (though it has to be said my particular Celica was a bit of a cut and shut shed) :p
 
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Jamesyboyjim said:
Fabia Vrs maybe?
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If I could afford one of the new one's maybe, not a fan of the older one's. Purely on personal preference though, I'm sure they're good cars.

Acme said:
Corolla T-Sport will trade blows with an EP3 Type R in a straight line and the engine sounds glorious when you are doing so, but it has to be said that the suspension setup on the Corolla needs a lot of fettling to get it to the same level as something like a Type R or an ST.

The Celica feels a lot sportier because it is lower to the road, lower driving position, and so on, but it is no faster. (some people say it is slower)

It does have hydraulic PAS though, whereas the Corolla is electric.

PM me if you want any more info on them, I've had one of each (though it has to be said my particular Celica was a bit of a cut and shut shed) :p
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Thanks Acme, will do. From a brief look on AT, I think I'd get a better Corolla for my money. My 25 GTi is quite low down, a driving position I do like, but I'm already starting to get bored of falling into it :p
 
Oh, thats another bonus with the Corolla T-Sport, I found the insurance to be very cheap. It was half the price of an EP3 Type R to insure, and half as much to buy as well! :)
 
Its also that a lot of them are owned by your "typical corolla owner" rather than someone who was after a sporty hatch, because they walked into a dealership and asked for the best Corolla, or it got upsold to them.

It makes me die a little inside when I see a little old lady driving about in a T-Sport. :(
 
Acme said:
Its also that a lot of them are owned by your "typical corolla owner" rather than someone who was after a sporty hatch, because they walked into a dealership and asked for the best Corolla, or it got upsold to them.

It makes me die a little inside when I see a little old lady driving about in a T-Sport. :(
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I could've sworn you were an old lady... :p
 
Do you get the beaded seat cover, ornamental tissue box and CD of religious literature hanging from the rear view mirror as standard, or are they dealer supplied options?
 
It was a very good car. All it needed was a decent suspension kit to make it a proper hot hatch. I loved the slight sleeper aspect of it too. Mincing people in a grey Corolla was amusing. :D


The noise is the thing I miss the most...



Might have to ditch the MX5 and buy another Toyota... Easily my favourite car that Corolla. Aside from the BMW of course. :p
 
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In a straight line its every bit as fast as either of those, this is a rare subject where I actually know what I'm talking about ;)

Throw in some twisties and the Corolla would either be left behind or embedded in a tree though, as I said. :p

I could go through my usual rigmarole of linking drag race videos and telling anecdotes, but I'm not going to do it again!
 
You don't and it isn't quick enough to "mince" anything with a bit of power, though in reality the person driving the car makes more of a difference than a second or so 0-60 time.

Isn't a bad car to consider for a low budget to be fair
 
I do. :rolleyes:

Let me lay it down in raw facts for you. It is 40KG lighter than a Clio 197, only has 5 less HP, and hits 60MPH at the top of 2nd gear. The Corolla needs a good launch and a perfect shift into second gear to keep up because all the power is at the top, but it will. Please feel free to look up and verify anything you like, but to say I don't know what I'm talking about when I do is very hypocritical good sir!

And no it isn't a bad car for the price, hence my recommendation! ;)
 
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Not exactly, I'm just not having a good day!

Anyway, I've gone through several cars since then so its not like I'm trying to defend my car anymore, merely trying to get across some useful information.

A Corolla T-Sport (facelift) is a good car for this money. They are well specced as well for a cheapy hot hatch, with a decent interior, automatic climate control, and auto wipers. Thats not to say that the pre-facelifts aren't decent too, but the interior is pretty dire, they don't have any Toyotasport styling cues, and the suspension is even worse than the facelift. They also lack the front strut brace and possibly the mid brace.
 
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Janesy B said:
If you can actually find one, and one that isn't a complete shed though...
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This is the challenging part! A face lift model looks to be out of my budget. The older one's have a 0-60 of 8.4, only .5 quicker than a Swift Sport which is (just about) in my budget range, and will be newer/ better equipped.

After doing some reading the 207 GTi has the R56 Mini engine which is somewhat notorious. I'm guessing that's why no one has suggested an S?

I might look into the Renaults suggested, although I know a couple of 182 owners who've had nothing but trouble with them.
 
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