It has, the Cupra is effectively an Edition 30 equivalent and is completely wasted on someone who just wants a car faster than a 1.8 Focus
£5K (give or take) something quicker than a Focus but just as reliable
- Thread starter ShiWarrior
- Start date
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 35,094
- Location
- Oxfordshire / Bucks
i dont mind how fast the car is, i love fast cars, but the tax puts me off. My work commute is short, so i haven't noticed no difference in fuel from my clio sport to my Focus, id love something fast again, but as long as its reliable, not too old and not high mileage , and i need parking sensors, as i can never judge how close i am when reversing. and ive always had heated mirrors in all my cars , im at work by 5:40 so its very handy in the winter months
The manual golf gti, octavia and Leon are probably reliable.
http://www.thatchammotorcompany.co....via-2-0-tfsi-vrs-5dr-thatcham-201708088142822
Any 2.0 turbo will be £280 tax anyway
You can retro fit parking sensors too
Last edited:
I know I think the FR, GTI and VRS of that era all have the same 200bhp Tfsi perhaps I should have worded my post better but I meant in the list of hot hatches I named they are either more powerful eg VXR, MPS, ST or a better drivers car and all round package "GTI, VRS" than the FR.
Op seems more concerned with gadgets like heated mirrors and parking sensors and not having high tax so maybe he should re evaluate what he is looking for and forget the performance aspect and just look for a more modern standard hatch
Not really and it's often the mechatronics unit not the actually DSG itself. Yes, it can be costly to repair, think around the £1800 mark (used to be) but quite a few people had it recognised as a recall style fault getting it done for free or at a heavily discounted rate. Once the mechatronics unit is replaced it's as reliable as a manual and it's only units from the first couple of years that had the issues.
Mine is at 110K and pulls with no issue at all. Didn't think i'd ever drive an automatic but it's just lovely to drive.
I hope it's trouble free for you.
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 35,094
- Location
- Oxfordshire / Bucks
on the subject of DSG and autos i drove a new 1 series BMW last year, a rental car, it was an automatic, no idea if its DSG or not but that was lovely to drive it was a 118D i think and that felt much faster than my Focus
Yes "felt" much faster because it has low down Torque and a Turbo for instant acceleration response but it still only has 143bhp and 8.9 seconds to 60 compared to your 125bhp 10.2 seconds Focus.
If you think 143bhp is fast enough you should have mentioned that earlier on and saved 3 pages of 200+bhp hot hatch recommendations
. You should just be looking for generic diesel A3's and 1 series BMW's if that's the case. You should try the mk3 Focus that started in 2011 it's completely different to your mk2 and much nicer interior wise. You can get a 2011 for 5.5k nowadays and can have your parking sensors etc
Not sure a modern diesel is the best choice for a short commute especially early on cold winter mornings, unless OP can be pretty sure hes going to get a good extended drive frequently too.
Maybe one of those new fangled 1.0l turbo 3 cylinder petrol jobs would be up his street though.
Maybe one of those new fangled 1.0l turbo 3 cylinder petrol jobs would be up his street though.
tbh, anything over 10 years old can be, but then, so can new cars. It's a risk you take with older cars. I had an old mk3 golf 1.4, gear box went on that and VW wanted nearly £2k to replace it inc labour. Local garages wanted £1200 for it. A reconditioned one was £800. The car was worth £600.
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 35,094
- Location
- Oxfordshire / Bucks
I said no diesels for a good reason, i do about 6-8K a year in miles and the way that Government and Diesels are going at the moment, id rather not get one
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 35,094
- Location
- Oxfordshire / Bucks
Yes "felt" much faster because it has low down Torque and a Turbo for instant acceleration response but it still only has 143bhp and 8.9 seconds to 60 compared to your 125bhp 10.2 seconds Focus.
If you think 143bhp is fast enough you should have mentioned that earlier on and saved 3 pages of 200+bhp hot hatch recommendations
You should just be looking for generic diesel A3's and 1 series BMW's if that's the case. You should try the mk3 Focus that started in 2011 it's completely different to your mk2 and much nicer interior wise. You can get a 2011 for 5.5k nowadays and can have your parking sensors etc
I was looking at petrol 1 series BMWs and Audi A3s but some people on here say that at 5K im not going to get a good one
The petrol BMW's of that era have some well known expensive problems. You could probably get a decent enough 2007/8 A3 for 5k but the performance won't be much different to your Focus.
Your best options if you enjoy driving and want something fun are the Civic Type R or a VRS Octavia. But if you just want a nicer car with slight power upgrade then you have the A3, mk3 Focus, and the TFSI Golf for your budget
The more i read this the more I really think a non Type-R civic is the answer. If you go for an ex-gt they meet every one of your criteri, are faster than your focus, considered reliable, and crucially you can have a good one for 5k.
An old Audi probably isn't much better really. Plus they can be a pain if something breaks on them. The labour costs are a killer because they love to install things in stupid places.
The most unreliable car I've ever owned was a diesel A3.
Last edited:
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 35,094
- Location
- Oxfordshire / Bucks
Do you (or anyone here) understand which trim is which ?
is there something that looks better (like a Type-R or with a "sports bodykit" type of thing and have the extras on like parking sensors?