4k budget - reliable yet fun hatchback

Er diesel is boring, i know i have been there in supposedly one of the best "sporty" diesel engines the e46s 330d.

It was quick i will give it that but no diesel i have yet driven has been...ya know.. fun... really... properly... fun.. just fast.
 
I would still def consider a diesel like that... just thinking the size of the engine will make for costly insurance?? I turn 25 in May :/
 
Oh, you were calling it boring hah! :)

I have a remapped 535d which is fast and much smoother than the diesel e46 from the late 90s... but I would 100% agree diesels are not as fun as their petrol counterparts.

However the car industry is full of compromise, and you can still get enjoyment from the right choice.
 
cmrastra said:
So would a regular civic VTEC do me well enough than a type r, fro some MPG improvements?
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Depends on what you're looking for. I've owned them both at the same time (and still own the regular 1.8). The Type R was more "on it" all the time. It had high revs on any motorway journey and the suspension was harder than my 350z. What that meant on the flip side was it was the best car I've chucked around a country road by far. The engine is extremely rewarding because you have to constantly try and keep it in VTEC. On the flipside the regular one drives normally and doesn't have such unforgiving suspension in comparison. However, it doesn't feel as rewarding on a country road but I still enjoy it.

Fuel economy was quite different. Around town I was getting 25mpg in the Type R and about 33-35mpg in the 1.8. On the motorway the most I ever got was 31mpg in the Type R sitting at 62mph with cruise control on for ages. Alternatively if I do that same driving style in the 1.8 then I can get slightly over 50mpg.

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@mccarf , thanks for those comments. I do think this is a good opportunity for me to get my first "on it" type car as you say.. but I do wonder if i could still get a good experience with the 1.8 and get better returns on the MPG.
What are your thoughts on the 1.8 iVTEC compared with 2.2 Diesel?
I love the sound of the type r, but I do wonder whether it is just a bit too impractical in terms of wanting to constantly rev it and thus the MPG.
 
Nasher said:
But you'll get a lot more for a Type-R when you sell it so does that make up the difference? :)
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Not in my experience. The regular one is cheaper to buy and run (as with most hot hatch vs regular cars really). The only thing that did shock me was the clutch change was significantly cheaper on the Type R than the 1.8! I lost a fair whack selling my Type R because literally nobody wanted to buy it. I had more interest for an orange Nissan Micra than the Type R:eek:

cmrastra said:
@mccarf , thanks for those comments. I do think this is a good opportunity for me to get my first "on it" type car as you say.. but I do wonder if i could still get a good experience with the 1.8 and get better returns on the MPG.
What are your thoughts on the 1.8 iVTEC compared with 2.2 Diesel?
I love the sound of the type r, but I do wonder whether it is just a bit too impractical in terms of wanting to constantly rev it and thus the MPG.
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I do like my civic as a car but if you're specifically looking for a fun car then there are better options around. The smaller breed of hatches can deliver both more fun and similar economy but you'll have to sacrifice having a 5 door. Suzuki swift, Twingo RS, Panda 100hp and Fiesta Zetec S are great little cars which will be more fun to drive than a diesel down a country road.

For the civic specifically I went for the 1.8 petrol because I knew it would be blasting around delivering pizzas for hours every day. I chose the petrol because I prefer the form of power delivery and the fact that there's slightly less to go wrong (no turbo etc). I can't really comment much more than that though because I've never driven the diesel one although I've heard they're decent cars, but again not exactly the pinnacle of hatchback fun for £4k.
 
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