Soldato
It may be a push, but could you get a 2016/17 Scirocco R for that money?
Which ~15k Hot Hatch?
- Thread starter iaind
- Start date
Not keen on anything 3 door.. We dont use the back seats that often but when we do it would be a pain. Would probably manage to get the MIL into the back but not sure we'd ever get her out again!
Soldato
I thought they only came in 3 doors?
Caporegime
M135i is where I'd put my money.
Probably a bit on the small side in normal guise. I have a weird like for the clubman but a 190ish-bhp estate probably isnt going to be up there for excitement. Didnt see any JCW ones during my searches, not even sure if they did one with the clubman
I'd be going for the focus ST as well. Responds better to being driven hard vs 135i which tends to get a bit loose
Have you tried the BMW seats with lumbar support option? Not standard on the M135/F30 which is a bit dumb but might help you if you can find one with that option. Recaros in ST are ace
Have you tried the BMW seats with lumbar support option? Not standard on the M135/F30 which is a bit dumb but might help you if you can find one with that option. Recaros in ST are ace
Soldato
I went from a 2009 Mazda 6 2.2 (diesel) to a 2017 Focus ST3 (petrol).
Obviously a massive difference but it hasn't stopped putting a smile on my face these last 20 months. I do drive it hard so fuel economy isn't great but I didn't get it for that.
The Recaro seats really hold you in well and after driving for a few hours I don't feel as tired like I did in the Mazda.
Not had any problems with it yet and am tempted by the new one already.
Obviously a massive difference but it hasn't stopped putting a smile on my face these last 20 months. I do drive it hard so fuel economy isn't great but I didn't get it for that.
The Recaro seats really hold you in well and after driving for a few hours I don't feel as tired like I did in the Mazda.
Not had any problems with it yet and am tempted by the new one already.
Caporegime
For £15k give or take an M135i takes some beating imo, yes the pedals are not central as such which is annoying but I’m damn sure if I could find a position where it didn’t bother my 48year old irritable back then I’m sure you could, especially given I was enjoying a 118d Sport (which was a hoot if you drove it like a cretin) the 135i very very very much more so.
Offer 15 for this when you get there. It will sell.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201905248300009?atmobcid=soc3
Offering a private seller £2k less than asking on a16 grand car is...brave
OP I have an ST and it's been a great car - about the only thing I'd consider is whether it's worth spending a bit more on a car that comes with sync 3.
I'd also consider the 135i - the best thing you can do is drive one really. My focus is mapped bit still feels a good notch down from the BMW, plus will never ever sound as good or have the auto box.b
The Leon cupra is also worth a drive despite you not thinking it's worth it over a GTi - I'm not a massive fan of the interior but performance is again a bit stronger than the ST (even when the Ford is mapped though I suspect real world there is little difference) and they handle well.
The MK3 Octavia handles a lot better than the MK2 (which I had and hated) but isn't really competitive with the others whilst the GTi doesn't feel much slower than my car, suspect a performance pack model would be just as quick. However spec can be a bit stingy and it just doesn't do it for me when the R can be had for not much more cash
I've driven the type R too - good car but questionable interior style (mismatching seats) and quality (shocking door plastics) and pretty awful infotainment vs any of the others. I'd have one for the engine/chassis but that needs to be your priority
OP I have an ST and it's been a great car - about the only thing I'd consider is whether it's worth spending a bit more on a car that comes with sync 3.
I'd also consider the 135i - the best thing you can do is drive one really. My focus is mapped bit still feels a good notch down from the BMW, plus will never ever sound as good or have the auto box.b
The Leon cupra is also worth a drive despite you not thinking it's worth it over a GTi - I'm not a massive fan of the interior but performance is again a bit stronger than the ST (even when the Ford is mapped though I suspect real world there is little difference) and they handle well.
The MK3 Octavia handles a lot better than the MK2 (which I had and hated) but isn't really competitive with the others whilst the GTi doesn't feel much slower than my car, suspect a performance pack model would be just as quick. However spec can be a bit stingy and it just doesn't do it for me when the R can be had for not much more cash
I've driven the type R too - good car but questionable interior style (mismatching seats) and quality (shocking door plastics) and pretty awful infotainment vs any of the others. I'd have one for the engine/chassis but that needs to be your priority
Thanks rodenal, I think we might have had a mk2 VRS at the same time, I seem to remember talking about them on here some years ago with you. I didn’t hate mine but was doing quite high mileage so the comfort wasn’t good and mine didn’t have any options over the basic spec which was stingy, so manual ac and the like.
I think the 135i isn’t for me, mainly the concern over comfort. I won’t be doing big miles annually but it means my usage will be longer trips at weekend, I’d hate buying something and finding I can’t stand driving it. It’s got to the point when I book a hire car for work I always plead “anything but a BMW PLEASE!” for that reason. I get it’s leagues ahead in power but it’s also a step up in running costs and complexity and I’m not sure it’s worth it to me on balance.
With the ST I guess the big thing with Sync 3 is CarPlay. That sort of appeals but I can’t see me spending more than a grand or so extra to get a newer car just for that. What sort of power does your focus make with a map? Was it worthwhile do you think? Does yours torque steer like crazy in 1st and 2nd or was that the cheap tyres the dealer out on?
I’ll see if a cupra comes up locally, I actually quite like the interior. Plenty nice 16/66 golfs around but mainly non-performance pack ones with the standard nav. A few have keyless and heated seats which is about all I’d wand on top of the standard gti spec.
Pretty sure I’m down to the ST or GTI at this point. People seem to love the GTI sand it’ll have good residual value too
The Type-R couldn’t be further from what I wanted really
I think the 135i isn’t for me, mainly the concern over comfort. I won’t be doing big miles annually but it means my usage will be longer trips at weekend, I’d hate buying something and finding I can’t stand driving it. It’s got to the point when I book a hire car for work I always plead “anything but a BMW PLEASE!” for that reason. I get it’s leagues ahead in power but it’s also a step up in running costs and complexity and I’m not sure it’s worth it to me on balance.
With the ST I guess the big thing with Sync 3 is CarPlay. That sort of appeals but I can’t see me spending more than a grand or so extra to get a newer car just for that. What sort of power does your focus make with a map? Was it worthwhile do you think? Does yours torque steer like crazy in 1st and 2nd or was that the cheap tyres the dealer out on?
I’ll see if a cupra comes up locally, I actually quite like the interior. Plenty nice 16/66 golfs around but mainly non-performance pack ones with the standard nav. A few have keyless and heated seats which is about all I’d wand on top of the standard gti spec.
Pretty sure I’m down to the ST or GTI at this point. People seem to love the GTI sand it’ll have good residual value too
The Type-R couldn’t be further from what I wanted really
Caporegime
GTI is a solid car, you should be able to find one with performance pack in budget. You can get the DSG which I think is a great gearbox.
eg.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201902225194356?sort=year-desc&quantity-of-doors=5&keywords=performance&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&postcode=mk44gu&aggregatedTrim=GTI&advertising-location=at_cars&transmission=Automatic&price-to=17000&model=GOLF&radius=1500&make=VOLKSWAGEN&page=1
eg.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201902225194356?sort=year-desc&quantity-of-doors=5&keywords=performance&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&postcode=mk44gu&aggregatedTrim=GTI&advertising-location=at_cars&transmission=Automatic&price-to=17000&model=GOLF&radius=1500&make=VOLKSWAGEN&page=1
I've never had my car on a rolling road so technically don't know how much of an increase I have, but would guestimate it to be around the 275bhp point. Superchips claim an additional 45 bhp but I doubt it in all honesty.
As I had the handset I only paid something like £230 for mine so definitely worth it imo, though it naturally exposes weaker points and I've now got a potential boost leak to sort out (had the map on over a year however).
In the dry my car doesn't torque steer too much at all unless you are pushing on through tight corners, however traction is an issue in the wet. It's running ps4's all round at the moment which have been great so far.
Android auto/ carplay is the big shift to sync 3 yes, although the system is generally quicker too. When I had a quick look it seemed like a grand would get you into the newer system - I agree it's not worth spending thousands on but when you're buying a model close to the change over i think it could make the car quite a bit more appealing in terms of resale.
Having said that it can be retrofitted fairly easily, I only have the small screen as I have one of the first cars, albeit I've upgraded mine to sync 1 nav too (unimpressive tbh)
As I had the handset I only paid something like £230 for mine so definitely worth it imo, though it naturally exposes weaker points and I've now got a potential boost leak to sort out (had the map on over a year however).
In the dry my car doesn't torque steer too much at all unless you are pushing on through tight corners, however traction is an issue in the wet. It's running ps4's all round at the moment which have been great so far.
Android auto/ carplay is the big shift to sync 3 yes, although the system is generally quicker too. When I had a quick look it seemed like a grand would get you into the newer system - I agree it's not worth spending thousands on but when you're buying a model close to the change over i think it could make the car quite a bit more appealing in terms of resale.
Having said that it can be retrofitted fairly easily, I only have the small screen as I have one of the first cars, albeit I've upgraded mine to sync 1 nav too (unimpressive tbh)
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I quite like it
I don't really class the Octavia as a hatch TBH, it's a decent car, I used to have a vRS myself, but it's a big old unit compared to everything else you're looking at.
First time out giving mine a bit of right foot and I was surprised how much more weight it felt to have than proper hot hatches.
First time out giving mine a bit of right foot and I was surprised how much more weight it felt to have than proper hot hatches.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
I mean it's literally a hatchback..