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4 seat weekend car

Ephraim

Ephraim

Ephraim

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18 Jan 2006
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209
I've been pondering this for a while, and will no doubt ponder it for longer too before committing to anything. But I thought I'd canvas thoughts here to see if anyone has any great ideas.

My daily is a 2000 Jag XJ8. Lovely motor; comfy, refined, easy to drive and relatively practical. The wife drives an 05 Nissan 350Z and has no interest in changing it anytime soon.

Up until the end of last year I had a Mazda RX-8 which I loved very much, and was planning to take to do some hillclimbs and sprints this year; but then it met a kerb, a lamp post and a tree and that idea was shelved. I'm now thinking about getting a third car for weekends, but am struggling to come up with anything that meets the criteria.

I'd like any weekend car to have 4 seats, so that I can actually use it at weekends, when there's me, the missus and our 5 year old.
It needs to be a bit of an event to drive, and different to the Jag.
It needs to be capable enough to take to sprints, hillclimbs and autotests/autosolos to compete with minimal modification (production car class).
Budget is £3k now, or £7-8k with 12 months or so of saving.
I'd prefer not to revisit RX-8s (I've had 2 and loved them but fancy a change).

Any thoughts?
 
Relatively limiting requirements there. Assuming you want to go fast (hill climb events etc), the only things I can think of at your £3k budget are the range of 90s japanese turbo cars; skylines, early evos, imprezas, 200sx etc. Not sure they'd be much of an event compared to the XJ or 350z though.

Similar (ish) to your XJ, but what about an XK?
 
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If you want something that isnt a world away from your xj8 i would look at a toyota soarer preferably a turbo. You're only going to get an auto at 3k but having owned both of these cars the toyota was miles ahead of the jag in just about every regard and a lot more fun while still being a comfortable cruiser.

200sx is a good suggestion although if you plan on keeping it in production car class i wouldn't recommend it.

A supra i think ticks the boxes either an NA now for 3k or a turbo for around 6.
 
Bit of a wild card but the Laguna Coupe is a really unusual and seemingly nice car. Can pick up a 4 year old with 40k on the clock for some £7,000. A lot of a car for the money imo.
 
Thanks for the thoughts so far, chaps.

Outright speed isn't actually that important, obviously I don't want anything slow but I don't need tons of speed. Fun handling is more important.

I worry that the Soarer or XK would be too similar to the XJ8. Auto also not so good for competitive stuff. Turbo japs are a good shout. We've had two imprezas in the past (an '06 hawkeye WRX and a classic turbo 2000) so I'd steer clear of those, but a Supra might fit the bill. Only slight reservation is that the turbo puts the competition class up a bit.

Are M3s special? I know this sounds like blasphemy, but I worry that they'd just feel like a faster ordinary BMW. Never driven one, so I don't know.

The laguna is one hell of a wild card, didn't even know they existed! Looks like the fastest ones are only available with auto boxes tho...
 
Accord Type R.
DB8 (4 door DC2).

I'd go with the ATR. Lovely car, comfortable on long journeys, very capable on track/back roads. Fantastic engine, can be quite frugal. Gearing may frustrate you at times, but it makes it more rewarding I guess. Loved mine, soaked up everything I threw at it. Did the 'ring and Spa, made much faster machinery move out of my way.
 
Ephraim said:
The laguna is one hell of a wild card, didn't even know they existed! Looks like the fastest ones are only available with auto boxes tho...
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Aye, it's really rare. Sold in very few numbers as the list price was sky high and when they finally brought it down to sensible levels (20k for the 2L diesel) the model was axed from RHD market.

It's a beauty though. You'll only really find the 2L diesels second hand as the more expensive ones sold in that few a number. Not sure of the situation re: gearboxes on the V6 models.
 
944? Only the lower end lux would be viable at that budget though.

E36 M3 or more likely for that budget a 328i?
 
DC5 in range of the higher budget! Although as fun as the LSD is, I think I'd rather have something RWD or 4WD and turbo'd for that type of use!
 
There was a Laguna coupe local to my old flat which always caught my eye. How they made that so pretty and the saloon so boring I'll never know. The rear end is almost Aston Martin. Not sure if they're fast or good or reliable mind you!
 
Coming back to this thread and seeing the 944 suggestion got me thinking about another car, providing that you are happy to consider something from the 80's.

Mercedes 190e Cosworth. Go for a 2.3-16 that is a solid as possible. They were built with racing in mind and have a some racing heritage including that iconic Senna race. You can keep it pretty much standard as much like the m3 they built these for a bit of spirited driving. They handle very well but straight line speed isnt all that, it has around 180-190hp. iirc they weigh about the same as a clio so that makes up for a lot. You also get 4 doors and 5 seats!

as for the Porsche i did own the little brother to the 944, a 924s which shared the 2.5 engine of the 944 amongst other things. I bought it for the nurburgring but drove it too hard before that date and destroyed the engine. It was fun however in the back of my mind i kept comparing it to an mx5. Given the availability, support and after market parts thats seamed like the better option.
 
It might take you a while to find a halfway decent one but what about an E39 540i 6-speed?
Straight through pipes and they sound gorgeous. Plenty of grunt and a lot of fun with the 6-speed manual gearbox.
 
944 is a good shout. I had one for a few years and it was brilliant fun. Not sure the wife would go for it, to be honest. Mine was a bit of a Friday afternoon special and cost fortunes to keep going. Whilst I'd do a better job choosing another think that the missus might fear the worst.

I had a 2.0 Accord as an interim snotter for a bit and was very impressed. The chassis was excellent and it never missed a beat. The ATR quite appeals, but I'm worried it would be a bit bland. The type R thought has got me looking at Integras tho...

The Merc is not one that I'd considered either, and might work. I shall have a look into that. And I had no idea that they did a manual e39 540, so again a good shout (tho perhaps a bit big for hillclimbs?).

Thanks again all.
 
MilanoChris said:
Accord Type R.
DB8 (4 door DC2).

I'd go with the ATR. Lovely car, comfortable on long journeys, very capable on track/back roads. Fantastic engine, can be quite frugal. Gearing may frustrate you at times, but it makes it more rewarding I guess. Loved mine, soaked up everything I threw at it. Did the 'ring and Spa, made much faster machinery move out of my way.
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Why the DB8?

TBH I'd never have got rid of my DC2 if i'd have realised how short a period it'd be impractical for.

Once your child can walk the 3 doors of the DC2 wouldn't be an issue, the boot is massive for it's class and if the OP wants an event to drive, the VTEC is that if you're the right sort of person, and the handling is honestly as good as the hype, sheer joy on road and track.

edit: Just to add, when i bought my MX5 recently i thought long and hard about a DC2 again, i was so close to doing it because i knew how much i miss it, i only went with the MX5 because I've never owned RWD at the age of 38 and considering myself a driving nut! That's not really an issue for someone who's got a 350Z in the household!
 
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wesimmo said:
Why the DB8?

TBH I'd never have got rid of my DC2 if i'd have realised how short a period it'd be impractical for.

Once your child can walk the 3 doors of the DC2 wouldn't be an issue, the boot is massive for it's class and if the OP wants an event to drive, the VTEC is that if you're the right sort of person, and the handling is honestly as good as the hype, sheer joy on road and track.

edit: Just to add, when i bought my MX5 recently i thought long and hard about a DC2 again, i was so close to doing it because i knew how much i miss it, i only went with the MX5 because I've never owned RWD at the age of 38 and considering myself a driving nut! That's not really an issue for someone who's got a 350Z in the household!
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Because even when it was just me and the GF, the back seats were a PITA. I imagine with having a child and doing weekend jaunts around the place potentially with lots of kit, the extra practicality of having 4 doors may appeal.

Having owned both the DC2 and two ATR's, I think for the OP the ATR would be the better choice.
 
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