Soldato
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- 18 May 2010
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Ive had more vtec engines than i can count on my fingers and thumbs, i love them but they are old news and become tiresome after a while, maybe stormster feels the same way, maybe he doesnt
7k performance hatch
- Thread starter Stormster
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Soldato
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- 12 Dec 2002
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- 2,951
If you are think of a corsa VXR then my money would be on the astra version, whilst the dash design is poo the materials and build are good (better than a focus), mechanically they are bomb proof bar gearboxes but providing you don't go too mad with remaps they are fine.
Handling... Well, they are very well damped but due to no rear antiroll bar they will understeer when pushed, I'm not sure why GM decided not to fit one (possibly concerned by target audience and liftoff oversteer) but a white line bar can be fitted for around £170 and drastically changes the handling of the car and makes it much more neutral.
That said I prefer the steering and engine of the ST and it looks slightly more grown up.
Megane 225/230 is only worth getting in R26 form the diff and suspension make the car, also it's only these versions that you can actually turn the TC off. Mechanically, the one I had for a bit the aircon died and there was a weird occasional rattle from the exhaust which possibly was a baffle loose somewhere also very occasionally the tyre presure sensors would act up. The engine bay is mega tight.
If you are just after torque and a smooth ride get the ST if you want a car which is fun to blast around in get the VXR and if you want to go fast round a track get an R26 megane.
Handling... Well, they are very well damped but due to no rear antiroll bar they will understeer when pushed, I'm not sure why GM decided not to fit one (possibly concerned by target audience and liftoff oversteer) but a white line bar can be fitted for around £170 and drastically changes the handling of the car and makes it much more neutral.
That said I prefer the steering and engine of the ST and it looks slightly more grown up.
Megane 225/230 is only worth getting in R26 form the diff and suspension make the car, also it's only these versions that you can actually turn the TC off. Mechanically, the one I had for a bit the aircon died and there was a weird occasional rattle from the exhaust which possibly was a baffle loose somewhere also very occasionally the tyre presure sensors would act up. The engine bay is mega tight.
If you are just after torque and a smooth ride get the ST if you want a car which is fun to blast around in get the VXR and if you want to go fast round a track get an R26 megane.
Gets my vote... although not 200bhp and might be a bit ropey at £7k.
Associate
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- 23 Mar 2009
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Golf gti/octavia vrs/leon fr seem the obvious solutions to this but an 08 might be a push. I think your age requirement is going to cause issues unless you look at the class below which you appear to be leaving pretty much only the corsa vxr in the turbo category which I suspect after the initial excitement you'll get fed up of too. mini cooper s is there i suppose but ride on them isn't amazing either and obviously they're a bit of a marmite car.
Although if you want high 20s/30s "around town" you might want to not look at hot hatches, I struggle to get that in my little 1.4T mito around town. In fact I'm pretty sure I don't.
Although if you want high 20s/30s "around town" you might want to not look at hot hatches, I struggle to get that in my little 1.4T mito around town. In fact I'm pretty sure I don't.
Cheers for the suggestions 
R32, Focus ST, similar doing 22mpg around town won't be ideal for me really... although they are both lovely and make excellent noises
I'll quickly touch on Fox's post as we've been here before and I won't argue about it but my EP3 Type R used to do 45-50 miles consistently to £10 of fuel around town. Around town being 30mph residential roads. My Fiesta does 60 miles to £10. Fox is good with numbers, he can work out my real mpg from that.
I'm a little wary of french stuff but the Megane 225 Cup's and 197/200's do seem good value. No idea how reliable they are and maintenance costs... Granted my Fiesta isn't that powerful (possibly 160-165BHP) but parts are dirt cheap, no cambelt to worry about and my EP3 was very reliable so I've been spoilt somewhat on the general running costs score.
Do like BMW 1 series... are 130i's in budget? Would it fleece me on fixing stuff? I read plenty on here about BMW coolant systems going pop, expensive wishbones etc.
I really don't find the bigger cars are my kind of motor, so I won't really look at those. Not my cup of tea, not really into heavy wafters
Relentless I think you are right really, loved my Type R but would like something boosted again, nice amount of low down grunt for quick progress without razzing the thing to death. Nice feeling of powah!
Loads of suggestions though, not really a Leon fan, prefer 3 doors etc but will have a mooch about.
Had the Fiesta a couple of months, nice little car, just want something a generation newer, little bit bigger, softer riding, more torque/power etc. I do between 16500-18000 a year, 70% town, 30% country roads/motorway I would say.
Will get myself onto PH to check that guide!
R32, Focus ST, similar doing 22mpg around town won't be ideal for me really... although they are both lovely and make excellent noises
I'll quickly touch on Fox's post as we've been here before and I won't argue about it but my EP3 Type R used to do 45-50 miles consistently to £10 of fuel around town. Around town being 30mph residential roads. My Fiesta does 60 miles to £10. Fox is good with numbers, he can work out my real mpg from that.
I'm a little wary of french stuff but the Megane 225 Cup's and 197/200's do seem good value. No idea how reliable they are and maintenance costs... Granted my Fiesta isn't that powerful (possibly 160-165BHP) but parts are dirt cheap, no cambelt to worry about and my EP3 was very reliable so I've been spoilt somewhat on the general running costs score.
Do like BMW 1 series... are 130i's in budget? Would it fleece me on fixing stuff? I read plenty on here about BMW coolant systems going pop, expensive wishbones etc.
I really don't find the bigger cars are my kind of motor, so I won't really look at those. Not my cup of tea, not really into heavy wafters
Relentless I think you are right really, loved my Type R but would like something boosted again, nice amount of low down grunt for quick progress without razzing the thing to death. Nice feeling of powah!
Loads of suggestions though, not really a Leon fan, prefer 3 doors etc but will have a mooch about.
Had the Fiesta a couple of months, nice little car, just want something a generation newer, little bit bigger, softer riding, more torque/power etc. I do between 16500-18000 a year, 70% town, 30% country roads/motorway I would say.
Will get myself onto PH to check that guide!
You'll have to compromise (it won't be 2008+ for that budget), but they are available, and don't all appear to be completely fubar at that budget either!
I never found BMW parts or servicing to actually be that expensive (never had them carry out a repair though, I did all that either myself or at a local garage I trust). No idea if the coolant system in the 1'er is as bad as it was in the E46 and E39 (or even my brother's pre-LCI E90), but even if it is, it's not a hugely expensive refresh. As for the rest of it, well the car's age might be coming up to a suspension bush refresh, but they are available separately.
I haven't looked for a while, but 7k never used to get you close to a good condition, well specced 130i. I'm sure you could get one with little to no options ( though in a 1 that would be pretty nasty) but for a car you'd really want I would have thought 9 to 10k is what you'd want to spend.
Op you are kidding yourself r.e mpg, so you're getting about 27-28mpg just now ( miraculously). Want a bigger, heavier, more powerful car ( and already have experience of the kind of urban mpg they give) but think you'll get the same? Just be realistic and expect low 20's. Its not like there is even a noticeable cost difference between the two!
I'd probably go either Octavia vrs, golf gti ( though I think you might struggle again) or fn2
Op you are kidding yourself r.e mpg, so you're getting about 27-28mpg just now ( miraculously). Want a bigger, heavier, more powerful car ( and already have experience of the kind of urban mpg they give) but think you'll get the same? Just be realistic and expect low 20's. Its not like there is even a noticeable cost difference between the two!
I'd probably go either Octavia vrs, golf gti ( though I think you might struggle again) or fn2
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No he can't, what a terrible way of working out how much MPG the car gets.
How about you actually start doing some sums and work out what MPG you are actually getting. And then you can compare to what an ST or other boosted engine will get. Then you will see the monthly difference in fuel cost is marginal to say the least.
Not the Octavia vRS, unless you want the one i've got sitting on my drive with a snapped timing belt which I have no inclination to fix.
I actually get more enjoyment driving the 1.25 Fiesta i picked up for £500 to see me through to selling the vRS and getting something else.
My 2c if it helps at all, is that I'd really struggle to go back to a hatch again after having saloons/coupes/'verts but if I was to do so it'd probably be a Renaultsport Clio 197/200. Can pick up a '07 plate with under 50k for your budget i'd imagine.
Apparently so, despite being into the main dealer several times where i was charged £90 to plug it into a laptop and them not find out what was causing the engine management light to come on and recommending things that needed doing over and above that fault they failed to notify me that the timing belt was due.
Partly my own fault i know for not checking, but a full Skoda SH and you kinda expect them to know a bit about what the car needs doing to it.
You are right - you'd be looking at more like 8k if you stick to the age mileage criteria and even that might not be enough to get a decent example.
I'm not sure it is possible to hit all the OPs requirements. Something is going to have to give or the budget increased!
I just don't think that someone who is apparently looking for a sharp handling, chuckable hatch would enjoy the size and weight of the vRS, it's a very capable family car with a huge boot and a turbo, but a classic drivers car it is very much not.