Changing from a mini cooper

kaotikuk

kaotikuk

kaotikuk

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5 Feb 2012
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881
Im after changing my car soon, im after something with similar power, still 3 door, but slightly bigger as it would be a bit easier carrying my climbing stuff etc around. I was planning on changing months ago with a bigger budget and was hoping for something more powerful then but realised i just didnt have the funds and also didnt really need crazy power as the cooper has more than enough!

£3000 would be the max i can go, the mileage on my mini is at 88k its a 2001, so hoping for something with less mileage now to!

Cheers in advance for any advice.
 
Ye its just sometimes theres a few of us, and the bouldering mat takes the whole boot/seats down back space so no room. Also its a pain getting my mountain bike in and out, however i was looking at roof bars for it so thats not an issue i guess!
 
If you want ease of use for mountain biking then find an estate, it really is that much nicer to be able to finish riding and just sling the bike in the back without doing anything else. For climbing any hatch will do the job unless you've got a crazy large bouldering mat. I've had 4 and 2 mats in a 205 without it being more cramped than usual.
 
At £3k I struggle a bit to think of much that will be similar bhp/t to the mini, but have more useful space without going up a couple of classes.

Focus I guess but i'm not sure what you'd go for in terms of engine, maybe the na 2 litre

Civic would be the older ep shape I guess, but if you stay away from the type R (which you'll want to for the money) all that will give similar performance levels would be the 2 litre type S, which looks pretty terrible!

£3k astra I woudln't wish on my worst enemy.

Golf would probably be a mk4 for any sort of reasonable performance at £3k, very old now and if you're willing to do that you could get a mk1 Octavia VRS or leon cupa I guess - I think both will feel quite dated after a mini though.

If you're happy to go bigger then accord or mondeo estates are massive and come with decent engine options, though not exactly pretty
 
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Buy a roof box and put the climbing gear in there?

Mk4 Golf isn't a bad shout. Assuming that you may be going to some inhospitable places (I'm guessing this due to the climbing gear) then a mk4 V6 4motion for £2.5k would be fairly quick and offer 4WD if needed.
 
If you go down the Mk4 Golf route, fit a proper steel skid plate for ~£150. They sit surprisingly low and can be at risk of sump damage if you're on very uneven ground unless you're careful: the standard plastic noise dampeners are useless for protection.
 
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