Help please - Have £4000 but didn't like the ST220

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Hi guys

I have £4000 to spend would spend a bit more if its something special

max insurance group 16 maybe 17 im only 21

I have driven 2 mondeo st220's both had done around 100k miles. This has been my dream car for 2 years and im really disapointed i was expecting it to be a lot faster, they was also showing 22-23 mpg on the computer

i had a 328 with less power, it felt faster and silky smooth like it wanted to be reved, the v6 st220 felt like it was been hurt at high revs.


I like clio 172s but they are too small for me i need a big boot as im self employed and have to lug my tools around with me.

can anyone recommend a car to me? i want something pretty nippy like 7 secs to 60 cheers
 
Hmm, tough one. Could get a higher milage Audi S3 but the MPG may be smilar or worse than the ST220.

I think anything thats faster would need to be jap but for 4k you would end up with an average or molested Impreza and the interior might not impress you compared to the Mondeo or BMW. Compromise would be the order of your quandry I feel.
 
im not too fussed about the mpg was just supprised my 328 was a lot better then 22 mpg

the car can by petrol or diesel not fussed
 
ST220 doesnt feel fast at all, i noticed this when i took one for a test drive. Mind you neither did the 3.2 Audi engine in the A3/A4/Golf etc.. as its N/A

if the ST220 doesnt hit the spot then you need something turbo and jap imho.

How about a galant VR4 ?
 
FTO is around 7 seconds to 60, has a decent sized boot, better mpg, looks great and 4k would buy you a great one. They are probably a bit older than the cars you are likely to be interested in though. :D
 
How is that legnum worth so much :confused: Its a 1997 car!

reputation.

the VR4 has a bit of scene tax attached to it. Being 4x4 , 280bhp and jap, its held in the same sort of regard as the evo by some quarters.

Plus they're jap imports only, so a certain rarity about them too will push prices up.
 
Octavia VRS + remap? Plenty of space. Can't say I've driven one though so can't comment on the speed.

Aero

I agree, great car for the money! I wouldn't bother with the map though, depends what you want.
I have had mine from new (5 years)
 
Maybe they don't 'feel' that fast but everything else mentioned here is frankly rather naff compared to an ST220. I don't think you can do better for the money, you can of course get a faster car or a car with similar or less pace that 'feels' faster but it isn't likely to be as good as an all-round package. The ST220 is really unbeatable at the sub £7k price point for the type of car that it is.

The ST220 'should' feel like it wants to be revved, it really comes alive over 4.5k rpm ...you really feel it start to pull past 4k when the exhaust note starts to really sound. It's power is at the top of the power band not the bottom, so it should not have felt like you described "being hurt by being revved" I think there must have been something wrong with the ones you drove, sounds like they were a bit ...used and abused to me.

I don't really know what to suggest other than a 3 series BMW for the same sort of money. You could buy an aged Japanese turbo car but it'll be rather naff compared to the ST220 in every way except it's ability to go fast.

I think you need more money really, quite a lot more to acomplish what I think you are trying to.

The only other thing that springs to mind is a Volvo S60 T5 ...but weather you think it 'feels' any faster than the ST220 is really a question only you can answer. It certainly doesn't to me when revved hard, it pulls much better lower down the rev range though but it doesn't respond so well to been cained.

For £4k though, they don't come much faster than the VR4.
 
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just because they are cheap and high milage why would they be slow?

ive bought a lot of high milage cars with no service history and they havn't been slow

my 328 had done 155k miles and my mate in his 172 couldnt keep up with me on the long straghts
 
MG ZS 180 or MG ZT 190?

I test drove a 328 before buying a ZS 180 and the 328 felt slower. The ZS obviously has 40bhp less than the Mondeo but the handling it gives you is fantastic and it feels plenty fast enough for me.
 
MG ZS 180 or MG ZT 190?

I test drove a 328 before buying a ZS 180 and the 328 felt slower. The ZS obviously has 40bhp less than the Mondeo but the handling it gives you is fantastic and it feels plenty fast enough for me.

No offence but compared to an ST220 the MG ZS is a piece of **** and the ZT is slower and 'feels' slower or it did to me.
 
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