Hot hatch for £6k

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Soldato
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In the market for something small-ish, current considerations are as follows, however, any suggestions on others to look out for?

Absolute max budget £6000, happy to only spend £3-4k.
180-250bhp.
2006+
Cruise Control would be nice.
Not fussed for MPG.

Aiming for less than 70k examples but really depends on the individual car and what it's had done to it maintenance wise.

Megane R26
Civic Type R
Clio 197

Thanks :)


EDIT: Am I pretty much looking at what's suggested in the 10k thread but older I suppose?
 
You are going to ignore me and everyone else will call me barmy, but a 2006 Corolla T-Sport Compressor would be an interesting alternative to a Type R. :) About 225BHP from a 1.8 supercharged straight 4 with VVTL-I (like VTEC). Sounds awesome as well...

They are quite rare, only 500 made, but good ones can be had for £5K.

They will do 0 - 60 in 6.5 seconds, and you could get 40MPG on a run if you so wished... (I know you said you're not fussed about fuel economy, but not many hot hatches of that era can top that)
 
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The above is probably the best option actually, I forgot about those!

Awesome cars! :D

MK5 GTI would also be in budget. As would a Focus ST225. :)
 
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Downside of the MPS is that the fuel and tax are disproportionately expensive. On paper at least, most modern hatches with those performance figures are sub £300 tax and will do mid to high 30s mpg. I've not driven one, granted, and paper figures only tell half the story. I know OP says he's not bothered about MPG but it's worth mentioning as 20mpg could get boring after a while

If it was me, I'd be looking at an A3 3.2 Quattro or possibly even a Volvo C30 T5. But then I dont really like hot hatches that much...I'm not even sure how I found my way into this thread

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201601160134866
 
You might get a Golf R32 for 6K too, but I'm not sure what sort of condition it would be in.
 
Try them all and just buy what you like the best tbh

Add an a3 3.2 to the list too - a £6k r32 will be on vcar

A £6k corolla is laughable - at closer to half that it's worth considering
 
mk5 Golf GTI would be worth looking at.

Or... you could get a mk1 TT 225 coupe or v6 coupe and loads of spare cash if you don't need usable rear seats. They have a mahooosive boot though if you need to carry things.
 
Hades said:
mk5 Golf GTI would be worth looking at.

Or... you could get a mk1 TT 225 coupe or v6 coupe and loads of spare cash if you don't need usable rear seats. They have a mahooosive boot though if you need to carry things.
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always thought the tax on the v6 TT would be insane. but its the same as my 1.6 Suzuki swift. now its got me looking
 
kaptainmarc said:
always thought the tax on the v6 TT would be insane. but its the same as my 1.6 Suzuki swift. now its got me looking
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Anything registered before 23rd March 06 will be £290 or less, the "insane" VED rates only apply for cars registered after that date
 
Recently made this purchase with similar budget/requirements.

My thoughts where that coming from a Renault Sport and with the car being a daily, Clio / Meganes were out instantly even though they are fantastic fun. Not keen on the Astra/Corsa VXR.

This left me looking at the Golf MK5 GTI, Focus ST & Mazda 3. Being turbocharged they all respond very well to tuning and you can easily get an extra 40bhp out of each with a simple map. I went with the Golf in the end because I do 50% of my driving in a city, so DSG, better fuel and a nicer place to sit swung the decision.

If I didn't do any city driving, it would probably have been the Focus ST, I have a soft spot for their looks and sound.
 
Archeum said:
180-250bhp.
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Fairly specific but equally irrelevant requirement. There are plenty of "warm" hatches around the 150bhp mark, and some cars like the Mini Cooper S that would be classed as hot hatch but are only 160-170bhp.

Archeum said:
EDIT: Am I pretty much looking at what's suggested in the 10k thread but older I suppose?
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Pretty much.

Seat Leon FR e.g. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201601250382895

Mini Cooper S (R53) - around £4700 would get you a decent example matching your criteria (and leave money for a reduced supercharger pulley and other minor mods)


Something else to consider in your price range maybe:

Fiesta ST 500 - potentially could be a good buy being a limited run model, option for "official tuning" later e.g. a Mountune MP185 kit, which is unlikely to affect resale, but would increase the power to your requirement
e.g. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201601089908677
http://www.mountune.com/index.php/services/performance-upgrades/fiesta/fiesta-2005-2008
 
Si105 said:
Recently made this purchase with similar budget/requirements.

My thoughts where that coming from a Renault Sport and with the car being a daily, Clio / Meganes were out instantly even though they are fantastic fun. Not keen on the Astra/Corsa VXR.

This left me looking at the Golf MK5 GTI, Focus ST & Mazda 3. Being turbocharged they all respond very well to tuning and you can easily get an extra 40bhp out of each with a simple map. I went with the Golf in the end because I do 50% of my driving in a city, so DSG, better fuel and a nicer place to sit swung the decision.

If I didn't do any city driving, it would probably have been the Focus ST, I have a soft spot for their looks and sound.
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I'd probably stay away from DSG at this age/price, as it does have potential to throw a big bill.
 
LiE said:
I'd probably stay away from DSG at this age/price, as it does have potential to throw a big bill.
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Yeah I've seen scary prices well over £1.5k for replacements touted about. They are supposed to be very reliable if looked after though. Certainly a risk worth avoiding if not fussed about having dsg.
 
If you do go for a 3 MPS avoid the one linked above as it has been touched by a company called Total MPS - One to completely avoid.
 
EliotG said:
If you do go for a 3 MPS avoid the one linked above as it has been touched by a company called Total MPS - One to completely avoid.
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Yea personally I'd always go for an unmapped car, then do my own research and get it mapped.
 
Si105 said:
Yeah I've seen scary prices well over £1.5k for replacements touted about. They are supposed to be very reliable if looked after though. Certainly a risk worth avoiding if not fussed about having dsg.
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As long as the servicing for the DSG box has been followed with the fluid changes every X miles it'll be fine.

My old A3 3.2 had plenty of miles on it and never had any issues.

That said I'd also be looking at the Meganes and Mazda 3 in that price range, possibly an Impreza WRX too but won't have cruise or as many toys.
 
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