Which coupe for around 5k?

Seether

Seether

Seether

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Joined
6 May 2003
Posts
299
Location
Chorley, Lancashire
I fancy a more visually appealing car to replace my boring 98 Escort. I am confident in my sexuality :p and wouldn't mind driving around in something a bit poncy. I like the looks of the Hyundai Coupe, and to a lesser extent the Ford Puma and Honda Prelude.

What would be the best choice in this class? Needs to be reliable (no Fiat Coupe thanks), stylish, under 5k, reasonably economical, and under insurance group 14ish.
 
I would have said the Fiat Coupe or Alfa Coupe, but you're touting reliability issues...

I would then say Honda Prelude 2.2 VTEC, can pick up an excellent 4th gen (91-96) for less than 5k, and a pretty good 5th gen for about that too. Only issue there is insurance = gp17 for UK car, gp19 for import...
 
Thanks for suggestions so far. I suppose it doesn't necessarily have to be under IG 14, but I don't want to be spending a fortune on insurance every year. I'll be 26 later this year but will only have 1 year NCB.

Doesn't necessarily have to be a coupe either, as long as it looks good and is reasonably sporty I'm easy. From the looks of things it would be quite an old MX-5 within my price range, which doesnt appeal much. Want something newer than my 98 escort in order to justify it to the missus ;)
 
Firestar_3x said:
406 Coupe without a doubt :)
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He's right, it's a great Coupe for the money.

Could also consider a Ford Cougar but I find these so pointless given they are pretty much 2 door Mondeos for twice the money.
 
for about 5k you should be able to push a mrk2 mx-5 2000+ milage might be a little high but they keep going and going :) If you don't need the space its an amazing car to drive and own!
 
If you don't mind having no storage space the Mx-5 would be a great option, just been looking at them myself, took some out for a drive, fantastic weekend :) (04 plates for 9.5k) i've been searching on AT and can't find many 1.8 mk2's for 5k, might just be cheshire and high prices!
 
200SX S14a, £5k should get you a good late example. Insurance isn't all that expensive, I'm 20, 2 years NCB and renewall is coming in at £1,100 so far :) Although it isn't very economical at all, you only live once eh :cool:
 
Firestar_3x said:
406 Coupe without a doubt :)
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Yeah, I quite like these. Problem is that there doesnt seem to be too many around for my money, and a lot of those that are around are either 3.0 V6 (too thirsty and insurancey) or autos (want a manual ideally).

Does nobody like the Mk1/mk2 hyundai coupes or are they a bit cack? I quite like the look of them myself and the 2.0l seems to give decent performance.
 
Depends which one you want, the 2.0 is pointless unless you want to cruise around, manuals are easy enough to come by provided your not in a rush to buy, for me it would be the 2.2HDI, but those are out of your price range :(
 
Seether said:
Does nobody like the Mk1/mk2 hyundai coupes or are they a bit cack? I quite like the look of them myself and the 2.0l seems to give decent performance.
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Depends what you mean by cack i suppose. Mk2's have nasty bugeye headlamps, i don't like them, but then some people think the Mk1 is ugly so it's all down to personal opinion. Build quality is generally good and the interior is nice and sturdy, no gaps between panels although there are a few rattles; no idea where they come from but it seems a common issue.

My 2 litre performs quite well, fairly pacey but quite frankly it's never going compete with the serious stuff. However it does return a decent MPG. I get around 38mpg on the motorway and about 31/32 around town.

Personally though, if insurance wasn't an issue for me (and tbh it is becoming less of an issue as i approach 2 years NCB) then i'd have a Prelude 2.2 Vtec or a Fiat Coupe Turbo. However, my Hyundai Coupe is proving to be a pretty good stop gap between small engine crud and turbo/vtec sweetness :)
 
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