Are there any exciting new affordable cars worth buying?
Discussion
Just pondering on the way into work whether there are any cars that are exciting, yet affordable, worth buying in Oz.
In the UK everyone's wetting their pants over BMW M135's for £3.29 driveaway ($75k here) or F types etc but here it feels there are few few cars you ache to have that are say less than $40k.
Maybe it's just that fast manual cars here are pointless, I'm just not sure.
Is it just me?
In the UK everyone's wetting their pants over BMW M135's for £3.29 driveaway ($75k here) or F types etc but here it feels there are few few cars you ache to have that are say less than $40k.
Maybe it's just that fast manual cars here are pointless, I'm just not sure.
Is it just me?
Not just you. It's why I had to go older.
I've never 'got' the BMW thing. I'd have a classic M3 (or the M1), but nothing else. Then you look at the 'General Gassing' and it's full of French hot hatches.
When Volvo are considered a premium brand here, you know you are in trouble.
Cheapest new V8 must be $70k.
For under $40k, it's all Korean or Chinese, and I think we'll be waiting a while for an exciting Great Wall.
GT86? 370z is $60k
What are the current Evo/Scooby going for?
What do Honda/Mazda have exciting on their books?
I've never 'got' the BMW thing. I'd have a classic M3 (or the M1), but nothing else. Then you look at the 'General Gassing' and it's full of French hot hatches.
When Volvo are considered a premium brand here, you know you are in trouble.
Cheapest new V8 must be $70k.
For under $40k, it's all Korean or Chinese, and I think we'll be waiting a while for an exciting Great Wall.
GT86? 370z is $60k
What are the current Evo/Scooby going for?
What do Honda/Mazda have exciting on their books?
Bibbs said:
Not just you. It's why I had to go older.
I've never 'got' the BMW thing. I'd have a classic M3 (or the M1), but nothing else. Then you look at the 'General Gassing' and it's full of French hot hatches.
When Volvo are considered a premium brand here, you know you are in trouble.
Cheapest new V8 must be $70k.
For under $40k, it's all Korean or Chinese, and I think we'll be waiting a while for an exciting Great Wall.
GT86? 370z is $60k
What are the current Evo/Scooby going for?
What do Honda/Mazda have exciting on their books?
Perhaps its a combination of 3 things:I've never 'got' the BMW thing. I'd have a classic M3 (or the M1), but nothing else. Then you look at the 'General Gassing' and it's full of French hot hatches.
When Volvo are considered a premium brand here, you know you are in trouble.
Cheapest new V8 must be $70k.
For under $40k, it's all Korean or Chinese, and I think we'll be waiting a while for an exciting Great Wall.
GT86? 370z is $60k
What are the current Evo/Scooby going for?
What do Honda/Mazda have exciting on their books?
-Lack of choice
-Nazi policing of speed
-Using an Auto dulls the senses.
Certainly anything remotely nice seems pointless here.
I do like BMW's but they are very expensive - perhaps an E46 M3 SMG would tick the box but anything else is mega expensive or mega old.
The GT86 does nothing for me - it just seems a little pointless here. Also, given we see lots of old jap coupe stuff here still its not really a novelty. Anyone else think it looks a little dated?
370's don't have the allure of the 350 and the 350 seems old.
Current EVO's and Scooby's don't have that rally allure here as they do in the UK as the roads are just flat and dry here.
Honda? CRZ?!
Mazda? MPS?!
I did see a new Clio Sport yesterday which was kinda decent in a small b
h-car way.I've started looking at manuals purely to start enjoying cars again but it just seems counter intuitive in this country. Current list of desirables are:
Alfa GT V6
Mazda RX7
Skyline R33 or R34
Any others?! It so limiting.
I don't mind an auto to be honest, and there are plenty of ways to enjoy your car once you get out the city.
If you are going older ..
GTR32 Skyline, mk4 Supra, VE Commodore ;-)
GT86 is too small. The 370z doesn't have the pull (but then neither did the 350 to me).
CRZ, MPS, Clio .. if I was a teenage girl in the UK, then maybe. But I'm not. Why compromise with a FWD hatchback?
Alfa GT V6 - FWD and an Alfa. Done that, never again.
Mazda RX7 - For me they are too small inside, I struggle to get comfy (and I had an S2000 with a cage for a few years)
Skyline R33 or R34 - Needs to be a GTR. R33 I don't like, R34s are still pricey.
NSX is silly money.
I actually looked at getting a pre '89 Ferrari or Porsche. $40k might get you into an early 348.
Or go old school with a Cobra replica.
If you are going older ..
GTR32 Skyline, mk4 Supra, VE Commodore ;-)
GT86 is too small. The 370z doesn't have the pull (but then neither did the 350 to me).
CRZ, MPS, Clio .. if I was a teenage girl in the UK, then maybe. But I'm not. Why compromise with a FWD hatchback?
Alfa GT V6 - FWD and an Alfa. Done that, never again.
Mazda RX7 - For me they are too small inside, I struggle to get comfy (and I had an S2000 with a cage for a few years)
Skyline R33 or R34 - Needs to be a GTR. R33 I don't like, R34s are still pricey.
NSX is silly money.
I actually looked at getting a pre '89 Ferrari or Porsche. $40k might get you into an early 348.
Or go old school with a Cobra replica.
Whatever you end up with, in Perth you are either going to have to summon the motivation to go out driving in the country to find fun roads (in the hills, Toodyay etc) or get in to trackdays / motorsport. Looking at the over subscription of most track activities these days and it certainly looks like there is a trend for leaving the roads.
I can't say that there are any brand new cars under $40K that I really really need to have. I like some of the hot hatches and I like the GT86 especially as they are not really going to grab the attention of the police yet...but I don't really feel a massive desire for them. Nothing else falls in to that price range.
Even with a budget of $100K I can't think of anything brand new that I would really want to own.
90's - early 2000's Jap turbo stuff is cheap, fun, can be made very very fast but you need to hunt for good ones. Even then they are all serious cop bait, I could not be bothered with the hassle.
I can't say that there are any brand new cars under $40K that I really really need to have. I like some of the hot hatches and I like the GT86 especially as they are not really going to grab the attention of the police yet...but I don't really feel a massive desire for them. Nothing else falls in to that price range.
Even with a budget of $100K I can't think of anything brand new that I would really want to own.
90's - early 2000's Jap turbo stuff is cheap, fun, can be made very very fast but you need to hunt for good ones. Even then they are all serious cop bait, I could not be bothered with the hassle.
If looking for a purely fun car that you can mess around with the answer, as usual, is MX-5. I'd have another one.
Get on some twisty roads and its a HOOT! Especially with an induction kit and a noisy exhaust. Not enough power? Get a turbo one!
Top speed does not equal fun. I would say my VE commodore is less fun even though it has 3 times the power.
the other stuff is pretty cool if you NEED power, R32/3 GTR etc.
Otherwise no... its still expensive to buy a car here. Perhaps protectionism will end soon now we have given up on the local car market, but its not going to be immediate.
If you want to spend a bit more the E46 M3 is definitely the other answer. Great, great car. ste breaks, but great car.
Get on some twisty roads and its a HOOT! Especially with an induction kit and a noisy exhaust. Not enough power? Get a turbo one!
Top speed does not equal fun. I would say my VE commodore is less fun even though it has 3 times the power.
the other stuff is pretty cool if you NEED power, R32/3 GTR etc.
Otherwise no... its still expensive to buy a car here. Perhaps protectionism will end soon now we have given up on the local car market, but its not going to be immediate.
If you want to spend a bit more the E46 M3 is definitely the other answer. Great, great car. s
te breaks, but great car.GT86 / BRZ is quite a bargain when compared with UK/US pricing imho versus other stuff.
S2000 only cause I'm bias... Intake noise with an injen intake is to die for. Plus it doesn't rain hah.
GTRs are good but you're always spending money on them... Plus no where to really use that power unless you don't value your license. Probably best off with something light, low power that's chuck-able through the hills.
S2000 only cause I'm bias... Intake noise with an injen intake is to die for. Plus it doesn't rain hah.
GTRs are good but you're always spending money on them... Plus no where to really use that power unless you don't value your license. Probably best off with something light, low power that's chuck-able through the hills.
Ten Four said:
S2000 only cause I'm bias... Intake noise with an injen intake is to die for. Plus it doesn't rain hah.
I didn't bring mine back because a. It would have gone over the pits (too loud, too low, too modified)
b. I wouldn't fancy a rag top here
c. I put it back to a stock engine, and it was dog slow
d. Nice manual box, but I went through a clutch in 3000 miles.
Fair enough.
I'll just leave this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUYwG1HYTuU
Speed isn't everything when having fun...
I'll just leave this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUYwG1HYTuU
Speed isn't everything when having fun...
Ten Four said:
Fair enough.
I'll just leave this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUYwG1HYTuU
Speed isn't everything when having fun...
Sound isn't quite synced for some reason :-I'll just leave this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUYwG1HYTuU
Speed isn't everything when having fun...
http://s53.photobucket.com/user/Bibbs_1977/media/S...
The original is at a funny angle and I CBA to re-do it
http://s53.photobucket.com/user/Bibbs_1977/media/V... )
Or how about a quiet drive through London :-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7t6wLOLzAs
Edited by Bibbs on Wednesday 29th January 04:13
I'm after new car and have been enjoying test driving the following
M3 Sedan
M135i
Holden R8
A45 AMG
Scooby WRX Sti
I had two criteria, sub 75k (ok the M3 was 2ndhand) and sub 5secs to 100kph
I can report that all of them were an absolute hoot to drive and the above order is my order of preference.
M3 Sedan
M135i
Holden R8
A45 AMG
Scooby WRX Sti
I had two criteria, sub 75k (ok the M3 was 2ndhand) and sub 5secs to 100kph
I can report that all of them were an absolute hoot to drive and the above order is my order of preference.
custardtart said:
I'm after new car and have been enjoying test driving the following
M3 Sedan
M135i
Holden R8
A45 AMG
Scooby WRX Sti
I had two criteria, sub 75k (ok the M3 was 2ndhand) and sub 5secs to 100kph
I can report that all of them were an absolute hoot to drive and the above order is my order of preference.
How did the HSV compare to M3 in terms of quality of product and driving - did the HSV feel massively 'sM3 Sedan
M135i
Holden R8
A45 AMG
Scooby WRX Sti
I had two criteria, sub 75k (ok the M3 was 2ndhand) and sub 5secs to 100kph
I can report that all of them were an absolute hoot to drive and the above order is my order of preference.
tter'?No, I hate to say it but I was really impressed by the R8. The M3 interior (and the M135i) used a lot of cheap feeling plastics and the seats in the R8 were much more comfortable and supportive.
The M3 felt smaller, more agile and generally a much tighter package but and this is relative, it felt like it had nowhere near as much low down torque. In the R8 you could stick it in 3rd and cover off any situation but the M3 really wanted to driven hard.
Oh and the R8 with the 340kw SV pack was a shade over 70k , lots of car for the money but depreciation is scaring me quite a lot.
The M3 felt smaller, more agile and generally a much tighter package but and this is relative, it felt like it had nowhere near as much low down torque. In the R8 you could stick it in 3rd and cover off any situation but the M3 really wanted to driven hard.
Oh and the R8 with the 340kw SV pack was a shade over 70k , lots of car for the money but depreciation is scaring me quite a lot.
So was it an HSV GEN F, or a Holden VF?
I like the interior of my VE, but the VF is a massive step up.
Looked for fun cars on the way home. Stuff I liked :-
Lexus IS###
Nissan Sylvia / 200sx / 180sx
Commodore (various)
Monaro (various)
Evo7 (I think. Modern looking but not the latest.)
Scoobies (hatchback ones)
And a big Bentley.. But that's outta my range.
I like the interior of my VE, but the VF is a massive step up.
Looked for fun cars on the way home. Stuff I liked :-
Lexus IS###
Nissan Sylvia / 200sx / 180sx
Commodore (various)
Monaro (various)
Evo7 (I think. Modern looking but not the latest.)
Scoobies (hatchback ones)
And a big Bentley.. But that's outta my range.
Gassing Station | Australia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff