Yet another "which car(s)" thread
Discussion
So Ide like some suggestions please, but I thinks its best if I start with my previous cars. I should also note that Im in my early 20s and live in a rural area.
1st car - Seat Ibiza 1.6TDI estate. Liked - Practicality, economy, reliability, was bigger and quicker than my friends cars. Didnt like - Borings, FWD, just slightly too short to sleep in, floor mounter accelerator made heel-n-toe nearly impossible. Also mine had the 17" alloys, so the ride wasnt as good as it could have been.
Sold to buy an old 90s Discovery V8. Liked - Offroad performance, acceleration, towing, sound, cool factor, ride. Was also very reliable, jokes in the corners. and learnt to heel-n-toe because of the lack of ABS and AT tyres. Disliked - Slow to make progress on twisty roads, 14mpg on average, currently not working. Also the fuel economy means I cant actually use it for some of the things I want to do (more on this later)
Dream car, aka never meet your heroes - Finally bought a 3.0 manual subaru legacy r spec.b at 19. Liked - nearly everything, practical, very fast, made a lovely noise, lovely pedals, gearbox etc. Fantastic. Disliked - reliability. Lots of things broke/didnt work. CD/cassete/radio wouldnt play, AC didnt work, issue with the immobiliser meant I push started it a lot. Radiator burst. Parts are REALLY expensive. Also not very economical, which wasnt a dealbreaker back then. Oddly, I was also disappointed with how fun it didnt turn out to be. Sure, it was ridiculously fast, I did 140mph in it (on a private road, of course) but it had very mild understeer, and no matter how hard I tried, it would not slide. I could skid my ibiza and my mums diesel passat with lift-off oversteer, but the subaru was glued to the road. Mine also had STi springs, so the ride was quite poor on bumpy roads.
So, after selling the scooby, I went the other way, and bought a Scimitar SS1 1600 (couldnt get an 1800Ti) (If you dont know what it is, its like a cross between a caterham and an mx5, its a 1980s plastic rwd car with an XR2 engine). Like - The fun factor, so much fun. I like the rarity/special-ness (not common like an mx5 etc). Dislike - well, its not practical at all, its very cramped, its really quite slow too. Also very noisy, and it really would benefit from an LSD. Im also undecided if I appreciate the old men chatting to me in whichever supermarket carpark my icecream happens to be melting in, but its a price worth paying for all the turned heads and random waves from approving youngsters (because I remember being 12 and pointing at cool cars)
So, what do I want? I want no more than 2 cars in total, which cover everything. Practical, economical, fast, fun, capable enough on greenlanes etc.
I thought Ide solve the problem by selling the discovery and getting a 200tdi range rover, since it will use less than half the fuel. However finding one within budget is proving to be rather difficult, and Ide still want to make the SS1 quicker, which Ive worked out is going to be ruinously expensive as it would likely involve an entirely new driveline, which would cost more than a 3.0 BMW Z4 or 2.7L Boxster (They are however 50% heavier than the SS1)
There are a few other cars Ive considered, an Octavia 4x4 with the 2.0 PD engine could be made into quite a quick car, but I dont think it would be particularly enjoyable to thrash along a B-road.
A BMW estate also initially seems like a tempting option, but the petrols and 6 cylinder diesels would probably use too much fuel, and I dont see how a 2L diesel 5 series is going to set my hair on fire either.
Theres also a bit of logic involved. The large car has to be the economical one, because its the one that would do longer journeys/roadtrips/ikea etc.
My friend and I also want to do some overland trips to places like Iceland and possibly trans-Africa, which is pushing me down the old diesel landy route, but if the Skoda would suffuce, it saves me an awful lot of money in fuel!
Personally, Im drawn to either keep battling with the old british crap, or to get some more modern metal like a Skoda, and replace the SS1 for something along the lines of a BMW Z4 or 2.7L boxster if the boredom encourages the budget to stretch.
Either way, Ide love to hear your suggestions for either a non-FWD manual estate that will give me the thrills of the SS1, the performance of the Scooby and the running costs of the Ibiza, or the best sports car to replace the SS1.
Is there another front/front-mid engined RWD british sports car with independent suspension all round thats quicker than my SS1? (~100bhp/ton)
Thanks!
1st car - Seat Ibiza 1.6TDI estate. Liked - Practicality, economy, reliability, was bigger and quicker than my friends cars. Didnt like - Borings, FWD, just slightly too short to sleep in, floor mounter accelerator made heel-n-toe nearly impossible. Also mine had the 17" alloys, so the ride wasnt as good as it could have been.
Sold to buy an old 90s Discovery V8. Liked - Offroad performance, acceleration, towing, sound, cool factor, ride. Was also very reliable, jokes in the corners. and learnt to heel-n-toe because of the lack of ABS and AT tyres. Disliked - Slow to make progress on twisty roads, 14mpg on average, currently not working. Also the fuel economy means I cant actually use it for some of the things I want to do (more on this later)
Dream car, aka never meet your heroes - Finally bought a 3.0 manual subaru legacy r spec.b at 19. Liked - nearly everything, practical, very fast, made a lovely noise, lovely pedals, gearbox etc. Fantastic. Disliked - reliability. Lots of things broke/didnt work. CD/cassete/radio wouldnt play, AC didnt work, issue with the immobiliser meant I push started it a lot. Radiator burst. Parts are REALLY expensive. Also not very economical, which wasnt a dealbreaker back then. Oddly, I was also disappointed with how fun it didnt turn out to be. Sure, it was ridiculously fast, I did 140mph in it (on a private road, of course) but it had very mild understeer, and no matter how hard I tried, it would not slide. I could skid my ibiza and my mums diesel passat with lift-off oversteer, but the subaru was glued to the road. Mine also had STi springs, so the ride was quite poor on bumpy roads.
So, after selling the scooby, I went the other way, and bought a Scimitar SS1 1600 (couldnt get an 1800Ti) (If you dont know what it is, its like a cross between a caterham and an mx5, its a 1980s plastic rwd car with an XR2 engine). Like - The fun factor, so much fun. I like the rarity/special-ness (not common like an mx5 etc). Dislike - well, its not practical at all, its very cramped, its really quite slow too. Also very noisy, and it really would benefit from an LSD. Im also undecided if I appreciate the old men chatting to me in whichever supermarket carpark my icecream happens to be melting in, but its a price worth paying for all the turned heads and random waves from approving youngsters (because I remember being 12 and pointing at cool cars)
So, what do I want? I want no more than 2 cars in total, which cover everything. Practical, economical, fast, fun, capable enough on greenlanes etc.
I thought Ide solve the problem by selling the discovery and getting a 200tdi range rover, since it will use less than half the fuel. However finding one within budget is proving to be rather difficult, and Ide still want to make the SS1 quicker, which Ive worked out is going to be ruinously expensive as it would likely involve an entirely new driveline, which would cost more than a 3.0 BMW Z4 or 2.7L Boxster (They are however 50% heavier than the SS1)
There are a few other cars Ive considered, an Octavia 4x4 with the 2.0 PD engine could be made into quite a quick car, but I dont think it would be particularly enjoyable to thrash along a B-road.
A BMW estate also initially seems like a tempting option, but the petrols and 6 cylinder diesels would probably use too much fuel, and I dont see how a 2L diesel 5 series is going to set my hair on fire either.
Theres also a bit of logic involved. The large car has to be the economical one, because its the one that would do longer journeys/roadtrips/ikea etc.
My friend and I also want to do some overland trips to places like Iceland and possibly trans-Africa, which is pushing me down the old diesel landy route, but if the Skoda would suffuce, it saves me an awful lot of money in fuel!
Personally, Im drawn to either keep battling with the old british crap, or to get some more modern metal like a Skoda, and replace the SS1 for something along the lines of a BMW Z4 or 2.7L boxster if the boredom encourages the budget to stretch.
Either way, Ide love to hear your suggestions for either a non-FWD manual estate that will give me the thrills of the SS1, the performance of the Scooby and the running costs of the Ibiza, or the best sports car to replace the SS1.
Is there another front/front-mid engined RWD british sports car with independent suspension all round thats quicker than my SS1? (~100bhp/ton)
Thanks!
Nickp82 said:
Not front engine but how about an MGF/TF to replace the Scimitar?
Yep, I did look into these, but they sound like an absolute nightmare to fix when they break.I think Ive come to the sensible conclusion that Ill buy an octavia scout, and then some other toy/project.
There are far too many options for a "project" or "toy" within that budget, Z4, Boxster, RX8, MX5, etc
Oddly, I find myself drawn towards another Subaru, a Legacy infact. Although this time a 2nd gen twin turbo JDM import. 40hp more than my last one, as well as being nearly 200kg lighter. Also because its not going to be my primary car, it can have all the suspension mods that I wasnt too keen to ruin the ride of my last one with, which should reduce the understeer. A cheeky boost controller and front mount intercooler should see a healthy bump in power too, making it a sub 5 second 0-60 car, with the burble to match the headturning of the SS1.
So I bought a Skoda Octavia Scout. I loath it. So dull. Useless offroad too.
My disco is broken in a very expensive way, needs an engine rebuild.
Ive also bought a Daihatsu Cuore to do the mongol Rally in, and I like it. Its a crappy little washing machine car, but yet somehow its fantastic.
So I find myself looking for another legacy, but the skoda has to go first.
Also, really keen to find something british, 4+ seats, RWD, manual, and has independant suspension on all corners. Something like a lotus excel, but a tad cheper. Also would be great if it had a Rover V8, but not fussed.
Thanks!
My disco is broken in a very expensive way, needs an engine rebuild.
Ive also bought a Daihatsu Cuore to do the mongol Rally in, and I like it. Its a crappy little washing machine car, but yet somehow its fantastic.
So I find myself looking for another legacy, but the skoda has to go first.
Also, really keen to find something british, 4+ seats, RWD, manual, and has independant suspension on all corners. Something like a lotus excel, but a tad cheper. Also would be great if it had a Rover V8, but not fussed.
Thanks!
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