Help with finding a FUN car Pleaseeee?
Discussion
Hello Peoples!
Please help me with suggestions needed for help with deciding what car to buy....., it would need to be the following:-
1. Fun to drive, something you can drive like it’s been stolen every time you sit in it…Redlining and Downshifting! Lol
2. Good gearing for local roads, B roads, as I love changing gears and hearing downshifts! 😊
3. Reliable
4. Fast accelaration, faster the better as in 0-60mph / 0-100mph
5. Under 35k, cheaper the better…..
6. Needs to sound nice, handle well and look the part!
7. Petrol
8. Low seating position / driving position
9. Not to harsh over bumps
The following are on my list so far in order, but I’m not too sure about them, what other options are there out there?
1. 2013 – 2016 Porsche Cayman S 3.4 – I heard they have long gearing though, which is putting me off abit?
2. F80 M3 Comp or Non Comp – Not keen on the sound they make…..
3. 2015- 2018 BMW 340i?
4. BMW M2 ?
5. M140i Or M240i 2016-2018 ?? How do these compare with F80 M3?
6. Honda S2000
7. Jaguar F type?
TYIA!
Please help me with suggestions needed for help with deciding what car to buy....., it would need to be the following:-
1. Fun to drive, something you can drive like it’s been stolen every time you sit in it…Redlining and Downshifting! Lol
2. Good gearing for local roads, B roads, as I love changing gears and hearing downshifts! 😊
3. Reliable
4. Fast accelaration, faster the better as in 0-60mph / 0-100mph
5. Under 35k, cheaper the better…..
6. Needs to sound nice, handle well and look the part!
7. Petrol
8. Low seating position / driving position
9. Not to harsh over bumps
The following are on my list so far in order, but I’m not too sure about them, what other options are there out there?
1. 2013 – 2016 Porsche Cayman S 3.4 – I heard they have long gearing though, which is putting me off abit?
2. F80 M3 Comp or Non Comp – Not keen on the sound they make…..
3. 2015- 2018 BMW 340i?
4. BMW M2 ?
5. M140i Or M240i 2016-2018 ?? How do these compare with F80 M3?
6. Honda S2000
7. Jaguar F type?
TYIA!
Get a proper sports car, it'll be much more fun and more ultimately satisfying. So cross off all the BMWs and the Jag from your list.
In addition to the Cayman and S2000, I'd consider the Lotus Elise / Exige and VX220, and an MX-5 with a BBR nat-asp tuning package. As an outside possibility you could consider the RX-7, they are fast and feel faster, look great, good on B-roads.
Generally I'd be looking for somewhat older cars and as light weight as possible, and a pure sports car rather than an adapted saloon chassis.
In addition to the Cayman and S2000, I'd consider the Lotus Elise / Exige and VX220, and an MX-5 with a BBR nat-asp tuning package. As an outside possibility you could consider the RX-7, they are fast and feel faster, look great, good on B-roads.
Generally I'd be looking for somewhat older cars and as light weight as possible, and a pure sports car rather than an adapted saloon chassis.
I'd say a Cayman is a good choice.
Thing is that reading your criteria, points 1 and 2 seem at odds with point 4. When I read 1 and 2 I was thinking mx5, gt86, swift sport, fiesta ST etc. For me they have the advantage that you can give them a pasting down B roads without losing your license or getting yourself killed. I don't see that you can drive an M2 'like you stole it' or take it to the red line unless you're on a race track.
Thing is that reading your criteria, points 1 and 2 seem at odds with point 4. When I read 1 and 2 I was thinking mx5, gt86, swift sport, fiesta ST etc. For me they have the advantage that you can give them a pasting down B roads without losing your license or getting yourself killed. I don't see that you can drive an M2 'like you stole it' or take it to the red line unless you're on a race track.
I wouldn't be too concerned about the gearing in the Porsche. Just be aware that you'll be smashing the speed limit with ease. Up to you whether that matters or not. The Porsches have high limits so you'll be going at a fair old lick when you're having fun.
I agree with the others, add an Elise / Exige to your list. I can imagine that a supercharged Elise / Exige will be just about the most fun you can have in a car regardless of price. There's also Honda K20 conversions floating about (which can also be supercharged!).
I've got an MX5 NC BBR Super 200 as mentioned earlier by samoht, but I don't think it really competes with anything in your budget in fairness, however, an MX5 could be a contender with forced induction. 300 bhp with a supercharger in my car would transform it I'm sure
I agree with the others, add an Elise / Exige to your list. I can imagine that a supercharged Elise / Exige will be just about the most fun you can have in a car regardless of price. There's also Honda K20 conversions floating about (which can also be supercharged!).
I've got an MX5 NC BBR Super 200 as mentioned earlier by samoht, but I don't think it really competes with anything in your budget in fairness, however, an MX5 could be a contender with forced induction. 300 bhp with a supercharger in my car would transform it I'm sure
Thanks for the replies guys.....was just looking at some youtube and came across this....
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Im65Akqtmko
Is that red start button on the steering wheel of the newer mx5's something we didnt get here in the uk?
In regards to OP.... I don’t like the look of the Elise to be honest, love the V6 Exige's though, but they’re out of my price range....
I was nearly going to buy an Rx7 around 10 years ago, but reliability and servicing would be a problem with it being rotary, and ideally want something cost effective maintenance wise too…
The rear end of GT86’s just puts me off, and the interior isn’t all that either, but I'm sure it's a fun car! I like the idea of an old Mx5, but I think they may me a little to small for my liking and the newer one looks even smaller....
I want something which is rear wheel drive which I missed out in OP…...................
Anyone driven a Z4 M40i? What do you think of them? Handling/performace?
What about the older, less potent cars, what would you guys recommend….. ? Rear wheel drive obviously…and matching the above criteria as much as possible…… I can’t think of much in terms of rear wheel drive?
I know I would need to be careful when enjoying the Cayman S more, if I went with that, but to be honest I think its hard to find anything that comes close to it, in terms of what it has to offer.......
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Im65Akqtmko
Is that red start button on the steering wheel of the newer mx5's something we didnt get here in the uk?
In regards to OP.... I don’t like the look of the Elise to be honest, love the V6 Exige's though, but they’re out of my price range....
I was nearly going to buy an Rx7 around 10 years ago, but reliability and servicing would be a problem with it being rotary, and ideally want something cost effective maintenance wise too…
The rear end of GT86’s just puts me off, and the interior isn’t all that either, but I'm sure it's a fun car! I like the idea of an old Mx5, but I think they may me a little to small for my liking and the newer one looks even smaller....
I want something which is rear wheel drive which I missed out in OP…...................
Anyone driven a Z4 M40i? What do you think of them? Handling/performace?
What about the older, less potent cars, what would you guys recommend….. ? Rear wheel drive obviously…and matching the above criteria as much as possible…… I can’t think of much in terms of rear wheel drive?
I know I would need to be careful when enjoying the Cayman S more, if I went with that, but to be honest I think its hard to find anything that comes close to it, in terms of what it has to offer.......
The trouble is all the cars you're listing are big, heavy and quite isolated from the road. Those BMWs only seem wonderful to people who haven't really got proper sports car experience.
The Porsche is better but ultimately it's still a car built for people interested in sports cars but afraid to try one. It's nice, and neither Cayman nor Booster are unenjoyable to drive by any means but they are daily driver cars for people who never need to carry stuff which can be enjoyed for an occasional squirt. As above, you're not going to be doing any B-road redlining with one due to the gearing. In first gear you'll run out of traction and in second you'll run out of speed limit and/or space between corners.
Ironically a Chimaera 400 probably ticks more boxes than anything else so far except the perception of reliability although they're better than most assume whilst the German cars are much worse than most assume reliability-wise.
If you're serious about your list of requirements then you actually don't want a fast car. You want a car that feels fast. It should have enough power to get out of its own way but little enough power that you have the opportunity to use all of it more often.
The F-Type V8 is too powerful to be any fun on B roads. There's just no space to stretch its legs. Also, it's a wide car and feels wider so every corner you reach you're tucking the car into the verge incase someone appears coming the other way. A V6S with the rare manual option is more like it, but like most newish cars they were so expensive in the showroom that the kind of people who bought them cared more about brochure figures and cup holders than enjoyment so there are hardly any manuals around.
Chimaera, V6 F-Type or early Boxster if it needs to sound good.
MX-5, Elise, MR2, S2000 or GT86 if it doesn't need to sound good.
Forget the BMWs IMHO including the 2-seaters. They feel a bit sporty compared to a Toyota Avensis 2.0 diesel. Shame they can't hold a candle to the Toyota Avensis for build quality and reliability though...
The Porsche is better but ultimately it's still a car built for people interested in sports cars but afraid to try one. It's nice, and neither Cayman nor Booster are unenjoyable to drive by any means but they are daily driver cars for people who never need to carry stuff which can be enjoyed for an occasional squirt. As above, you're not going to be doing any B-road redlining with one due to the gearing. In first gear you'll run out of traction and in second you'll run out of speed limit and/or space between corners.
Ironically a Chimaera 400 probably ticks more boxes than anything else so far except the perception of reliability although they're better than most assume whilst the German cars are much worse than most assume reliability-wise.
If you're serious about your list of requirements then you actually don't want a fast car. You want a car that feels fast. It should have enough power to get out of its own way but little enough power that you have the opportunity to use all of it more often.
The F-Type V8 is too powerful to be any fun on B roads. There's just no space to stretch its legs. Also, it's a wide car and feels wider so every corner you reach you're tucking the car into the verge incase someone appears coming the other way. A V6S with the rare manual option is more like it, but like most newish cars they were so expensive in the showroom that the kind of people who bought them cared more about brochure figures and cup holders than enjoyment so there are hardly any manuals around.
Chimaera, V6 F-Type or early Boxster if it needs to sound good.
MX-5, Elise, MR2, S2000 or GT86 if it doesn't need to sound good.
Forget the BMWs IMHO including the 2-seaters. They feel a bit sporty compared to a Toyota Avensis 2.0 diesel. Shame they can't hold a candle to the Toyota Avensis for build quality and reliability though...
jamieduff1981 said:
The F-Type V8 is too powerful to be any fun on B roads. There's just no space to stretch its legs. Also, it's a wide car and feels wider so every corner you reach you're tucking the car into the verge incase someone appears coming the other way. A V6S with the rare manual option is more like it, but like most newish cars they were so expensive in the showroom that the kind of people who bought them cared more about brochure figures and cup holders than enjoyment so there are hardly any manuals around.
The manual F-Type got absolutely slated for having an awful gearbox, I haven't driven one but I'm yet to hear a single positive review of the manual.I ended up buying a V6S in November, I've put around 6k miles on it since then and it simply never fails to put a smile on my face - I opted to go for an AWD model to alleviate any concerns about water ingress and seized injectors which tend to be the big problem on RWD models.
This car is hands down more fun on the road than my M4, S63 or i30N were. It also helps that the OH loves it and therefore doesn't mind what gets spent on the car and hopefully in the future I can butter her up enough to go for an SVR but that might be a challenge!
jamieduff1981 said:
The trouble is all the cars you're listing are big, heavy and quite isolated from the road. Those BMWs only seem wonderful to people who haven't really got proper sports car experience.
The Porsche is better but ultimately it's still a car built for people interested in sports cars but afraid to try one. It's nice, and neither Cayman nor Booster are unenjoyable to drive by any means but they are daily driver cars for people who never need to carry stuff which can be enjoyed for an occasional squirt. As above, you're not going to be doing any B-road redlining with one due to the gearing. In first gear you'll run out of traction and in second you'll run out of speed limit and/or space between corners.
Ironically a Chimaera 400 probably ticks more boxes than anything else so far except the perception of reliability although they're better than most assume whilst the German cars are much worse than most assume reliability-wise.
If you're serious about your list of requirements then you actually don't want a fast car. You want a car that feels fast. It should have enough power to get out of its own way but little enough power that you have the opportunity to use all of it more often.
The F-Type V8 is too powerful to be any fun on B roads. There's just no space to stretch its legs. Also, it's a wide car and feels wider so every corner you reach you're tucking the car into the verge incase someone appears coming the other way. A V6S with the rare manual option is more like it, but like most newish cars they were so expensive in the showroom that the kind of people who bought them cared more about brochure figures and cup holders than enjoyment so there are hardly any manuals around.
Chimaera, V6 F-Type or early Boxster if it needs to sound good.
MX-5, Elise, MR2, S2000 or GT86 if it doesn't need to sound good.
Forget the BMWs IMHO including the 2-seaters. They feel a bit sporty compared to a Toyota Avensis 2.0 diesel. Shame they can't hold a candle to the Toyota Avensis for build quality and reliability though...
Nonsense.The Porsche is better but ultimately it's still a car built for people interested in sports cars but afraid to try one. It's nice, and neither Cayman nor Booster are unenjoyable to drive by any means but they are daily driver cars for people who never need to carry stuff which can be enjoyed for an occasional squirt. As above, you're not going to be doing any B-road redlining with one due to the gearing. In first gear you'll run out of traction and in second you'll run out of speed limit and/or space between corners.
Ironically a Chimaera 400 probably ticks more boxes than anything else so far except the perception of reliability although they're better than most assume whilst the German cars are much worse than most assume reliability-wise.
If you're serious about your list of requirements then you actually don't want a fast car. You want a car that feels fast. It should have enough power to get out of its own way but little enough power that you have the opportunity to use all of it more often.
The F-Type V8 is too powerful to be any fun on B roads. There's just no space to stretch its legs. Also, it's a wide car and feels wider so every corner you reach you're tucking the car into the verge incase someone appears coming the other way. A V6S with the rare manual option is more like it, but like most newish cars they were so expensive in the showroom that the kind of people who bought them cared more about brochure figures and cup holders than enjoyment so there are hardly any manuals around.
Chimaera, V6 F-Type or early Boxster if it needs to sound good.
MX-5, Elise, MR2, S2000 or GT86 if it doesn't need to sound good.
Forget the BMWs IMHO including the 2-seaters. They feel a bit sporty compared to a Toyota Avensis 2.0 diesel. Shame they can't hold a candle to the Toyota Avensis for build quality and reliability though...
Why is Chris Harris in love with BMWs and owned plenty if they're unreliable and 'a bit sportier than a 2.0 diesel Toyota Avensis'....
A base level Cayman is definitely not too fast for the road either.
pb8g09 said:
jamieduff1981 said:
The trouble is all the cars you're listing are big, heavy and quite isolated from the road. Those BMWs only seem wonderful to people who haven't really got proper sports car experience.
The Porsche is better but ultimately it's still a car built for people interested in sports cars but afraid to try one. It's nice, and neither Cayman nor Booster are unenjoyable to drive by any means but they are daily driver cars for people who never need to carry stuff which can be enjoyed for an occasional squirt. As above, you're not going to be doing any B-road redlining with one due to the gearing. In first gear you'll run out of traction and in second you'll run out of speed limit and/or space between corners.
Ironically a Chimaera 400 probably ticks more boxes than anything else so far except the perception of reliability although they're better than most assume whilst the German cars are much worse than most assume reliability-wise.
If you're serious about your list of requirements then you actually don't want a fast car. You want a car that feels fast. It should have enough power to get out of its own way but little enough power that you have the opportunity to use all of it more often.
The F-Type V8 is too powerful to be any fun on B roads. There's just no space to stretch its legs. Also, it's a wide car and feels wider so every corner you reach you're tucking the car into the verge incase someone appears coming the other way. A V6S with the rare manual option is more like it, but like most newish cars they were so expensive in the showroom that the kind of people who bought them cared more about brochure figures and cup holders than enjoyment so there are hardly any manuals around.
Chimaera, V6 F-Type or early Boxster if it needs to sound good.
MX-5, Elise, MR2, S2000 or GT86 if it doesn't need to sound good.
Forget the BMWs IMHO including the 2-seaters. They feel a bit sporty compared to a Toyota Avensis 2.0 diesel. Shame they can't hold a candle to the Toyota Avensis for build quality and reliability though...
Nonsense.The Porsche is better but ultimately it's still a car built for people interested in sports cars but afraid to try one. It's nice, and neither Cayman nor Booster are unenjoyable to drive by any means but they are daily driver cars for people who never need to carry stuff which can be enjoyed for an occasional squirt. As above, you're not going to be doing any B-road redlining with one due to the gearing. In first gear you'll run out of traction and in second you'll run out of speed limit and/or space between corners.
Ironically a Chimaera 400 probably ticks more boxes than anything else so far except the perception of reliability although they're better than most assume whilst the German cars are much worse than most assume reliability-wise.
If you're serious about your list of requirements then you actually don't want a fast car. You want a car that feels fast. It should have enough power to get out of its own way but little enough power that you have the opportunity to use all of it more often.
The F-Type V8 is too powerful to be any fun on B roads. There's just no space to stretch its legs. Also, it's a wide car and feels wider so every corner you reach you're tucking the car into the verge incase someone appears coming the other way. A V6S with the rare manual option is more like it, but like most newish cars they were so expensive in the showroom that the kind of people who bought them cared more about brochure figures and cup holders than enjoyment so there are hardly any manuals around.
Chimaera, V6 F-Type or early Boxster if it needs to sound good.
MX-5, Elise, MR2, S2000 or GT86 if it doesn't need to sound good.
Forget the BMWs IMHO including the 2-seaters. They feel a bit sporty compared to a Toyota Avensis 2.0 diesel. Shame they can't hold a candle to the Toyota Avensis for build quality and reliability though...
Why is Chris Harris in love with BMWs and owned plenty if they're unreliable and 'a bit sportier than a 2.0 diesel Toyota Avensis'....
A base level Cayman is definitely not too fast for the road either.
BMWs are fine cars. OP wants pure fun, didn't mention long distance or daily duties.
TameRacingDriver said:
Vsix and Vtec said:
Civic Type R. How those things are road legal with that kind of performance is beyond me. Other than that, I'd be going down the route of an XKR/ F Type SVO, or maybe an Evora/Exige.
that barely road legal car is slower than your other suggestions!I've driven the SVO. it's ballistic! so 'fast' and 'sounds nice', not sure it meets the other criteria though..
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