Thoughts on what to buy for daily + track

[StefanSBD]

Hi all,

I’m on the lookout for a car to buy to cover the following requirements:

- it should be my daily for the next 2 years, after which I will buy an electric (company) car. I do 30-50k km’s per year. If the car would be one heavy on fuel, I would go towards the lower level of 30k km’s combined with public transport.
- it should be able to sit 2 children and those child seats (definitely for children < 1,5 year)
- taxes in Belgium are high for everything with engines above 2 litres, so preferably max 2 litres (but above can be considered)
- I would love to start doing trackdays, like a Zolder, Spa, Nurburgring
- Budget is about 20-25k€ / 17-21k £ (or less clearly :-) )
- It could be an older car, even oldtimer, but on the other hand, I do like to have the safety net of e.g. ESP when starting with track driving, which may rule out older cars.
- looking into a second hand/third hand car with max 100k km’s I guess

I’m curious to see what you all come up with. I keep getting back to (probably) the obvious:
- Hyundai i30n
- Megane RS previous version
(Hyundai i20n might be too small for having childseats, definitely those that can rotate, they tend to take a lot of place!)
(Same holds for a fiesta ST. Equally a fear a bit for the ecoboost heavily turbocharged engine to cope with track driving, not sure if that is justified)

All the best,

Stefan

[Super Sonic]

Civic type R

[Glenn63]

M140, 3 or 5 door, proper engine, proper wheel drive, manual or auto, does all the boring commuter stuff easily and comfortably. Ideally needs some chassis tweeks, boot not the biggest.

[CG2020UK]

Peugeot 308 GTI is a cracker.

It’s a 1.6L so might save you a few £.

https://youtu.be/x4E9yR5dsKA?si=1HxVq8g-CnyigTmw

Other options:
Golf GTI
Focus ST
Merc A35
Audi S3

[V88Dicky]

Pop over to the Nurburgring and hire a Suzuki Swift Sport for a few hours……

And with the change, get a really cheap (but safe enough for the kids) daily driver

[Resolutionary]

A good 320si should do the trick - noted track abilities, safe / family friendly, commutable, not ruinous with a 2.0L, and probably won't depreciate all that much either.

There's even an old article on them: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-spottedykywt/b...

[StefanSBD]

CG2020UK said:

Peugeot 308 GTI is a cracker.

It’s a 1.6L so might save you a few £.

https://youtu.be/x4E9yR5dsKA?si=1HxVq8g-CnyigTmw

Other options:
Golf GTI
Focus ST
Merc A35
Audi S3

I find it so weird that the 308 GTI almost never pops up when discussing the best hot hatches of the past period, that’s why some seem to describe it as a ‘hidden gem’

[CG2020UK]

StefanSBD said:

I find it so weird that the 308 GTI almost never pops up when discussing the best hot hatches of the past period, that’s why some seem to describe it as a ‘hidden gem’

It’s well worth a taste drive if you can get one!

There are some points not to everyone taste. For example doesn’t come with heated seats but massage seats. The electric handbrake you have to flick to activate and not just push the brake hard. You look over the steering wheel and not through it. Front brakes are mega but pricey to replace.

Also forgot to mention annother underrated car is the Opel Astra GTC VXR. Seat Leon Cupra a smasher as well!

[braddo]

Are Mazda RX8s very expensive to run in Belgium?

[White-Noise]

Clio or meganeor golf gti. With many of the cars from what I understand you will need to consider if the brakes are up to it depending on how hard you're going to push it.

[culpz]

Pretty much any hot-hatch you fancy in that budget. Hard to recommend stuff others already haven't. Golf R?

[MrSpanky49]

mk3 leon cupra

[Cambs_Stuart]

The rear seats in the RS megane are tiny, very low down and with small windows, so if your children are anything like mine, they won't enjoy being in the back.

[soad]

V88Dicky said:

Pop over to the Nurburgring and hire a Suzuki Swift Sport for a few hours……

And with the change, get a really cheap (but safe enough for the kids) daily driver

Replaced by a Mini Cooper S?
https://www.rent4ring.de/en/rentals-for-the-nordsc...

[Beethree]

There’s only one right answer here, IMO.

I’ve just done a days worth of Autosolo (which I won outright against some very experienced competitors) and then driven 400 miles the following day in absolute comfort and close to 50mpg.
My 2 kids (6 and 3) fit perfectly fine in the back.