My Cars since 2003
Discussion
I've swapped and changed quite a number of times over the last few years sough I'd stick some pics up and write a bit about each one.
Before these I had a couple of hatches as my first few cars (Fiesta/Punto/Bravo/Nova etc) 2003 was where things started getting more PH relevant
OK So first up was the clio 172. To date this is the only new car I've ever owned and it was totally brilliant! Owned it for 2 years which is a personal best for me. Had some fab times in this car and it was a great introduction to the world of "proper" cars. Had my first track experience in the Clio doing a couple of sessions at Silverstone.
After the two years in the Clio it was time for a change. At this time (2005) the RS Megane was out but under a lot of peoples radar. PX'd the clio for this then 6 month old Megane 225:
A totally different proposition to the Clio and generally a lot more of a grown up feel to it. The additional power and torque was really good too. Had 18 months in this one. Tinkered with somewhat to sort out the slightly soft standard suspension and also it had the first remap of any RS Megane in the world!During this time I ended up setting up www.meganesport.net which is now the biggest RS Megane owners club. Still run the site to this day
All in all it was quite kind to me so have fond memories of it. I also see it regularly as its now owned by a meganesport member.
It was itchy feet time again and for a long while I'd been hankering after a VX220 after seeing Vauxhalls cars at various shows. So after selling the Megane in super quick time I dropped on this totally immaculate 7500 mile 2002 NA model:
As you can tell from the pic above I made the most of this car taking it to the 'ring for my first trip out there. Also did 3/4 track days in it. Getting the VX was a real eye opener to what performance cars are really about. Steering feel you never thought possible, looks and handling to die for. This was a an epic car! Initially we had this as a daily driver but it was never going to last. I hated the idea of it even getting wet as it was a truly mint car and probably at that time one of the best examples left. So we needed a slightly more sensible daily driver.....
Enter the Paxo!
Dropped on this mint 40k Saxo VTS for a couple of grand. Its basically quite similar to the 172 although the build quality is about 10 years behind the Renault. There was something not quite right about it though so we only kept it for a few months. Could never quite put my finger on it but it just felt a bit fragile. Two days after I sold it the new owner rang me to sat the gearbox had blown!
So we fancied a slightly bigger but still reasonably sporty car so after a bit of hunting for a nice one we found this smart 307 XSI
Essentially a slightly bigger 206GTI this was a trusty steed for another few months. Never did much with it really due to still having the VX but it was entertaining/refined enough for us. Kept for about 6 months.
Sadly time was up for the VX. We had a lot of work to do in the house so having quenched my thirst for a proper sports car we sold the VX (loosing only £300 on what we paid) and the XSI (broke even).
It was then time for Megane number 2!
This time it was a phase 2 F1 version. This one was also tinkered with with a remap to 267BHP a stainless exhaust and blocked off recirc valve (rally chatter) Took this one to the 'ring as well
Things were progressing well with our house so although I was having a brilliant time with the Megane I had always been pining for the VX. I didnt quite realise how much it had got under my skin until I'd been without ot for a few months. So I did the only sensible thing I could do and bought another one.
Another 2.2 NA (Drove turbos a couple of times and not that impressed) Fantastic reliable fun again everything a VX should be. Smartened it up a bit as it had been sat for a while so it got an interior refresh and new brakes all round. Other than that it needed nothing. Another few trackdays in this one too including almost freezing my dad to death taking him to Cadwell park on a cold February day.
After a great few months the economy started going belly up. Thankfully other than car values collapsing it didn't affect us too badly but it did have the interesting side effect of bringing another one of my hankerings into reach. The VX and Megane were sold.
I'd always liked BMW Z4M Roadsters and Coupes ever since they came out but at 45k I never thought I'd get chance to own one. Thanks to catastrophic depreciation a scarcely believable 18k got me this:
Yes another trip to the ring too The Z4 was another eye opener. The performance,noise,poise of this car were magical and it was nothing short of an honor to own such a desirable car. Special is not the word! Managed a couple of trackdays including a day on the drift circuit at oulton park
We planned to make the most of this car as we planned to run it just for a year so we planned a trip driving round Europe via the Stelvio and Nurburgring to Lake Garda
At the end of a brilliant brilliant few months our planned year in the car came to a bit of an early end....My Mrs fell pregnant! You may have noticed that the Z4 does not have rear seats so...its car swap time again
So things had to change a bit. We were lucky with the sale of the Z4 and ended up taking this very nice E46 M3 in PX for it:
Didnt keep it long though. That nagging urge for those pesky plastic Vauxhalls was creeping back yet again! Also forward planning for the arrival of baby we thought we'd be better getting a sensible daily runner with 5 doors. So off went the M3 after a good fun couple of months and we picked up this "sensible" daily driver:
231 RX8 with full leather and all the trimmings. Didn't have massive expectations of this one but was pleasantly surprised! Yes the economy is crap but boy is it a hoot to drive (especially in the wet) quite pleased with it for a fun daily hack. Luckily we dont do a lot of miles so we hope the poor MPG wont spoil our fun too much.
After a long long time hunting around and waiting for overinflated summer prices to calm down I finally got my 3rd VX220! Another 2.2 NA but this one came with a throttle body conversion so its usefully brisk!
Have got the first trackday booked in a couple of weeks at Rockingham so really looking forward to it. Also looking forward to taking off the lowered springs it has and putting standard ones back on.
So there we have it. Things have hopefully settled down a lot now on the car changing front. I'm hoping to hang onto the VX on a more long term basis but we'll see how we go with the Mazda (maybe a boring diesel could eventually replace that).
BEst of the bunch has to be the Z4M TBH as an all rounder. I still have dreams about that noise! But for pure driving thrills the VX220 is a tough one to beat. Love them!
Before these I had a couple of hatches as my first few cars (Fiesta/Punto/Bravo/Nova etc) 2003 was where things started getting more PH relevant
OK So first up was the clio 172. To date this is the only new car I've ever owned and it was totally brilliant! Owned it for 2 years which is a personal best for me. Had some fab times in this car and it was a great introduction to the world of "proper" cars. Had my first track experience in the Clio doing a couple of sessions at Silverstone.
After the two years in the Clio it was time for a change. At this time (2005) the RS Megane was out but under a lot of peoples radar. PX'd the clio for this then 6 month old Megane 225:
A totally different proposition to the Clio and generally a lot more of a grown up feel to it. The additional power and torque was really good too. Had 18 months in this one. Tinkered with somewhat to sort out the slightly soft standard suspension and also it had the first remap of any RS Megane in the world!During this time I ended up setting up www.meganesport.net which is now the biggest RS Megane owners club. Still run the site to this day
All in all it was quite kind to me so have fond memories of it. I also see it regularly as its now owned by a meganesport member.It was itchy feet time again and for a long while I'd been hankering after a VX220 after seeing Vauxhalls cars at various shows. So after selling the Megane in super quick time I dropped on this totally immaculate 7500 mile 2002 NA model:
As you can tell from the pic above I made the most of this car taking it to the 'ring for my first trip out there. Also did 3/4 track days in it. Getting the VX was a real eye opener to what performance cars are really about. Steering feel you never thought possible, looks and handling to die for. This was a an epic car! Initially we had this as a daily driver but it was never going to last. I hated the idea of it even getting wet as it was a truly mint car and probably at that time one of the best examples left. So we needed a slightly more sensible daily driver.....
Enter the Paxo!
Dropped on this mint 40k Saxo VTS for a couple of grand. Its basically quite similar to the 172 although the build quality is about 10 years behind the Renault. There was something not quite right about it though so we only kept it for a few months. Could never quite put my finger on it but it just felt a bit fragile. Two days after I sold it the new owner rang me to sat the gearbox had blown!
So we fancied a slightly bigger but still reasonably sporty car so after a bit of hunting for a nice one we found this smart 307 XSI
Essentially a slightly bigger 206GTI this was a trusty steed for another few months. Never did much with it really due to still having the VX but it was entertaining/refined enough for us. Kept for about 6 months.
Sadly time was up for the VX. We had a lot of work to do in the house so having quenched my thirst for a proper sports car we sold the VX (loosing only £300 on what we paid) and the XSI (broke even).
It was then time for Megane number 2!
This time it was a phase 2 F1 version. This one was also tinkered with with a remap to 267BHP a stainless exhaust and blocked off recirc valve (rally chatter) Took this one to the 'ring as well
Things were progressing well with our house so although I was having a brilliant time with the Megane I had always been pining for the VX. I didnt quite realise how much it had got under my skin until I'd been without ot for a few months. So I did the only sensible thing I could do and bought another one.
Another 2.2 NA (Drove turbos a couple of times and not that impressed) Fantastic reliable fun again everything a VX should be. Smartened it up a bit as it had been sat for a while so it got an interior refresh and new brakes all round. Other than that it needed nothing. Another few trackdays in this one too including almost freezing my dad to death taking him to Cadwell park on a cold February day.
After a great few months the economy started going belly up. Thankfully other than car values collapsing it didn't affect us too badly but it did have the interesting side effect of bringing another one of my hankerings into reach. The VX and Megane were sold.
I'd always liked BMW Z4M Roadsters and Coupes ever since they came out but at 45k I never thought I'd get chance to own one. Thanks to catastrophic depreciation a scarcely believable 18k got me this:
Yes another trip to the ring too
The Z4 was another eye opener. The performance,noise,poise of this car were magical and it was nothing short of an honor to own such a desirable car. Special is not the word! Managed a couple of trackdays including a day on the drift circuit at oulton parkWe planned to make the most of this car as we planned to run it just for a year so we planned a trip driving round Europe via the Stelvio and Nurburgring to Lake Garda
At the end of a brilliant brilliant few months our planned year in the car came to a bit of an early end....My Mrs fell pregnant! You may have noticed that the Z4 does not have rear seats so...its car swap time again
So things had to change a bit. We were lucky with the sale of the Z4 and ended up taking this very nice E46 M3 in PX for it:
Didnt keep it long though. That nagging urge for those pesky plastic Vauxhalls was creeping back yet again! Also forward planning for the arrival of baby we thought we'd be better getting a sensible daily runner with 5 doors. So off went the M3 after a good fun couple of months and we picked up this "sensible" daily driver:
231 RX8 with full leather and all the trimmings. Didn't have massive expectations of this one but was pleasantly surprised! Yes the economy is crap but boy is it a hoot to drive (especially in the wet) quite pleased with it for a fun daily hack. Luckily we dont do a lot of miles so we hope the poor MPG wont spoil our fun too much.
After a long long time hunting around and waiting for overinflated summer prices to calm down I finally got my 3rd VX220! Another 2.2 NA but this one came with a throttle body conversion so its usefully brisk!
Have got the first trackday booked in a couple of weeks at Rockingham so really looking forward to it. Also looking forward to taking off the lowered springs it has and putting standard ones back on.
So there we have it. Things have hopefully settled down a lot now on the car changing front. I'm hoping to hang onto the VX on a more long term basis but we'll see how we go with the Mazda (maybe a boring diesel could eventually replace that).
BEst of the bunch has to be the Z4M TBH as an all rounder. I still have dreams about that noise! But for pure driving thrills the VX220 is a tough one to beat. Love them!
That is a lot of cars! Very nice selection, I've always fancied a Z4 myself.
I've had a few VX220's in the past, British Racing Green, Brilliant Yellow and Europa Blue. All very nice, your red one looks awesome, great colour! I'm currently in the practical car stage, I have an Audi S4 Avant.
Your Euro road trip sounds fun, something I'd love to do soon
I've had a few VX220's in the past, British Racing Green, Brilliant Yellow and Europa Blue. All very nice, your red one looks awesome, great colour! I'm currently in the practical car stage, I have an Audi S4 Avant.
Your Euro road trip sounds fun, something I'd love to do soon
Doug
Never fancied the elise really. I prefer the look of the VX, they are rarer and you get a newer car for the money. Also didnt fancy having a K series engine. I do like elises but just prefer the VX
Baz I assume you mean the Saxo lol yes it was just intended as a run around for the Mrs but I wouldnt class it as a highlight. Silly quick for a 1.6 though!
Never fancied the elise really. I prefer the look of the VX, they are rarer and you get a newer car for the money. Also didnt fancy having a K series engine. I do like elises but just prefer the VX
Baz I assume you mean the Saxo lol yes it was just intended as a run around for the Mrs but I wouldnt class it as a highlight. Silly quick for a 1.6 though!
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff