Possible new car - suggestions please :)

[MurderousCrow]

Hello all,

Looking for advice on a potential new car. Current owner of a Forester STi: I've been really happy with it, having owned it for 2 years and about 30,000 mi of fairly trouble-free driving. But, a recent leaky rad may have been caused by the dreaded HG issue, and if this turns out to be the case I will need a new car, while I either mothball it for future repair or sell to an informed buyer.

I would want something Japanese, or at least a Japanese-owned product e.g. Honda, Nissan. Budget up to £9000 or so.

Ideally it would be:

- reliable
- practical and roomy enough for 4 adults and some luggage
- 5 doors preferred for use of roof rack or some other option for carrying 2 bikes
- quick, or at least not sluggish
- preferably manual

So far I've found 2, possibly 3 candidates. Mazda 3 MPS; Nissan Juke Nismo RS; and a left-field choice, Honda Odyssey 2.4.

The 3 MPS is quick and seems very reliable, but with a potential problem of slack cam chain (£1200.00 to fix). Juke Nismo is probably more brisk than quick, but seem very reliable if possibly a bit dull to drive. The Odyssey is a different beast I imagine, a relaxed cruiser / family wagon that is miles away from anything I've owned.

Any suggestions or ideas on these or other cars? I've owned two EP3 Civics before and like them, but they score low on practicality particularly for roof racks or other options for carrying bikes.

[ElectricSoup]

Have you considered the (fairly uncommon) Honda Civic Tourer? I just bought one and I love it. I traded in an E Class Estate, and honestly, despite being a much smaller car, the load space is phenomenal. I've got a 1.8VTEC petrol auto, 66 plate. Was £12k from a main dealer. Cheaper ones are out there.

[MurderousCrow]

Thank you - I will take a look.

[ElectricSoup]

Mine's got roof rails, I think they all do. Easy to get my roof bars on and loaded with bikes.

[rossub]

All of the Forester Rads fail eventually - mine did recently at 13 years old, despite the fact it looked mint. Mine is 2.0T, so not subject to the same level of HG failure.

[aka_kerrly]

What you need is an Honda Accord Euro R, a Jdm version that has the k20 engine and box from a integra/civic but comes from factory with 212hp and a lsd.

I thoroughly enjoy driving a Euro R, the one I get to rip around in has coilovers and Ad08r tyres and it's unbelievable, handles better than my Ep3!

[MurderousCrow]

rossub said:

All of the Forester Rads fail eventually - mine did recently at 13 years old, despite the fact it looked mint. Mine is 2.0T, so not subject to the same level of HG failure.

I hear you. Initial diagnostics look hopeful - no emulsion in the oil, no smoke on boost, no fine bubbles in coolant. Leak was large, from rad inlet. Hopefully that's all there is to it - a new radiator is going on today, and after a full system flush we'll be able to pin down what's going on for certain. Fingers crossed it's just that, in which case I apologise in advance

aka_kerrly said:

What you need is an Honda Accord Euro R, a Jdm version that has the k20 engine and box from a integra/civic but comes from factory with 212hp and a lsd.

I thoroughly enjoy driving a Euro R, the one I get to rip around in has coilovers and Ad08r tyres and it's unbelievable, handles better than my Ep3!

This sounds great, however I could only find saloons, so it's not an option with the dogs - the bigger one has to go in the boot or it gets hectic for rear passengers!