£4500 to spend on a hot hatch??

[DNB DJ]

Looking for something reliable for daily use. I have had 2 ep3s before and they never let me know down.

[p1stonhead]

Id go Clio Trophy if you can find one for that money. A 182 with Cup Chassis if not.

[FN2TypeR]

No chance of a Trophy at that price point these days me thinks!

Sadly!

[J8 SVG]

My 197 is a pain in the ass (currently got some nicely seized windscreen wipers), I've spent thousands making sure it's mechanically perfect but I will never sell it - When everything is right and you find a nice clear country road, there's nothing else I'd swap it for.
27MPG hurts a bit driving it every day though, I've now got a horrible diesel 307 for that purpose

[Captain_Chaos]

BMW 130i?

[DNB DJ]

I was thinking 197 clio but heard a lot of bad things about reliability

[DNB DJ]

Captain_Chaos said:

BMW 130i?

no chance for that price.

[Toyoda]

Cheap old Focus ST? £4.5k won't get you into much newer or faster.

[Xcore]

Mk2 focus st, if you can hack the mpg

[DNB DJ]

Toyoda said:

Cheap old Focus ST? £4.5k won't get you into much newer or faster.

Its going to fuel thirsty and a dog for that money. Also I think they suffer with block problems.

[FN2TypeR]

Toyoda said:

Cheap old Focus ST? £4.5k won't get you into much newer or faster.

That is indeed a quick car but I'd be looking to spend a bit more personally, you are probably buying a right shed for that sort of cash.

[essIII]

I've just picked up an R26 Megane for that money.

[raceboy]

As you've had no issues with EP3's why not try an FN2.

[rossub]

Stick with Honda.

A £4.5k FN2 would be a bit of an unloved dog though surely?

[raceboy]

rossub said:

A £4.5k FN2 would be a bit of an unloved dog though surely?

Can't vouch for the condition, but this looks far from 'unloved'.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/h...

[g7jhp]

Golf GTI (Mk4) 1.8T with 46k miles at £4,150 on AT.

Reliable, nice interior and it's not going to lose much in value.

[nottyash]

g7jhp said:

Golf GTI (Mk4) 1.8T with 46k miles at £4,150 on AT.

Reliable, nice interior and it's not going to lose much in value.

A £1500 car for over £4000

[nottyash]

Audi S3.Very quick indeed with a remap, and 4wd. Getting old now though. Good ones pricey, but they do come up.

[p1stonhead]

g7jhp said:

Golf GTI (Mk4) 1.8T with 46k miles at £4,150 on AT.

Reliable, nice interior and it's not going to lose much in value.

That's a freezing hatch for £4k!

[anonymous-user]

My Clio 172 Cup was totally reliable for day to day use, and a good one would leave room for some improvements. A 182 FF if all the comforts are part of a daily driver for you?

Other end of the hot hatch spectrum but I guess an S3 should be reliable, if much less of a hot hatch feel.