I used it before I discovered PH, but spot on. Small, modern and mostly German machinery has very little comfort these days imo, especially in sportier guise.
I'm quite tempted to try and get hold of a borked one for cheap and try and fix it. Plenty of time to do so, but parts, labour and expertise is the problem. Also, don't quite know why I need two cars but 276 horses, 4 seats and non-trivial boot-space is quite appealing to me at the moment.
I'd grab an Evo or a Galant VR4 instead. The parts scarcity (and consequently expense) is the bit that worries me with those.
I'd love an Evo (a IV or a V would be great) but the insurance is insane. I didn't really know about the VR-4, looks reasonable and the insurance is about the same as the GTO, but it's not as exciting. EDIT: The standard Galant looks a bit more reasonable, decent insurance and very cheap with a reasonable amount of horses. Only problem is all that power is going to the wrong wheels! EDIT 2: I need to stop looking at cars. Guitars are much cheaper in the long run...
Some thoughts on things that were said here. The engine note is often criticised in this. Noteworthy however is the fact that the cabin noise is fed. There's little pipe just behind the pedals (requires the floor mat to be peeled away, but can be done without breaking anything), which can be stuffed (a cigarette lighter cap fits, apparently), which will silence the cabin down, and leads to the natural engine and exhaust note, which is less drony. Sorry. The guy in me that is STILL waiting for his 86 (5.5 months now - still no production date - f*** Namibia in some regards) had to defend the car here... I looked at the Z4 the other day, and realised that (at least in this end of the world) they're bloody frighteningly expensive. We're talking about Porsche Boxter S money here for the drop-top. And if I wanted a drop-top 2 seater sporty car, the Boxter S would probably be the better buy. The estimated price on the Jag F-Type also puts it thereabouts... All that said, the "best car" would need to be specified first. Are we talking fast? Fun? Practical? Looking at the fact that you're listing mostly Hatches, I assume a combination. around here, in that price bracket (and our second hand prices are WAY higher than yours), you can pick up a nice second hand Chevy Lumina SS (sold as a Holden Monaro, a Vauxhall Monaro or a Pontiac GTO as well)... RWD, 6 litre V8 - it's a gas guzzler of note, though...
All those cars are very nice and mostly sporty, here was me getting excited as our next car will be a Kia Sportage lol (I have hit that sad part of life when things get serious).
Once your ego gets over the worst of it you will be a very happy owner I'm sure. Just be nice if they were a touch more powerful for overtaking... although the top end diesel is pretty useful.
If you want a head turning, bird pulling mobile! - Then the Audi A5 is where it's at! I would look at either the 3.0 Diesel, or the S5.
With mental costs. Servicing carries the huge M-tax before you even get to the madly expensive and rather flaky engine and gearbox. Wonderful cars, but I wouldn't unless it's a 3rd and you have lots of spare time and garage space.
Mercedes c/e 350 or BMW 3/5 35d That's if you want something sensible with plenty of speed and power They will keep pace with most supercars up to 100 and they will pull amazing MPG Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
Since people seem to bought up Diesel, (which was just a matter of time) I'm gonna say Saab 99 turbo 2 door coupe (if you can find one), you'll pay no more than £7K for a minter, and on a B-road there is no chassis like it out there. The 2 doors were rally spec frames, and thus handle like one. 4 speed gearbox and ~150hp in a car that weighs about 1100Kg. The 8v engine chucks out plenty of torque which makes every gear feel "too short". Due to the 4 on the floor it'll only hit 130mph, but that's not meant to be its party piece, never was. Brute acceleration between corners, and overtaking pace just makes newer cars look fat. Plus being a classic, it'll make money. My friend bought his for ~£4K, currently its worth ~£7K and still climbing His insurance was wait for it.... £95 fully comp for the year including windscreen cover (without excess). That part makes me laugh, since in order to replace the screen a firm like pilkington have to come out and make a aluminium profile to in order to re-make a screen. All for £95 a year! Ha!
How about looking at an Alpina D3? Look good, don't need fuel shares to run and handle great. Wouldn't be nearly as fun as some of the other options but wouldn't be too far off either.
BMW M135i would be a good bet I'm sure - meant to be the cream of the crop at the ~£30k price bracket for fun handling, a glorious V6 and composure if needed, and they're available with ~20k miles, 59-11 registered for £20k. To be honest though, if it were my money, it'd probably go on a Porsche Cayman.
You only hit that if you let yourself. There is a balance between being an adult and losing your soul.
Being cheeky and test driving an Audi A4 1.8T FSI tomorrow. ( Got nothing better to do ) To see how it compares to the BMW 330i or 320i. There's one thing pulling me towards BMW. RWD!
