Another suggestion for a Focus ST here. To filter them on autotrader select a 2.5litre petrol engine. Every Focus ST regardless of age has the Volvo 2.5 litre 5 Cylinder turbo engine. I bought a facelift one on an 08 plate and it was an excellent car. Very nice engine, torquey enough to trundle about town without changing up and down gears frequently and goes like a train (while sounding LOVELY) when you boot it. Excellent size, very comfy, well built. I remapped mine from the standard 225bhp to 280bhp which made it excellent fun. Oh, and they're pretty safe. Only reason I don't have mine is it got mangled when someone ploughed into the back of it on a dual carriageway. Some tw@ stopped in the fast lane to do a U-turn through the central reservation, I was forced to stop behind him and someone less observant than myself ploughed into me. £6500 of damage to the car and I stepped out like nothing had happened. Focus ST and fiesta ST are both great (I've owned both) and if you can afford a nice one and insurance for it, I recommend them.
Well I found a 2006 model Audi A3 with 96'000 miles on the clock. Its priced at £7'595 which seems good but the milege is of concern. Link for the car What do people think? what should I be on the lookout for? Im not too experienced with buying cars and asking the right questions and with it having 96k I dont want to buy it only for it to fail... Any advice folks?
Too many miles tbh. At 96k you'll start needing more expensive parts that have worn. Something like this is a much better buy, although that has hideous wood. By all accounts the 2.0TDi is a much better buy than the 1.9.
I'd steer clear of the car having such a high mileage. I'd still suggest the focus or fiesta ST. In fact, the fiesta zetec-s is an excellent car, particularly the 1.6 diesel (though they're pretty scarce). The Seat Leon suggestion is a good one. They should be easily attainable at the price you're looking at. Or the golf TDi or the Skoda Fabia VRS.
I'm looking at a similar price range within the next year or 2 so here's the cars I've identified which might also interest you: BMW E36 M3 Honda S2000 Honda Civic Type R Mazda MX5/Eunos, plenty of change after as well, just get an import Eunos with the LSD Renault Clio V6 Renault Megane Sport 225 Torphy/Cup edition Or my personal favourite as it stands (this changes every minutes) Nissan Silvia S15 There more sporty than sensible though, I do have others which are more sensible and 5 door but there currently out of favour with me. Don't get a Fiesta ST either there so slow it isn't even funny.
Mk3 Mondeo Titanium X, looks nice, lots of toys, and you can pick anything from a 2.0 Petrol or Turbo Diesel upwards. The TDCI 2.0 130bhp engine gives enough poke, good mpg and insurance.
Lotss to chose from: http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-chooser-launch Handy link. Just keep in mind that those are new prices. My personal recommendations would depend on what you want from the car. For fun, try picking up a Grande Punto Sport, or an abarth one secodn hand. Also try a Fiat Bravo Dynamic (150hp) second hand. For sheer driving comfort, Volvo S40 2.4i - no slouch, and super comfortable to drive. Not as spacious as Volvo would make you believe, though. If you're going Audi, i'd recommend an older A3 1.8T Sportsback. Service for all VW group cars in this place is hellishly expensive, though. A new Fiat 500 should fall in roughly that price bracket, and they're quite nice, if somewhat feminine. Upping the price bracket a bit (on the TG selector) drops in the MiTO, which i can only recommend (if you either buy one new for more money or find one in good nick second hand). Great fun cars, even though i must admit that the only one i drove was the top-of-the-line one. They're also 1.4T engines (like the Grande Punto sport and the Bravo - same engine,a s a matter of fact). Reports say that if you WANT TO, you can push that 1400 Turbo Fiat engine to around 140kw with a new intercooler, new sports exhausts and a quick ECU reprogramming session... that shoudl be good for just over 7 seconds 0-60mph in the bravo, and just under in the MiTo (better handling, smoother power curve in the MiTo). That's Golf GTI quick.
I've driven or ridden all of the following and currently own an octavia vrs, and the gf has a fabia vrs. Audi A3 - 1.9 tdi is ~110bhp, disappointing - Any trim below S-Line will be disappointing, they put naff all in their cars for the price you pay - 2.0 tdi is 143bhp (IIRC), much better than the 1.9 (only been in a 1.9 though) - The 2.0 tdi for some reason, in the age car you're looking at is a group E, whereas the Golf is a group D for car tax. Saves you £40 a year. Summary: you pay for the brand, and the 1.9 is not as fast as you'd think Golf Mark 5 - Again 1.9 tdi is disappointing, at ~115bhp - Inside is quite boring, with typical "german efficiency", I previously owned an 06 plate GT TDI140 (the 2.0L diesel), and while more than the Audi, you don't get much - 2.0 tdi is 140bhp, and while noticeably faster than the 1.9, most 2.0L + petrols, will shat on you (as I said, I had one of these) - Even the 2.0 tdi (well on the 06 plate) is group D Summary: cheaper tax but still a bit crappy inside Fabia VRS - The interior is quite dated now, although still functional, though the door pockets suck - The engine is like greased cow poop, BUT has a propensity to stutter/idle-rev a bit at times - Group D, so tax is good - 1.9 tdi with 130bhp and a very light car, Top Gear beat a Boxster off the lights with this Summary: cost a LOT less than you think for a lot lower mileage and newer car than the above options, its also a sporty trim by default, and the group is LOWER than the A3 SLine/Golf Sport+ in the 2.0 tdi model. Its a smeg load faster than the golf! Octavia VRS (specifically the TDI170 2.0L) - Nice big car, huge boot, whether that's a plus or not is up to you (was for me) - Standard equipment is VERY nice, big alloys, leather/suede sports seats, 6cd changer, etc - 2.0 tdi is 170bhp but I still get 45mpg - Group E for tax, not as cheap as above but still ok Summary: my current car so I'm probably biased. If you don't mind a bigger car, I'd say go for it. You'll be surprised, and I can't tell you how handy its been to take down the seats when going to Ikea over the past 2 years. Other General Opinions The Seat Leon and Ibiza do a FR model, which has a similar 130bhp 1.9 tdi engine as the Fab VRS. I know a girl with the Ibiza FR and she loves it, and one of my neighbours has a sporty Leon (wouldn't wanna commit on the exact model) which also looks great, in gunmetal grey with the grey alloys. Finally, another neighbour has a Fiat Bravo Multijet, which looks fabulous too. They also do a similar 130bhp-ish 1.9 tdi engine in the Punto and AFAIK Bravo. As a result of previous experience you'll get much more for your money by avoiding Audi and Golf, as you're really paying 10 - 15% of the purchase cost for the brand.
But one day you'll sit at the lights and someone will rock up behind/next to you in an STi... Too embarassing. Having said that a good STi can be had for £9k now, blistering performance and hatchback practicality...
Sorry this may sound dumb but it seems allot of the cars although named the same, DSG, SE, S Line, seem to have subtle differences? Can anyone explain the differences? what is S Line? is that the best option to go for? What is that DSG? or SE? Sorry for being a n00b with this... =/
DSG is the VAG groups new fangled gearbox info HERE As far as i know SE and S-line are just specs, with S-line being a higher spec than and SE i think.
Thanks mate! Question is - is it actually any good or an improvement over standard gear boxes? Also... So the S-Line isnt anything cosmetic? its purely under the hood benefits? Nothing like additional features like climate control or anything like that? purely performance?.. Sorry for my n00bness! ninja edit! Jesus looking at the New mini coopers and apparently the diesels can get upto 70mpg?! is that right??! are they that economical?! The petrols get around 60mpg combined! is that right? are they any good?
There's more to a car than the 0-60 time. The Fiesta ST does 0-60 in just under 8 secs which isn't amazing but I wouldn't call it slow. I gave plenty of 'faster' cars a good beasting, particularly when there was any kind of corner involved. What it lacks in straight-line speed it more than makes up for in handling and letting you plant the foot in the corners... So if he's looking for a cheap fun car, I'd rate the ST very highly. Just don't drive it like I did or you'll need new tyres every 8k miles!
Yes. Go take a test drive in one, even the old ones with basic spec are nice to drive, with a boutique "coolness" you don`t get with many other cars. Of course you could also go the other way and get yerself a defender 90, even top gear know that is an uber cool vehicle and of course as british as they come. NAS 90 gets my vote, but very very rare.
S-Line = sports seats, lower and stiffer suspension (30mm if my memory works) 18" alloys, and the cosmetics pack - skirts, bumpers and a spoiler... RwD
You could look for an original mini? I'm not a fan of the modern minis. A few of my friends had/have them and they're far from roomy inside considering they're not much smaller than a fiesta etc. Friend had the original Cooper S Works with the bigger supercharger etc and it was nice and quick but cramped inside...
I drove one and wasn't for me and its slower than that I've out driven one on the ring and on the straights I opened up gaps like it weren't there in an Almera GTi, didn't catch me on the corners either.
The way i understand the DSG gearboxes is that if your in an odd numbered gear the gearbox 'primes' the closest even numbered gear and vice versa, allowing a quicker change. Thats probably over simplifying it. Ive not driven 1 personally but i know people that have and some say its great and some say its good but not worth the extra monies If your set on getting the A3 i think an S line spec will get you everything you want, sporty looks and a sportier ride, overall more goodies , aswell as maybe holding its value better than the lower specced cars
It's a gearbox with two clutches - one primes the up-change, the other the down. It's technically a robotized sequential manual gearbox, to give it its proper name. They're brilliant, 98% as good as a proper auto, but more fun when you switch it into manual and give it some flappy paddle goodness. I'd still take a manual, but if you sit in traffic a lot it's unbeatable.
