Thinking of a new car. Suggestions?

[Adam41]

I currently drive a 1.4 Astra and am looking for something more sporty. A friend suggested an RX8 and after some research I'd set my sights on a late R3 model. After hunting for 6 months, a couple of test drives and because of the rotary's notorious compression issues, I've been unable to find a good one.

My Astra sounds like it's on the way out so I might not have the luxury of waiting another 6 months to find an RX8.

Here are my criteria:

• Budget £10k
• Preferably nothing older than 10 years old (purely due to the chance of less problems, but I'm open to anything)
• I'm quite fussy about styling
• Want something bigger than a Clio Sport for example
• RX8s don't have a stereotype driver associated with them, so I'd prefer not to buy a chavmobile
• I do quite a bit of motorway driving so something like an S2000 is a no go

A quick look on Autotrader I'm surprised how limited my options are. A couple of first options creeping just under 10k:

370Z - driven before, but a comparatively high insurance plus tax may mean I can't afford it
GT86 - I don't do much country road driving (although I can always take the long way round...) so I'm not sure if this would give me a big enough kick up the backside to warrant spending 10k. It's 0-60 is closer to my Dad's 1.6 diesel Meriva than an RX8 R3. The early models for 10k are also said to have more issues than the later models

Is something like an obvious choice Focus ST or Megane Sport the way I should be going?

Any suggestions or advice welcome.

Cheers!

 

[PASM]

Hi Adam. Finding the correct car in terms of condition and history is tough. Are you keen on RWD? Sounds like you prefer sports cars with a bit of GT quality. From my own experience owning a Clio RS197, they are brilliantly sharp but not so good on the motorway above 70 mph.

What about a BMW 125/135, Mini Cooper S, Audi TT, VW Scirocco?

 

[daan]

RX8? 10 grand?

Buy a low mileage Kuro. Maybe lower mileage than this.
Get it straight in for an engine rebuild.
Keep the rest of the cash for fuel and road tax.
Profit.

 

[VXR]

A5 coupe or cabrio? Never going to be the last word in cornering thrills, but as someone who has grown out of b-road blasts for the sake of it, the Audi way makes a lot of sense in daily driving and are a nice place to sit.

 

[Adam41]

Hi Adam. Finding the correct car in terms of condition and history is tough. Are you keen on RWD? Sounds like you prefer sports cars with a bit of GT quality. From my own experience owning a Clio RS197, they are brilliantly sharp but not so good on the motorway above 70 mph.

What about a BMW 125/135, Mini Cooper S, Audi TT, VW Scirocco?

Hey Bart. Doesn't have to be RWD, just happens the ones that have come to mind are. Not a fan of the last 3 you suggested, but a BMW 1 series could be a shout. I'm more keen on the newer 1 series, which are around 10k but that's for a smaller engine.

RX8? 10 grand?

Buy a low mileage Kuro. Maybe lower mileage than this.
Get it straight in for an engine rebuild.
Keep the rest of the cash for fuel and road tax.
Profit.

The plan was to buy an R3 for ~£6k and have a bit of money left over for anything which needs doing. I only upped my budget to 10 after looking at what is available for 6!

When I say I'm picky, I think the S1 and S2 RX8s look quite dated now, while the R3 still looks fantastic for its age.

A5 coupe or cabrio? Never going to be the last word in cornering thrills, but as someone who has grown out of b-road blasts for the sake of it, the Audi way makes a lot of sense in daily driving and are a nice place to sit.

I feel like this might be the type of car I'm looking for in 5-10 years time. I want something a bit more exciting for now. 👍

 

[eiriksmil]

The RX8 is from what I've gathered a car that will give you 4 cylinder NA performance with the fuel consumption of a V8. I have never driven one myself and I'm sure they are sweet drivers. But my understanding is that they are a bit like the GT86, underpowered but thirsty and unreliable as well.

I'd go for a GT86 or 1-Series.

 

[Clark]

You could probably get an N55 (more reliable and fuel efficient single turbo compared to N54 TT) engined 335i coupe for that money. Great noise and power, comfortable and great on a motorway or country roads (when you ditch the run flats)

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

How about a Subaru WRX? A bit chavvy, and you'll have to take up vaping, but they are good cars.

A Porsche Boxster could probably be had for your budget, but it will be a bit older. Many of them have very little mileage though. I bought mine for $11k in 2015 with 42,000 miles on it. While it hasn't been perfect, it's actually been pretty reliable and not that expensive to maintain. They are quite comfortable on the highway and pretty easy to live with. Once you get over the difficulty of accessing the engine, it's not impossible to work on them either. Take both storage compartments combined, it is actually quite useful for a 2-seater. I can fit a full-size rollerbag in the front with plenty of room to spare, and the rear can take at least one carry-on size bag with room all around, though it's fairly shallow.

 

[Adam41]

How about a Subaru WRX? A bit chavvy, and you'll have to take up vaping, but they are good cars.

A Porsche Boxster could probably be had for your budget, but it will be a bit older. Many of them have very little mileage though. I bought mine for $11k in 2015 with 42,000 miles on it. While it hasn't been perfect, it's actually been pretty reliable and not that expensive to maintain. They are quite comfortable on the highway and pretty easy to live with. Once you get over the difficulty of accessing the engine, it's not impossible to work on them either. Take both storage compartments combined, it is actually quite useful for a 2-seater. I can fit a full-size rollerbag in the front with plenty of room to spare, and the rear can take at least one carry-on size bag with room all around, though it's fairly shallow.

WRX is a good shout but I know what you mean about being a bit chavvy.

After you mentioned a Boxster I've been looking at Caymans for the past couple of hours. Might be able to stretch to 12k for a 2006 one. Anyone have any knowledge or experience owning or running a Cayman?

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Something a little bit left-field - Peugeot RCZ?

 

[Adam41]

Something a little bit left-field - Peugeot RCZ?

Not a fan of them to be honest.

 

[JrDarknes]

My dad bought a 2003 boxster in 2006, owned it until 2010.. Never had a issue most reliable sports car hes owned. He only sold it to use the money to fix up his house. I would assume the cayman is same thing just hardtop?

 

[Famine]

Not a fan of them to be honest.

Wash your mouth out.

Okay, so most of them aren't that quick and you really need the facelift car, and you can't afford an R (which is ******** hilarious on the road) because they're still not under £12k yet, the satnav screen is one of the most pathetic things I've seen in a car, only matched by the quality of the rear seatbelt mountings and... hmm. Well, I like it anyway.

Considered something like a hot Leon? I imagine the insurance on them is a catastrophe, because they're all driven like the owner's actual scrotum is on fire, and the only suitable extinguisher for a scrotum fire is at their destination - thus 175% of them all have been crashed into a Transit full of Scouts - but the ST Cupra 300 is one of the funniest cars I have driven.

 

[Adam41]

Considered something like a hot Leon?

Actually started looking at these last night. It would have to be the new shape for me and they're just a bit out of budget for now otherwise they'd be in with a shout.