adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,881
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Feb 18, 2020 11:21:14 GMT
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A cheaper alternative to the civic type r is the Toyota Corolla T Sport, 190bhp from a vvtli engine which has a vtec-style power delivery. As mentioned previously, the Saab OG9-3 Aero can be quite quick in a straight line, not the most inspiring in corners though.
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Last Edit: Feb 18, 2020 18:32:12 GMT by adam73bgt: adding pics
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Feb 18, 2020 15:50:22 GMT
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Saab 9000 Aero , 3k will buy a very nice one , 225 bhp standard with all the toys , as much room as most estate cars when the rear seats are folded, 40mpg possible if careful too. Handle better than the later GM cars too.
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ZXRob
Europe
Posts: 1,193
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Feb 18, 2020 18:10:04 GMT
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Another suggestion for Corolla TS. Can be picked up cheap and are a good bit of fun. Drove one daily for 3 years and it was brilliant.
Civic Vti Aerodeck is also mega cool and has power.
My brother had a Vectra VXR and that thing was just mental. Don't believe the Top Gear myth that they go straight when you want to turn either!
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Feb 18, 2020 22:33:42 GMT
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Some great ideas here guys, thank you.
I was looking around today at estate cars with 150+bhp in petrol/manual format and think I will have to go down this route, otherwise the vehicle won't be much different for hauling than my current Mk6 Golf.
So I thought I'd try and do a list of under £3k estate cars currently on Autotrader to get an idea of what's out there:
1. Audi A4 Avant 2.0 TFSI has 197bhp. S-lines look quite nice! 2. BMW 3-series 2.0 with 170bhp. All higher mileage. 3. Ford Mondeo ST220 - looks fun but I think I'll have to pass based on above advice. 4. Honda Accord 2.4 Tourer with 188bhp. Like the look of these, very led-sled. 5. Mazda 6 2.5 sport - these look quite nice actually. Never had a Mazda but looks interesting. Should be reliable and well within budget for a low mileage example. 6. Saab - sorry, I just can't get excited about them. I know, I'm missing out! 7. Skoda Octavia VRS with 200 just about bhp. This could be interesting. 8. Volvo V70 has 170bhp and the most sluggish of the lot. A proper waggon though.
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Feb 18, 2020 23:09:00 GMT
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Will any of those feel fast enough for you? It might be 180/190 bhp but all in relatively heavy cars.
I think that power in a hatchback would be ok.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,201
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Feb 18, 2020 23:47:49 GMT
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Some great ideas here guys, thank you. 2. BMW 3-series 2.0 with 170bhp. All higher mileage. - If it's a 4 pot, avoid it like the plague. Injector and fuel pump problems are not unheard on those- 6 pots are solid3. Ford Mondeo ST220 - looks fun but I think I'll have to pass based on above advice. As stated, that's a Mk4 with a 2.5t Volvo engine. not the Mk3 ST220; Clutches in those are cheaper and easier to work with .As far as failures go, that's not a bad one ; As said, mine on 180k and we've owned it since 125k, so we've had our money's worth. The other 2.5T had 113k and we sold it to a friend on 184k without needing to touch the clutch 4. Honda Accord 2.4 Tourer with 188bhp. Like the look of these, very led-sled. 5. Mazda 6 2.5 sport - these look quite nice actually. Never had a Mazda but looks interesting. Should be reliable and well within budget for a low mileage example. I'd google that. the Sport I think is OK but the MPSs can be hideously unreliable TBH, almost every car I've owned has a pricey problem of some sort. Off the top of my head: -Clio 1x2 ; Potentialy £600 cambelt, normally £400 every 5 years -Mercedes (any) Rust (££££). For the mid 90s 6 pots, wiring harnesses. Around £500 to buy, but they will last the life of the car once replaced -Porsche 944; Rust (££££££, if you can even get some parts now) and Clutch (£1.2k+ due to the rear gearbox arrangement) -Jag: Rust, the quality of components seem to show their age now ; X300s even with their sold AJ16s are a good example here. -M3 ; Tyres, Subframe issues, VANOS.... -VAG 2.0PD ; Tensioner stud issues, head porosity/cracking problems. -pre '85 JDM ; Parts availability or rather the severe lack of it. While I do state things, it's only because I've experienced them or close friends whose cars I've aided with have . One friend of mine refused to acknowledge anything went wrong with a J car, despite information to contradict that.
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Last Edit: Feb 18, 2020 23:49:31 GMT by ChasR
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Feb 18, 2020 23:52:31 GMT
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306 GTI-6?
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Feb 19, 2020 13:47:55 GMT
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Got a 2000 Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 V6 24V Lusso spec. Blue with black leather. Koni springs. Adjustable shocks. Ragazzon exhaust. Uprated discs and pads. Feels like an Italian hot rod, particularly from mid-revs to red line. People often say cars sound amazing but this really is special. Not checked exact values recently but she's got 165k+ on the clock and some small cosmetic imperfections. Will sell with a new MOT. Currently garaged and SORN for winter pending new MOT.
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Feb 19, 2020 14:16:23 GMT
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Some great ideas here guys, thank you. I was looking around today at estate cars with 150+bhp in petrol/manual format and think I will have to go down this route, otherwise the vehicle won't be much different for hauling than my current Mk6 Golf. So I thought I'd try and do a list of under £3k estate cars currently on Autotrader to get an idea of what's out there: 1. Audi A4 Avant 2.0 TFSI has 197bhp. S-lines look quite nice! 2. BMW 3-series 2.0 with 170bhp. All higher mileage. 3. Ford Mondeo ST220 - looks fun but I think I'll have to pass based on above advice. 4. Honda Accord 2.4 Tourer with 188bhp. Like the look of these, very led-sled. 5. Mazda 6 2.5 sport - these look quite nice actually. Never had a Mazda but looks interesting. Should be reliable and well within budget for a low mileage example. 6. Saab - sorry, I just can't get excited about them. I know, I'm missing out! 7. Skoda Octavia VRS with 200 just about bhp. This could be interesting. 8. Volvo V70 has 170bhp and the most sluggish of the lot. A proper waggon though. Mazda 6 GG1s are great. Reliable, comfy and quick enough but be careful, pretty much any Mazda of that era will, likely as not be absolutely rotten, no matter how good it looks above the waterline. They are renowned for it, as are the equivalent age Mazda5 and Mazda3. I had a first generation estate and although it was by far the most reliable car I've ever had (never broke down once in 9 years) it was already grotty round the rear arches, inner/outer sills and suspension mounts etc by the time it was 6 years old. I looked for an MPS variant for a while but a quick look at the MOT history of all them showed failures/advisories for rust, in all the places you really don't want rust. Find a solid one though, great stuff.
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pptom
Part of things
Posts: 471
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Feb 19, 2020 18:10:16 GMT
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I've an Audi A4 2.0 tfsi (2005) Avant, remapped to give 255bhp, it can certainly hustle along. Though not the most dynamically involving car, boost off roundabouts with 4wd never gets old. Mine is a quattro so twin intercoolers and a little more bhp when mapped as a result. Had it for 4 years and it's been the best car I've owned, though as a counterpoint I had a '99 A3 and that was the worst.
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Feb 19, 2020 22:23:02 GMT
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Ok, think I've narrowed it down to either the A4 Avant 2.0 TFSI, the Skoda Octavia VRs, or the Mazda 6.
Time for a bit of tyre kicking at my local garages to suss out which is the way forward.
Thanks guys for all your info, much appreciated.
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You can always get the audi and skoda revamped if you want a bit more fast.
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domrr
Part of things
Posts: 41
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Feb 20, 2020 10:50:11 GMT
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Very interesting thread. And hope you don't mind me gatecrashing @bellybuilder I am in a very similar position, soon to be losing my company car due to job change. Always had an interest in the Corolla T Sport since adam73bgt shared his on here a while ago. Questions for those who know? - Would they suit daily short commutes with longer blasts to keep things in order - Where can I find such a mythical beast of a car? Usual suspects e.g. the Bay of e, Gumtree, Autotrader etc are showing very few options for, what feels like, a big chunk of cash for 16-17+ year old car Any help or guidance would be great - I have T minus 3 weeks to find wheels Again apologies @bellybuilder for the thread hijack
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Last Edit: Feb 20, 2020 10:50:52 GMT by domrr
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Feb 20, 2020 11:16:40 GMT
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This should have crossed my mind as a quick-ish workhorse, Ford Scorpio Ultima: You don't see many estates coming up for sale and probably only 1 in 3 is the 2.9 litre. That's the one you want, 2.9 litre 24 valve Cosworth. SPECS
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Feb 20, 2020 12:03:15 GMT
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vectra gsi is some serious value for money (as in the vectra B model 1995-2002)
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Last Edit: Feb 20, 2020 12:04:29 GMT by darrenh
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,358
Club RR Member Number: 84
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Feb 20, 2020 12:15:53 GMT
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No one has mentioned the E39 BMW to my surprise...
I've been mulling a 530i manual estate which is up for £1400. 230hp and falls below the 2006 tax hike
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Feb 20, 2020 12:32:28 GMT
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No one has mentioned the E39 BMW to my surprise... I've been mulling a 530i manual estate which is up for £1400. 230hp and falls below the 2006 tax hike Beware of crusty jacking points and more
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,881
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Feb 20, 2020 12:45:16 GMT
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- Would they suit daily short commutes with longer blasts to keep things in order - Where can I find such a mythical beast of a car? Usual suspects e.g. the Bay of e, Gumtree, Autotrader etc are showing very few options for, what feels like, a big chunk of cash for 16-17+ year old car Perfectly usable daily, I dailied mine for the time I had it. It isn't the torquiest engine so it can feel a bit uninspiring pootling about at low rpms, but whenever theres a bit of clear road and you get it up in the rev range, its a laugh Seems to be quite a few on ebay at the moment, used to be quite a few up on facebook marketplace as well. They're not particularly rare and you should be able to get a decent enough one for not a huge amount. The pre-facelifts are cheaper but don't look all that much different from a regular corolla and sit higher, the facelifts have a more sporty bodykit and are about 10-15mm lower from memory. Compressor models have the supercharger and about 220bhp but they're rarer and the consensus seemed to be that they weren't worth the extra outlay. Best mods I did to mine were, lowering springs as even with it being a facelift it was a bit wallowy as standard, K&N Typhoon intake which really accentuated that step to the high lift cam, and some 17" wheels with good tyres as the standard 16s look a bit lost! All in all, maybe not as popular as a Civic Type R or a Clio 182, but with the right mods, it can hang with either
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b3nson
Part of things
Posts: 886
Club RR Member Number: 22
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Feb 20, 2020 14:36:41 GMT
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No one has mentioned the E39 BMW to my surprise... I've been mulling a 530i manual estate which is up for £1400. 230hp and falls below the 2006 tax hike Beware of crusty jacking points and more I think any without a shed load of rust are over £3000 now. Same as E36’s.
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'99 Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo '08 Panda 100HP
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