What to go for next.....

[9Freedman9]

I'm on the lookout for a new car, a budget really of £1500 -£2000 being the absolute maximum, I've a few ideas but was curious too see other people's opinions on what to get/owners experiences etc.

206 GTi 180
306 GTi 6
Saxo VTS
MG ZR 160
Clio 172 - 182 dependant on monies
Stilo Abarth

All can be had for sub 2k, mainly I'd like a few 'mod cons' like air con electric mirrors etc (106 quiksilver is exceptionally basic)

Was just wondering if there's anything else worth looking at, I like the performance of the GTi 6 and I've had two, never had a VTS though, I'd say the 180 tops my list at the moment but don't know what they're like to live with!

Any information from anyone would be a help, as I'm really not sure what to get.

[ratboy_vtr]

Golf vr6

[ratboy_vtr]

Volvo T5, fast and comfortable.

[Alfie09]

Rx8
Saab aero hot

[Gandi699]

Why does the 180 top your list out of interest?


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[9Freedman9]

Golf vr6

Drove a corrado VR6 and wasn't impressed, big heavy car, mind you creeping up in value so might be a shrewd buy!

Volvo T5, fast and comfortable.

Good shout, engines can see good power gains too. Might be a bit thirsty for me though!

Rx8
Saab aero hot

Only thing that puts me off the RX8 is all the rebuild and hot start issues etc, also I think they're quite expensive to run and maintain!

Why does the 180 top your list out of interest?


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Not quite sure, I like the look of them, 180bhp in a small car is appealing to me as well and they seem to be fairly equipped, nice seats etc, and can be had for good prices with decent mileage and history etc!

[Jizanthapus]

Inb4 330ci and Ibiza Cupra TDi.

[white_vts_boy]

Civic type r

[9Freedman9]

Civic type r


Might just be a bit out of reach budget wise.

[ESD1711]

Guess it depends what you want from the car?

If it was me, from that list i'd be looking at the clio. A 172 / 182 will run rings around a Gti 180 in my opinion.

[KamRacing]

Guess it depends what you want from the car?

If it was me, from that list i'd be looking at the clio. A 172 / 182 will run rings around a Gti 180 in my opinion.

Its a better car but it wont run rings around it. A little more powerful, has a better steering feel and driving position. I do like the 206 chassis though so its worth a test drive to form your own opinion. The 180 is so cheap at the moment. Not sure if you can get any extra power out of the 180 though. The standard GTI is on my bangernomics radar though.

[Gandi699]

the 180 has pretty much all the same problems as the 1*2s, specialist belt changes that when done wrong drop the power. However while it is close between the two of them not sure why you'd go for one when a 172/182 is in your budget range or even an ep3 but then again it depends what you want and like the feel of.
A saxo vts is a good shout too thought not quite the pace of the cars above but easily tunable to be and simple to work on, not many toys mind you.
MG ZR 160 one of the enthusiasts of the marque to be honest, youve got a great chassis but as much I like the k-series engine, its not an engine I'd consider unless you want to spend a lot of time fixing its issues which it invariably will develop it if doesnt already.
Cant comment on the Stilo as I have no idea about them lol

[Stissy]

320ci and Ibiza Cupra 20vT.

[ESD1711]

Its a better car but it wont run rings around it. A little more powerful, has a better steering feel and driving position. I do like the 206 chassis though so its worth a test drive to form your own opinion. The 180 is so cheap at the moment. Not sure if you can get any extra power out of the 180 though. The standard GTI is on my bangernomics radar though.

Granted, 'run rings around' might have been a little exaggerated lol

[Jizanthapus]

320ci and Ibiza Cupra 20vT.

lol, Anything 1.8 20VT is actually a pretty good shout though.

[deano_123]

Saab 900 turbo

Cooler than penguin piss

[9Freedman9]

I had a Seat Leon Cupra running 225bhp but I had nothing but issues with it, so it's sort of tarnished the '1.8t' for me, although I do love the look of the older Ibiza!

The issue with the Clio's is that de phaser pulley, and I can't say I'm a massive fan of the interior in them, it's all a bit blue and drab. Was looking at a few 330's and I've driven an auto, I do like them, how ever I just think the ones in my range will have been abused to within an inch of there life, although I'm sure most in my list will have been TBH.

Cheers for all the help so far! What a great source of knowledge Sax-P is! Lol.

[stevo67]

Just been looking at suzuki's what about a swift or ignis sport?

[marcusd]

rx8 deffo. love mine and don't believe the horror stories research the issues and go informed and its all good, running costs aint bad my Toyota uses more oil, but 19mpg isn't good but very fun

[0rang3peel]

volvo 850 t5r brick power

[Gandi699]

I had a Seat Leon Cupra running 225bhp but I had nothing but issues with it, so it's sort of tarnished the '1.8t' for me, although I do love the look of the older Ibiza!

The issue with the Clio's is that de phaser pulley, and I can't say I'm a massive fan of the interior in them, it's all a bit blue and drab. Was looking at a few 330's and I've driven an auto, I do like them, how ever I just think the ones in my range will have been abused to within an inch of there life, although I'm sure most in my list will have been TBH.

Cheers for all the help so far! What a great source of knowledge Sax-P is! Lol.


I wouldnt worry overly about the dephaser pulley, as long as the car has had regularly oil changes and its been swapped when a belt change is done there really isnt too much to be concerned about. The faults come when people dont change them and leave the oil in longer than 6k. Its not actually a service item, its meant to last the life of the engine however its foolish to leave them as if it gets noisy the when you've just done a belt change the whole lot needs to be done again. Its very very rare for a noisy one to fail too, then can go on for ages making a racket too.

[Ross]

Stop talking and just go drive a 182. Can't go wrong. More modern version of the saxo/106 feel and handling you like, with oodles more power. Exhaust, filter and remap sees them at 200hp. Job jobbed.

[ESD1711]

Seems like just about every second track car up at our local track is a 172 / 182 these days.

Theres a reason for that.... cheap to buy, relatively cheap to run, plenty spares if needed, and just a great car to drive even in standard form.

In terms of what you get for your money, a Clio is very hard to beat these days.

[Gandi699]

Stop talking and just go drive a 182. Can't go wrong. More modern version of the saxo/106 feel and handling you like, with oodles more power. Exhaust, filter and remap sees them at 200hp. Job jobbed.

I cant fault the first part but 200bhp from a filter map and exhaust? I hope you are pulling his leg

[Ross]

I cant fault the first part but 200bhp from a filter map and exhaust? I hope you are pulling his leg

No I'm not. 182's are restricted badly on the exhaust. A decatted full system frees up over 10hp alone. Bang a map on, and you're at 200.

[Gandi699]

how are they restricted that badly? I'd agree with the rear part of the system not being the best as the standard renault item isn't much cop but the cat and 4 brand manifold are a lot better than the older design used on the 172. People on the various pages (mentioning no names!) run the usual mods, filter, exhaust, remap and barely see over a gain over stock power figures and thats with the timing spot on. The guys running clio 197 or 438 camshafts and bodies barely see over 200bhp and costs them a fortune to get that much, which is why I havent bothered myself.

[Ross]

I can't speak accurately yet as we've not had our car remapped, but ktec are telling us this - that's all I'm going on.

[Gandi699]

Kind of feeling like teaching grandmother to suck eggs here as I know you have a lot of knowledge but anyway I just want to offer my opinion
I dont know if you have any affiliation with Ktec so this isn't meant to offend here or anything like that, however while they do sell some decent bits and pieces and i've used them in the past for certain items, general feeling is they like to over exaggerate their claimed figures and be on the pricey side for what you receive. Speak to some of the CS.net/CS owners clubs guys, they will offer similar advice
You'll be lucky to see 180bhp with those mods perhaps one or two more bhp (if you've got a particularly healthy or "freak" engine) and a bit of an increase in torque but no where near that 200bhp they claim. Unfortunately the F4R engine is what it is, it does its job and my view of it is this: unless you force feed it air, naturally aspirated tuning of it is going to be a very expensive exercise for not a lot of gain. Not saying it wont be a fun car to drive with the mods, far from it but just dont be disappointed when it makes no where near the ktec claimed figures. I assume with what weight you've removed from the car you'd be pushing over 180bhp/tonne anyway with a fully standard engine anyway

[chester-lad]

Toyota corolla t sport ☺

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[Ross]

Toyota corolla t sport ☺

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Op made no mention of being gay?

[chester-lad]

Op made no mention of being gay?
Haha

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[chinkostu]

Xantia Activa?

Just to throw something random in there :D :D


Guessing you want something fast and small, so hatchbacks. I despise the 206 so will never recommend the 180! What you really want is a plush cruiser with a nice meaty engine to top it off, so you can pootle on the roads if needs be and be a lunatic at the weekend.

[jonathon5]

Cant go wrong with a 172

[9Freedman9]

Toyota corolla t sport ☺

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They look OK to be fair, albeit a little bland but seem fairly equipped! A good few mentions on cars that I hadn't thought of to be honest! Cheers all.

[chester-lad]

Quite quick to in the lift it's amazing ☺

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