Looking at new cars
- Thread starter Tom
- 99 comments
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- 6,390
- Kent
- tombrookscomms
Bringing this back as moving back for 2019 is looking increasingly more likely. Again, looking at between £10,000 - £15,000 but now I'm perhaps looking at something a bit more 'driver' focused, a GT86/BRZ is very much on the radar, but I'm open to options!
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- Betelgeuse
- Beeblebrox_237
I'd definitely favour recommending a 987 over a BRZ as long as you can cover the maintenance costs.
- 84,413
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
The thing I found with the 86 is... it's faster than it feels. I can't really put my finger on why that is, as I didn't have all that long in one, but I do remember a TLGP in one (one of the rally-decal ones) and watching the speedo take forever to get up to 60 and the shift from 1st to 2nd was so far down the road I'd have been in 4th in my NA MX-5
I don't like that in a car - I like to feel like I'm going quick when I'm not. Easier to have fun and keep your licence
- 6,789
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- Kent
- tombrookscomms
Cayman would be fantastic fun, always had a bit of a soft spot for them. Don't mind Elise's, but I reckon the parts bills could be quite expensive if it came to it. Insuring it might be a bit of an issue too!
Z4M
Same insurance issue as above, I'd be willing to bet.
A bit too 'mid life' for me I'll be honest. I'm quite interested in a small coupe of some description, something sporty but that won't cost the earth.
The thing I found with the 86 is... it's faster than it feels. I can't really put my finger on why that is, as I didn't have all that long in one, but I do remember a TLGP in one (one of the rally-decal ones) and watching the speedo take forever to get up to 60 and the shift from 1st to 2nd was so far down the road I'd have been in 4th in my NA MX-5
I don't like that in a car - I like to feel like I'm going quick when I'm not. Easier to have fun and keep your licence
I remember we spoke about this in Austria. I think I do need to drive one and see what it's really like. There's a BRZ near where I live that's been up for sale at a garage for the last couple of months. I'm quite tempted to book in for a test drive when I'm back next.
- 6,390
- Kent
- tombrookscomms
Slight update. I’ve booked a test drive in a GT86 when I’m back in the UK in November. However, I’ve also been looking at BMW 2 Series’ coupé - a 2.0 M Sport or maybe (at a push) an M235i. @homeforsummer do you have any experience with either?
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Driven a few of the "35i" BMWs and the later "40i"s, and driven other BMWs with the 2-litre turbo. Worth test-driving both when you're back in the UK, but I suspect like me you'll prefer the inline-six - the four-cylinder is decent enough, but just feels flat after the six, in both performance and sound.
In general the 2-series is a nice car though. Feels quite compact but still like a quality product, and looks pretty good in the right spec too. Does feel a bit lazy and bulky compared to a GT86, but as a car to use everyday with less of a priority on just having fun, it probably has the edge.
- 8,196
- Drayton Bassett, North Warwickshire
- Duffers999
- Clark Duffy
In my opinion it’s not really worth getting a 2 series if you don’t get a six cylinder, I had a brief drive if some and you lose loads of the character and the running costs aren’t going to be that much more on the six pot.
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I thought you might say that. Maybe you would like something like a Mk3 Audi TT as you were originally looking for a hatch and that has a hatch style boot opening which might make it more practical with the seats down?
I've driven a M235i, personally liked how compact it feels on UK streets and has plenty of grip. So many parked cars nowadays it is almost like playing chicken all the time so good to have something more nimble, cars are getting too big as this used to be the size of the 3 series. Got decent amount of power, hard to beat in price range regarding engine performance and sound.
- 6,390
- Kent
- tombrookscomms
Tested the GT86 Pro and actually really enjoyed it. It felt very balanced as expected and though it's far from the fastest car (especially with that torque dip between 3-5k), I left with a big smile on my face. The only thing is that apparently the BRZ has better suspension and quality of a few parts is supposedly better (according to Kaz, I should add), so I'm not 100% sure where to go next!
- 6,390
- Kent
- tombrookscomms
You could go completely nuts and get a Lexus IS F providing you live near a petrol station
5.0 V8? That'll please the neighbours and my bank manager!
On another note, looks like I'll be moving back around mid-December now so I've got to start thinking about cars a bit more (along with all the other stuff: coordinating the move, signing documents on house etc), and once I've been bled dry from all of that, I'll have look down the back of the sofa, raid my niece's piggy bank and hopefully have enough for a nice motor.
Speaking of nice motors, a 2016 118i M Sport has come up and looks like it could go relatively cheap. Thing is that it's not very powerful and perhaps not quite what I'm after - auction ends this afternoon, so I'll let you know on that one. Regarding the GT86/BRZ on the other hand, it looks like I'll only be able to afford an early-ish model, a 13/14 plate most likely. The only drawback I can see (and this is quite picky, I know) is that it doesn't have steering wheel controls... How much I'd get frustrated with this I'm not sure, but it's put a few thoughts into my mind about it, whether to just whack a deposit down on a newer one and get it on finance for example.
- 6,390
- Kent
- tombrookscomms
Yeah figured it would be a bit of a disappointment so I've pretty much talked myself out of that one.
Another car that's come across my radar is the Hyundai i30 N. I've driven the Sportback version and was suitably impressed, but would be keen to try one. Again, I'd look at putting a big desposit down and try to pay the rest off within 18 months or so if that was the case.
- 84,413
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
I really rather like this car, but with two caveats, both to do with N mode. Firstly, the exhaust crackle you get on every gear shift is identical on every gear shift - because it's artificial. After the first week I imagine the novelty might wear off and it will get boring. Or embarrassing...
More importantly though, the ride in N mode is ludicrous. I stamped on fresh air when decelerating towards a roundabout because the suspension reacted so violently to the yellow lines across the road that it bounced my foot off the clutch pedal.
On a note of personal preference, I couldn't have it in that characteristic N duck egg blue, but the only other options are light grey, dark grey, black, white and red - and the red is quite... plasticky but also hides the red-trimmed styling parts.
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- 6,390
- Kent
- tombrookscomms
I really rather like this car, but with two caveats, both to do with N mode. Firstly, the exhaust crackle you get on every gear shift is identical on every gear shift - because it's artificial. After the first week I imagine the novelty might wear off and it will get boring. Or embarrassing...
More importantly though, the ride in N mode is ludicrous. I stamped on fresh air when decelerating towards a roundabout because the suspension reacted so violently to the yellow lines across the road that it bounced my foot off the clutch pedal.
On a note of personal preference, I couldn't have it in that characteristic N duck egg blue, but the only other options are light grey, dark grey, black, white and red - and the red is quite... plasticky but also hides the red-trimmed styling parts.
I've watched a few reviews and they've all said similar things, especially about the ride in N mode. As a bit of a child, I do quite like the exhaust crackle but totally see where you're coming from about it getting tiresome - that said, I'd still like to arrange a test drive of one just to see what they're like.
I'm quite the fan of the blue in all honesty, though I reckon that's easily going to become the most popular choice for most people, so perhaps getting one in grey would be a better option, as I'd quite like to do things differently!
Yeah, there's quite a price hike between the two. A second-hand early GT86 is anywhere from around £12-15k, whereas the i30 N is still just over the £20k mark in second-hand form (though they've literally done a few thousand miles). Thing is that I could easily afford something like the M235i at that price point, but not outright at the moment sadly.
- 6,390
- Kent
- tombrookscomms
So, slight update.
I’ve now moved back to the UK and I’m actively looking for a car, ideally to have one within the next few weeks. I drive a 318i M Sport coupe earlier today and I quite enjoyed it, though I felt it didn’t have that much power - not surprising really as it only makes 141hp from its 2.0 litre engine. That said, I’d probably have bought it as it was sub-10k if...
... If I hadn’t tested an i30N immediately afterwards. That really was a lot of fun - comfortable enough for everyday use but enough power and grip to have fun on a Sunday morning blast. Talked about finance options too, so I’ve got a lot of thinking to do...
I’ve now moved back to the UK and I’m actively looking for a car, ideally to have one within the next few weeks. I drive a 318i M Sport coupe earlier today and I quite enjoyed it, though I felt it didn’t have that much power - not surprising really as it only makes 141hp from its 2.0 litre engine. That said, I’d probably have bought it as it was sub-10k if...
... If I hadn’t tested an i30N immediately afterwards. That really was a lot of fun - comfortable enough for everyday use but enough power and grip to have fun on a Sunday morning blast. Talked about finance options too, so I’ve got a lot of thinking to do...
- 27,163
- United Kingdom
Late to the party on this, but I'd disagree on the exhaust crackle - in my experience sometimes it wouldn't do it at all, and when it did it didn't seem consistent. Very different in that regard from say, a Focus RS, where you'll get the same "PAP PAP PAP" every time if you lift off or the same "CRACK" between each gear.I really rather like this car, but with two caveats, both to do with N mode. Firstly, the exhaust crackle you get on every gear shift is identical on every gear shift - because it's artificial. After the first week I imagine the novelty might wear off and it will get boring. Or embarrassing...
More importantly though, the ride in N mode is ludicrous. I stamped on fresh air when decelerating towards a roundabout because the suspension reacted so violently to the yellow lines across the road that it bounced my foot off the clutch pedal.
On a note of personal preference, I couldn't have it in that characteristic N duck egg blue, but the only other options are light grey, dark grey, black, white and red - and the red is quite... plasticky but also hides the red-trimmed styling parts.
Ignoring the crackles though the exhaust is fabulous. I don't think any current hot hatch sounds better, and it makes so much difference to how enjoyable a country road is, since a noisy exhaust is really the only way around modern car sound deadening now unless you want piped-in electronic stuff.
I basically never used N mode though as the custom mode is so customisable that N becomes pointless. After six months I'd settled on all engine/gearbox/rev-matching parameters to their silliest, and on the chassis side of things, everything except steering to its most comfortable. The steering I knocked up a notch after a few months as while it's a bit unnaturally heavy, the extra weight over the basic setting does come in handy at higher speeds. I'd drive the car mostly in comfort, and whenever I got to a fun bit of road hit the N button a couple of times for the custom mode and it came alive. The dampers in their comfort setting are pretty much perfect for a hot hatch anyway - anything firmer is literally only any use on track, in the UK at least.
