Ecconomical "sporty" cars

motorguy

tbourner wrote: »

The 620Ti was also a bit quick, but again, not a 'sporty' car at all!

Yes, i'd one of those too at one point. Black with black leather. It was 0-60 around the 7.3s mark, which was very handy.

But not a sports car, no.

ahillsy

Skoda Octavia VRS is a good all rounder....sporty looking without being OTT (imho), very practical (boot the size of a small hatchback), great value for money (15-16k brand new for the 2L petrol). You can get into the 40s MPG on a decent careful run, but mid-late 20s if on a shorter blast; expect 32/33MPG long term average for a general mix of driving. Not too bad at all for something with 200BHP.

The diesel was mentioned earlier, bit more expensive to buy but I think is a good option if your driving style doesnt out you in the DPF-at-risk group. Different people have different ideas of what "sporty" is, so boils down to whatever floats your boat. Personally, i see nothing wrong with certain diesels being classed as sporty.

tbourner

ahillsy wrote: »

Personally, i see nothing wrong with certain diesels being classed as sporty.

Not any more anyway! Mate at work has a Ford Mondeo ST-TDCi, same blue with 18" alloys as the petrol ST and looks the business, and I have to say at idle it doesn't sound at all bad!

motorguy

tbourner wrote: »

Not any more anyway! Mate at work has a Ford Mondeo ST-TDCi, same blue with 18" alloys as the petrol ST and looks the business, and I have to say at idle it doesn't sound at all bad!

+1

Personally i dont give a monkeys whats under the bonnet as long as it goes.

Actually, the fastest cars i have owned have been diesels. And great cross country cars too.

almillar

NO HOT HATCHES!
tbourner - there was a 140bhp and a 190 bhp engine for the Gen 7 (1999-2008?) Celica. You wouldn't know about the extra 50bhp unless you took it up to 6,200rpm, where you would get a kick of extra power, up to 8,200. Great fun, but not for lazy drivers. I though sporty gearboxes were meant to be notchy? Clutch was light alright, like a Yaris, but it had a lovely tight little gearbox. And certainly not crampt for a sports car, at 6'2" I had plenty of leg and headroom.
Life's Grand Plan - you haven't provided an actual NUMBER for your budget, telling us it's tight doesn't get us very far. RX8 spend £5k on. You can have a cheaper one, but it's really important for this car that you buy a good one and stick with the 230 version instead of the 190. TTs (stick to the 225 if you can) you'd want to buy from £6k upwards (yes you can get them for less), Z4s will start a bit higher, Crossfire I'd imagine will be similar to Z4. Check each of them out individually for practicality, mpg and insurance etc, but they're all good cars.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Sporty car that's cheap to run, that combination rules out most of the above.

Don't want a hot hatch, what about a warm hatch with £30 VED, 50+mpg overall not at a constant 50mph, group 5 insurance and 0-60 in 9.4ish? You won't get much cheaper to run or more fun per pound than one of those if you can find one.

Citroen C2 VTS 1.6HDi.

ani_26

It depends what you are after. If you want a sporty looking car there are plenty around, and plenty of mods too, ( sometimes with hilarious effect),to the extent you think, oh come on. Quite amusing.


But if you are after performance and want a TRUE sports car, i'd think long and hard about it, because they are bottomless money pits. The parts are expensive, and as for petrol, i get around 20- 23 MPG out of mine. Theres no wonder i never have any money. So maybe I should sell, but its one of 250 cars made, and i've been driving this model of car for getting on for 25 years, its a long term love affair. Just realised, that means i've driven between 200,000 - 300, 000 miles in these cars. Thats some going. I did work it out at one stage.


But its whatever floats your boat, as they say. I would add, no one but NO ONE has ever ' burnt me ' off at the lights or wherever, but i put that down to the way you drive your car too, hehehehe


Definition of actual sports car :-

A small low car with a high-powered engine; usually seats two persons

The term sports car has been defined as "an open, low-built, fast motor car." The term describes a class of automobile with two seats, two doors, precise handling, brisk acceleration, and sharp braking -- trading practical considerations such as passenger space, comfort, and cargo capacity ...

An automobile designed for high speed and power, tight handling, and flashy looks



Whatever you decide op, have fun...................................

tbourner

Cheap, Fast, Reliable.
Pick two.

I'll never forget that and it's the most important thing to remember with sports cars. My guess is the 'fast' bit is the bit we're not too fussed about in this case though?


How about a Hyundai Coupe?

tbourner

almillar wrote: »

tbourner - there was a 140bhp and a 190 bhp engine for the Gen 7 (1999-2008?) Celica. You wouldn't know about the extra 50bhp unless you took it up to 6,200rpm, where you would get a kick of extra power, up to 8,200. Great fun, but not for lazy drivers. I though sporty gearboxes were meant to be notchy? Clutch was light alright, like a Yaris, but it had a lovely tight little gearbox. And certainly not crampt for a sports car, at 6'2" I had plenty of leg and headroom.

You clearly know more about them than me. I always thought they looked nice but when we got one at work I drove it twice on a 20 mile motorway journey and it felt horrible. It was a notchy gearbox and yes they are supposed to be like that, the suspension was stiff as well, but what I meant was it didn't seem to have the performance to match that notchy tight sporty feeling, like it was all talk and no trousers. Anyway, I'm basing my opinion on one car and it had probably been abused by work colleagues anyway!

TVR2

tbourner wrote: »

How about a Hyundai Coupe?

Though a good car, the 4 cylinder engines are not fast and the V6 is too guzzly (and still not that fast actually...)