hmale4yu Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Having attended the Ace Café meet recently it seems to be the shared experience that the 370z is more of a special occasion/weekend car that has the feel emotional good factor to it but brings with it a lot of daily hassle, costs My Nismo Mk2 contract ends in March 2021. I decided to start this thread to get your opinions on what you think a potential all rounder* future purchase would be *My definition as all rounder for this thread would be: Relatively nippy and small. Not too big and wide like the 370z. The car would need to be parked and navigated through tiny roads, 6' 6"s, multi storey car parks etc the usual rubbish British roads. So this rules out Civic Type R, Q60, Focus RS imo Something that needs to feel planted on the motorway, fairly solid and not cheap. Abarth 595, Polo GTI, Suzuki Swift Sport etc Some degree of road presence. Difficult to match a 370z Nismo but needs to look not like a runaround up to 20k miles on it, as low miles as possible ideally 4 seats bargain (lol) The cars that spring to mind are these: Audi S1 Competition These are about £23-24k and have 4 wheel drive so should be decent on motorway, premium feel and a the styling accents (spoiler, quad exhausts, black rear panel) do make it stand out from the usual A1s. I expect these to drop to late teens though my concern is that there may be hard to find the low mileage example I am looking for as there don't seem to be many fully loaded S1s on the market Golf GTI TCR / Clubsport Newish TCRs are the £40k mark as are a few showroom kept Clubsports . Clubsports from 2016/17 in the low mileage territory I am looking for a few years old are late £20s now and I expect the TCR to drop to this price in the next 18 months especially as the Golf will be out. Not a bargain at this stage and still a lot of money on what is essentially a Golf. There is a decentish number of cars on the market with low miles so I think if mileage is the priority over bargain-factor then its a good option. Hyundai I30n Really surprised how low these are atm for what you are getting. For around £20k you can pick up a lightly used example with less than 10k miles. There are plenty in supply that are brand new 2018/2019 plates which are going for £25k. Im predicting that these will continue to drop in price as the dealers will struggle to sell these . So might continue dropping unlike the S1 Comps which there are fewer of and are more sought after. Also worth mentioning the fast back edition which again I don't think will sell. Havent really seen it in the flesh so cant comment on its road presence. The hatchback in blue does look the part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 None of those cars have any road presence at all, which is almost the point of them. Which breaks rule no 3 What concerns me on your list mate is that it doesn’t remotely take into account ‘fun to actually drive’ at all. All value and looks. Might as well save your cash and just buy a 118d and put some pimpin’ wheels on it But as a serious answer, buy the Golf. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GranTurismoEra Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 LOL @Ekona Nice modern list though! I would recommend a CRZ. BUt I feel the step down in power and quality might be too depressing to comprehend. A 4 seater coupe thats somewhat reliable may be better like a 2 Series coupe (235/240i) under warranty?. Cant think of anything atm. Still early Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikz2004 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 The golf is supposed to be the most fun out of all of those cars and would be the one I'd go for. If I was in the market I'd definitely test drive them all and make a decision based on that. I personally would also be looking at the scirocco r but I think they stopped being made a while back. As Ekona has said though, all of them are pretty much standard cars with little to no road presence that have undergone performance upgrades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikz2004 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 3 minutes ago, Rikz2004 said: The golf is supposed to be the most fun out of all of those cars and would be the one I'd go for. If I was in the market I'd definitely test drive them all and make a decision based on that. I personally would also be looking at the scirocco r but I think they stopped being made a while back. As Ekona has said though, all of them are pretty much standard cars with little to no road presence that have undergone performance upgrades. And just to add another option, I'd look at the megane rs also - seems very cheap for the performance and is probably more fun/better to drive than most on your original list. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GranTurismoEra Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 (edited) Scirocco R killed in 2017. With the Golf R no point really. Yeah you wont get the same buzz in those cars. Just straight line performance A to B. Megane would be lighter and similar engine used in the Alpine. 1.8 4 banger. Closer in performance to the Hyundai. Edited June 20, 2019 by GranTurismoEra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Going back a bit, what hassle and costs does a 370z give you that the others won’t? S1 and GTi won’t be any cheaper to run, no idea on the Hyundai though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Id imagine heavy clutch and steering, poor visibility, road noise, not great at getting in & out when parked in a normal parking space, feels a wide car on the road, only 2 seats, not great urban mpg. New Nissan Leaf? Almost the perfect cheap to run daily, if not doing more than 120 miles a day......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 It’s a Nissan, not a 1940s Ford 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 59 minutes ago, Ekona said: It’s a Nissan, not a 1940s Ford You can forgive the confusion though, the tape deck in the Nissan is from a 1940s Ford... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 (edited) In terms of requirements, the Golf is longer than the 370z and just 1.5inches narrower, hardly satisfying requirement 1 really? Personally, I think OP needs to ditch the requirement for road presence as per the above. You are going for a compromise car so things like that which exist in cars at more extreme ends of the market you are not going to find on run of the mill wagons with a bit of beefing up on the suspension and engine. Edited June 20, 2019 by coldel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDON Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 I use my 370 nismo as my daily and have no problems of niggles driving it, nothing puts a smile on my face or pleasure to drive than my Zed the 370z cockpit is more refined than the 350z which makes it better for a daily driver. but this is only my opinion we all have our own etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Get a MINI! Thats what i did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 4 hours ago, Ekona said: Going back a bit, what hassle and costs does a 370z give you that the others won’t? S1 and GTi won’t be any cheaper to run, no idea on the Hyundai though. GTI does 40mpg, costs bugger all to service and has a world of pattern parts available, not to mention specialists support. And, dare I say it, in real life its faster than a 370 as well. I have a 245 GTI and its pretty awesome TBH, Ive heard the i30n is pretty cool too - see also 308 GTi. They dont give the feedback or occasion that a 370 does but as a daily I can see the argument, the Golfs dont seem to depreciate either. M135is and M240s are worth a look as they have more driving pleasure than the FWD cars and much more road presence. BTW 370Z is 1850mm, Civic Type R 1877, Q60 1852 and Focus RS 1823. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmale4yu Posted June 20, 2019 Author Share Posted June 20, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, Rikz2004 said: And just to add another option, I'd look at the megane rs also - seems very cheap for the performance and is probably more fun/better to drive than most on your original list. Yea this is one that crossed my mind that for some reason I left out. I don't know too much Renault sports but the Clio V6 I have a soft spot for My only concern is that the spec I would go for with the Megane RS (Orange with Black Wheels) is q hard to find . I'm p colour specific with this car And to just to add two words lol: London roads Edited June 20, 2019 by hmale4yu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmale4yu Posted June 20, 2019 Author Share Posted June 20, 2019 By road presence I mean something that doesn't look like an econobox This TCR with added red piping on the front lip, side sills and rear do make the car look the part imo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Looks a bit chavvy to me as a guy in his mid forties but it’s all personal preferences! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunRS Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 If you don't mind horrendous fuel cost a DCT e92 is a brilliant daily. Comfortable, easy in traffic, plenty room for tall drivers. Touch of a button it turns into an animal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanski Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Naa you are wasting your time with all of these. Mk1 Mazda mx5 pop up headlights runs on rails cheap to run whats not to like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 7 hours ago, hmale4yu said: By road presence I mean something that doesn't look like an econobox This TCR with added red piping on the front lip, side sills and rear do make the car look the part imo Does it look nice? Yes. Does it look like every other Golf ever on the roads? Also yes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmale4yu Posted June 20, 2019 Author Share Posted June 20, 2019 (edited) I know it fits the criteria but I deliberately avoided mentioning the A250 4matic lol These Gen2 A classes are everywhere now! Might not be for everyone but this is what I'm talking about. also available in a DSG Edited June 20, 2019 by hmale4yu 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikz2004 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 35 minutes ago, hmale4yu said: I know it fits the criteria but I deliberately avoided mentioning the A250 4matic lol These Gen2 A classes are everywhere now! Might not be for everyone but this is what I'm talking about. also available in a DSG I prefer the yellow they come in and personally think they have much more road presence than the others in your list! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmale4yu Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 (edited) I like the yellow pearlescent too (and i think it ties in with Renaultsport??? like the red/white/grey with Nismo) … but then I saw the orange and thought wow lol even though I haven't seen an orange one in real life , given that it's the same price option as the yellow I'm guaranteeing it pops in the same way Only issue. These cars are £32k ish now and the orange is prob the least popular colour , prob since it along with yellow is the most expensive paint so will be fairly hard to come by Edited June 21, 2019 by hmale4yu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmale4yu Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 I think also worth mentioning something that maybe gets overlooked is that since our weather conditions are pretty much overcast/grey 9 months of the year, having the more powerful lights on the car really add to their presence. This is where Audi seem to have cottoned onto as they bodystyling is more evolutionary but the front rear end lights work q well esp in our conditions. This is why the TCR > Clubsport for me , as theres something to those lights in motion , red inserts etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 I'd get the Renault for the liquid yellow paint alone! Saw one at night and under streetlights the car looked like a cross between a fireball and a lightsabre 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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