Which sports/fast car?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Mon 8 Oct 2018 01:47
Which sports/fast car? - bery_451

Hi,

I after a practical 4 door car with a big boot size/good rear legroom that is classed as fast from late 2009 reg onwards. Preferably petrol automatic and preferably a smaller engine so engine can get warmer quicker for cold starts for city driving needed for a quicker better MPG. Looking for the best true cold temps MPG fast/sports cars. None of that 5 litre V8 stuff that will take forever to get warm on UK roads causing unnecessary engine wear/reliability issues. Also be under the insurance radar such as not involved as much in insurance statistics and in lower insurance groups be a bonus. Spare parts are easy to get not rare expensive and preferably cheap to run servicing and maintenance.

Do sports/fast cars also have to comply with Euro 4 or 5 or 6?

Sort of like a fun practical commuter car you know what I mean.

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 01:54
Which sports/fast car? - Avant

Look at the Skoda Octavia vRS. I had three of them in a row and loved them. Basically the vRS is a Golf GTI with more room for people and luggage, as well as being cheaper to buy and to insure.

The last two were petrols and warmed up more quickly than the diesel. I'm not sure that it takes a bigger petrol engine all that much longer to warm up, but diesels, at least in my experience, do take longer. And if a lot of your driving is in the city, you're right to be looking for petrol power.

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 07:17
Which sports/fast car? - Happy Blue!

5.0 litre V8s warm up very quickly. Eight bangs a revolution is twice the number of most cars.

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 08:09
Which sports/fast car? - badbusdriver

What is your budget?. Without this it is very difficult to suggest anything as "late 2009 onwards" covers an awful lot of ground.

Octavia VRS does seem a good choice but for the requirement of an auto gearbox, which in the case of the Octavia along with any other VAG car means the dreaded DSG. I wouldn't advise getting one new unless changing before the warranty was up, never mind something up to 9 years old.

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 10:34
Which sports/fast car? - John F

5.0 litre V8s warm up very quickly. Eight bangs a revolution is twice the number of most cars.

Only old American inefficient ones. And I don't know of many 2 stroke V8s.

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 14:42
Which sports/fast car? - Happy Blue!

5.0 litre V8s warm up very quickly. Eight bangs a revolution is twice the number of most cars.

Only old American inefficient ones. And I don't know of many 2 stroke V8s.

Still twice as many bangs as a 4-cyl....

My E350CDi warms up fairly quickly despite being an effcient diesel.

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 08:55
Which sports/fast car? - SLO76
All down to budget. You mention 2009 which could mean you’re talking about sub £2k which would exclude any prestige or performance recommendations. It’s best to keep things simple on a tight budget and leave dreams of sports cars and hot hatches until funds allow a decent example.
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Mon 8 Oct 2018 10:13
Which sports/fast car? - skidpan

I after a practical 4 door car with a big boot size/good rear legroom that is classed as fast from late 2009 reg onwards. Preferably petrol automatic and preferably a smaller engine so engine can get warmer quicker for cold starts for city driving needed for a quicker better MPG. Looking for the best true cold temps MPG fast/sports cars. None of that 5 litre V8 stuff that will take forever to get warm on UK roads causing unnecessary engine wear/reliability issues. Also be under the insurance radar such as not involved as much in insurance statistics and in lower insurance groups be a bonus. Spare parts are easy to get not rare expensive and preferably cheap to run servicing and maintenance.

You are looking for the impossible, such a car does not really exist.

As suggested above the Skoda Octavia comes closest but would I want to sink my own money into a car that is 9 years old, probably had several owners and has suffered abuse by most of them, no way.

A better alternative would be to find a bit more money and get of of the current shape (Mid 2103 onwards) Seat Leon 1.4 TSi 140 PS models, I would expect £6000 to get you a really nice one. All the performance you really need, fast warm up and 45 MPG average. But at 5 years old it will need a cam belt if its not been done, budget £469 from a main dealer inc waterpump and pulleys. A say main dealer since the work comes with a 5 year warranty, no independent will offer that and the cost saving would be small.

Do sports/fast cars also have to comply with Euro 4 or 5 or 6?

All cars and vans sold in the EU have to comply with the regs, not compliance and they could not have been sold.

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 14:15
Which sports/fast car? - nick62

Not big by any stretch of the imagination, but I recently hired a "compact" and ended-up with an Opel Astra petrol turbo.

I assumed it would be a 1.4 and as I was in Germany I thought it rude not to give it some berries on the A6, (right by Hockenheim circuit as it happened). A true 140mph on the sat-nav! Quite impressive, though I suspect it was a 1.6?

Edited by nick62 on 08/10/2018 at 14:18

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 19:15
Which sports/fast car? - focussed

Honda Civic Type R - 2006 onwards. should be quick enough for you.

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 20:48
Which sports/fast car? - badbusdriver

Honda Civic Type R - 2006 onwards. should be quick enough for you.

No auto though, and i'm not sure it would be classed as 'under the insurance radar' being an overtly sporty hot hatch.

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Tue 9 Oct 2018 00:08
Which sports/fast car? - bery_451

Ok any cars that have timing chains instead of timing belts?

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Mon 8 Oct 2018 21:26
Which sports/fast car? - Metropolis.
For quite possibly the first time on this forum i’m actually going to recommend a hatchback. This is a mitsubishi lancer ralliart with full main dealer service history. I did look at subaru’s but they are much more expensive.

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20180618759...3
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Tue 9 Oct 2018 00:15
Which sports/fast car? - bery_451

Is the Octavia VRS front wheel drive? Having around 200BHP is a bit of an overkill for front wheel drive don't you think plus wheres the fun when you can't drift in a FWD car.

A VRS 4x4 adds more weight to the car hampering performance correct? Plus are 4x4's components/parts reliable and maintenance free or money pits?

Anyone can recommend any rear wheel drive cars?

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Tue 9 Oct 2018 00:26
Which sports/fast car? - Avant

Yes, it is FWD. I did 100,000 miles in total in my three vRSs. All were fun to drive, and 200 bhp was in no way an 'overkill', although I confess that I never felt the need to drift.

if you want RWD you're probably looking at a BMW. You still haven't told us your budget, so all I can say is that old BMWs, especially the diesels, can be money-pits unless you know they've been looked after and regularly serviced. A BMW will cost you more than a car of a less prestigious make of the same vintage.

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Tue 9 Oct 2018 00:58
Which sports/fast car? - bery_451

Ok which petrol BMW's fit the criteria?

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Wed 10 Oct 2018 21:57
Which sports/fast car? - Engineer Andy

Ok which petrol BMW's fit the criteria?

BMWs aren't going to be 'below the insurance radar. You're asking the impossible - a high performance car with great mpg that's reliable that costs little buy and run and is cheap to insure. Doesn't exist. If it did, it would be selling like hotcakes.

As has been said, mid-sized saloons and hatchbacks with the later belt-driven VAG 1.4 TSI 140/150 PS petrol engine are quite nippy (0-60 in 8-9 sec and 40-45mpg ave, depending on the make/model chosen, smaller car = quicker and higher mpg). The 2.0 petrol is more powerful and quicker but is a less reliable chain-driven engine, but you can get 35-40mpg out of them.

You will pay more for the insurance unless you're a low risk to start with (I got a quote for a 1yo Scirocco GT 2.0 petrol for £300, though I'm in my mid 40s, live in a low risk area and have 15+ years no claims). In the end I didn't buy that car for other reasons (though the chain issues contributed to my decision).

If you want a truly pacy car like the Octavia vRS or equivalent Audi A3 saloon/A4 or BMW, you'll likely pay a hefty premium in purchase and running costs (much less so for the Octavia), and far more than for very good cars with the 1.4 TSI engine (not the chain driven one or the twin charger).

Do you really need a huge boot? The Octavia is nippy, reasonable handling, but the Leon is just as cheap and you can get a very nice to look at and handling Seat Leon 1.4 TSi 140/150 FR with lots of kit (more than in the equivalent Golf and much cheaper) with a 380 ltr boot. If it weren't for the DSG gearbox, I'd have bought one by now in auto form.

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Tue 9 Oct 2018 00:34
Which sports/fast car? - focussed

If you can handle a rear wheel drive car when it all goes sideways - most can't!

When you get into trouble in a corner with too much right hoof, the instinct is to come off the gas, if you do this with a rear wheel drive car without some serious steering input you will probably be heading for the scenery in short order, in a FWD car it will usually tighten up and turn in to the inside of the corner, so to some extent FWD is inherently safer.

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Tue 9 Oct 2018 08:30
Which sports/fast car? - SLO76
No point on anyone making recommendations until we know your budget. Is it £1,500 or £15,000? If you’re on a tight budget it’s highly unwise to even think about a high performance or prestige car. A cheap BMW would be a total money pit as would any old high mileage hot hatch that’s been through the hands of the boy racer brigade.
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Tue 9 Oct 2018 15:53
Which sports/fast car? - Avant

I now see that this is the same poster (used by be very_452001) to whom I wrote in August:

"This is the fourth thread that you've started on the same subject, and I think you've had all the advice you're going to get from us.

The best suggestion in all the threads is the Skoda Superb 1.4 TSI petrol manual. You won't get any more customers by choosing an Audi or Mercedes: the only difference is that these will cost more to buy and run."

At that time he hadn't asked for something sporty, but still refuses to tell us his budget. At that point he was trying to set up a chauffeuring business. A chauffeur with a desire to drift? Perhaps I'm showing my age in finding that combination rather less than appealing.

Edited by Avant on 09/10/2018 at 15:56

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Tue 9 Oct 2018 16:09
Which sports/fast car? - SLO76
Thanks for saving us from wasting any more time responding Avant. It seems this one is a bit of a dreamer.
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Wed 10 Oct 2018 00:25
Which sports/fast car? - bery_451

Someone who thinks a 1.4 superb is fast is clearly dreaming not me mate lool.

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Tue 9 Oct 2018 16:11
Which sports/fast car? - KB.

And therein lies the rub, Avant. At least, for me it does.

You have detected (but are too magnanimous to say) that I'm becoming Mr Grumpy. Mr Negative. Mr Cynical.

The other thread, in which I may have seemingly misjudged a lady asking lots of questions, to me, didn't add up and was just telling me it wasn't right ... but as you have said, I must have been wrong.

Increasingly I simply don't believe the scenarios that I see. I'm sorry, maybe I've just got old and cynical and less able to accept things at face value.

I promise to do better :-)

I wish I had some of your patience and forbearance .... I REALLY do :-)

But continued kudos (as they say) for your work here, Avant.

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Wed 10 Oct 2018 00:23
Which sports/fast car? - bery_451

A 1.4 Skoda Superb is classed fast to you? You feeling alright mate lol?

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Wed 10 Oct 2018 00:29
Which sports/fast car? - KB.

At the risk of getting embroiled .....who are you asking?

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Wed 10 Oct 2018 12:58
Which sports/fast car? - Avant

No, the Superb 1.4 suggestion was a quote from a previous thread, in answer to the four threads you'd posted about a car for a chauffeuring business. The need for a fast car has only surfaced in this thread - hence my suggestion of the Octavia vRS.

If it now needs to be RWD, look at BMWs, ensure they have full service history, but avoid the diesels.

Edited by Avant on 10/10/2018 at 12:59

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Wed 10 Oct 2018 18:18
Which sports/fast car? - skidpan

A 1.4 Skoda Superb is classed fast to you? You feeling alright mate lol?

We have a 1.4 Skoda Superb TSi and in normal road use its as fast as the car in front of you which is normally as fast as you can go.

But it is capable of decent journey times. Did 430 miles the other Saturday, driving time was just under 7 hours which is an average of about 63 mph. No car would do it any faster without breaking the limits and risking points.

Compared to my Caterham the Superb is no sports car. The Caterham has about 175 bhp and weighs about 600 kg, that is just under 300 bhp/tonne. Years ago I used to enjoy a good thrash to Cadwell but now there are too many cameras and the roads are just too busy to get there any quicker than the Superb.

But put the Caterham on the track and it would be a different matter. Probably why I have never seen a Superb on a Track Day.

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Thu 11 Oct 2018 01:11
Which sports/fast car? - bery_451

Ok which BMW's you had in mind and what engine?

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Wed 10 Oct 2018 20:20
Which sports/fast car? - John F

... a practical 4 door car with a big boot size/good rear legroom that is classed as fast from late 2009 reg onwards. Preferably petrol automatic and preferably a smaller engine

What about a Peugeot 2008 1.2 130hp with what seems to be a reliable Aisin EAT6 box?

Sort of like a fun practical commuter car you know what I mean.

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