Yet another ‘what car?’ thread ... Now NCD!!

strtdv

Do some reading about the WRX before you buy one, £6k will get you anything from a bug eye to a hatch, there are significant differences and a variety of special editions. Some people reckon the earlier 2.0 is more reliable than some of the later 2.5, which can spin bearings by 60k miles if not well looked after. 

Performance bargain though, and very practical due to being a 4/5 door.

If you're in the outback I'd be happier with the 4wd Subaru than a Mini

cm01

Snap said:

@cm01 my choice would be the Mini, second the Subaru.

I think this is the way I’m going to go ... my 1st gen Cooper S was so much fun to drive 

cm01

If you're in the outback I'd be happier with the 4wd Subaru than a Mini

I’m on the Coast with some lovely coastal and hinterland drives, so I think the Mini is the way to go 

cm01

There’s a late rival to the Mini ...

I know they’re quite Marmite, but I like the look of them and the turbo engined version is quite nippy ... and for my budget I can get a younger, lower mileage car than if I get a Mini ... any Juke owners on here? 

fandango

Hattigol said:

Cooper S - great fun. The SD is cracking performance and economy.

Countryman - the only Mini that definitely isn't fun to drive. Rotten, lumbering things.

Focus - buy this if you are 17 and have acne.

BMW 1 Series - buy this if you like cars with desperately drab and outdated interiors.

Audi TT - buy this if you are female/cabin crew.

A3/4 - not bad.

Outdated???? The OP is buying a used car that's going to be a few years old.

Therefore ALL the interiors are going to be "outdated", but of all suggestions, it's likely that the BMW will have stood up to wear 'n' tear better than the others.

Snap

I had a Juke for a while as a courtesy car. By far and away one of the biggest heaps of crap I've driven. And I've owned a Lada.

In every single way the Juke was truly terrible. Really uncomfortable as well. 

SteveRobinson

Snap said:

I had a Juke for a while as a courtesy car. By far and away one of the biggest heaps of crap I've driven. And I've owned a Lada.

In every single way the Juke was truly terrible. Really uncomfortable as well. 

Same here. The worst car I've ever driven including a Dacia. 

ICBM

I truly don't understand the Nissan Joke - it's the size of a bus on the outside and the size of a pram on the inside... presumably it's some sort of obtuse humour that I don't get.

You also might think that with such a small body and a large footprint, it would be very stable - but you'd be wrong. Someone drove one into the back of my friend's wife's parked Fiat 500 - which sadly was a write-off as well - and the Joke overturned.

EricTheWeary

SteveRobinson said:

Snap said:

I had a Juke for a while as a courtesy car. By far and away one of the biggest heaps of crap I've driven. And I've owned a Lada.

In every single way the Juke was truly terrible. Really uncomfortable as well. 

Same here. The worst car I've ever driven including a Dacia. 

I've tried one. As someone who owned a really cheap Kia, often drives a Seat Mii and who drives a Fiat Ducato most weeks my standards aren't high. I've had two Almeras and a Micra so have liked Nissans. But the Juke just had the worst use of interior space and, in my brief experience, terrible to drive. 
Dacia seem a bit basic but okay, absolutely everywhere in France where car culture tends to be about something that gets you from A to B whilst carrying a goat.  
The last courtesy car I had was a Honda Jazz. I've never driven a car with so many gadgets but had panels that flexed in an unnerving way. It was like driving a games console on the M5. Anyway, I digress...

Axe_meister

JerkMoans said:

Emp_Fab said:

crunchman said:

Emp_Fab said:

Get an MX5

an MX5

Don't forget now......


Mazda....


MX5



not 6

not 4

5

Mazda MX5

Why didn't you take your own advice?

I was taking the mick - everyone was telling me to get one before.  They're cute enough but you can't fill one up with gig gear and they rust like hell.

My Fiat 124 is essentially an MX5 with a different body and I can get a Princeton Reverb and a Les Paul in a hard case in, no problem.

cant take any passengers, mind you, but who wants company when there’s rock n roll?

You may want to bring a groupie home.

Axe_meister

Snap said:

I had a Juke for a while as a courtesy car. By far and away one of the biggest heaps of crap I've driven. And I've owned a Lada.

In every single way the Juke was truly terrible. Really uncomfortable as well. 

A Lads is based on an old Fiat 124 (not the spider). Funny I learnt to drive a Lads now own a 124 spider.

stickyfiddle

I had a rental Juke for a week. Utterly horrible. Barely nicer than my old 98 Corsa inside and about the same internal space, but the size of a Golf outside and shit to drive as well. Highly unrecommended!

randella

I'll have to add to the general Juke pile-on.  I had one for a couple of months as a courtesy car and it was fairly nasty.  Uncomfortable to sit in, numb to drive, with an odd combination of wallowy handling and hard, jiggly ride.  Notchy gearchange, no feel to any of the other controls.  On the plus side it resolutely refused to dip below 40mpg, but that was the only appealing upside of the otherwise wheezy, unrefined engine.

The bog-standard Fiesta I'd hired the year before absolutely kicked it into touch in every way.  They felt like cars from two different eras.

Some mention of the Dacia Duster above - I liked the one I drove very much, in a no-nonsense tool-for-the-job way.

cm01

Mini Cooper S it is then!!! 

prowla

SteveRobinson said:

zedhex said:

If you want to have fun round corners, get the BMW. It's the only one on your list that has rearwheel drive. Front wheel drive is for grocery getters only.

Minis are great round corners

The BMW Mini?

menamestom

zedhex said:

SteveRobinson said:

zedhex said:

Powering out of a decent corner with the rear wheels just on the edge of grip is a feeling like no other - and you cannot get that from front wheel drive. 

With respect (and maybe I'm an old guy) you shoudln't be driving at (or near) the limit of traction on public roads.

Generally speaking, I agree with you - but there are times when you're on a completely open road with no traffic and good visibility where it's possible to have a little fun without endangering anyone. For the real fun stuff though, you have to do track days, or even some proper racing. Regarding age, I'm 59, and I've been driving high-powered motorcycles and cars for 30+ years - I do know what I'm doing.

My brother has an M135i, mapped to 370bhp, rear wear drive.

His son has a Fiesta ST.

The most fun to drive Is the Fiesta.  The BM isn’t engaging. It’s fast and refined but it’s just not that kind of rwd fun.  MX5 with shit tyres would be better.

But the fiesta is just more fun and begs to be thrown round corners.  He’s looking at Mk8 ST’s and Mini JCW’s now to get the fun factor back.

cm01

I hadn’t considered a Fiesta ST - from the quick look I’ve just had, they’ve got great reviews ... I’ve also just spotted a lovely low mileage Mini JCW that’s in budget.... hmmmmm 

menamestom

cm01 said:

I hadn’t considered a Fiesta ST - from the quick look I’ve just had, they’ve got great reviews ... I’ve also just spotted a lovely low mileage Mini JCW that’s in budget.... hmmmmm 

The Fiesta ST’s are great but not the comfiest.  Very hard suspension and unforgiving ride.  Something to think about.  

I have the Focus btw, that’s a bit less go-karty and a bit of a nicer cabin.  

cm01

Yeah, spotted a few Focus ST’s and Focus Sports that look great - need to test drive a few cars I think 

randella

cm01 said:

I hadn’t considered a Fiesta ST - from the quick look I’ve just had, they’ve got great reviews ... I’ve also just spotted a lovely low mileage Mini JCW that’s in budget.... hmmmmm 

Yep, I think either of those would be a much better steer than the Nissan . I’ve had a bit of time blasting around in a Cooper S - found the ride a little harsh but you could easily forgive it once in the bends. It was bloody quick as well.

The standard Fiesta was great. Even though the little three-pot Ecoboost punched well above its weight you still felt it was a very good car, and would be an utter hoot with another 50 horsepower.

The Juke remains the only motor I’ve driven in a long time that I thought could only be improved by swapping it for another car entirely.