Which car?

Cometh the man cometh the hour

I have the 1.6 16v but mine is a mk1.5 focus so probably just out of price range.

However I paid just over 3k for mine with a p/x 44k 1 lady owner from new so possibly you could sneak in with one, you would get a mk1 easy though for 3k

If you are considering a focus dont get any model other than a zetec because it is the only model with a sports suspension setup, any other model (lx ghia etc) is a standard ford job and the ride can be poor.

1.6 zetec is only group 5 insurance (or was when i insured just before the change-round, tax bracket hasnt changed) but you get enough toys etc (cd alloys ew a/c etc etc)

1.8 and 2.0 can be too thirsty and avoid a 1.4 at all costs. 1.6 bridges the gap between a bit of oomph of the larger engined models, its no slouch put it that way but it wont break any speed records either, with the frugality of the 1.4 i can get 40mpg even with a heavy foot. It is booked at doing 40mpg anyway on the combined cycle.

3 doors the 1 to go for but can be asking up to 500 quid more than a 5 door.

Like any car it isnt without its minor faults but also like here there is an excellent forum community as well that is on hand to offer any help

The bora seems to be the pick of the bunch at the moment for me. Either that or the MK4 Golf Estate. Basically a Bora with an estate rear end. Same interior and engines and low insurance groups too.

Only considering the estate version for our dog as I'll cry if he was to scratch any of the rear door trim when trying to get his head out the window . Infact ide probably ban him from my car if I were to get the Bora.

Cheers for the info on the focus apple. Am tempted by a 3 door focus so will see. The 1.6 seems the one to go for anyway.

Any but the Fabia. VW reliability is overestimated I went to the dealer more with the Fabia vRS than I did with my GP Sporting and my Mk2b Punto Sporting combined . Not only that they are unhelpful arrogant and patronising often blaming the cars poor quality and stupid faults on me? (WTF? ).

Civic gets my vote especially if you can find a Vtec! .

bora is mk4 golf with a boot, so it handles even worse than a mk4 golf, which is bad! defo drive one before you think about buying one, its not a fun car.

I looked at a Bora about a year ago when I was looking at replacements for the Mondeo. The one I drove had the PD130 engine in and was SE spec. It's a bit of a soulless euro-box that doesn't do anything badly, but doesn't really excel or make you feel special either. Suffice to say, I kept the Mondeo

I had a catalogue of problems with my Fabia in the year and 20k miles I owned it. Searching around, it seems these were not "Friday afternoon" problems and my brother, who recommended Skoda in the first place , has SORN'd his Octavia (basically a Mk4 Golf) as it's worth nothing and he can't afford to keep repairing it to get through the MOT each year.

Focus would be a good bet and there's plenty to choose from.

Chris

my mate has that civic and i aint admitted it to him but it does shift.very quick. but...its abit dull in my oppinion.

punto is cheap on insurance and cheap to buy.lots of room for a small car,very comfortable and decent boot and alot of headroom.8v is nippy but if u carry alot of weight or 4 passengers you do feel the underpowerdness.besides that. id go for punto.if u want space then bora.but xpensive when they go wrong i supose.

bah what does she know.... 5 doors FTW more room

Punto, any other car in them pics im sorry, just look boring.

5 doors can look good, saw your stilo at donny, thought it was quite cool, need do the other side graphic though

If you are looking to get from a-b with little fuss I would vote for the Civic Hatch, but get a 1.6 Vtec rather than a 1.4.

As a wild card though, what about a Toyota Supra?


The insurance will probably be horrific and the less said about the MPG the better. But they are reliable and a genuine sports car in their own right. Weekend blasts will be fun and you can still fit four people in it (so long as two of your passengers don't mind having their legs taken to with a hacksaw).

To be honest VW reliability is so overated its unbelievable, which leads to most customer's expecting too much from the car from the start. Working on Fiat/Alfa then making the change to VW was such an eye opener as you listen to the ads etc about VW reliability and all they have is better PR personnel.

If you were considering a lower mileage Bora then it'll have to be a TDi 130/150 PD, except the interior will bore you to tears and doesn't hold up to much abuse to be fair and they are well expensive, don't handle as you expect and are not cheap to repair or buy parts for.

i would go 4 a 01 upwards corsa sxi. the 1.3 sxi turbo diesal. its nipy good on deisel and looks the part.

lmao, vauxhall FTL!!!! love it when these crash.

I voted for the civic. I nearly bought one before I settled on the HGT (Different league but oh well!)

Few people I know have Civics (EG and EK), not once heard anything bad about them. You don't get better reliability in my opinion. My bro's type R has been faultless, although that is a different car. He had a Mk 4 Golf and yes, the reliability seems to be a myth, which is why he sold it. In my experience anyway.

Good luck!

Ive go a honda civic MK3 1400 that ticks all the boxs & im working on puting 2 engines in a x1/9 .The new civics are to slow