Ok, seeing as the Cinq is in the lockup awaiting work, im after a daily runner that can carry plenty crap about. I'm looking for a car capable of covering longer distances easily, fairly comfy has a few toys, and with plenty power

obviously things like Imprezas and lancers are out on insurance grounds as well as purchase price grounds but having run a few quotes through comparision websites and spotted a few of these cars for sale, i'm forming a shortlist. and i honestly believe the insurance companies are trying to get me to get the most powerful, non sporty car available, judging by some quotes!, for example, how can a 2.5 v6 vectra only be £40 a year more than 1.6 Vectra im not complaining tbh

anyway, so far the shortlist reads (in order of insurance prices)

Fiat Marea HLX 2.0 20v
Vauxhall Vectra Sri 140
Vauxhall Vectra 2.5 V6
Fiat Bravo Hgt
Vauxhall Calibra 2.0 16v
Alfa 156 2.0 twinspark
Alfa 156 sportwagon
Bmw 318i coupe

They are all very similar on insurance, the marea being cheapest by a whole £8 a year over a vec sri 140, which oddly is only £6 less than a V6 Vec.

The Bmw is the most expensive probably due to the fact its RWD and a coupe...and a bmw, but still, its comparable with the alfa's

you'll notice there isn't any Ford's on the list, despite them being cheap to buy, 2 reasons being i find the engines totally gutless low down, and theres something really tinny about them i find

anyone got any more suggestions i could add to the shortlist?

I find it offensive that you called the vectra a 'donkey car'

stuarty said:

I find it offensive that you called the vectra a 'donkey car'

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lol, for carrying stuff about, it's going to be the work car, hence, donkey car

if it was going to be offensive, and no ford's were good enough to even be a donkey, thats more of an insult to them

apology accepted

What's the price range?

Out of the one's listed, I'd probably go for one of the 2-litre VXs due to the reliability and availability of parts, etc.

Weekend JTD 10V.

A re-mapped jtd would be a great addition to the shortlist...especially in weekend form

i have another addition to the list as of today aswell... and its a stranger one

Volvo S40 T4. Fairly nice to look at, comfy, a few toys, oh yeah, and a 1.9 turbocharged engine producing 200bhp

who cares if the chassis struggles with that much power and torque, you just can't ignore that much straight line grunt

who needs corners anyway?

ok, i should be off to look at the ovlov either today or tomorrow, if i don't torque steer into a ditch on the test drive, that'll be a good start if the car isn't up to much, i've got 4 other potentials to go and see too, so there could well be a major development on this front during the week

once i've got the fiat's support vehicle on the go, it's cinq tinkering time!

Volvo does sound interesting (though that phrase can often be a contradiction in terms). Was always a fan of the big 850 T5 and T5R, cheap as anything these days as well, though apparently there's lots of scope to buy a wrong'un.

If it weren't so thirsty, I'd suggest something like a Mondeo ST24 as they're great load luggers with speed, but you said earlier your not a fan of the blue oval.

I want a Volvo 480

Eklipze3k said:

I want a Volvo 480

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You know, I've always liked the shape of them. Must be the pop-up headlights

muppet42 said:

You know, I've always liked the shape of them. Must be the pop-up headlights

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Go halfies?

Eklipze3k said:

Go halfies?

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Ha, I remember looking them up once, don't they have stupidly high insurance banding?

I do like the late 80's, early 90's styling though for sure

Steer clear of the two tone though... http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1154462.htm , but in burgundy... http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1128764.htm :slayer:

I test drove an s40 t4, believe me, the figures look impressive, but when you drive it.... wow!, the impressive figures don't even do it's sheer straight line speed justice

it's both brilliant and abolutley terrible in equal measures. It is way to powerful for the chassis, you get wheelspin really easily, the traction control is next to useless because its can't react anywhere near fast enough when the turbo kicks in, and thats in a straight line, throw in a corner or two, the whole systems flumoxed

the less said about wet weather driving, the better

the torque steer takes alot of getting used to, but it sure livens things up then when you get it somewhere you can open the taps, jeezo.... it shifts. no exageration, in gear acceleration is a match for an impreza turbo. it's about a second and a half slower to 60 on paper, but throw in the fact the impreza has four wheel drive, and the volvo only 2wd, the volvo takes an extra 2 seconds to get its power down, once it has, it aint alot slower!

even if you floor it on the move, you need to be careful, i got wheelspin accelerating at 40mph in the dry!

it's a brutal, axe murdering maniac of a saloon, and its very near the top of my list after driving it

i can see why volvo withdrew it for a bigger engined, lo pressure turbo offering only 160bhp

a little know fact though, is the t4 s40 gets to 100 faster than it's t5 big brother...

who says the swedes like things safe? lol

Like Horlicks in a semtex mug.

Venters said:

Like Horlicks in a semtex mug.

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You know it's going to kill you and you know you shouldn't like, but you do because it's dangerous!

Eklipze3k said:

You know it's going to kill you and you know you shouldn't like, but you do because it's dangerous!

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I was thinking as boring as a coma but with a hint of death. lol

I've just been eyeing up a Marea Weekend on e-bay, bidding is still quite low so am tempted

I'm guessing its the dark green jtd?

still a long time to go on it, but it's well worth keeping an eye on if it stays anywhere near that price

go for it

I would if I hadn't just spent £300 on a new TV instead, lol