Small fast cars?

Atomic Pineapple

My brother is looking to change his run of the mill 1.4 Fiesta to something with a bit more poke but doesn't need a bigger car, so is after something small but with a bit of power.

Under 2 liter, budget of around €8k, he only drives 10 - 15 miles a day and then to/from Athlone (from Slane) at weekends.

So far we've looked at Fiesta ST, Mini Cooper S, and Opel Corsa OPC.

However,

Fiesta ST is so rare we could only find an English reg that needed some work, Corsa OPC could only find a 08 which is out of budget and Mini Cooper S's within budget come with 80k+ miles.

Prefer to buy off a dealer too as if he tries to sell the Fiesta private first my head will be wrecked!

So two questions do you think its possible to get a nice clean Fiesta ST/Corsa OPC/ Cooper S in Ireland and in budget?

And is there any other small fast cars to bear in mind?

vectra

Fabia vRS ??

Owen

Cooper S' have gone up in price a bit due to the wonderful Fianna Failure and Green Party communist coalition Government slapping the Supercharged R53 02-06 model with 35% VRT.

If you get one, they're generally either high mileage, or rattled to death. You'll get between a 02 High spec to a 04 bog spec for the money IMHO. They are however tuneable to death. A remap, manifold and small supercharger pulled will have them touching 200 Bhp for small money.

Owen

Should also point out if he gets a Cooper instead of an S, remaps that, he'll end up with 135Bhp approx, might be a better option?

hairyman

Have a look at the Lupo GTI.

Mad little car with bags of character.

fletch

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Should also point out if he gets a Cooper instead of an S, remaps that, he'll end up with 135Bhp approx, might be a better option?

Or 170bhp if he remaps this...

Gumbo

Mk1/2 Audi S3
Mk4 Golf GTi
DC5 ITR (some are in that price range now)

mle1324

Fiat Grande Punto Abarth ?

Antomus Prime

Personally if I was looking for a nippy fast small car I wouldn't go with any of the three listed.

The obvious choices in my head would be...

VW Golf GTI
Honda Civic SIR
Mitsubishi Colt Mivec
Audi A3 1.8 Turbo
Toyota Galanza Turbo

I know most of these cars would be classed as "boy racer" cars but theres a reason they're so popular...... They're all great cars. And alot less than 8K would get you a fantastic example of any of these....

Owen

Starlet Glanza was and is an appauling car. Worse again is the image it portrays, I wouldn't be seen dead in one.

Ardennes1944

106 gti ?

Antomus Prime

LIGHTNING wrote: »

For that money you will only get a mkIV VW Golf GTI which are junk.

. You will get murdered on insurance on a Civic SIR.

I disagree with the golf statement, i know a few people that had them and they never had trouble with them. But i guess theyre like every car, some people can be lucky and get one that was looked after properly.

123.ie do cheap enough insurance for the jap imports for young people, i got a quote for an mr2 gts and it was 60% cheaper than quinn direct so insurance isn't the biggest problem if you shop around.

Antomus Prime

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

106 gti ?

Great little car, forgot about these, only problem is that if you have bigger than size 7 feet then you'll have an awful time using the peddles cause of how close together they are lol

drunkmonkey

Don't forget the 205 GTi and the Clio Williams.
I've had a 205 1.9 and loved it.

Atomic Pineapple

vectra wrote: »

Fabia vRS ??

fletch wrote: »

Or 170bhp if he remaps this...

No need for a diesel!

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Cooper S' have gone up in price a bit due to the wonderful Fianna Failure and Green Party communist coalition Government slapping the Supercharged R53 02-06 model with 35% VRT.

If you get one, they're generally either high mileage, or rattled to death. You'll get between a 02 High spec to a 04 bog spec for the money IMHO. They are however tuneable to death. A remap, manifold and small supercharger pulled will have them touching 200 Bhp for small money.

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Should also point out if he gets a Cooper instead of an S, remaps that, he'll end up with 135Bhp approx, might be a better option?

Possibly, I'd prefer if he got the S though so i can get to drive it!

hairyman wrote: »

Have a look at the Lupo GTI.

Mad little car with bags of character.

They look terrible though.

LIGHTNING wrote: »

What about a 1.7 Puma, 123hp stock with VCT and can be easily tuned up. Or even better a racing Puma they are class little cars.

Interesting suggestion! I presume uber rare in Ireland these days though?

kceire wrote: »

Mk1/2 Audi S3
Mk4 Golf GTi
DC5 ITR (some are in that price range now)

He wants a smaller car for some reason, insurance on the DC5 would be a no go (24, 3 years NCB) anyway, I wouldn't wish a MKIV GTi Golf on my worst enemy, might link a few S3's to him but again I'd say insurance might be an issue.

mle1324 wrote: »

Fiat Grande Punto Abarth ?

Probably not but I'll mention it to him.

anthonyk.is wrote: »

Personally if I was looking for a nippy fast small car I wouldn't go with any of the three listed.

The obvious choices in my head would be...

VW Golf GTI
Honda Civic SIR
Mitsubishi Colt Mivec
Audi A3 1.8 Turbo
Toyota Galanza Turbo

I know most of these cars would be classed as "boy racer" cars but theres a reason they're so popular...... They're all great cars. And alot less than 8K would get you a fantastic example of any of these....

Nah he wants to keep away from cars like that and none of those have any great merits over others mentioned in the thread anyway.

x in the city

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Starlet Glanza was and is an appauling car. Worse again is the image it portrays, I wouldn't be seen dead in one.

Penis Glanza.. what a pile of junk. dont think the op had that in mind...

an Audi S3 is a nice mover..

Atomic Pineapple

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

106 gti ?

Too old I'd say, I forgot to mention the newer the better, sort of 02 onwards.

anthonyk.is wrote: »

I disagree with the golf statement, i know a few people that had them and they never had trouble with them. But i guess theyre like every car, some people can be lucky and get one that was looked after properly.

123.ie do cheap enough insurance for the jap imports for young people, i got a quote for an mr2 gts and it was 60% cheaper than quinn direct so insurance isn't the biggest problem if you shop around.

I think he means that they are junk cars to drive, of which i would have to agree, they look awful in my opinion too, aged very badly.

123.ie have changed underwriters and no longer offer such good quotes to new policy holders.

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Don't forget the 205 GTi and the Clio Williams.
I've had a 205 1.9 and loved it.

As above too old and too much effort for him to look after.

bmw535d

Ek civic type r? 185bhp from a 1.6

Henry Ford III

If he could up his budget a bit he could get a newish Fiesta Zetec S 1.6 - 125bhp, with €156 p.a. road tax!!

Insurance is fine on them too.

Atomic Pineapple

bmw535d wrote: »

Ek civic type r? 185bhp from a 1.6

Nope as above he wants something more modern and refined than that, something newer, comfortable with a bit of poke, ruling out 90's jap hatches

.Longshanks.

Surprised nobody mentioned these yet. Although getting one under budget might be a test of your negotiating skills

RobAMerc

Clio 182 ? Surely the best small hatch and with such a long production life in various guises there is bound to be one in budget. The 197 might be a bit pricier.

DMG_49

Henry Ford III wrote: »

If he could up his budget a bit he could get a newish Fiesta Zetec S 1.6 - 125bhp, with €156 p.a. road tax!!

Insurance is fine on them too.

x2

125bhp quite fast for a small car.

doOh

Alfa Romeo 147 Its nice, its quick, its cheap all that u want

Conor_M1990

T sport Corolla ?

Antomus Prime

Opel Astra GTC??

Ardennes1944

Focus St, Leon Cupra?

KingIsabella

Doesn't get much smaller and be loads of fun i'd say!

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/1670875

feelites

Citroen C2 VTS



1.6 dohc
125bhp
8.3sec to 60




SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT


same spec 1.6 dohc 125bhp

Squall19

draffodx wrote: »

No need for a diesel!.

Fair enough, but he would get alot more bang for buck from a mapped 170bhp, 400nm torque Fabia Vrs, then a nearly new Fiesta Zetec 1.6.It would walk away from a 125bhp fiesta in a straight up race.I was in alot of more powerful cars than my old fabia, but it still felt very quick even after a spin in an Audi s4.Its a good base for a quick little car, low maintenance, easy on fuel, insurance, reliable etc.

Not sure what insurance is like, but a Clio 197bhp is a class little car.

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201044200073476

Seat Leon 2.0 tfsi is a class yoke too.

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201042199962621

As is an Astra OPC

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201101200759606

But again running costs, insurance and all that will be alot more on the above.Dont go for a 1.6 na 125bhp Fiesta anyway, its barely quicker than the 1.4 he has now.

Owen

LIGHTNING wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.co.uk/for-sale/cars/1674782

No price but its a great little car, its highly rated as a drivers car.

They are a great drivers car, really. Only problem with Pumas is rust. Rust rust rust. Friend has one (Non racing), it's 00 and is starting to turn brown everywhere. Original Irish car too.

Lord Derpington

draffodx wrote: »

They look terrible though.

TBH ive seen a lot worse, http://www.pistonheads.com/SALES/2335397.htm




Granted they not exactly handsome, but they are tiny.

123bhp in a car with curb weight of 975kg, 0-60 mph 7.8 sec.

Which as standard is apparently faster than a Glanza V which has 131 bhp with a 0–100 km/h time of 8.3 seconds URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Starlet_Glanza#Glanza"]source[/URL

Can even be remapped to 137bhp if your that way inclined

Henry Ford III

Squall19 wrote: »

Dont go for a 1.6 na 125bhp Fiesta anyway, its barely quicker than the 1.4 he has now.

Nah. Whilst not Space Shuttle fast admittedly a modern Fiesta Zetec S with Ti-Vct can zip along quite well.

One of the later ones would even still be under warranty.

ottostreet

Never thought I'd recommend but:

Renault Clio 172.

Quick, small, seems economic, and apparently has great handling (until there's a wall in the way).

Clio 172

andyseadog

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1781906

yaris t-sport. the one nobody considers

Squall19

OSI wrote: »

Don't suppose this "S4" had a TDi badge as well did it.. Otherwise your talking crap.

No it was a real s4:D

I have a car now that would maybe beat that s4 ( mazda 3 mps ) in a straight up and my old fabia felt very quick against the mps too.Its just a testament to the car, that it didnt get blown away by much bigger more powerful cars, 400nm and 170bhp is nice in a small car.The first time I drove my mps I wasnt that blown away by its power I was expecting it to make my fabia feel very slow, but it didnt.It just made me appreciate my fabia even more.Of course it would get killed in a real race, but out on the motorway, national roads etc accelerating between 80kmh to 130kmh, 60 to 100kmh etc it was still quick.

OP I would go for the Clio 197, its class.Look at the 200 vs Ford Focus Rs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae4RqTW5UDU

robtri

audi TT 1.8T ? - 180bhp
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/TT/1.8ltr-T/201049200505684/advert?channel=CARS


Astra 2.0 Turbo -
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Opel/Astra/SRI-2.0I/201040199761042/advert?channel=CARS




or something very very SPECIAL.. will need a bit of bargaining... but so so worth it

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Lancia/Delta/HF-TURBO/200801191354865/advert?channel=CARS

i love that one

Bendihorse

Not sure if budget would allow for an early Cooper S JCW...

I have a 2004 one for the last 2 years and still love it as much as the day I got it The Whine off the supercharger and the popping and gurgling of the JCW exhaust guarantee an expression like this every time

TM RACING

Fiat 126, its small but only 24hp.

Tragedy

Squall19 wrote: »

No it was a real s4:D

I have a car now that would maybe beat that s4 ( mazda 3 mps ) in a straight up and my old fabia felt very quick against the mps too.Its just a testament to the car, that it didnt get blown away by much bigger more powerful cars, 400nm and 170bhp is nice in a small car.The first time I drove my mps I wasnt that blown away by its power I was expecting it to make my fabia feel very slow, but it didnt.It just made me appreciate my fabia even more.Of course it would get killed in a real race, but out on the motorway, national roads etc accelerating between 80kmh to 130kmh, 60 to 100kmh etc it was still quick.

I went from a 170BHP remapped diesel to a 190BHP N/A petrol, the diesel felt way, WAY faster but when I actually watched the speedo in the petrol I could see there was no comparison.

stevenmu

Diesels are great for a quick burst of acceleration, which is why they feel fast. Petrol is better at at sustained acceleration which tends to build as the revs do, so it doesn't feel as quick, or push you into the seat the same way a diesel might, but the speedo will climb quicker.

(edit: I realise that's pretty big generalisation)

johnos1984

Learn to haggle and its yours: Pug 207 GT

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Peugeot/207/1.6-GT-1/200950196141555/advert?channel=CARS

Its down the road from me, its been their a while but is very clean and nothing wrong with it.

He will do very good deals if you travel and have cash in your pocket....if you live locally he is a bit of a tool when it comes to haggling which i have yet to figure out why

SouperComputer

Problem with a lot of modern turbo diesels is that although they make big peak torque they have a fairly narrow usable rev range, even worse than some VTEC's I dare say! A lot of people confuse the peak torque figure with how flexable an engine is.

A later TT might'nt be too bad, good pull from low revs and chippable to 225 easy enough. Might be worthwhile looking at power/weight rather than outright power though...

Owen

Bendihorse wrote: »

Not sure if budget would allow for an early Cooper S JCW...

It won't. JCWs are still making about a minimum of 10k sterling, which by the time it's in here and VRT'd will be heading for the mid to late teens. There were only about 1500 JCW kits officially sold in the lifetime of the R53.

andyseadog

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I havent driven one but if its anything like a stock Yaris then I would avoid like the plague.

the only interior interior it shares with a regular yaris are the carpet, roof lining even id say around 60% of the dash is different.

body looks great for what it in fairness.

also very economical tax, insurance, servicing and fuel wise. id definitely recommend one over a glanza any day of the week.

andyseadog

well the yaris is a tall car so the driving position is high i suppose, never felt any other flaws with it.

as for braking, while getting my wheels refurbed i tried to refit a set of standard yaris 14" steel rims while i was waiting and they wouldnt fit over the calipers :eek:

Flesh Gorden

Conor_M1990 wrote: »

T sport Corolla ?

Fantastic little car

worked with a lady whose owned one since new and I still do basic maintenance on it
driven it a few times and I loved it

looks like a normal corolla on the outside but with the same 1.8 vvti engine as the 190hp celica

great cruiser, 6 gears, full leather interior, carbon trim and a good boost when in the higher rev range

when I looked a few months ago €4-5k seemed to be the price on donedeal for a 03'

ltdslipdiff

Lovely in the Gordini 1.6 but you'll only find the 1.2 GT 100 bhp here in Ireland....still a hoot to drive mind you !!!!

andyseadog

Flesh Gorden wrote: »

Fantastic little car

worked with a lady whose owned one since new and I still do basic maintenance on it
driven it a few times and I loved it

looks like a normal corolla on the outside but with the same 1.8 vvti engine as the 190hp celica

great cruiser, 6 gears, full leather interior, carbon trim and a good boost when in the higher rev range

when I looked a few months ago €4-5k seemed to be the price on donedeal for a 03'

less even, one or two on donedeal for 4k, one on the toyota owners club for 3k with test and a small bit of tax.

lots of car for the money there, really lovely machines, tax is a bit of a cripler though

kmb

Dont forget to look at the Fiat Bravo 1.4 sport 150bhp.

It also has the sport button which is tons of fun/6 speed gearbox etc....

8.2 seconds 0-60mph.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1723253

JJJJNR

Leon Cupra R