Most fun small car?

daylers

What's your ideas on what's the most fun to drive cheap old cars? I'm not talking about anything big or expencive, I mean small cars like starlets and fiestas that are fun to drive despite the slow speed..ideas?

Moneymaker

Seicento.

/thread

djimi

Suzuki Swift

colm_mcm

Suzuki Alto
Also Toyota Aygo(these are hitting 2k now)
Peugeot 106/Saxo as long as you've got small feet.

JohnBoy26

Daihatsu coure or sirion

bazz26

Mk1 Renault Twingo, as long as you don't mind it being a left hooker.

visual

The old type mini was a fun car could really throw it in to corners and come out smiling

Mycroft H

106 Rallye

Nforce

Mk1 Golf GTi was a hoot to own, I'd imagine that the Lupo GTi would be similar

ba_barabus

I used to really enough my old Mk2 Clio. Decent spec with the 1.2 16v. Not fast buy it was fun as it glued to the road. Similar with a 2001 Fiesta Ghia 1.25. Just rev it flat out and take the corners hard but not at mad speeds and they wre great crack.

CharlieCroker

The seicento sporting is great fun for what it is.

Smart coupe/roaster is good craic once you learn how to use the gearbox effectively.

Peugeot 205 would be another on my list

quadrifoglio verde

Seicento turbo :cool:

JohnBoy26

If going back 20+ years a Charade Gti or Gtxx

landmarkjohn

Alfa Romeo 146 1.6 120 bhp, fun engaging drive.

Pound for pound I think it is very difficult to match a Mazda MX5 for cheap thrills.

John_Rambo

There's a 100bhp 1.4 Fiat Panda. I'd say it's great fun. Citroen ax gt was brilliant. Made of plastic and tinfoil!

Tail Docker

Moneymaker wrote: »

Seicento.

/thread

Cobblers, they're dire. A mildly modded ek civic, or a suzuki swift, or a Baleno. Cheap, durable fun.

ShadowHearth

Mx5. Can't get better then that. Small, rwd, light, cheap.

JohnBoy26

An mx5 isn't akin to a starlet or a fiesta though.

shanec1928

Lupo gti.

Gumbo

I'm currently in an 04 Fabia VRs. 1.9tdi, remapped at about 175bhp and about 280 foot pounds of torques. It's quite fun

stalebread

Fiesta turbo

Punto turbo

charcosull

Old mini. 40 (ish) HP but drive it flat out. Its like an old donkey that you have to kick to get going.

cnocbui

Fiat X19

EazyD

MX5 or MR2, hard to beat either.

advertsfox

Punto 1.4 lease car

vibe666

imho, without spending a lot of cash, you'd be hard pushed to find a more fun small car than the MR2 Mk1.b.

you'll pick up a decent one for around €1-1.5k now and with a few small mods (less than 500 quid) and tweaks you'll have a little beast of a car that will be passing allsorts on both the road and track in no time.

and now i'm going to waste my morning looking at MR2's online and dreaming of track day glory!

EazyD

vibe666 wrote: »

imho, without spending a lot of cash, you'd be hard pushed to find a more fun small car than the MR2 Mk1.b.

you'll pick up a decent one for around €1-1.5k now and with a few small mods (less than 500 quid) and tweaks you'll have a little beast of a car that will be passing allsorts on both the road and track in no time.

and now i'm going to waste my morning looking at MR2's online and dreaming of track day glory!

You'd be doing very well to find an original MK1 in decent nick for that kind of cash.

stoeger

Iv had many.
Renault 5 gt turbo
Peugeot 205 gti
Corolla twin cam
Honda crx
Loved them all

Bigus

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Daihatsu coure or sirion

Coure three cylinder with the air box removed, great sound,nice and small , wheel at each corner.

I brought a standard taxed and tested one to an autotest , and beat a lot of more prepared cars in its class.

Great fun for no money, and miles and miles ahead of a seicento, and unlike 106 rally's etc no premium to be paid.

Mycroft H

vibe666 wrote: »

imho, without spending a lot of cash, you'd be hard pushed to find a more fun small car than the MR2 Mk1.b.

you'll pick up a decent one for around €1-1.5k now and with a few small mods (less than 500 quid) and tweaks you'll have a little beast of a car that will be passing allsorts on both the road and track in no time.

and now i'm going to waste my morning looking at MR2's online and dreaming of track day glory!

For that price an MR2 is going to be more rust than steel.

alias no.9

I can't believe we've got this far without mention of the Ford Ka, sure it looks like a Tellytubby but it's a hoot to drive.

vibe666

EazyD wrote: »

You'd be doing very well to find an original MK1 in decent nick for that kind of cash.

Mycroft H wrote: »

For that price an MR2 is going to be more rust than steel.

they are a 25+ year old motor at this point, so you're never going to find one completely rust free, but you'd be surprised what you can still find.

a quick 5 minutes of ebaying in the UK found these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOYOTA-MR2-MK1-T-Bar-Full-Toyota-Service-History-Leather-Seats-Low-mileage-/191320755344?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2c8b9b0c90 - £1220 in red.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-MR2-MK1-T-Bar-/251645838067?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3a9742c2f3 - £950 if you don't mind the paint job.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/White-Toyota-MR2-MK1-T-Bar-1989-G-Reg-80s-Classic-/261594120184?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3ce8397ff8 - £1500 'buy it now' but you could get this one at a decent price depending on how the auction goes.

either way, even at 2-3k I'd rather have one of those than most newer small cars for similar money, as they are a ridiculous amount of fun, which kind of fits the bill perfectly for the thread imho.

they also seem to be appreciating in value when looked after, so it would be a good buy for that as long as you didn't park it in a ditch.

JohnBoy26

Mr2's and Mx5's don't belong in this thread. They are In a different class and are nothing like a starlet or a fiesta.

It's suggestions of superminis the op is looking for, not convertibles or roadsters.

EazyD

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Mr2's and Mx5's don't belong in this thread. They are In a different class and are nothing like a starlet or a fiesta.

It's suggestions of superminis the op is looking for, not convertibles or roadsters.

In fairness the thread title only states fun and small, both of which fit the bill in this case.

vibe666

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Mr2's and Mx5's don't belong in this thread. They are In a different class and are nothing like a starlet or a fiesta.

It's suggestions of superminis the op is looking for, not convertibles or roadsters.

sorry, but he asked for small, old and cheap fun cars to drive and didn't specify that we weren't allowed to suggest convertibles or roasters.

fiestas are anywhere between 140in to 160in in length depending on the model you choose and were available with anything up to a 1.6L engine so with the mk1 mr2 at 155in and the mk1 mx-5 at 156in and both with a 1.6L lump in them, they both the bill imho.

JohnBoy26

EazyD wrote: »

In fairness the thread title only states fun and small, both of which fit the bill in this case.

daylers wrote: »

I'm not talking about anything big or expencive, I mean small cars like starlets and fiestas that are fun to drive despite the slow speed..ideas?

JohnBoy26

vibe666 wrote: »

sorry, but he asked for small, old and cheap fun cars to drive and didn't specify that we weren't allowed to suggest convertibles or roasters.

fiestas are anywhere between 140in to 160in in length depending on the model you choose and were available with anything up to a 1.6L engine so with the mk1 mr2 at 155in and the mk1 mx-5 at 156in and both with a 1.6L lump in them, they both the bill imho.

daylers wrote: »

I'm not talking about anything big or expencive, I mean small cars like starlets and fiestas that are fun to drive despite the slow speed..ideas?

It's clear the op is talking about superminis. An mx5 isn't a supermini, it's a different type of car altogether to what the op is referring to.

vibe666

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

It's clear the op is talking about superminis. An mx5 isn't a supermini, it's a different type of car altogether to what the op is referring to.

sorry, i wasn't aware you had a psychic link to know exactly what the OP was and wasn't interested in or that you had the authority to veto other peoples suggestions based on your idea of what fits the criteria.

beauf

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

It's clear the op is talking about superminis. An mx5 isn't a supermini, it's a different type of car altogether to what the op is referring to.

Whats your problem with the MX5 and MR2. Why does it have to be a supermini?
Not all starlets and fiesta's are fun to drive. Some of them are very dull.

I would assume the point would be suggest cars are which fun.

suchafunkymonke

vibe666 wrote: »

imho, without spending a lot of cash, you'd be hard pushed to find a more fun small car than the MR2 Mk1.b.

you'll pick up a decent one for around €1-1.5k now and with a few small mods (less than 500 quid) and tweaks you'll have a little beast of a car that will be passing allsorts on both the road and track in no time.

and now i'm going to waste my morning looking at MR2's online and dreaming of track day glory!

I have to +1 this. I own a Mk1b and even without mods, its still quicker than 90% of the traffic on the road and fun to drive is an understatement.

beauf

vibe666 wrote: »

they are a 25+ year old motor at this point, so you're never going to find one completely rust free, ...

Yeah the problem is that MX5's and MR2's have known rust issues. So a cheap one might not be that cheap to get through the MOT/NCT which might be why its cheap. The MR2 is great fun to drive, I had a go in Supercharged one years ago. Friend had a regular one. Its a fun driving position too. Mid engined, so fairly different to anything else. Revvy little engine from the the corrola 1.6 16v 122bhp engine.

suchafunkymonke

beauf wrote: »

Yeah the problem is that MX5's and MR2's have known rust issues. So a cheap one might not be that cheap to get through the MOT/NCT which might be why its cheap. The MR2 is great fun to drive, I had a go in Supercharged one years ago. Friend had a regular one. Its a fun driving position too. Mid engined, so fairly different to anything else. Revvy little engine from the the corrola 1.6 16v 122bhp engine.

Yeah, given I spent two years replacing almost all the steelwork on my car, I can attest to that. Plus some of the parts like rear suspension bushings aren't made anymore.

It will take a lot of your time and money to keep it as it should be, but its worth every penny.

Toyotafanboi

glanza. 130bhp per tonne. plenty of spec and extras, cheap tax, easy on fuel, very reliable, styled nicely... only problem is people automatically assume you are a dick head.

typical fanboi post i know.

EazyD

beauf wrote: »

Whats your problem with the MX5 and MR2. Why does it have to be a supermini?
Not all starlets and fiesta's are fun to drive. Some of them are very dull.

I would assume the point would be suggest cars are which fun.

Plenty of people ask me that same question. "Why would you drive one of those yokes, sure there's no space or anything". If they have to ask they just don't understand the appeal.

JohnBoy26

beauf wrote: »

Whats your problem with the MX5 and MR2. Why does it have to be a supermini?
Not all starlets and fiesta's are fun to drive. Some of them are very dull.

I would assume the point would be suggest cars are which fun.

I've no problem thank you very much, nobody said they have to be specifically be starlets or fiestas, just cars like them, that are fun to drive is all.

JohnBoy26

vibe666 wrote: »

sorry, i wasn't aware you had a psychic link to know exactly what the OP was and wasn't interested in or that you had the authority to veto other peoples suggestions based on your idea of what fits the criteria.

It doesn't take a psychic to know what type of suggestions the op wants, that's pretty obvious from their opening post. An mx5 or mr2 ain't one of them.

Toyotafanboi

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

It doesn't take a psychic to know what type of suggestions the op wants, that's pretty obvious from their opening post. An mx5 or mr2 ain't one of them.

because a fiesta or polo is a "small car", but an mx5 or mr2 would be considered a "small sports car"...

beauf

Maybe you'll explain what's fun about about a starlet at slow speed then. Because I don't know what point you're making. For me a fun car at slow speed means a car that handles well, a entertaining chassis and steering. Not a shopping cart that someone squeezed a dustbin sized turbo in, or stuck GTI badges on.

More like something along the lines of a 106 Rallye, in which case a whole range of driver focused car are in play. Which a Fiesta, Ka, Puma, MR2, etc can be considered. If a requirement was to get wheelbarrow in the boot, then maybe you'd have a point. Perhaps I'm miss-reading the Op request. Which I assume was cheap to buy and run, so nothing the insurance would run screaming from. Or that a magnet can't stick to.

Toyotafanboi

beauf wrote: »

Maybe you'll explain what's fun about about a starlet at slow speed then. Because I don't know what point you're making. For me a fun car at slow speed means a car that handles well, a entertaining chassis and steering. Not a shopping cart that someone squeezed a dustbin sized turbo in, or stuck GTI badges on.

More like something along the lines of a 106 Rallye, in which case a whole range of driver focused car are in play. Which a Fiesta, Ka, Puma, MR2, etc can be considered. If a requirement was to get wheelbarrow in the boot, then maybe you'd have a point. Perhaps I'm miss-reading the Op request. Which I assume was cheap to buy and run, so nothing the insurance would run screaming from. Or that a magnet can't stick to.

i have no idea what kind of point you are trying to make.

the op asked what small cars are the most fun. the term "small car" usually refers to fiesta/ polo/ 206/ yaris etc sized cars.

beauf

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

because a fiesta or polo is a "small car", but an mx5 or mr2 would be considered a "small sports car"...

Polo GTI, Fiesta S would have Simlar BHP and performance. Though a Polo was never a good handling car, where the fiesta was even in 1.25 guise. Compare that Polo with a 1.0/1.2 which was never a drivers car.

beauf

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

i have no idea what kind of point you are trying to make.

the op asked what small cars are the most fun. the term "small car" usually refers to fiesta/ polo/ 206/ yaris etc sized cars.

If I have to explain it. You'll never understand.