What car to buy :S HELP

[Mag2.0]

I was im similar position to yourself mate.
The cars i had on the top of my list were
-clio 197
-corsa vxr
-civic type r
-mini cooper s


Ive test driven all four now.

Ive narrowed my choice down to either the mini cooper s or the clio 197.

Ill give you a quick run down of why i ruled out the other two.

Civic type r (friend owns one)

Basically very nice cars however, around where i live they have become fairly common amoungst younger drivers and chavvy women, a civic type r with a loud exhaust is a fairly common site. Bit of a shame as they drive superb. Power is acceptable lower down in the range so town driving isnt a chore. Dash is very bland gear knob location is a love or hate thing. Seats are awesome though. Handles like you would expect although finding one that hasnt been registered cat d/c is becomming very difficult. nice cars but basically becomming abit aged now i think the clio 197 is the closest thing to compare to and the 197 has more comforts such as air con as standard, cruise control etc.

Corsa vxr

Well abit of mixed feeling about this. At first site it deffinatly has the WOW factor, however it soon wears off and starts looking like a plastic toy. Its very NOW, it it looks cool now but in 8 months time youll wish it looked different. Seats are awesome once again. However having owned a vauxhall (current car) ive said ill not buy another vauxhall for a long long long time. Has been nothing but trouble, one problem after the next, the feeling is that the newer vauxhalls are just as bad reliability wise. Another factor is when i ask my friends for advice the chavvy ones ie the ones that boast they beat imprezas in their vts's all say go for corsa so that puts me off. i wouldnt like to pull up to a nice resturant or a suave place in one. Poor service at dealership is also an issue. Driving wise it didnt feel as planted and steering felt very soft. Turbo wasnt amazing, im assuming its a high compression engine with low boost turbo to avoid turbo lag. Torque steer was a problem, not a nice feeling when the boost kicks in mid way through a bend but OK if you fancy a giggle. Can see it becomming tiring to drive ( on boost/off boost/on boost) etc (think of it as a smoother diesel engine)

So we are left between the clio 197 and mini cooper s. Between the two if practicality was an issue the 197 would win hands down but for me personally it isnt.

Hope my experiances help you alittle.

 

[Mag2.0]

the other thing which put me off the VXR was the younger owner ship, goto the forum and it is all text speak, init, man, mate etc being 40 I think I would look a bit out of place at a VXR meet up lol.

QUOTE]



I cant say this is true in my experiance. With many younger would be drivers finding insurance difficult to get and finding work harder to come by i know of one person with a corsa vxr (his parents are fairly rich so im sure they help out). Apart from that all the vxr ive seen have been driven by middle aged men/women.

 

[FRP#013]

Interesting thread, as I'm in the same sort of position at the minute (with the exception of the Corsa VXR - can't stand that bloody thing!)

I love the looks of the new Civic Type R, and prices are very tempting now, but opinion is very mixed on if it's better than the previous gen or not. That said, I'm not a fan of the MPV looks of the previous gen, and the fact they're absolutley everywhere.

197 - I drove one today, but it was the most rubbish test drive ever, straight road, no corners, no chance to get a feel for the car. I love the looks, and now I've been doing a little research on R27's, they are looking seriously tempting, especially in yellow with decals

 

[smiler]

Think of it this way.
If you meet a nice girl in a club and she says what you drive.
(bare in mind the letters after the name of a car don't mean much to most girls)

I drive a corsa=you've blown it.
I drive a civic=sounds boring.
I drive a Clio=youve pulled(everyone loves a Clio)

love this jase true words these are but i must admit most people see it and ask me what it is :@

 

[Mag2.0]

love this jase true words these are but i must admit most people see it and ask me what it is :@

The man speaks truth!!!

Telling a girl you drive a corsa and then trying to explain thats it okay because its a sport model and has a turbo = FAIL


New civic= How old are you again??

 

[simon]

I test drove the FN2 Civic right before buying the Clio and didn't like much of what I saw. It sounds better and has a bigger boot, but that's about all. It tramlined terribly on B roads, had too little torque to haul along that fat assed body and it had a key AND a start button, which was just pointless!

Didn't look at the Corsa at all for various reasons, those being that I'd previously owned a few Vauxhalls and wanted to try summat different, it looks a bit immature and, as someone else stated above, the forums seem to be populated by people of lower than average intelligence!

 

[mikey197]

Civic type R if it was me again mate, much better car than the clio, quicker to pull away and much more reliable.
Much more potential in modifications as well. I know everyone will say the clio is better but with the driving you are able to do on the roads the civic is no different.

Wouldnt touch the corsa because I think they look ****.

 

[Arran]

I considered quite a few cars before I bought my 197. The Corsa ChaV-XR as I call them are exactly that. I think if Vauxhall offered them with Burbery Cloth trim as an option it would be the most popular option ever offered on a production car! They are too 'in your face' and the dash is a let down too.

The Civic Type R is just too funny looking for me and the dash is the same. When I sat in a mate's I knew I had made the right choice. You see I am a little wider than him and the seat was uncomfortably narrow! Lol!

I also thought about an Astra VXR, but again is chavvy and is looking a bit old now. They aren't meant to handle that brilliant (or so I've heard) either. Plus it's an Astra!

At the end of the day it all depends on what you want in a car. I wanted something quick, not too big, decent handling, comfortable, fairly cheap to buy and run, but most importantly, looked good. And to me, IMO, the Clio retains a sain and original shape that is great to look at. I kept asking myself this question - If (God forbid) my nan should die, would I really want to turn up to her funeral in a Corsa VXR or a Type R spaceship? No, but I wouldn't mind rocking up in the Clio! I'm on my 3rd Clio now, this is the first RS. All I can say is,

I love my Clio!