Neil Hopcroft

A digital misfit

Gripping the wheel, his knuckles went white with desire

Maybe 400 horses is a little much for me, but I’m still looking for something a bit more interesting than my current Laguna. Its been a great car and has lasted way longer than I had expected when I bought it but its now getting to the point where its more crazy than anything else. But….

…I need some ideas of what to look for in another car. I keep looking around and can’t find anything exciting enough to make it worth buying. My budget isn’t extensive, 4k max at the moment (which will involve a bit of borrowing, so I’d prefer to keep it below that if I sensibly can). Theres plenty of choice in that price range if you’re for a family car or a sensible little runabout. I’m not.

So, give me some ideas.


Categories: Memories.

/ 26 Comments

26 comments

  1. kantti

    Do any Smart roadsters come into that price range? I think the engine is somewhere off the bottom of your scale, but they do go vrrrrooom and are probably exciting.

    Reply
    • neilh

      Not quite what I’m after…I want a proper future classic, something that would leave my grandchildren (if I were ever to actually have any) asking me why I didn’t have it any more. Smart, nice though they are, aren’t in that category at the moment.

      Reply
    • neilh

      They’re on the list, but its gotta be a convertible and have the ugliest back end known to man, otherwise I’m not interested.

      Reply
      • jarkman

        Ah. Ragtop landrover ?

        Or – not a ragtop, but it will supply all the ugly you need – I see that there are a few V12 XJS inside your budget on eBay. Running costs might be a bit bursty, mind.

        Reply
        • neilh

          Yeah, I was somewhat tempted by a ‘temporary Jag’ I saw for 2k, which would do until it needed servicing. I like the idea but I’m not in a position to run two cars for any length of time at the moment, especially one needing that much TLC.

          Reply
          • jarkman

            It *might* turn out to be reliable. And if you want a car to tell tales about, you need something with some kind of epic quality to it.

          • neilh

            Stranger things have happened…but its not exactly a single standard deviation event. But the thought of ‘we took the Jag on a roadtrip to…’ stories is certainly appealling. It would have to be a reasonably short term thing, just a summers worth of cruising festivals around Europe (or maybe just the UK depending on the reliability).

          • jarkman

            Long, long ago I had an XJ12 for a few years. And, mostly, it worked perfectly.

            It only left me by the side of the road once. It did have an intermittent ECU problem, eventually fixed by shovelling cash into it, but it was a small price to pay for the overall loveliness of the thing.

            It’s a very personal thing, but for me a bit of unreliability is not troubling if I am expecting it. It’s not like I have a job transporting live human organs under strict deadline.

            I say, get the stupid car now, in case you have Responsibilities later and can’t have the stupid car then.

            Would a Skyline be epic ?

          • jarkman

            Muhahahaha (etc.)

            So, to put it another way, if you were marketed as an action figure, what car would it come with ?

  3. meme_me

    I think I am turning Japanese, Ooer Sir I really think so!!

    In line with your love for all things Japanese, I have decided to focus on cars of a Japanese flavour. I feel as a woman, I can comment on the kind of car I can only dream my man would drive, although I am not saying that you are having a mid life crisis (a good too many years before that happens) I am sure you would not mind driving a car that might attract some interest from us fairer sex!

    Neil, the following does depend on how much you can afford for running costs.

    Mazda RX7 Turbo (92 – 95)
    Rotary engine. Classed as a 1.4L, but is technically a 2.8L. Very fast and nice looking (Vin Diesel’s car in the fast and the furious), but expensive to run as the engine has to be rebuilt every 60K or so.

    Honda Integra Type-R (~98)
    1.8 VTEC. About 200BHP. Good performance, and not ridiculous costs to run although Honda parts are fairly expensive.

    Toyota MR2 Turbo (MKII)
    Loads on the market at the moment, so prices are low. Nice cheap RWD car with fairly good power, but can be unforgiving on corners if you put the power on.

    Nissan Skyline 2.5 GTS Turbo (93-94)
    You won’t get a good GTR for £4k, but can get a good GTS. A lot of power. Fairly forgiving handling as long as you don’t give it too much power on corners.

    Nissan Silvia 2.0 S14 Turbo (94-95)
    Fairly rare but sought after. Good power. Used for Japanese Touring Car.

    Honda CRX 1.6i VT (MKII) (91-92)
    Only a 1.6 so not too expensive to run, but 150BHP as standard in a shell that weights less than a ton.

    Hope this has given you food for thought, I have certainly enjoyed dreaming on what car I would choose in your position!

    Reply
    • simonsatori

      Re: I think I am turning Japanese, Ooer Sir I really think so!!

      Good choices.

      You show great mechanical knowledge.

      …but you still gurrrrllll!!

      ha ha I win. You gurrrrllll!!

      Reply
      • neilh

        Re: I think I am turning Japanese, Ooer Sir I really think so!!

        Girl car, boy car, I’m not sure I’m really that bothered (as you’ll know if you remember my Peugeot) – its gotta have some go and some life left in it.

        Reply
    • neilh

      Re: I think I am turning Japanese, Ooer Sir I really think so!!

      RX7 – Wankel engine has poor reliablity and fuel economy but does have nice power. Too much hassle these days because they’re all of that age where they need an enthusiastic owner.

      Integra – a little too new for my price range

      MR2 – currently pretty much in top slot on the list, slightly concerned about boot space, or rather lack of it

      Skyline – a bit of a ‘rice-boy’ reputation, nice but kinda like the idea of a 4 door version

      Silvia – Again a little on the new side

      CRX – has potential, this is one that I’ve missed, will investigate further

      Reply
  5. neilh

    Sera is on the list, but I’d have to find a nice one. Theres a lot of good about them, but they’re fundamentally a small car.

    Reply
  8. neilh

    Re: I think I am turning Japanese, Ooer Sir I really think so!!

    Trailer doesn’t do much for drifting, but hey you can’t have everything.

    CRX is interesting for its geekishness, but I’m not bothered enough about that that its the only choice.

    Reply
  10. neilh

    Re: I think I am turning Japanese, Ooer Sir I really think so!!

    I wouldn’t actively choose pink (theres not a lot of pink cars out there) unless it happened to be a particularly entertaining thing to do…matt black is more my style but I don’t think thats so good for night driving.

    Reply

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