Want a fast saloon - any advice?

[Chris56]

Hi all, i currently drive a 2005 Mazda6 diesel and I can't fault it: its done 88,000 miles, sips fuel and never misses a beat (touch wood).

Im looking to change it this year for a performance saloon, for less than £5k and less than 60K on the clock. I would prefer a pre-2006 model as theese are cheaper and don't carry £400 + per year in road tax. My shortlist is as follows:

Subaru Legacy 3.0R (4wd might be just out of my price range though)
Ford Mondeo ST220
BMW 330i (not my favourite, but they are rear wheel drive)
Saab 95 HOT Aero - probably the cheapest and quickest, but 250Bhp through the front wheels!!

Do any of you folks drive any of these cars? which would be your choice? are there any areas to stay clear of? are there any cars that should be on the list but aren't?

[daz]

The question is, how many miles do you do a week to justify the fuel costs. I own a BMW 530i sport (petrol), currently averaging 24mpg was doing 19mpg in the winter months.
I dont use it for communting anymore and only do around 100 miles every 3 week, but when i was communting doing around 160 miles a week, it was costing £50 a week to run, and that was before the fuel prices went silly.

[daz]

And my choice would be a BMW 330i sport, but i dont think you would get a decent low mileage one for that price tho. Followed by the moondog st220, these in petrol format are getting cheap as chips now and are probably cheaper to up keep than the unrealible diesel shat version. I wouldnt waste a good fart in the other 2 tho.

[Chris56]

Cheers for the info Daz - im not doing the high milage I used to (less than 10K a year now) so am not too concerned about the higher fuel consumption. With my last job I was commuting 300 miles a week and was costing me a fortune - even with a frugal diesel.

Looking on autotrader, there does seem to be an abundance of pre-2003 BMWs (both 330 and 530) with a low milage - they seem to be quite cheap now so might be able to bag a bargain

[daz]

No worries, dont forget tho 10000miles a year is nearly 200 miles a week. That would cost me 70-80 quid a week to run, in mine. But if thats what you want, go for it. I sold a Mondeo tdci what was doing 50 mpg for a big barge. Just cos a wanted one and couldnt stand driving a bag of shat diesel. Diesels in my eyes are for people who have given up on life and brag about how much fuel they save a year, but when it goes wrong they go all quite and realise that the petrol equivalant is actually cheaper to run in the long term.

[Robbiejuk]

The St220 is a good car. I loved mine when I had it hugely practical saloon and the engine is great. Little bit more exclusitivity than the bimmer if you ignore the ST diesels. Recaros in leather are nice to

[cmgreen]

Audi a4 3.0 tdi

Bmw 330d

[Bagman]

I'm biased but a 330d is a fantastic car.

[Chris56]

Cheers for the comments guys - there certainly seems to be a lot of love for the Mondeo and the BMW.
Has anybody had much experience with the Saab or Scooby?

I have also looked at the 330d but im going to struggle to find a low-milage one for my budget.

From what i've read I shouldn't be disappointed with any of the above. The Beemer seems to be the best engineered, best drivers' car, there are plenty of them out there to choose from and would be a sensible choice, but lacks the exclusivity that the others have and am worried about the price of parts (a mate has also told me that Subaru parts are quite expensive too).

[Bagman]

My favourite car I've ever owned (not the best mind you) was an old school Saab 900. For me after the early to mid nineties Saabs were just rebadged GM crap, just pale imitations of the the real thing. I'm still thinking about getting an older non turbo 90016vS as a bit of a weekend car.

I'd still say that once you've owned the 3 litre BMW diesel (my best not my favourite mind you) your hooked for a long time and it's very difficult to go back to anything else. It still puts a smile on my face after more than a year.

[Southwell]

No love for the Mazda 6 MPS?

[Chris56]

Originally Posted by Southwell

No love for the Mazda 6 MPS?

Lots of love for it mate - only problem is there are very few pre 2006 ones out there (cheaper tax) since it was only lanched on the 55 plate. If I can find one I'll definately take a look since my Mazda 6 diesel has been superb

[Southwell]

Originally Posted by Chris56

Lots of love for it mate - only problem is there are very few pre 2006 ones out there (cheaper tax) since it was only lanched on the 55 plate. If I can find one I'll definately take a look since my Mazda 6 diesel has been superb

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p

Bit over priced but that could be knocked down.
Loved my 6 143 Diesel, got a 3 2.0 Sport Petrol, which i love even more.

[Chris56]

Originally Posted by Southwell

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p

Bit over priced but that could be knocked down.
Loved my 6 143 Diesel, got a 3 2.0 Sport Petrol, which i love even more.

I was just looking at that one mate! - only 10 miles from where I live too

[Alfonzo]

I have a Saab 9000 running 320BHP through the front wheels, and it's fun. It's an old shed now, but a facking quick one

I'd imagine the 95 HOT would be pretty much the same. It will suck the fuel down if you boot it of course, but I get 34 mpg on a steady run which ain't bad all things considered..

[Chris56]

Originally Posted by Alfonzo

I have a Saab 9000 running 320BHP through the front wheels, and it's fun. It's an old shed now, but a facking quick one

I'd imagine the 95 HOT would be pretty much the same. It will suck the fuel down if you boot it of course, but I get 34 mpg on a steady run which ain't bad all things considered..

Apparantly you can get a performance filter/remap that boosts power to 280Bhp which I may have to go for if I get the Saab. I'm really tempted to take this one for a spin:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...85qn?logcode=p

[Alfonzo]

I like it. Lot of car for the money. You either like Saab's or you don't. I've had mine for 8 years so no surprises which camp I'm in..

They are generally well built with loads of torque so feel faster on the road than the figures suggest, if that makes sense.

To be fair, there's so many good cars around I don't think you can go far wrong with any of your choices..

[kinggareth]

I owned an ST220 estate for 18 months and only got rid of it cuz of the ridiculous fuel economy - other than that I would put it in my top 3 cars owned (and i've owned a few!)
It had plenty of torque and no blowers so there was always instant power. The handling was amazing for a big car, it was comfy on motorways, had plenty of room and all the kit you'd ever need (leather, auto lights, auto wipe, cruise, air con etc).

The BMW will probably be a great car, but you'll no doubt get a much lower mileage Ford for your money.

[Steve.T]

Honda accord type R?

[Chris56]

Originally Posted by Steve.T

Honda accord type R?

Bloody good car - shame that low milers are rare as hen's teeth