Need some inspiration

[JAW]

Gonna be spending the next year at home due to the fiancé and dad looking like he's on a downhill spiral health wise. Silver lining is that I'll be having a year off work to chill out and can't wait!

Shopping for a daily runabout, but since I won't be commuting or using it too much, I don't need to worry about mpg. Want it to be semi reliable and punch a small hole in that ozone layer. Budget realistically is 15k tops but turns out there's a lot of room for choice.

Current front runners are:

Tuscan
350/370z
M3 or m5 circa 2005
a beast of a supra, twin turbo aero top (have even found the exact car and they will hold it till I'm back, v tempting!!)


But out of ideas other than that. Something younger than say 8 years would be nice. Must be rwd or maybe 4wd. 2 or 4 seat. Elise's etc are a bit too small for my liking. Any 'different' ideas??

[MGJohn]

The select list of models you mention are all so very different. Before deciding, you must drive all those you are considering. It's quite possible that living with some of those you consider will not suit your day to day motoring needs and enjoyment.

Some 'special' cars on paper are a disappointment in the reality of living with them day to day.

I shall not recommend any ~ you must decide which may suit and try them properly to find outif they do.

[great_kahn]

Vxr8, v8 good.

[red_flame]

Out of the list you've put down, for me, easily the 370Z!

[JAW]

Originally Posted by great_kahn

Vxr8, v8 good.

Awesome idea but I've had a clubsport over here (Holden badged vxr8) so probably go for something different.

Originally Posted by MGJohn

The select list of models you mention are all so very different. Before deciding, you must drive all those you are considering. It's quite possible that living with some of those you consider will not suit your day to day motoring needs and enjoyment.

Some 'special' cars on paper are a disappointment in the reality of living with them day to day.

I shall not recommend any ~ you must decide which may suit and try them properly to find outif they do.

Think that's the problem John, I've tried all the above briefly And all are great in their own way but the problem is I'm spoilt in that I literally don't have any needs it'll be for pootling about with the odd enthusiastic I suppose. Possibly Carting the odd friend or family member about, motorway cruisability would be nice

[MalcQV]

These cars are for back in the UK then?

[JAW]

Yep, will be home for about a year

[STEVEN_NORFIELD]

The fact you've had them all surely means having them again is a backward step?

Hows about 4.8 litres, 362bhp, a proper 6 speed manual box, and possibly the best blend of sportscar and GT the world will never know, a BMW 650i

Or a thumping great V8 in a car the size of a matchbox, the SLK 55 AMG- far more capable at both roadster and mini-GT than people let on because everyone goes "waaaah, a boxster handles better", which it does, but doesn't have the soul of the 55. This ones slightly out the budget, but the real secret to the SLK range is the 350 with a manual box, it pretty much makes the 55 redundant in all but noise because performance is pretty much as epic, and its more entertaining with the manual (you can only get the 55 with the 7G auto).

[JAW]

Ah I meant tried as in have test driven, only One on the list I've had is the supra (and a cerberra rather than tuscan) but that said Im loving the idea of both the above. Looking at the 6, Had a check just then and a few grand more is m6 territory too! Have never had a go in a 6, they seem v floaty so cant imagine how an m might handle in anything other than a straight line.. Never really looked into the newer ranges of slks but the idea of a small drop top with a mahoosive lump up front. Seem a bit less Lardy than the sl55 / 65 but 9/10s the pros? I'd imagine they walk over he z4m and you get a coupe and a convertable In one. Was it a 35 you had? Tried a 55? Budget isn't set in stone but if I don't set one Itl end badly

[STEVEN_NORFIELD]

Originally Posted by JAW

Ah I meant tried as in have test driven, only One on the list I've had is the supra (and a cerberra rather than tuscan) but that said Im loving the idea of both the above. Looking at the 6, Had a check just then and a few grand more is m6 territory too! Have never had a go in a 6, they seem v floaty so cant imagine how an m might handle in anything other than a straight line.. Never really looked into the newer ranges of slks but the idea of a small drop top with a mahoosive lump up front. Seem a bit less Lardy than the sl55 / 65 but 9/10s the pros? I'd imagine they walk over he z4m and you get a coupe and a convertable In one. Was it a 35 you had? Tried a 55? Budget isn't set in stone but if I don't set one Itl end badly

My SLK was just the 200, so a measly 184bhp, but to be fair to it, still dispatched 60 in 7 seconds and would juuuuuust do 150 if you held on long enough. A manual 350 weighs 1440kg, whereas the 55 is another 100 odd kg, so the performance difference isn't as much as Mercedes would like you to think. Soundtrack and pub bragging rights are obviously not in the same league though

Has a curious amount of room in the cabin, my missus is 6 foot, and could wear high heels and still the seat wasn't all the way back. Plenty of elbow room as well, unlike the S2000 and Z4.

When I first got the car I was really pleased, but not overwhelmed. Then after a year I was totally in love with it, it just did everything well. Sure, the Boxster is a slightly better drive, the Z4 has zingier engines and the 350Z is somewhat cheaper and more vocal, but it blends all of the above cars and it works just as well as a B-road drop top as it does motorway mile muncher. Where the Z4 is crashy, they SLK is poised, the Boxster delivers on the open road, but the merc ambles round town and doesn't break your spine on potholes and speedbumps, and the build quality is different league to the 350Z.

[andy-81]

id go for the supra easily i love these cars and are quite rare as most have been through a hedge and written off the only one i've seen it a friends dads 860bhp fire spitting monster it does a 1/4 mile in 9.2 seconds and is completely road legal ive never seen another on the road anywhere