Willsy1980 Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 I guess I'm looking for a good compromise between comfort, performance, reliability and practicality. So out of those 4 choices, which boxes would you want ticking in order of priority. Yeah that is usually a pick 2 kind of answer and prices vary... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscopervis Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 How much is the Zed going to depreciate from now, compared to what you get? Unless you pick wisely, this is a move to lose a lot of money in a car that quite quickly won't feel special enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 back in the day, I went from a 330bhp 300zx to a 160bhp civic. at the time, I thought finally, a car that does more than 22mpg and is reliable, and vtec with 8000rpm is great, it doesn't feel slow at all. then after about 6 months and a roadtrip round devon, I quickly became bored of having a very meagre torque output, and having to drop 2 gears whenever you wanted to overtake, so started saving for a 350z, which I then kept for 3 years. sure a fiesta ST is arguably the best small hot hatch on the market right now, but at the end of the day, its a fiesta. interior is gonna be full of scratchy plastics, theres going to be a lot of road noise, and it wont really like motorways or rear seat passengers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 The money you going to spend upgrading to something newer, IF space allows many peoples advise would be to buy a reliable beater for work and keep the zed that you know & like for fridays and/or weekends. Reduced annual mileage for the 350z will result in cheaper insurance and less money for Zed tyres, brakes etc as the mileage will be greatly reduced. A newer car doing the same mileage as the Zed currently, will run thru tyres, brakes, clutch much the same as any other vehicle and depreciate MUCH more than the 350z. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 Thanks for the input lads. I'm starting to be swayed away from the new car option after looking at the figures etc. You have persuaded me against the fiesta ST also. Been looking at the used market for most of the day today, as advised above I've looked at the golf GTI and the Sirroco but neither really float my boat. I really like the golf R but that's out of my price range. Been looking at The older shape focus ST's, in particular the facelift versions. Plenty of potential and a lovely sounding 5 cylinder turbo lump. This one in particular caught my eye http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201609288212756?maximum-mileage=60000&sort=price-asc&year-to=2016&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&model=FOCUS&price-from=7000&postcode=ne126sz&price-to=15000&make=FORD&advertising-location=at_cars&keywords=st&radius=1500&year-from=2008&page=14 Ticks all of the boxes really, practical, pretty fast, more modern and most importantly BOOST! I know these cars have potential to be very quick with a small amount of work too, I've been embarrassed by slightly tuned ones on more than one occasion in the Z. I'll stop driving you all mad shortly and plan on going to view one this weekend so we'll see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 And you'll get 15mpg, so it'll cost you a fortune to run. Is it worth the cost to change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 Are they really that bad on the fuel? I was expecting similar running costs to the Z...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 They're horrendous, it's the biggest thing owners complain about. 20mpg on a run is considered a success! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 Yea that's quite shocking really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 unfortunately whatever single car you pick its going to be a compromise. fast cars are not economical. diesels can be fast and economical, but not really suited to stop start driving, stuck in traffic. small petrol engined cars will be good in stop start traffic, but aren't fast, or particularly comfortable. comfortable cars aren't that good to drive. turbo cars are less reliable than NA cars. na cars don't have boost. and so on and so forth. do you know what, i'm gonna put a fiesta ST back on the table small petrol engine, so good for commuting in stop start traffic, but decent chassis and turbo for the twisties. as single cars go, its not a bad choice, erring slightly more towards the economy side than something bigger. this post seems to have a good amount of info in on a Focus ST: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=129&t=1187972&i=20 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 and also, to quote every pistonheads thread ever - MX5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 unfortunately whatever single car you pick its going to be a compromise. fast cars are not economical. diesels can be fast and economical, but not really suited to stop start driving, stuck in traffic. small petrol engined cars will be good in stop start traffic, but aren't fast, or particularly comfortable. comfortable cars aren't that good to drive. turbo cars are less reliable than NA cars. na cars don't have boost. and so on and so forth. do you know what, i'm gonna put a fiesta ST back on the table small petrol engine, so good for commuting in stop start traffic, but decent chassis and turbo for the twisties. as single cars go, its not a bad choice, erring slightly more towards the economy side than something bigger. this post seems to have a good amount of info in on a Focus ST: http://www.pistonhea...&t=1187972&i=20 Thanks fella. That's why the fiesta ST was considered originally, it's got boost, handles well, gets great MPG and by all accounts is very reliable. As a one stop shop it's not a bad car and there's always room for a little more power if needed. I've probably gave everyone the impression I'm looking for a cheap to run car judging by some of the replies I've had, that's not really the case, good MPG would be a bonus but it's not the end of the world if otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 TBF with recent turbo engines you can have fast and economical, Ive got 33mpg out of my 135i and Ive had over 40 from standard 135i's and Golf Gti's etc, they are all quicker and just as comfy s a Zed is. My brother sees close to 50mpg from his 123d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Polo GTi.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billdingo Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 I second considering the Toyobaru. I went from a 350 to one. I get 35mpg on my commute of 20 miles, 3 of them crawling through town then the rest down a not normally awful motorway. Many people do say they are too slow, but I'd suggest driving one. They feel so much lighter and more agile than the zed (I had both for a few months, 350 felt massive after the 86) and when you do get time to a proper blast you just have to keep it above 4k rpm with the added bonus that I find it is in it's element a more much sensible speed than a zed. They can be had for around 12/13k for a 2012. But those older ones will start going out of warranty early next year so I suspect the prices will fall a bit more then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 Thanks for the input lads. Its done. 350z goes tomorrow. Bought a 2010 focus st3. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Wow you don't mess around, get some pics up when you get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Thanks for the input lads. Its done. 350z goes tomorrow. Bought a 2010 focus st3. Hope you enjoy it and definitely show off some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 Ill get some pics up soon. Going to take it to a specalist to make sure everything is in order as soon as I pick it up. First boosted car so dont really know what to look out for. Its only done 40k and has full ford history and looks brand new. Fingers crossed its a good n! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 Tracked down the old owner. Turns out its running RS clutch and fly, 3inch turbo downpipe, full exhaust, bigger intercooler and cp 320 map. Its about 315bhp. All the mods have been done by a specalist. Not sure if im happy about this or not to be honest. Im thinking free mods really because its only something id have ended up wanting to do anyway. On the other side of things the garage said it was stock and im worried about reliability issues. Anyone know these motors? Is 300+ bhp safe for the motor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Engine could blow up even if stock if the last owner buzzed the engine, I wouldn't worry about it. I wouldn't want to go much higher though, if for the torque steer above all else! And please tell me it's the orange one you bought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 Nah dude I got the blue one. Pick it up monday. I thought it felt a bit perky on the test drive like haha! Ive booked it into a specalist to check it all over this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 A decent second choice Should you not have got the inspection done first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I'd take the mods as a bonus especially the clutch upgrade. Have you sorted out insurance though as you'll ideally have to tell them about all the mods, ...well if you want the car legally insured that is. I would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 I work in insurance so thats not a problem thankfully. Ive just found out the car is running stock cooler as he sold it on prior to parting the car in. Going to try haggle them on the price now to free up money for new intercooler and remap. Otherwise im walking away from the deal. Will the car be safe to drive if go easy on it until cooler is fitted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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