Advice on changing cars

[chappell943]

Hi Everyone,

Finally think it might be time to change my car and looking for advice or opinions. I\'m currently driving a v7 sti prodrive putting out approx 210kw at the wheels, whiteline sway bars, downpipe, tuned etc. It has been a great car for the past 30,000kms but I am now after a slightly more comfortable car as a change in my work has lead to me having to drive a lot more which is making me not truly appreciate my car since all I seem to be doing is commuting from a to b.

I want my next car to be of similar speed (0-100 in under 6), and with handling which is slightly sport inclined. Ideally id like a car which uses around 12-15 L per 100km round town too.

I have a budget of 20-24k and have narrowed my search to the following;

-2004-2005 Audi A8 4.2 V8, cost is around $18k (Like the look and comfort of the car but dislike the potentially expensive repairs and fuel costs)

-2004 Audi s4, cost is around $22k (Similar to the a8 but sportier)

-2007/2009 Wrx hatch, cost is anywhere from 18-22k (Pros are good boot space, reasonable on gas but worried that I might feel disappointed in only a wrx after coming from an sti.

-Stock v9 sti (Similar to what I have but would be more comfortable being stock, not too keen on fuel economy though)

-2005/2007 Legacy 2.0L turbo or maybe even a 3L (good space and people seem to rate them quite highly in terms of a good all round car.)

If anyone owns any of the following or has made a similar decision your advice would be appreciated.

TIA

[syphe]

I\'d definitely stay away from the A8 for the reasons you mention. Great cars when new but they depreciate so fast, I\'m guessing because you\'re trading body parts for car parts when it needs repairing

One thing that suprised me with the B6 Audi A4/S4 is the lack of space, I\'m tall and when adjusting the front seat for myself there\'s barely enough room for legs in the back seat.

I\'d stay way from the 2007 WRX, of course you may like it because it\'s a bit softer for the daily commute, but it has the underpowered 2.0L twin scroll compared to the 2.5L Single Scroll in the 2010+ WRX\'s, which also has the wide body styling of the STI\'s.

I love my 2003 Legacy GT, has loads of torque down low and with a downpipe + tune it\'s even better. It\'s worth trying to find a 2.5L Single Scroll turbo of these and giving it a try, I think here the 2009\'s may be 2.5L but not quite sure, has the boxer rumble which the twin scroll ones lack, but on the other hand seem to have more issues with banjo bolt filters and other engine failures.

[Marky]

Drive as many different cars as you can - it\'s easy to get hung up on "I want this model", and spend ages looking for a good example of it, then try another variety of car which blows the one you had your mind set on out of the water.

I can\'t offer opinions on those cars apart from the Legacy - and there\'s more than enough opinions of them on here anyway - I\'m looking in a similar "ish" market at the moment and came away a bit disappointed by both the turbo and 3L models. I\'m erring towards a mazda 6 MPS at present, problem is like a lot of cars it\'s hard to find the right one and it has it\'s downsides like any other. Have driven an Accord Euro R (the K20a one?) and it was right up there in terms of how cohesive it felt, no rocket ship but went well enough (and uses half the gas...) - I just don\'t like the way they look as much.

Thing that messes me up is that I can then go and drive something half the value, and it feels damn near the same to drive - I drove one of the 05ish accords, then one of the 2001 euro Rs afterwards... and preferred the earlier - ditto for the legnum I drove just after the mazda, was very hard to justify why I\'d spend double the cost. Tough one

As for "downsizing" to a WRX or stock V9 - I think chances are you\'ll still end up bitten by the same modifying bug you have with the current one, since they will more or less "feel" the same sitting in the drivers\' seat but not as capable. Well... you might not, but I would. "Oh I\'ll just do a reflash... and get these struts off trademe..." haha

[DacerX]

im in the same boat as well im wanting to upgrade to something bigger but not sure if its going to be a huge improvement on what i have, i like that my car is comfy and smooth. But now im wanting something bigger that can take more and still be comfy and fast but finding that combination is hard

[Guest]

Skoda Octavia RS 6sp.

[Guitar_Guy]

Have you thought about just changing the seats for some that are more comfortable? Maybe some Legacy seats that aren\'t so fitting?

[DacerX]

v7 seats are pretty dam comfy

[Guitar_Guy]

I swapped out my Legacy seats for version 7 seats because I preferred them, mind you I like a tight fitting seat and don\'t do long trips too often. I also did it for cosmetic reasons but yeah I find them really comfortable.

[DacerX]

v7 are far bigger than the impreza seats

[Scoobydoo]

DO you want a sedan or hatch, or not fussed? What about a Golf GTi or Ford Focus XR5 / ST?

Two of the nicest, best value 5-door hot hatches you\'ll find on the market.

[newsuba]

avoid fast audis (except b7 rs4, r8) if you want a sporty drive.

also give soobs a miss if you want a change.

the old 5 cyl focus st sounds amazing, is practical and a decent drive.

a mk5 or newer golf gti is an unmatched all-rounder. not the best but extremely well balanced in performance, handling, comfort etc.

don\'t get hung up on nonsense like 0-100 times, they are largely illusory when it comes to real world performance.

[chappell943]

hmm you all provide very good points, considered a GTI for a while but not a huge fan on the look of the car. Leaning slightly towards an s4. If only an rs4 wagon was so expensive!

[newsuba]

if you like the look of the s4 checkout the a4 dtm that runs a tuned 2.0 turbo 4.

less weight over the front means better handling.

[Kiwi_Fozze]

i\'ll vouch for the 5 cylinder focus, flatmate has one, 2.5 fwd turbo 5 cyl.... sounds MAGIC, lots of headroom for tinkering, corners well, very fun car. bit pricy though

[Roo]

Those focus\' are the tits. I know a guy and his dad has one of the RS ones and I went for a ride. They\'re beautifully setup and the sound is just so raw

[lunchie]

+1 for the focus ST225 or XR5, with just a remap they up from 225 to 270hp and they handle, look, and feel so well balanced, also you don\'t have the "boyracer" thing going on with them like you would with any subaru wrx etc

[Roo]

Yep and mad respect from police too you\'ll never have an issue there

[chappell943]

Will do some research around an xr5, sounds like it fits what im looking for. Only downside is they look rather pricey.

[Kiwi_Fozze]

Xr5 or focus st.

They look bloody good, but the st is a special japan build, very few of them in the country

[Marky]

Mazda 3 MPS is in a similar vein / market segment for what it\'s worth

[newsuba]

Neither is well-rounded as a Golf GTI - plenty of moderate mileage cars under $30, stick with NZ new, especially DSG dual clutch cars.

;D

Late model 5 dr NZ new Focus XR5s are around the $30k mark - pricey as the main attraction is the gruff 5 ylinder sound, performance and handling are OK not great.

Earlier 3 dr STs are of similar spec but most will be Jap imports with zero history, plenty under $20k.

3MPS is cheap (high depreciation) and cheerful but well equipped, very good performance, comfortable, handling a bit lairy under power even with front LSD.

Go for second generation 2009+ model - much nicer.

I\'d take one over a Focus any day.

[lunchie]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/ford/focus/auction-657046480.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/ford/focus/auction-634736212.htm

The above post is not wrong though, the GTI is a GREAT car, only issue with them is the mecatronics unit can go wrong which costs $1500, then again a warranty will take care of that.

They are rated at 200hp and with just a reflash will hit 250hp or 275 with a cat back exhaust.

A lot of car for the money, mum has one of the GT models, even with only 150hp it still is SO SO much fun to drive on the twisties.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/volkswagen/golf/auction-653306333.htm

Mazda mps is a very good car too but they don\'t look as good imho and their interior looks so dated compared to the VW and the ford. Then again, maybe you don\'t care about that.

[newsuba]

$1500 ?

Parts only ?

Replacing a DSG mechatronics is a $3-4k installed job.

The supposed unreliability of DSG has been a total beat-up.

The few cars that have failed get all the attention, no one mentions the high milers that have been fine.

A Stage 1 reflash is great fun but not essential.

My car has an NZPT stage 1.

It does fatten the torque curve nicely, only minus is the distinctive DSG pop pop on upshifts has more or less gone as the reflash changes the torque limit points.

What GT has your mum got ?

A Jap 2.0 turbo or NZ 1.4 dual supercharged/turbo ?

[chappell943]

 lunchie said:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/ford/focus/auction-657046480.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/ford/focus/auction-634736212.htm

The above post is not wrong though, the GTI is a GREAT car, only issue with them is the mecatronics unit can go wrong which costs $1500, then again a warranty will take care of that.

They are rated at 200hp and with just a reflash will hit 250hp or 275 with a cat back exhaust.

A lot of car for the money, mum has one of the GT models, even with only 150hp it still is SO SO much fun to drive on the twisties.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/volkswagen/golf/auction-653306333.htm

Mazda mps is a very good car too but they don\'t look as good imho and their interior looks so dated compared to the VW and the ford. Then again, maybe you don\'t care about that.

The second one down looks like good buying, what sort of km\'s is considered \'high\' on these and any idea about fuel economy. If it makes any difference I consider 150km in a subaru high kms. The two door might drive me insane though!

[Stodart]

 lunchie said:

The second one down looks like good buying, what sort of km\'s is considered \'high\' on these and any idea about fuel economy. If it makes any difference I consider 150km in a subaru high kms. The two door might drive me insane though!

The Dog and Lemon guide is particularly scathing about Subarus and say ok up to 150K km but after that its going to cost you money but totally disagree have bought all mine , each one at 150k km. But ex NZ new. Wary of Jap imports that don\'t have a documented service history.