Trading in Advice

[RobM]

Or just avoid the CTR and get something that has torque lower down the power band. 4k rpm + at motorway speeds will become tiresome very quickly, there's nothing more irritating than a car that wants to be raced when all you want to do is drive.

You have just summed up my reason for choosing the LCR over the CTR. I spend a fair bit of time on motorways or dual carriageways and with this comes a lot of overtaking. In the CTR it was a case of put your foot down and wait... wait... wait... past it, or drop a gear and go around the car at high revs then change back up again to cruise.

In the LCR, and any other car with torque, you simply push the loud peddle more and off you go. Once past the car you ease off the peddle and cruise again. No gear changing required.

 

[Big_daddy]

yeh mate gave test drive! nice sound when V tec kicks in

 

[RobM]

Same with the Celica I mentioned, when 'in lift' the sound is the best from any 4-pot engine I've heard!

 

[Fl@pper]

one probably missed off the list

bmw 3 series - straight 6 is grunty (seen bonnet lift and throw you in seat @ 90+)

mpg never been an issue for me though i pootle to save it and floor it to use it

dont dismiss tdi easily - especially audi's v6

 

[Big_daddy]

You have just summed up my reason for choosing the LCR over the CTR. I spend a fair bit of time on motorways or dual carriageways and with this comes a lot of overtaking. In the CTR it was a case of put your foot down and wait... wait... wait... past it, or drop a gear and go around the car at high revs then change back up again to cruise.

In the LCR, and any other car with torque, you simply push the loud peddle more and off you go. Once past the car you ease off the peddle and cruise again. No gear changing required.

True! True! on motorway s3 vs cvr. which faster in real life. i saw clip on your tube. where s3 or lcr blew CTR. can any back me up on this if its true?

 

[UncleFester]

It's not that an LCR or an S3 is faster than a CTR, it's that you have to know how to drive a CTR .... simply mashing the pedal to the floor is not always the best way to make progress. I frequently upshifted into 3rd on motorways at 75 just to get it into the VTEC so when i hit 4th it was ready to go - change too soon and you just bog down.

As Flapper suggested, the BMW is worth a look - their 6 cylinder engines are as smooth as butter! If you've never driven a 330D or a 530D with the sports pack it would be worth a look.

 

[NeilC]

i want a car that is quick! that is economical! (not tdi). s3 are strong cars and 1.8 are economical to drive. type r are quick and you dont get fault such as limp mode. i dont want car that no higher group 17 insurance!

Dont see whats so bad about tdi's really. Remapped leon fr tdi cant be too much off std R pace day to day and you cant do much else (save change the clutch ) so avoids further temptation to mod.

If you want economical + petrol your gonna have to make sacrifices to lighten weight and think out of the box. Caterham would be nice but only if you've got a very short commute. I had the same prob so went for a lotus, 0-60 in 4.9 and 40mpg in theory. Only probs are it's noisy (i like that though), no rear view, no luggage space and ins group 20. I wouldnt get too hung up on insurance groups, mine went up £75 to go from my leon tdi (7) to my R (17) then another 120 on the exige (20). Same as the air filter you'd buy for the slower car to make it go 0.0001% faster or an hour at the local strip club.

Sorry about the long rambling reply.

 

[RobM]

I agree that BMW's are superb cars to drive, but if you're worried about fuel economy you should definitely be worried about servicing and repair costs! BMW's aren't cheap cars to maintain by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[Big_daddy]

It's not that an LCR or an S3 is faster than a CTR, it's that you have to know how to drive a CTR .... simply mashing the pedal to the floor is not always the best way to make progress. I frequently upshifted into 3rd on motorways at 75 just to get it into the VTEC so when i hit 4th it was ready to go - change too soon and you just bog down.

As Flapper suggested, the BMW is worth a look - their 6 cylinder engines are as smooth as butter! If you've never driven a 330D or a 530D with the sports pack it would be worth a look.

well bmw are nice BUT they not in price range! if u get my drift

 

[RobM]

What is your price range then mate?

 

[Cupra Ross]

Dont see whats so bad about tdi's really. Remapped leon fr tdi cant be too much off std R pace day to day and you cant do much else (save change the clutch ) so avoids further temptation to mod.

Its miles off LCR pace mate. They give the impression of being very quick due to all the low down torque but IMO and the reason why I'm back in a 1.8T is that with the TDi's, its all over too quickly. The 1.8Ts just pull and pull from about 2k rpm to the redline. The diesels are very quick up to maybe 80 mph but above that they don't stand a chance against the 1.8s.

 

[Big_daddy]

What is your price range then mate?

around the £8

 

[Big_daddy]

Its miles off LCR pace mate. They give the impression of being very quick due to all the low down torque but IMO and the reason why I'm back in a 1.8T is that with the TDi's, its all over too quickly. The 1.8Ts just pull and pull from about 2k rpm to the redline. The diesels are very quick up to maybe 80 mph but above that they don't stand a chance against the 1.8s.

i know! thats why i gave up on tdi! tdi are good for economical . i i want economical i just get lpg conversion done to it!

 

[UncleFester]

i know! thats why i gave up on tdi! tdi are good for economical . i i want economical i just get lpg conversion done to it!

However LPG is also outside your price range unless it's already fitted Driving carefully is good for economy, you can get performance out of a Tdi without suffering to the same degree as a petrol - however as has been stated there is a much smaller area that the power is available, it's all down to personal preference and how you like your cars to drive.

 

[Big_daddy]

yeh my point is tdi are nice but they are out of my price limit! 150bhp models
is this true! can you trash a tdi compared to a petrol ? meaning heavly driving? readlinig ect...

 

[UncleFester]

No point redlining a tdi - i do use the rev range on mine to keep it soot free but you don't need to do that. 80 on the motorway in 6th equates to around 2000rpm or just less - no petrol i've had could do that and still be able to pull smoothly away / climb hills on the M1 etc. As others will say, you just have to change the way you drive, some like it and some don't.

 

[Big_daddy]

yeh i some times floor it 2d max which i know its wrong but wat kind of problem will i get if i keep doing it? i cant control righ foot! 2heavy!

 

[RobM]

If you have £8k to spend and want something faster, I stick by my earlier suggestion of a Toyota Celica TSport.

Any S3 or Civic Type-R you buy for £8k will be a high mileage car or a dog! But there are plenty of good TSports in that price range. 17's, leather, climate etc are all standard too so you're getting a lot for your money.

 

[Rokerlad]

Why buy an S3 when you can have an LCR which is quicker, cheaper, better looking and has the same dash. CTR's have a baseball cap / spotty youth image. As has been said, strange choice of cars.

 

[Big_daddy]

Ok thanks all for the advice! see how it goes and what i come across!