Subaru BRZ

When I first saw the specs for this car I felt a bit underwhelmed by the power figure of 197 bhp.  I still think the looks deserve more power it is outpaced by most hot hatches, not what you expect from a Subaru sports car.  That said I do get the high revving N/A engine linked with brilliant handling.  I recently drove a Smart ForFour Brabus 1.5 turbo followed by a Clio 172 I found the frantic 2.0 litre normally aspirated engine in the Clio much more involving, I wanted to push it and take it to the red line.  I felt reluctant to rev the turbo engine hard, it just didn't feel up to it, flimsy in some way.   

So despite the lack of power I'm still intrigued by the BRZ, having now seen one in the flesh I'm beginning to think the power isn't all that important.
 

40mpg plus, 0-60 in less than 8 seconds, 2000 pound budget.

I posed this question on the Pistonheads gassing station.  Here is a summary of the suggestions plus a couple of my own.  The criteria is a bit strict and so not all the cars below fit every aspect (in fact few do) but generally I wanted a cheap fun car with a bit of performance that also return good miles per gallon.

1. Suzuki Ignis sport

40 mpg and 0-60 8.9s these can easily be found for less than 2K and having tried one out I think the 0-60 is a bit conservative.  Very hard ride but I found it very enjoyable to chuck round the corners.  The 1.5 vvt engine is very responsive and encourages you to rev it hard.

2. Renault Clio Renaultsport 172

The 182 is probably just out of budget but from the short drive I had in one of these the 172 offers more than enough power.  I don't think there is another hot hatch available below 4k nevermind 2k that can get near it for straight line speed.  35mpg, 0-60 7.2s (felt faster to me) so it doesn't quite meet the mpg requirements but definitely worth a look.

3. Toyota MR2 MK3

0-60 7.9 and 38 mpg, convertible, rear wheel drive and lightweight, I have never driven one but sounds like fun to me if you can deal with being branded a hairdresser.

4. Daihatsu Sirion Rally II

This is what I eventually went for and had in mind before I posted the question.  I didn't think I would be able to find one and hoped something more common could meet my requirements.  It turned out there were many cars I hadn't considered but in the end none were available so cheap with reasonable miles, and for me the fact its a pretty rare car played a big part.  See post below for more details.

to be continued...

Daihatsu Sirion Rally II and IV

What else can give 0-60 in 8-9 seconds, 45mpg and cost less than 2k?  I can't think of much, even recent warm hatches such as the Swift Sport and Twingo 133 Renaultsport struggle to match the pace and mpg.

OK the looks aren’t to everyone’s taste but the alloys and chrome effect trim help it stand out from the standard model.  And the performance from a normally aspirated 1.3 is quite astonishing.

Daihatsu Cuore Avanzato TR-XX R4

The Avanzato offers a driving experience like no other car I have driven, I still rue the day I sold mine, here is some specs:


















Spec

Make: Daihatsu
Model: Cuore/Mira Avanzato TRxx R4
Displacement: 659cc Turbo + Intercooler
Chassis type: L512s
No. of Doors: 3
Fuel Type: Petrol
Transmission: 5 Speed Manual
Drive System: Interchangeable 2/4WD
Stock Power: 64BHP
Stock Torque: 100Nm
0-60 MPH: 8.5 Seconds
Top Speed: 101 MPH
Kerb Weight: 768KG
Fuel Tank Capacity: 30 litres
Average MPG: 50MPG Combined
Wheel size: 5j x 110PCD
Standard Tyre Size: 155/65R 13