Looks like my Octavia VRS may be written off so potentially looking for a replacement. Criteria are manual, petrol, ideally more than 4 cylinders, able to cram 2 kids into the back, not too modern/less gadgets the better.

– BMW 130i/330i touring – sensible options

– Audi S3/S4 Avant – dull

– Alfa GT/GTV V6 – fwd, not sensible but that Busso v6…

– Ford Focus ST – don’t really want one but after a recent thread it needed to be on the list

Hot hatch/estate would probably be the sensible route but it won’t be our “family car” and won’t be used daily as I work from home. Anything else worth looking at?

Evo? Choose the model from your budget?

Porsche 911. The one with the fried egg headlights are available for something approaching sensible money.

To be a true yob, it has to be a civic type R lookalike, with dull paint, a couple of scrapes/bashes, and no silencer whatsoever.

Even by my standards an Impreza or Evo is possibly a bit too much – if they imported the Evo wagon to the UK though I’d be very tempted.

Had a 130i and it was small, but awesome. Good be a very comfy easy to drive cruiser or a hooligan if you wanted it to. Now have a 56 plate 330 auto. Same engine and very different character due to the increased weight and size of car. It is not a yob car and the 330d has more torque, but the engine is still lovely and silky smooth etc.

Possibly rose tinted glasses, but I really miss the 130.

Love the extra space of the 330 even if it is not a big estate by any stretch of the imagination.

Both cars are failry rare especially if you want one in good condition, even more so a manual 330 touring. You could spend a year plus trying to find one.

I don’t have any other suggestions as I can’t find anything to replace the 330 with for when the time comes.

Porsche 911. The one with the fried egg headlights are available for something approaching sensible money.

My old man has a Cayman and my roadie neighbour has a 911 – can’t be seen to be following either of them!

– Audi S3/S4 Avant – dull

Given the rest of your criteria, why would you be considering adding something ‘dull’ to your list?

Seat Leon Cupra worth a look.

Mrs had a 130i terrible car imo ive driven a fair few performance cars and that thing was bad… Emgine too heavy for a small car turn in was abysmal and id have my pal in his mk5 gti up my backside down the lanes. Only on the straights did it decide to shine but still other cars still kept up.

Subaru wrx sti imo cheap reliable and fast. The evos are good cars ive had 2 the fq 340 tuned to 480bhp and a tommy m edition to 420bhp only one issue with evos… The gearboxes. Had mine uprated clutch done etc and still had a couple of rebuilds on each. The fq had 5k on the clock all factory and that needed a rebuild (out of warranty) at 11k at a cost of 1400 quid.

Pal of mine just sold his type ra running 680bhp full coilovers running methanol spare track tyres etc and road daily usable for 5k so there are bargains to be had

Had a 130i and it was small, but awesome. … <span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>You could spend a year plus trying to find one.</span>

That is why I ended up with the VRS, spent a year looking for a good 330d touring with manual box and eventually gave up. Everyone I’ve spoken to loves their 130i, so good to hear another confirmation!

In your position i’d be thinking less “yob” and a bit more “Bond villian” and I’d buy a Jaguar XJR

Grace, space and pace.

Ford Focus RS for maximum council points.

You need to ditch the run flats on the 130 to get the grip and feel you would expect of that kind of car, but I never found the front end too heavy myself. It was difficult to drive ‘fast’ on bumpy roads, though, as it got unsettled, but on most roads it was fine and cornered very well.

B7 RS4 Avant fits the bill

Given the rest of your criteria, why would you be considering adding something ‘dull’ to your list?

Trying to be sensible? The 2.7 v6 s4 with a pair of K04 turbos would be quite fun, cheap and a bit of a sleeper though.

In fairness I’m not really thinking “yob”, more the STW stereotype for cars that aren’t slow, sensible, economical or quiet.

BMW 335i touring

Goes like the clappers and sounds awesome

can also be chipped to M3 power fairly easily I understand

V60 pacestar?

Trying to be sensible? The 2.7 v6 s4 with a pair of K04 turbos would be quite fun, cheap and a bit of a sleeper though.

In fairness I’m not really thinking “yob”, more the STW stereotype for cars that aren’t slow, sensible, economical or quiet.

Fair enough.  I don’t think they are dull, just wondered why you would describe them as such if you were considering them?  It’s not because you were afraid they would be labelled as dull by others is it?

i just bought a very sensible dad car but very nearly came home with a 8l S3 that was parked next to the one I bought.

A bit left field but how about that new model Hyundai hatchback. One went past me this morning and it made such a superb sound. The other plus point is that it’s not a BMW.

I’ve got an ST estate and it’s a great car, all that power through the front wheels means it goes through tyres pretty fast though. If I was doing a lot of miles a year I’d probably look elsewhere for that reason. If they made a RS estate I’d be all over that, yob stylings regardless!

Fair enough.  I don’t think they are dull, just wondered why you would describe them as such if you were considering them?  It’s not because you were afraid they would be labelled as dull by others is it?

No, more down to having owned a few other VAG cars and driven the S3. Thats my problem with the Skoda, it does (did!) everything really well but for some reason I never liked it as much as the car it replaced.

I’ve just bought a S4 B5 avant…with the 2.7 twin turbo. I’ve always hankered after something that is approaching classic status but still ‘affordable’ A good RS4 B5 is circa £20k and needs a small fortune to keep it that way.

I’ve tweaked a few things already…RS4 brakes, suspension & a custom exhaust which has improved things a bit more. Planning on a remap soon which will bring it into 911 beating territory. It sounds just amazing when you stamp on the loud pedal…I feel like a 20year old again!

The best part though (IMO) and as above, it’s a sleeper…just looks like a old Audi avant.

However…it’s not the most agile in the twistys…as someone else described it…it’s like building a fast car and then strapping a rhino on the bonnet. I had a few geometry tweaks made which helped with the turn in a bit but I’ve got a few other mods to do to improve turn in even more…fatter rear ARB’s and a 4:1 diff mod make the rear end more slidy whilst ‘allegedly’ improving turn in. IMO it’ll never be as good as the slower but better handling A4 1.8TQS.

If you’re into ‘older’ cars then good examples are getting more pricy and harder to find.

https://www.thecarwarehouse.co.uk/vehicle/551/ford-escort

https://www.thecarwarehouse.co.uk/vehicle/551/ford-escort

useles f*ing forum – how many refreshes do you need before you can see your edit ?

I’ve just bought a S4 B5 avant with the 2.7 twin turbo …

Thanks for that, interesting read – it would be the S4 I’d go for but as you say it’d need the handling and brakes sorting before chasing a bit more power, as standard are they’re about 250bhp which is less than my VRS has.

The b7 rs4 with the 4.2 v8 is a future classic if you can find one unmolested. Great car, nice and mechanical and significantly subtle when debadged. Manual as well and a fair few decent ones sub 20k, i almost bought a saloon to garage (I have a b8 anyway). The B5 twin t is also quite nice but v dated now.

I think the UK models were 265bhp as standard but it’s not all about the numbers…don’t forget the older B5 S4’s are relatively light compared to some of the newer more modern cars out there…thus giving it a very respectful power to weight ratio.

What’s really surprised me is the drivability in terms of the torque on tap at such low revs. If you check out the audisrs forum what becomes obvious is the preference of the S4 over the RS4 in terms of being everyday drivable and the usable torque from a low 1.5k rpm. Off the line the S4 is noticeable quicker but when over the 3.5k rpm mark the bigger turbos on the RS4 take over. There’s a lot of debate over going to a KO3 hybrid as opposed to KO4. RS4 top end pace with lower rev torque appears to be the elusive golden egg.

I’m not sure what your age/£££ criteria are but….

– if you want something relatively new why not the Golf R estate. Seem to be loads of em around due to some very competitive PCH deals, so that should filter through to used prices at some point

– if age less important, how about the VXR8. You want yobbery – just listen to one of those beasts! £20k seems to get you a decent one.

A guy I ride with has got one of these:

Only found out the other day that the dealer had left if in ‘showroom mode’.

Turned it off, extra 200+bhp I’m led to believe.

I think the UK models were 265bhp as standard… <span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”> There’s a lot of debate over going to a KO3 hybrid as opposed to KO4. </span>

Very true, I’ve a light weight awd track car with give or take the same power but feels night and day different to the VRS.

Same debate with the tfsi crowd, I was going to go K03 hybrid route when the time came – bit less work, good power gain and arguable better low end punch.

Think I might have to go have a drive of one…

Emgine too heavy for a small car turn in was abysmal

I’ve not found that in a 1 series. In fact that doesn’t compute, Heavy engine should make turn in better (especially seeing as though BMW manage to put the engine behind the front wheels, unlike Audi)

Sounds more like you were going in to corners too quick rather than slow in, fast out (the whole point of a rwd car)

Toyota GT86, will get kids in the back, and drives better than most of those above.

If your after a cheap hack then the Audi A3 3.2 fits the bill as everyone is scared of them because of the fuel bills, I have had one for a couple of years, dull handling which even changing the suspension didn’t fix, but a real sleeper & available form about £1500, a good one nearer £5k.

I did a thread when I bought mine   https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/just-bought-a-10-yo-audi-a3-32-dsg-will-i-die-in-dept/  

I bought a Typre R to replace it but it was a bit to much of a yob car to use every day so went back to the Audi.

Cheers.

Mercedes A43 AMG?

Golf R/R32 depending on budget.

A Megane RS 265

Mrs had a 130i terrible car imo ive driven a fair few performance cars and that thing was bad… Emgine too heavy for a small car turn in was abysmal and id have my pal in his mk5 gti up my backside down the lanes. Only on the straights did it decide to shine but still other cars still kept up.

Heavy Engine!?? You must be kidding, its pretty light, being a Magnesium Alloy. Turn in isn’t great as standard, add some camber and it turns in very well. 50/50 weight distribution also helps, the whole car is 50kg more than a Z4C. Not a car I would choose with 2 kids, but I guess it depends how much luggage, age of kids, etc. Although they are pretty cheap, especially if you don’t want all the gadgetry. If it helps, I can fit 2x 29’ers inside with the wheels off and seats down.

BTW: It’s defo a “yob” car, if I had a pound for every driver that insisted on pushing me along the road… I would have enough to pay for the waterpump that has just gone! 😉

get a 2012 – 2014 C63 AMG estate. I bought one in Feb, amazing car!

Goes like a rocket ship but can still take bikes in the back or on the roof.

(keep in that age bracket to avoid the head bolt issues)

Last of the great V8’s 🙂

Some helpful reviews by some mates,

135i’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PfEzzc5ZE4

Focus Rs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cFITWPoY-Q