Honest Opinion - Part 2

[Lee Purnell]

Hi Everyone.

I've seen the good advice you have given on the MG v VW question, maybe you could help me make a bit of a decision.

At the moment I drive a very girly car. A Honda S2000.

It's a nice car, not so good in the winter, but it is certainly a bit girly for me, although the girlfriend really likes it, but after the car park and the trolley moment, I don't let her drive it any more... but that is another story!

Well, it is time to change, and I could do with some opinions on the replacement.

I'm quite lucky in that I get a pretty useful car allowence from work, which means I can buy a car on credit and not worry too much about the repayments, which is nice.

The cars that I am thinking about are quite different.
1) A BMW 330ci - No, I'm not an estate agent...
2) A Nissan 350z
3) Anyone who knows me will know it has been a fave for a while, a Subaru Impreza sti.

Any thoughts would be a big help...

[garcon]

I think the S2000 is the least girly of the roadster/sportscar sector, to be honest. And according to whichever was the latest owner survey, it's the most rewarding car to own.

I driver an Impreza - WRX wagon. It's a fantastic beast. In fact if you're after top level performance without the added attention that a rally blue STi with a stupid wing attracts, then consider a WRX wagon with the Prodrive Performance Pack.

Personally I wouldn't touch a 3 series with a barge pole. But that's simply a profound personal distaste for the image. They are very very good cars. Which is a shame.

But of those three, I would go for the 350Z. Not been out in one yet, but everyone I know who has desperately wants one. It has to be GT spec, in metallic grey with the tan leather and sat nav. It's the best coupé on the market this side of a 911. Period. Talk to your Nissan dealer about an ex-demo, you'll save a nice chunk against list.

[Slippy Diff]

350

[GTRMagic]

The 350Z is very small in terms of load carrying, with the rear strut brace in the way... but coming from an S2000, its likely like an estate wagon

Hows about an Rx8?

[Gabrio]

It depends very much of what you want from the car, I have had the three of them so I will outline a few pros and cons if you will :
BMW : Great engine and chassis, great interior finishing, excellent allroader ( both city and highway) good enough mileage.
Subaru : great value for money, great grunt but appalling mileage, interior finishing is not exceptional (I don't think it will age particularly well) its suspension is very tough on my back so I would not use it on long trips. A lot of fun to drive though and a lot of grunt for the money.
350z : I had a grey one with 18inches alloys and I thought it was a GREAT car. Quick, competent, confortable although the interior finishing is not so good. It LOOKS goos but the materials used are a bit tacky (slim plastics). The engine is good enough, revs quickly, great sound and reasonable mileage. Storage space is somewhat scarce compared to the others but not bad for a coupe.
So it's up to what you favor and what kind of roads you drive on.
If it's sporty drives and fun 350z is first for me, Sub 2 and BMW 3rd but even the 330 is a lot of fun to drive.
For long trips : 1 BMW, 2 350z, 3Sub
For finishing : 1 BMW, 2 Sub and 350z
Value x money : 1 350z, 2 Sub, 3 BMW

Hope you know a bit more now.

[Lee Purnell]

That's top help, thanks for that Gabrio.

Not too worried about load space, as long as I can get my lap top in there somewhere... So I think 350z is winning at this stage.

I've not thought too much about the RX8, it is an option, but one of the guys I work with already has one, and he isn't 100% sure about it....

[Gabrio]

RX8 is very good but thirsty...Not as sporty as 350 though.

[garcon]

If you think the S2000 is a bit girly, the RX-8 is definitely a bit girly.

Good info Gabrio. Interiors on later Imprezas are a big improvement (mine's a 2003 model), but they're still nowhere near German quality. Out of interest Gabrio, what have you got now?

Looking at the 350Z at a motorshow, that rear strut brace takes alot of room (and is covered with a particularly tacky bit of silver plastic). But it's still a great car.

[Gabrio]

I sold the 350Z because I needed the money elsewhere but I still regret it...I own a 407 Peugeot and a 206 CC just because having raced for years with Peugeot, I get 20% discount...

[topwelshman]

I had a pretty similar dilemma when I changed last June. I wanted something with decent pace, lots of comfort for long journeys and looked and drove well at the same time. I had the Subaru STI for a weekend and thrashed it around the beacons..WOW loads of fun but the interior was terrible and it was just too manic. I also had the 350z and that was refined and lurvely to drive but again the interior was too plasticky and I was concerned over resale values.

I plumped for the 330ci even though I had reservations about the badge. It's a great car, it's really comfortable, very refined, has great handling and decent pace, it's a tad slower than the 350z but a remap will sort that out. I would definitely recommend it.