lowlander

With a 12K budget what is the best soft top for everyday use. Must have 200+ bhp.

The contenders.

1. TVR chimaera
2. BMW 3.0 Z3
3. Honda S2000
4. Marcos Mantara
5. very high mileage Porsche boxster

All have pros and cons.

Any advice.

Martin.

RESSE

iTrader: (1)

E36 M3 (couple of Dakar yellow ones on Autotrader website).

Saab 9-3 (not sure of BHP on these).

Mercedes-Benz R129 SL 500.

Richard

SimonGawthorpe

Im looking at Lotus Elise's and Honda S2000's at the moment for around 12k - 15k. I have toyed with the idea of everything on you're list!!
I would say

1)Tvr Chimera - A 12K would probably be relatively high mileage for a TVR and cost you thousands to service and maintain
2) Z3 - A bit common for my liking. (personal opinion)
3) S2000 - Good choice but again 12k would prob be an import.
4) Marcos - Interesting
5) Boxster - Very high mileage and a lot to maintain.

Would an Elise be too basic for you? You say about wanting over 200bhp but that is all relative to the weight of the car etc. A 130bhp Elise would thrash a Boxster / Z3 etc in the right hands.

Simon

Dave1980

went round europe in a series 1 elise last summer. was surprised at how quick it was with two of us in fully loaded up and good on fuel too.
the tvr we also travelled with was a 4.5 chimera, and was very nice. went in both over the duration of the week.

obvioulsy the tvr is the nicer sounding and nicer interior car. however it was amazing how much more attention the lotus attracted in the places we went until you heard the tvr.

if you get the sports exhaust on the elise they do sound very good too, and more legroom than a tvr in the passenger seat at least.

depends what you want really, the performance of both is very good in different ways, the lotus was amazing on the swiss mountain roads and also quick on the straights and the tvr was awesome too, but not a patch on the handilng.

I would say personally i preferred the lotus partly for the running costs and the looks. and also over 1200 miles around europe we spent ~200 Euros in fuel on the lotus compared to double that in the tvr.

and if you can get a later model elise they are not so spartan too.

jonc

Don't forget
Porsche 968 Convertible
Jaguar XK8

LG John

S2000 is a good choice from the point of view that it is very useable every day and that it is cheap(er) to run and reliable. With the exception of the BMW (which will cost more than s2000 to run) the rest are either much more expensive to run or a potential money pit. The s2000 is a great middle ground and all round smile machine on that list.

As you know I have one but my comments are heart-felt. I'd rather you didn't buy one because I like the exclusivity

Tiggs

TVR for £12k will be a disaster.....if you cant afford 20k + you cant afford the possible bills.

lowlander

Hi there,

Probably comes down to either S2000 or 3.0 Z3. to be honest I'm leaning towards the Z3. If you forget the hairdressers image the only minus point is the lack of chassis stiffness. I can't believe its all that bad. Given that 85-90% of my driving will be well within the limits of the chassis I'm not sure how much I will miss the extra chassis stiffness of the S2000. For me the Z3 also has the better engine. 3.0 straight six with 231 bhp. Very smooth.................

The S2000 is undoubtedly the better sports car but the short gearing and the peakiness of the engine are something that I would find annoying after a while. God i must be getting old !!

I guess its comes down to whether or not I miss miss the chassis stiffness of the S2000 more than the torque and smoothness of the Z3's engine.

TVR would be great as a weekend toy as would an Elise, A VX220 or a Caterham. I already have a motorbike for those Sunday morning blasts and I don't want to end up with 2 cars plus the bike (again!)


Thanks for the advice.

Martin.

lowlander

Jonc,

968 is quite old now and IMHO over-rated due to the badge of the bonnet.

XK8 is very nice but auto only and I just couldn't live with a slush-o-matic. Sorry.

Martin.

pabs

S2000 is the best choice and I have one for sale for under £12,000 with very low mileage

AudiLover

Dont buy a marcos.

Gutmann pug

Sorry but you are wrong there ........ I payed exactly £12K for mine and it cost me less to maintain than probably any car I have owned........I only did low mileage, probably 20K miles over 7 years though.

I would however agree that I wouldn't want to use one as an everyday car.


S2000 sounds good if you can get one for the money........

carl

Lots of Chimaeras around for £12k or less at the moment, even some Griffs. If you think a TVR is too kit car like, then forget a Marcos.

ewanrw

Just posted on another thread, but I am picking up a Series 1 Elise tomorrow as my scoob (05 WRX PPP) is losing me too much money and is costing a lot to run.

The Elise was surprisingly quick and I couldn't say no. Very easy and cheap to mod. 200+ bhp can be had for £2k of relatively simple mods. My one should be upto 160ish bhp (Induction Kit, bigger throttle body and full exhaust) within a month or so. Don't get the VVC engine tho'. It was used on the series 1 111s model only. the 160s and Exige 190bhp engine all use the non VVC engine as these are more reliable and can handle bigger power.

ewan

The Chief

I know its easy for me to say this - but cant you stretch ti 14-15k and get yourself a nice Boxster. My buddy has one and teh only problem he has had is some radiator issue - and sorted it for 250 quid. They are extremley economical as well - a damn sight more than a Subaru, over 30mpg is possble.

Oh and trust me they are not that slow and the howl you get when you cane it is incredible.

Try Boxa.net for some advice

AudiLover

id try and get a 330ci for that money myself.

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Z3M Roadster ?

D

AudiLover

I dont think any M roadsters were ever made. Only coupes.

terryb

wrong

lowlander

Thanks for the advice.

I've re-evaluated what I need from a car and how much I can realistically afford to spend and still have a life!!

Decided that I need 4 seats and a degree of comfort for everyday use. Budget has reduced to 10K and I'm now looking at a different type of car. looking at Audi S3, BMW 530i, VW Golf 2.8 4Motion and Seat Leon Cupra R

Thanks and all the best.

Martin.

SimonGawthorpe

They definately made roadsters however they are ugly compared to the coupes!

Si

Adam M

of the list you have chosen, I would say S3 or cupra R withoout question.
If I had to have a one car family, that would be my choice.

or and RS4

The Chief

FFS make your mind up!!!!