leonpoole

I have 2 grand to waste on one of the above as a bit of a toy.
What do you lot recommend, or what experiences do you have of any of them ?
Cheers

greenperil

iTrader: (1)

had a fiat punto gt turbo.chipped and all the goodies went like **** off a shovel but very fragile allways under the bonnet

dazc2

Added to the above post, the S2 RS won't be a good one for 2k and may also break often.

leonpoole

I half expected that to be the case with the RS and GT Turbo. Im more tempted by the VR6 to be honest i was just looking for an alternative to it.
Anyone had any experience of a mk3 VR6 ?

finalzero

Great car's, one of my favourites but very front end heavy, due to the weight on the front the power steering pump has a habit of failing.

The stock suspension is just not up to the job so I would recommend replacing the lot (it's one car where coilovers seem to help). You need to get the ARB's sorted as this will greatly reduce the dreaded boating effect that occurs with VR6's (entering a quick bend or two, the weight shift can unbalance he car due the weighty VR6 engine).

They are great crusing engines though, on a motorway they are unbeatable and the VR6 sounds awesome. Not really many faults with them but they can die suddenly if not looked after properly.

Get the cam chain looked at, its pretty much indestructable but can become loose over time making the engine a bit lumpy on cold starts (tensioner wears out and can cause a rattling/tinny sound from the front of the engine).

Early VR6 engine's had electrical issues which can easily be solved by sorting out proper grounding on them and also check the alternator belt as this is a common cause of random flat batteries (I think you need to change them at 50k or something).

Gearboxes are quite solid but I remember people changing them for diesel ones for better gearing/strength or something. Clutch is also quite solid unless the car has had quite a few high rpm starts

Modding wise they are not the easiest to get power from however simple mods like a complete exhaust system, better intake and ecu flash/chip upgrade helps a lot and improves response. After that you would need to spend some money on things like cams, over boring and super charger (best option for the VR6 imo, something like the Rotrex etc).

If your gonna go for a VR6 try to find the Highline model, I had the same one in Burgendy/Purple colour. Came with full leather, electrics, air con, climate control and subtle body additions.

Mine had 18" BBS alloys, scorpion exhaust and Jetta light conversion lowered on coilovers - simple mods but the car looked wicked.

hth - Fz

WRX marv

rst are nice but to much torque steer...a lot of fun tho...but as said 2k wont get you a lot of rs

zip929

I had a VR6 for 7 years.
Fantastic car.
Superchipped it,K&N, Remus pipe and Janspeed Suspension.
Never missed a beat.

It never really livened up until you hit a ton. Then it would go like hell.

Nowhere near quick like my scoob but highly recommended.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Nah, Saab Viggen plus a remap, MR2 Turbo, for a toy you want dramatic turbo delivery, the VR6 is a good unit but way too civilised (unless Turbo/Super charged).

Blueblaster

If this is your only car then get the VW. If you want to get into the whole owners club thing with another car then get the Ford. If you want a small chuckable second car that you can tinker with and that should be cheap to fix then get the Fiat. Fiat for me btw.

samcowrx

I have had a couple of vr's and will no doubt have a couple more, just quality and can sound great!, handling is not good, but can be sorted out quite well with a few good mods, not that quick but do pull like a train, all the way to 155mph!, bomproof engine, but are very hard, or rather expensive to get over 190bhp, if you get one make sure its an obd2 late 95 on,(i think), recaro seats were fitted as standard on some.
Just remember they are a bit of a lard **** though!
Quite cheap to maintain and very easy to work on.
Look out for rust on tailgate and where to bumpers meet the wings.
Low mileage cars are quite hard to find, but engines are quite cheap to buy off ebay etc.
Head gaskets are prone to go at high mileage, and its always a good idea to get the timing chain replaced at around 100k miles, which can be expensive.
Misfires are common but are normally just a ht lead.
Have a look at the modding scene for dubs, it is massive and awesome!
Supercharger kits are available from the states and germany for around 1000-1500 quid, which will see 270bhp easily but make the front wheel drive, heavy car a bit of a handful.

subaruturbo_18

s2 turbo all day long

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

currently drive a VR6 golf.
fitted new poly bushes and uprated anti roll bars and a set of coilovers
sorted the handling although still slightly front end heavy but u soon get used to it.
With an induction kit, exhaust with high flow cat and a unichip and she made 198bhp and 183 lb/ft torque.
also fitted a short shift gear linkage which improves the change no end.
Overall the best car i have owned not sti quick but uk turbo quick all day long and the noise is second to none not a better sounding car around in my opinion.

An S2 escort going to be majorly hard to find a decent one
fiat punto lol if your going to buy a fiat buy a coupe 20v turbo 200bhp standard and easily tweaked to 300+

leonpoole

I did consider a coupe 20v turbo as well as a calibra turbo which ive already had once.
Im 90% sure im going to go with the vr6 . What is fuel consumption like ? Is it anything like a scooby ?

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

well don't know having never owned a scooby but my mates 350bhp evo 7 used to get more miles to 50 quid than i do. I average about 220-250 for every full tank of 55 litres. I average about 25mpg according to the computer

EddScott

Nissan : PULSAR GTI-R (296Bhp)

I had one for a couple of years.

samcowrx

fuel consumption can go over 30mpg, but that is quie rare because you cant help having a heavy foot, so mine used to average about <25mpg, you can get it down to about 13mpg if you try.

mozzaITA

DONT touch a punto gt period, had one for 4 years wouldnt consider it a hot hatch atall just warm (boring), so unreliable our one had 16000 miles on it and it just fell apart, sold it with 35000 spent lots of time not ever running right always something going wrong and it was standard.

Dream Weaver

Up your budget slightly and you can buy my bodied 200bhp 205 Mi16 for £5.5k, much quicker than the three you list and a lot nicer looking.

Ayde

iTrader: (6)

I had a modded GT3 for a couple of years, ran it from about 20ishk to 65k - never missed a beat. Think I was just lucky. A GT3 is the one to go for if you did consider one but I think you would have trouble finding a decent one now.