My poor old Fiat Coupe is really starting to show it's age, and is going to need even more expenditure than usual to keep it up to scratch this year (new clutch, another new set of disks and pads, new exhaust). I love the car and I wouldn't mind spending the money except that bodywork wise it's not a particularly tidy example (I bought it cheap with a blown engine a few years ago). I am therefore considering a new(er) car, and have some specific requirements:

Petrol not diesel (I do about 15k a year so a diesel might make sense, but I hate the stinking things with a vengeance).

Reasonable economy. I can get 30mpg out of the Fiat which I think is impressive for the performance, but more would be better and I wouldn't want much less.

Decent performance, ideally not too much slower than the Fiat.

Decent handling. Not a strong point of the Fiat.

The most odd requirement is that the car must fairly narrow otherwise it won't fit in my driveway. The Fiat is a tight squeeze.

I have been looking at late Clio 172s and it seems to meet the requirements quite well. 40mpg possible on a cruise, fairly quick, decent handling. On the downside it's a French car which means reliability may be suspect, but then again I was driving a Fiat before. Interior is pretty horrible, but I'm not really fussed about that, the driving experience is far more important to me. It's a few cm wider than the Fiat I think (dimensions in Parkers are blatantly wrong) which may be awkward.

Budget is 3-3.5k, and it seems I can get a pretty low mileage tidy example for this. Any owners on here?

[Edited on 12/6/10 by MikeRJ]

Fiesta ST..

Love mine ...

Paul

quote:

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Originally posted by Paul (Notts)
Fiesta ST..

Love mine ...

Paul

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My brother had a Clio 172 from new to just before the warrenty ran out...

He thought it a great car with the downsides it was a bit on the small side for him & the ride was a bit firm for the country roads where we are but it was a lot of fun & great on fuel for the speed it had.
It went through a few sets of rear shockers & had a fair few electrical bits done under warrenty which prompted him to sell it before it started opening his wallet.
But on the other hand you're coming from a FIAT so mabye there wont be so much between them on that score.

Try http://www.carfolio.com for things like width.

Though width is missing for a 2005 Fiesta ST I can't see it being much different than a 2005 Ford Fiesta Zetec S TDCI which it claims to be 1683 mm

Sporty clio's are around 1719 mm wide.


[Edited on 12/6/10 by iank]

Ive got a Clio 172 trackcar,had it going on for 2 years now,loads of trackdays over that time,and its never let me down,and great fun to drive.

Our CLIO BLEED TO DEATH was a real shame only cost a 100 quid and did 2 and a half years motoring

When we weighed her in we got 140 quid.......BANGERNOMICS AT ITS FINEST