Ok,

Long story short, I need a new car.

I'm replacing a 2003 1.8 Mx5 which I really enjoyed owning and driving the last couple of years however, she is no more and although it hurts I have to move on!

I'm still relatively young and have no requirements from a car in terms of child carrying or safety, all I want is something interesting reasonably quick. I don't currently have a long commute to work but I do have some odd hobbies which regularly see me travelling a few hundred miles of a weekend which was one thing that the mx5 perhaps wasn't so good for.

My circumstances haven't really changed since I got the last mx5 so a straight replacement is a possibility but whilst I have to look again I thought I should take the oportunity to look around first. I would be pleased to have a bit more useable space than the mx 5 accomodated as I do enjoy camping and mountain boarding and surfing and these all seem to involve driving a long way with a fairly full boot - or in the mx5 it meant going in someone else's car or meeting them there as my passenger seat got used as stowage!

As of a search round Autotrader last night I'm looking at the following cars but am open minded at present. I'd appreciate comments from anyone with first hand knowledge - warnings or otherwise on the following cars though:

1) (another mx 5) - ok I know all about these, so no comments really needed there.

2) rx 8 - I've really fallen in love with mazda after the experience with the mx 5, should be similar fun to drive but a bit more practical

3) Lexus IS200 - bit of a grown up car but should be reliable, last forever, decent motorway cruiser

4) Saab 9-3 aero/vector/linear - similar to the lexus but nicer looking

5) Toyota Celica - daft

I've got a budget of about £5k for the car and I'd be looking to get something in good condition with less than 40,000 miles on the clock which should then last a while.

The rx 8 has my heart at the moment, I drove one a few years ago and thought it was lovely and I've been looking through the owners club stuff and other online reviews which seem to suggest that so long as you make sure they have been looked after properly then there shouldn't be any problems at all with the engine. Running costs obviously a bit higher but ce la vie.

So, any other cars I'm missing?

Any massive problems with any of those cars?

Any Fierce recommendations?

or do I buy a corsa and put a deposit on a kit...?

OK that ended up a lot longer than intended, but thank you to anyone who bothered to read even half of it and give me an opinion!

[Edited on 9/11/10 by ravingfool]

only advice i can give is steer clear of the RX-8 unless you have plenty of cash for fuel.....

a guy i work with has the 190ps verions and struggles to get more than 17mpg around town

Ray

I looked into getting a RX8 a few weeks ago for the mrs to use but after chatting to owners including a mate i was put of with the really bad MPG. Such a shame as these are really cheap cars now. we were looking at 04 plates for less than 4k.

We bought a TT instead and the mrs loves it. Was her dream car but wasnt sure if we could get a good one for less than 4k but we did after a bit of a search.

The RX8 does use oil but what do you expect with a high reving wankle. Coil packs dont last too that long either. Think are now recomended as a service item. The only real Downside was the MPG.

I've just bought a 9-3 Aero Estate and it's brilliant.

Well specc'd and the performance is excellent.

It effectively replaces my Elise, so a similar move to the one you're facing. Our circumstances were having a Volvo S60 (wife's) and an Elise (mine), but we needed to get down to just one car and the Saab ticks all the boxes AND has great load space too (we do have child safety and carrying capacity requirement though - soon to be double trouble)

Nissan S15 Silvia? Don't know whether you can bag one for £5k (I imagine you would!) but brilliant all round car. For camping etc., just fit a roof rack when you need.

Having said that, I must say I've always been quite impressed by Saabs, even though never owned one personally.

Hi

The Lexus IS200 i have direct experience of. Reliability is very good if you buy a good one. BUT water pumps bottom ball joints and 2Nd gear on the manual G/box are the problem areas to look for. I had one for 5 year and it never missed a beat once. Heavy on the juice though with the wife driving it would do 24 mpg round the town and with me driving spiritedly 18. On long motorway runs it would average 32 mpg being driven sensibly.

As a replacement for the Lexus i was going to go for the Mazda 6 MPS. Very good spec like the Lexus and comes highly recommended from owners i have spoke to. 240 Hp supposedly with the turbo in std form and fwd with added 4wd when your in the poo. No idea how well that actually works though not driven one as yet. but does make a good sleeper.

Cheers Matt

Ps Finally settled on a Chevy day van so what do i know.

RX8's are a good car however you will be lucky to get over 20mpg out of it and will be filling up every 250 miles or so - i loved mine however was travelling too much so had to go!

Also tax is now 400 odd a year

Very fast though!

I used an IS220d company car for a while. It was a lovely car in every respect apart from the very poor rear visibility

[Edited on 9/11/10 by liam.mccaffrey]

thanks for all the comments so far guys, increasing amounts of food for thought. Too much choice and any car will be a compromise one way or the other!

VAG turbo diesel then have it remapped economy, performance and comfort