Theoreticals: recommend me a quirky supermini

[Matt]

Subaru Rex.

 

Best of luck with that search! (Did you mean Vivio?)

[Lacquer Peel]

No, the rear-engined one. There's at least one abandoned in Cyprus.

 

Subaru 600/Rex by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

[Uncle Jimmy]

Tell you what Mr MC; a Kei car, the Daihatsu Coppen made a reappearance a couple of years ago- still pricey I suppose. Otherwise a Cappuccino, nice looking lil fellas. Best of all a Honda Beat, spotted one in Cheltenham a couple of weeks ago.

Whilst on the subject of said over rated town here's a pic of a shitely garage I took there. Was a thread on old style garages but I can't be arsed to locate it.

I wonder if it was a garage originally? With that lantern roof might have been some kinda Victorian spa.

[doobietoo]

With no price or age restrictions may I suggest the Chrysler Ypsilon. It is a Lancia in a Chrysler suit and runs fiat 500 mechanicals

[Sir Snipes]

We had an Hyundai Atoz as a runabout at work. It as green and nicknamed "The Pea" but it was a decent little motor and the owner would usually rather take that than the rolls he also owned.

[ruffgeezer]

I briefly had a Perodua Kelisa and aside from the cost of the tax, it was ace.

[twosmoke300]

Mk2 Clio hasn't got true irs!

[Guest]

A Class Merc- they seem to be disappearing fast, for various reasons......

[John F]

How about a Smart Roadster?

[Lacquer Peel]

Mk2 Clio hasn't got true irs!

Each wheel is sprung independently by its own torsion bar.

Edit, RONG, looks like they switched to a torsion beam for the MK2. My bad.

[twosmoke300]

A Class Merc- they seem to be disappearing fast, for various reasons......

Because they are fucking terrible maybe ?

[Cavcraft]

[cobblers]

Because they are fucking terrible maybe ?

 

About 6 years ago a mate of mine asked me to run him to Bradford to buy an A class.

All the way there I was asking why the fuck he was doing this. "It's a mercedes, it's bound to be nice, I'm used to driving fuckin old beetles and stuff, how bad can it be?" and "It's got to be a lot better than this bag of shit" referring to my OMGSLAMMD MX5 that was making him carsick because of the super stiff suspension and the fact that you were sat on the floor.

 

We got there, he bought it without driving it, it wasn't a lot of money. I followed him back and within about 10 miles we'd pulled over because the check engine light had come on. Even after badmouthing my car all the way up there, he almost begged me to swap him for the drive back. Since the car was clean and it was parked on a fairly presentable bit of road, he took the time to take a few photographs for the impending advert.

Shortly after setting off we got stuck in traffic, and he had the thing on eBay for about £300 less than he'd paid before we even got home. He told me never to mention it again and he kept it parked halfway up the street so his mrs wouldn't know he bought it because she'd been telling him they were a bag of shit too. Sold quick enough though.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Indeed, I know a couple who bought one of those wretched A class things. They, like many others no doubt imagined that the three pointed star was some guarantee of quality or at least some morsel of prestige. The thing was nothing but trouble and the unfortunates were still paying off the loan years later.

[sporty-shite]

About 6 years ago a mate of mine asked me to run him to Bradford to buy an A class.

All the way there I was asking why the fuck he was doing this. "It's a mercedes, it's bound to be nice, I'm used to driving fuckin old beetles and stuff, how bad can it be?" and "It's got to be a lot better than this bag of shit" referring to my OMGSLAMMD MX5 that was making him carsick because of the super stiff suspension and the fact that you were sat on the floor.

 

We got there, he bought it without driving it, it wasn't a lot of money. I followed him back and within about 10 miles we'd pulled over because the check engine light had come on. Even after badmouthing my car all the way up there, he almost begged me to swap him for the drive back. Since the car was clean and it was parked on a fairly presentable bit of road, he took the time to take a few photographs for the impending advert.

Shortly after setting off we got stuck in traffic, and he had the thing on eBay for about £300 less than he'd paid before we even got home. He told me never to mention it again and he kept it parked halfway up the street so his mrs wouldn't know he bought it because she'd been telling him they were a bag of shit too. Sold quick enough though.

 

When I worked at the rental place, we bought ten of those things. Fuck knows why, probably just because they were a Merc. They were HORRID. I couldn't even drive them, because they made me travel sick. They were so bad that when I asked to loan a car to go away, the choice was an A class with a full tank (bring it back empty), or anything else and pay your own fuel. I drove to Amsterdam in a Vectra diesel.

 

On the subject of the OP, may I brave a flaming and suggest early BINI? They're cheap enough now, and can be made as quirky* as you choose. They drive well, if a little crashy, and don't feel too badly screwed together. Best of all, buy a half decent one, and you won't lose money on it.

[Sloth in a bowl]

Just get a late Kia Pride. Simple torque biased 1.3 motor. Non interference for cambelt roulette.

 

No ABS, no traction control, no power steering. 800kg all up.

It's like a MK2 Fiesta done well.

[Ghosty]

Prides cost fuck all to insure too. Cheapest car I can, in fact (I'll stick to my Volvo though ta).

Bini isn't a bad call in fairness, they do handle well. Only advice is don't get an auto as they're CVT and regularly shit themselves - and if you get a One it's possible to get Cooper power from them (+20bhp), IIRC it's either through remapping or the exhaust.

[SiC]

Kia Pride, such an oxymoron of a name.

[M'coli]

I'm not sure about the BINI as yet, I feel it would ruin my street cred!

[dougiefourspeed]

MG ZR? I know they're a little bigger than a 'proper' supermini. But they're good fun and there probably isn't much in it between the ZR and a brand new Fiesta or something in size.

[sporty-shite]

I'm not sure about the BINI as yet, I feel it would ruin my street cred!

That's what I thought until I drove Mrs S's. Now I'd gladly own one.