At home we have gone from having 2 Nissans in the household to none in the space of a few months. The Zed went before xmas and the wifes Almera went last week. I now realise that I used to enjoy driving them much more than my daily driver (both for differing reasons though, the Zed was great for the power/performance experience and the Almera was a great handling car on the twisties honestly!).

Have started to think about getting something else to replace them. I would like another 300ZX but I think at the moment it isn't viable due to cost of ownership (first child due next month!), so have been considering other cars but would like some feedback from other people. So far I have considered the following:

 

MR2 (N/A or Turbo)

200SX S14

Celica GT (ST202)

Almera GTI

Honda Prelude VTI

 

Don't have a budget as such, but have been looking at anything up to 2 to 2.5K. Its not going to be a daily driver, so practicality isn't important. The wife has got quite safety concious due to the baby so airbag(s) or a good safety record are a bonus.

 

Has anyone owned any of these cars? Are there any other models that I ought to consider?

 

Cheers,

 

Gareth

If its cheap, fun, rwd and tunable you want then go for a S13 200sx

Edit : No airbags though (which is actually probably a good thing when it comes to babies)

If its cheap, fun, rwd and tunable you want then go for a S13 200sx

 

I thought about the S13 but looking on SXOC they all appear to be rot boxes. I'd prefer to buy something that didnt need restoration, i.e. just buy/drive/chuck it in the back of the garage when not used.

 

(Shame though because I am growing to like the looks)

sunny/pulsar?

Toyota Starlet Glanza V? Fast nippy small hatch, cheap tax, cheap petrol! And modern enough to have most of the safety features you would expect from a car these days!

I used to own a st202 when i was younger, great handling car imo, fwd tho, not very tuneable, Had air bags and it looks nice, And it held up pretty well when i rolled it and stuck it up agaisnt a tree :) write off but the structure held well

I thought facelift S13s had a drivers airbag? Well mine hasn't as I swapped the steering wheel :D

200SX are great but they're a bit popular with the drift lot and the early ones are all rotted away.

 

I'd go for a 2.2 Prelude, preferably a 'Motegi'. Plenty of wel looked after ones out there.

mk2 crx vt

could get a nice one for 2.5k

mk2 crx vt

could get a nice one for 2.5k

not a bad idea, have a look at this one

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/138132.htm

 

But you could always get a pulsar/sunny as mentioned above. I think there is a 2 litre non turbo model which is pretty nippy...

Nissan cherry turbo? :rofl: :rofl:

Almera GTI's are meant to be very relaible, 200sx are bit fragile :( as a daily runaround!

MR2 turbo mate, serious fun, like a go cart on steroids.

Easy to get some extra power and there are quite a few

running 500+.Good strong engines especially Rev 1 &

Rev 2

Some good responses, thanks a lot for that. I think part of the problem is that in the back of my mind I still fancy something turbocharged, unless it is something special. I quite like the idea of the Pulsar but the ones around my price range tend to be dogs. The Sunny is just an older version of the Almera GTI and to be honest I've seen some very late model Almeras for less than 2K.

 

I have seen a few scoobies in my price range as well though :wack: :x:

As Bubbles says, an mr2 turbo. You won't be dissapointed.

Not as fast in stock trim as you'd think, but the driving

experience is half the fun.

charade gtti :D

charade gtti :D

If you can find one that isnt a rot box you mean! Aint there only a few hundred of them now in the country?

i think the whole 200sx " are all rotted away" is a bit of a silly statement. i mean yes most of them are! but its simple isnt, buy one that isnt?! ive owned 4 of them and rust wise they were fine, just something you need to check when buying

MR2 mk2 GTi was an awesome car, i still wish i'd never sold it. Drove like a dream for a car with 148k on the clock and got far more looks than the zed.

 

Bought for £2495, sold 6 months later for £2500 with only 30 quid spent lol

 

 

 

Mazda mx3 dont look bad cheap to run and come with a v6 model and plenty of styling kits too, i think they are a great little car, wouldnt mind 1 as a daily myself

 

hows about this then? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/135605.htm

oh wait, I just noticed your budget lol

charade gtti :D

 

I was going to say that LOL

1 litre turbo power! Oh yeah! :dance:

Can't beat the Mister 2 Bi Entry Turbo Targa for all sorts of reasons & the power plants so good Yamaha use it in their outboards! Do think about a brake upgrade though!!!! Jay

Can't beat the Mister 2 Bi Entry Turbo Targa for all sorts of reasons & the power plants so good Yamaha use it in their outboards! Do think about a brake upgrade though!!!! Jay

 

Does that mean I can fit the MR2 turbo's on mine? :D

I won't bother with the brake upgrade... :rofl: