Sports car conundrum - What to get for £9k

[AlphaEchoAlpha]

Hi All,

I know there are some proper petrol heads on here so thought put this out there. I currently drive a '10 plate TTS, and while perhaps not the last word (or even first!) in driver engagement I've really enjoyed my ownership of it, it's been a fantastic, sure footed companion and has given me relatively little hassle, and I've had 2 excellent road trips in it to boot (Normandy and the NC500).

I do however find myself wanting something a bit more interesting on the driving front, ideally something with a bit more of an engine (preferably 6+ cylinders, although I'm not too fussed on it being more powerful/faster than the TTS). To be fussy, I'd also prefer a hardtop as it'd be used daily (well, whatever that is in sort-of-sort-of-not-lockdown) and I don't particularly like the idea of a soft top for this - I've access to an S2000 and find it cramped and claustrophobic with the roof up. Kinda rules out a Boxster, I'm afraid.

I'm currently looking at a Z4 3.0 SI coupe as I like the appeal of the looks, engine and rear drive layout but can't help wonder if it's a smart move, my budget will just about get me into a nice example with some change for any problems to be addressed, although likely slightly more leggy than my current car. That said, the residuals on the coupes appear pretty solid, certainly should loose less money on one of those compared to the TT.

Other than a 350/370Z (although I'm not enamoured with the dash) I'm not sure what else to look at... Any suggestions?

Thanks on advance

[GraniteQuarry]

Your Z4 immediately jumped to mind, scores on the engine but not sure if rated for overall appeal?

Less power but universally praised for fun... the Toyota GT86 or Subaru BRZ (not sure if in budget though).

[RickChard]

If you can, reconsider the Boxster!

Failing that, what about a Jaguar XK? The Z4 is a great choice too.

[xellos99]

If you dont mind getting a much older car Maserati made alot of 400bhp 4.2L beasts. 0-60 in about 5 seconds

[Omegamanic]

If you can, reconsider the Boxster!

Failing that, what about a Jaguar XK? The Z4 is a great choice too.

I have a hardtop for my Boxster, which works very well imo. But I’m thinking my next Porsche will be a 718 Cayman

[Gullers]

335i petrol coupe manual...over 300 bhp...


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[Gullers]

135i coupe, same engine, same 300 bhp +


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[AlphaEchoAlpha]

Your Z4 immediately jumped to mind, scores on the engine but not sure if rated for overall appeal?

Less power but universally praised for fun... the Toyota GT86 or Subaru BRZ (not sure if in budget though).

I really do like the GT86's, but I'd be stretching my budget for one looking at Autotrader and I'd rather not be scrapping around the bottom of the market. Plus isn't there a rather large recall on the early ones? I know it'd be no cost to get it done, but not overly confidence inspiring!

If you can, reconsider the Boxster!

Failing that, what about a Jaguar XK? The Z4 is a great choice too.

Ha, honestly I'd love to try a boxster but I really don't want to softop all through winter. Call me a big softie!! If onlt decent caymans were in budget.

I've looked at XKs and actually really tempted to look at one, although I think they'd be way more expensive to run (and at 25, not sure it sends the right impression rocking up to work in a Jag!)

335i petrol coupe manual...over 300 bhp...


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Thanks for the suggestion! Hadn't thought of those. I'll have a trawl on PH/Autotrader.

If you dont mind getting a much older car Maserati made alot of 400bhp 4.2L beasts. 0-60 in about 5 seconds

Sounds financially ruinous! I think that falls into the same catercory as Jaaaag on the works car park front too!

135i coupe, same engine, same 300 bhp +


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I do like the look of the 1 series coupes, off to autotrader I think!

[Gullers]

Give some serious thought to selling things, anything, getting to £11k and buy a Cayman, you’ll never look back if you want driver engagement....


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[Bravo73]

Is it too late to suggest an MX-5?

[Foxy100]

Is it too late to suggest an MX-5?

Since it's the only proper sports car anyone's mentioned so far (the rest are all rather, well, lardy!)...

[rico]

Since it's the only proper sports car anyone's mentioned so far (the rest are all rather, well, lardy!)...

A Boxster is the quintessential sports car.

[Hennersf]

I had a Z4 coupe too, would definitely suggest trying one out if you can

Engine is great - not stupidly fast but plenty enough for lots of good fun, handled nicely too

Loved loved loved the look of 80% of it, sadly the front did nothing for me though!

Living in London I got the auto, would def get the manual otherwise

I also was adamant I needed one with Sat Nav, awful mistake - not only is the system Itself pretty useless, as mentioned above the screen unit is comically dated and drags the whole interior down, the ones without Nav have an infinitely better timeless look to the cabin

Then also - squeaks and rattles, they’re everywhere (or at least were in mine), get prepared to hunt them all down!

[Foxy100]

A Boxster is the quintessential sports car.

I had one at the same time as my first MX-5 and sold the Boxster. An excellent car if you want a lot of grip and comfort but compared to the MX-5 it was hopeless. I found it only became interesting above about 100mph, by which I mean in corners, not in a straight line. I can't think of any car journalists who've owned Boxsters but lots who've owned - or still own - MX-5s. You can drive an MX-5 at 9/10ths most of the time and have a huge amount of fun doing so but not so a Boxster. Depends how you get your kicks though and what you want the car for.

[Mj2k]

I’ve had 2 x Z4 coupes, in fact i purchased it back from the person I sold it to. It remains the most fun car & the most stunning for the price I’ve ever had, the sort you look back at whenever you have parked up.

Since then I had Z4M, M3 E46, 3 x JCWs, M4 and a 991 cayman GTS. However from the right balance of fun without stupid speed to enjoy, or cost, this will always hold a
Soft spot for me, the coupe was perfect!

[tertius]

I had a Z4M and found it slightly annoying ... little niggles that just added up ... the ridiculous placement of the battery for example and the daft screen in the dash (especially when it went wrong!).

Obviously the battery placement is only an issue for the M and with a bit of hunting you could find one without the screen in the dash.

I’d be looking at a 135i or Boxster or Cayman.

[Grandiloquence]

How about something a bit older like a 300ZX, Supra or GTO?

[Liner33]

How about something a bit older like a 300ZX, Supra or GTO?

Wont get a good one for £9k

[Itsguy]

Congratulations! That’s similar to mine and I’ve no regrets. Just make sure to get it on some decent rubber, I can’t make out from the photos what’s it’s currently running, but whatever you do get rid of run flats if it has them (particularly at the front end) or it will tramline like crazy and have a harsh ride. I’d also be interested to know how long your battery holds up when not driven - a jump starter sufficient to start a lorry seems to be an essential part of the kit for me, but it doesn’t get used enough really.

[Hennersf]

I’ve had 2 x Z4 coupes, in fact i purchased it back from the person I sold it to. It remains the most fun car & the most stunning for the price I’ve ever had, the sort you look back at whenever you have parked up.

Since then I had Z4M, M3 E46, 3 x JCWs, M4 and a 991 cayman GTS. However from the right balance of fun without stupid speed to enjoy, or cost, this will always hold a
Soft spot for me, the coupe was perfect!

That’s the combo I wish I went for, colour and CSLs - perfect!!

[Rod]

Honda Type R, bullet proof engine, fast and solid car.

[Kingstepper]

Honda Type R, bullet proof engine, fast and solid car.

Civic, Integra or other?

[adrianw]

The Honda is a great idea.

If purchase price is so important. OP remember the more expensive the new price of the car, the bigger the maintenance/service costs

[rico]

Honda Type R, bullet proof engine, fast and solid car.

Not sure I would categorise them as sports cars. Hot-hatches, yes.

[Pitfitter]

Not sure I would categorise them as sports cars. Hot-hatches, yes.

NSX? But way over budget.

OP, do want a soft top? Remember to factor in the boot space disappearing in most when the roof is down, why we still have our S2000.

[Cr55eds]

Lovely looking car. Haven’t come across that seat colour combination before but does break up the blackness nicely!

[Robsmck]

I have owned 3 boxsters in my time and each was exemplary, fantastic to drive, relatively easy in the fuel, and surprisingly practical. Good size "boot" at the front of the vehicle.
For driver engagement I would rate the Cayman more highly (I had one for a few months as a loan car after a RTC), the turn in was razor sharp, and even more practical to own. In your budget you will only get an older 6 cylinder car, which is good as the 4 cylinder engine has ruined it IMHO.
I would still be in a boxster but 3 young children forced me down the SUV route into a Macan.

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[Estoril-5]

I see the Z4 gets a fair bit of praise, is this just for the Coupe or does it extend to the soft tops aswell?

[Itsguy]

I love the Z4 3.0 Coupe. I have the auto, which is can be smooth, effortless and refined on long hauls or lively when you want. It’s not insanely fast, in everyday driving it’s just nice to have plenty of smooth torque without having to rev it. But hit the sport button or play with the paddles or bounce it into the sportier map on the way into a corner and it’s easily fast enough to enjoy. It’s been described as a mini grand tourer and that fits well, it’s an easy to live with sporty all-rounder.

Ideally get the black wood trim on the dash which looks very classy, and change the run flat tyres immediately, which kill the handling - it’s a real handful on the wrong tyres but great on the right ones. That said, the steering doesn’t have the go kart immediacy of a first gen MX5, and the handling isn’t as sweet as something mid-engined like a Cayman, which also sounds better, but it’s a good saving over a decent one of those and you’ll still have a smile on your face after every drive. Arguably a future classic so pretty good for keeping value, at least until all petrol cars are regulated off the road. Niggles? The larger rim versions are pretty brutal and will have you tip toeing over speed bumps, and it seems to eat batteries if not driven for a week or two. I don’t know if that’s just mine, but from what I can tell that’s pretty common, though a lot of cars these days don’t seem to work without a trickle charger. Part of me still fancies the Cayman, but it certainly feels special, and it’s a bit different too.

[deepreddave]

Given what you say then the Cayman has to be a serious consideration, although I think the interior of the Mk3 TT is a much better place to be unless the engine note and handling are paramount.
As soft tops go I found the TT to be the best overall package.

[Itsguy]

Given what you say then the Cayman has to be a serious consideration...

Significantly over budget though, surely?

[snowman]

The point on performance accessiblity is a good one, though.

I've got a Golf R Estate and it's far too fast to really use the performance on the road and it's not enough fun to take to a trackday even if I was interested (I was watching a video on an F40 earlier and the owner stated that a Golf R would 'have it up to 4000RPM!' and then went on to say a 'Range Rover would!') - If it didn't suit my other requirements (space, comfort, economical) so well I'd have got rid of it (I nearly did, but with lockdown in force, looking for a different car wasn't really practical).

I'm not suggesting it as an alternative to a Boxster or a Z4 coupe (I'd be tempted to the latter, to be honest), but BHP tends to be a bit of a Tops Trumps game, my 230BHP RX-8 was far more enjoyable to drive.

If you feel brave an RX8 would leave you about £8500 change for engine rebuilds! (Oil usage wasn't that much on mine and while fuel consumption is pretty ruinous, I don't think it's much worse than many others mentioned!)

M

[yumma]

As someone who’s been through some sports cars in recent years, here’s how it went for me. Bought an NB MX5 1.8VT-Sport around 13 years ago, loved it and kept it 9 years, replaced it with a 986 2.7 Boxster, loved it but didn’t keep it long, replaced Boxster with an E89 Z4, a lovely GT car but never felt like an involving drive/proper sports car, bought an ND MX5 2.0 Sport Nav. Sublime, pretty much all the Sports car you’ll ever need, or brave finding a nice Boxster. The MX5 might be a bit tight at 6’2”, the Boxster even with the canvas roof felt spacious and very refined and the drive was superb.

[Foxy100]

You could just be silly and try a Fiat Panda 100HP. I believe the other one is something like a Clio Trophy Cup - Andy Tims can give you some advice there, one shares his drive with his Exige and 911 GT3.

- - - Updated - - -

The MX5 might be a bit tight at 6’2”, the Boxster even with the canvas roof felt spacious and very refined and the drive was superb.

I'm 6'2 1/2" and fit perfectly in an MX-5 but found the Boxster remarkably uncomfortable

[S Works]

For £9k - with a hard roof - I honestly can’t think of anything worth buying that I’d consider a “sportscar”.

Lots of interesting ideas floated, but none of them = that to me. Hot hatches and GT’s are a wholly different ask IMO.

Sure you can’t flex on the roof and consider a convertible? Or flex the budget upward?

P.S. a real sportscar involves some compromise in my experience, but brings exponential enjoyment value

[tertius]

If you read the OP he isn’t really asking for a sports car but an “interesting” GT coupe. I’d suggest that means RWD, reasonable power to weight and ideally a not-entirely-run-of-the-mill engine.

Makes perfect sense to me - on the more interesting car list I’ve had an Elise, a 944, a 911, an RS Clio Cup and a Z4M, and the idea of a versatile but interesting coupe is very tempting. Something you can use for longer journeys, get in when you just want air con and a comfortable ride home but that can also pick up its skirts when you need it to.

I suggest upping the budget 3 fold and getting a 1M!

[S Works]

If you read the OP he isn’t really asking for a sports car but an “interesting” GT coupe. I’d suggest that means RWD, reasonable power to weight and ideally a not-entirely-run-of-the-mill engine.

Makes perfect sense to me - on the more interesting car list I’ve had an Elise, a 944, a 911, an RS Clio Cup and a Z4M, and the idea of a versatile but interesting coupe is very tempting. Something you can use for longer journeys, get in when you just want air con and a comfortable ride home but that can also pick up its skirts when you need it to.

I suggest upping the budget 3 fold and getting a 1M!

“Sports car conundrum”.

I get your extrapolation, but the original post is asking for something that I’m not sure exists at that price point.

If it was “GT coupe conundrum” then I think we’d be in somewhat different territory.

At £9k I suspect there are some E46 M3’s out there, but whether or not they’d be any good at that price I genuinely don’t know.

I’ve had 4x Elises in different configurations, an NA MX5 RS Limited (with sensible modding for fast road and track work), an RS Megane R26 F1 Team, an F92 335d and now run an M135i. Absolutely nothing drives like the Elises. The MX5 was brilliant for 9-10/10ths driving most of the time, but everything else was not what I’d call “sports cars”.

The 335d was indeed an awesome GT, and I’d have one again in a heartbeat. A 335i would be very nice too. But they are heavy and don’t handle anything like the lightweight stuff (as I’m sure you know).

[tertius]

Yes well I agree it probably doesn’t exist at that price point. Perhaps a GT86/BRZ is the nearest? Maybe a Renault Sport of some sort (albeit FWD and a hatchback). Or my suggestion of the 135i coupe and accept the weight disadvantage.

One reason why I suggested upping the budget significantly!

I’ve not driven one but apparently the Mk3 TT is a big dynamic improvement over the Mk 2, but a) it’s still mostly FWD with a nose heavy config; and b) a TTS is well above budget.

If money were no object then I think the cars that best meet this brief are the Alpine or the 4C though two seaters of course.

[Padders]

If a GT would fit the bill then a M235i or M240i are pretty hard to beat for the money. Would require a bump in budget but not by too much. Fitment of an LSD transforms them from 1 Series with a boot into something way more interesting.

[Pete D]

Good plan to at least reconsider a Boxster. If you are a chap of generous proportions, you may find the 986 just a little cramped. However, if you rate an analogue driving experience, and can bear a slightly dated cabin, they are the car for the purists. Better rust protection than the later cars too. Have a look at Boxanet. A very friendly and knowledgeable bunch, often willing to allow accompanied test drives to decent people.

[S Works]

Don’t discount a 350Z, I’m sure you could find a good later spec model for your budget. The Mrs had a convertible for a while and I had some great drives in it. We loped down to the Dordogne in it, then ragged it round some fantastic French back roads for a week. It was effortless on long runs from London to Yorkshire to see the outlaws, and it’s swan song weekend was with me and some mates (one in a Z4M Coupe) in Wales. I had a really epic drive up the Elan Valley in it, roof down, V6 yelling at the hills. You have to work it, but it’s a very friendly car to get sideways. Completely reliable too. Needed nothing but tyres and an oil change over two years.

[jon8oy]

Don’t discount a 350Z, I’m sure you could find a good later spec model for your budget. The Mrs had a convertible for a while and I had some great drives in it. We loped down to the Dordogne in it, then ragged it round some fantastic French back roads for a week. It was effortless on long runs from London to Yorkshire to see the outlaws, and it’s swan song weekend was with me and some mates (one in a Z4M Coupe) in Wales. I had a really epic drive up the Elan Valley in it, roof down, V6 yelling at the hills. You have to work it, but it’s a very friendly car to get sideways. Completely reliable too. Needed nothing but tyres and an oil change over two years.

Would echo all this - close friend has had one for years that he just parted with a couple of months ago. Only issue would be your daily driver requirement as it goes through fuel at an obscene rate! Brilliant fun to drive though, and the noise...

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[Liner33]

Would echo all this - close friend has had one for years that he just parted with a couple of months ago. Only issue would be your daily driver requirement as it goes through fuel at an obscene rate! Brilliant fun to drive though, and the noise...

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Could get a 370z for 9k and they do 26mpg average and 30-31 on a run . Cheap cars to service and work on though

[AlphaEchoAlpha]

Just to bookend this thread, a rather nice Z4 Coupe cropped up locally and I ended up buying it (probably bit quicker than I'd planned on making the jump but there we are, right car at the right price at the right time). I was looking out for one without the satnav as they're terribly dated now and ruin the lines of the dash. I lucked out with this one as it's one of the very few spec'd with the leather dash trim, it's very nice (but needs an effing good clean).

I'm really pleased with it so far, seems to have a lot more character than the TT. Maybe a Boxster next time, although I'm tempted to put a bit of a slush fund and jump straight into a Cayman. I really appreciate all the input on this thread, they're all cars on the 'list' to try at some point in the future, probably with an MX5 up the top of it.

Couple of photos:





Thanks again,

Harry

[Chris_in_the_UK]

^^^^^^

Good buy.

TBH, the potential issues with the Boxster/Cayman in your price range should always be considered and assessed. The Z4 is a great car - once you have 'fettled' it you have a solid buy and a nice usable coupe.

Enjoy!.

[oliverte]

Lovely car and nice spec with those alloys too.

These are relatively rare in the UK but a more common sight around Germany.

Enjoy! I am off to look a BMW myself this morning (my last was a Z3m back in 2014)

Just to bookend this thread, a rather nice Z4 Coupe cropped up locally and I ended up buying it (probably bit quicker than I'd planned on making the jump but there we are, right car at the right price at the right time). I was looking out for one without the satnav as they're terribly dated now and ruin the lines of the dash. I lucked out with this one as it's one of the very few spec'd with the leather dash trim, it's very nice (but needs an effing good clean).

I'm really pleased with it so far, seems to have a lot more character than the TT. Maybe a Boxster next time, although I'm tempted to put a bit of a slush fund and jump straight into a Cayman. I really appreciate all the input on this thread, they're all cars on the 'list' to try at some point in the future, probably with an MX5 up the top of it.

Couple of photos:





Thanks again,

Harry

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[Pete D]

Nice car. Enjoy!


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[tertius]

Looks, very nice, I always think the Z4 shape really suits grey for some reason, just for the contrast here is a pic of my old M in carbon black, but grey is the better colour (IMO):

[Mj2k]

Lovely car!

Get the F10 M5 gear shifter too, makes a much nicer shift; very common mod on the Z4 forum.

You can also remove the foam from the sound generator for even more noise. I found it too much, so replaced it.

Z4 forum is a very friendly place.

[Hennersf]

Superb, looks like the dream spec!

Congratulations and have fun getting acquainted