Hyundai Coupe FX 1.6 or Subaru Impreza 1.6

Paulmee

Im looking to buy my first car since spending the last 5 as a named driver.
I have done quite a lot of research on many cars. I plan to buy a new car.
Im looking for a 1.4 - 1.6 and have wittled it down to the above.
Does anybody here have any advice on either, which is best/present owners of either car advice. Any advice is useful.

I have also looked at the focus, astra, megane and golf but have picked the two above as better cars overall. My budget is < €26k and both of these cars fit into this budget.
Insurance on both totals to about €2200 which im prepared to pay.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Fabritzo

I'd go scooboru, without a doubt, the hyundai is for girls in my opinion, or someone who doesn't know about cars, they make the accent for crying out loud :P . The Impreza does great in those JD power surveys. Or the new focus could be worth waiting for.

MadsL

The WRX scooby is silly fast...and a great performace car, trouble is it looks like its been badly modded...(Hate cars with silly wings/spoilers) and tbh you are looking at the IMPREZA 1.6 RX i reckon...

The Hyundai is faster and looks better imho...and they have an awesome reliability rating. My wife has a 2.0 and they are seriously well-kitted out, very comfortable to drive and has the nice feel of a sports coupe..(needs lowering tho..)

Faster? everyone sits up... yep the Hyundai 1.6 is faster than the RX...
http://cars.motornet.ie/newcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=details&passedcat=comparecar&Project=Demo&Specs=SSCIRL&LanguageId=1&Options=&uid=2030&UID2=309280&SECOND=548315&origID=671&unique1=309280&unique2=548315

Or....how about a Smart roadster....a lot quicker than a 1.6 Impreza...
http://cars.motornet.ie/newcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=Details&uid=2018

mike65

This is a guess but I bet the Subaru costs more to service but will also be easier to sell-on/trade-in. Which is something to bear in mind.

Mike.

Interceptor

I don't get it - these are two very different cars a family saloon and a 'sports' coupe. If you are buying new, go and test drive both and pick the one you like best. They are both very good, I've driven both, but would say they are chalk and cheese and have different strong and weak points. Don't buy the coupe if you ever carry more than one passenger, don't buy the Subaru if you want to look cool.... Buy a two year old BMW mini Cooper - 1.6, great performance, excellent resale, massive reliability and build quality and put the money you save into a holiday somewhere warm.

'ceptr

klaus23

I would agree with the interceptor there - they really are two different cars.
What I would suggest is not a specific model, but to figure out what type of car you are after - eg supermini, compact, hatchback, etc etc. - and then to pick out the main cars in that class, then drive them all, and then make the decision. Whatever you do, don't listen to the hurlers on the ditch, who will tell you that all cars but their own are ****e. I'm on my third Fiat, and have never had a problem (and you know what they say about Fiat's)

I find http://www.parkers.co.uk/ a good resource - if you search by each car, they give reviews, opinions, feedback from owners, used prices (convert to euro and add 20%-25% for the Irish price) and most importantly, an "also consider" section. For the Hyundai Coupe, they list the Alfa GT and the Mazda RX-8 as competitor.

And very importantly, get insurance quotes before you buy!

Paulmee

Thanks for your help-everybody.
Im aware both cars are different and plan to research them more and take a test drive of both.
I found this board to be a excellent resource of information/help in the past.
Thats why I thought id ask here first- the best advice usually come from people in the know or those who own the car-not from the garages who are only interested in a quick sale.

HashSlinging

I know insurance might be a bit more but would you not go for a TDi ? Seat Leon PD 130bhp retails at about 500 euro cheaper than the coupe, for power leaves the scooby and coupe way behind. looks wise its nicer at least than the Scooby. the coupe is vastly improved over the last model.

dcGT

Hyundai Coupé = Hairdresser's car IMHO
Most people I've seen that drive these are women and I just can't take blokes that drive them seriously

Subaru without a doubt, especially as it's not a first (small) car and you're going to be spending a few quid on it.

DC.

MadsL

dcGT wrote:

Hyundai Coupé = Hairdresser's car IMHO
I just can't take blokes that drive them seriously

Ohhh! I'm all a quiver at the macho macho man.

Seriously, if you can't "take blokes that drive them seriously" it is you that has a problem. It is ironic that that it is the quicker (and cheaper) car that you are saying is the 'wuss' car... :rolleyes:

You probably drive a clapped out Civic.

Hellrazer

Fabritzo wrote:

the hyundai is for girls in my opinion, or someone who doesn't know about cars, they make the accent for crying out loud :P .QUOTE]


Id go for the coupe.Ive been working for Hyundai for 4 years now and for reliability they cant be beaten.Stick a nice body kit on it,18 inch alloys,big exhaust and its definately not a "girls" car.

As for this comment about the accent--the accent was voted second most reliable car in Europe in the what car survey in 2002/2003.The accent in my opinion leaves Fords,Fiats etc way behind in terms of spec and reliability(BTW I worked for Ford for nearly 10 years)

HashSlinging

the old coupe was a fanny car big style.. the newer one is cool IMHO

alastair

Hellrazer wrote:

Stick a nice body kit on it,18 inch alloys,big exhaust and its definately not a "girls" car.

Riiiiight.
Because the real thing mark a 'man' out from the girls is a bit of redundant fibreglass, an oversized bit of chrome tube, and larger wheels.

I'd opt for the Hyundai out of the two because it has classic coupe styling - restrained and elegant, and offers an antidote to the bolt-on kitsch that suburu seem to specialise in. Both cars will perform well past most peoples needs, so go for the one that doesn't look like a bag of kack.

(agreed that the previous hyundai coupes were real ugly ducklings)

dcGT

MadsL wrote:

Ohhh! I'm all a quiver at the macho macho man.
Seriously, if you can't "take blokes that drive them seriously" it is you that has a problem.

We're here to discuss motors and express opinions. I am merely expressing my opinion on the above mentioned cars (in a light-hearted manner I might add). We're not here to discuss my apparent 'macho' problems.

MadsL wrote:

It is ironic that that it is the quicker (and cheaper) car that you are saying is the 'wuss' car... :rolleyes:

Note I did not pass judgement or give my opinon on the mechanical, performance or finiancial aspects of these cars, only aesthetics and general 'image' as I see it.

MadsL wrote:

You probably drive a clapped out Civic.

I'm still trying to figure out what this has to do with anything discussed here.

DC.

MadsL

dcGT wrote:

I am merely expressing my opinion on the above mentioned cars (in a light-hearted manner I might add).

In response to a serious question...
<Insert God Given Right here>

dcGT wrote:

We're not here to discuss my apparent 'macho' problems.

Touched a nerve have we??

dcGT wrote:

Note I did not pass judgement or give my opinon on the mechanical, performance or finiancial aspects of these cars,

Useful stuff like that you ignored....and went straight to...

dcGT wrote:

only aesthetics and general 'image' as I see it.

Riiight...apart from the fact that you can't "take blokes that drive them seriously" undermines your credibility a tad.

dcGT wrote:

I'm still trying to figure out what this has to do with anything discussed here.

Nothing...I just said it to draw attention to the fact that the people who generally make these disparaging and unhelpful comments about choice of car usually;
1. Have never driven or even sat in one
2. Can't afford one anyway
3. Drive some clapped out Civic or (as I see you have on your website) Starlet which they think is 'bleedin rappa, wha'


But hey, it's just the Internet...I'm probably wrong... :rolleyes:

Hellrazer

QUOTE]
Riiiiight.
Because the real thing mark a 'man' out from the girls is a bit of redundant fibreglass, an oversized bit of chrome tube, and larger wheels.

[/QUOTE]

Alastair--You picked me up wrong.The Coupe is a nice looking car as it is but it does have the nickname of the "hairdressers porche".

All Im saying is that with a nice kit etc on it it does take away from that tag a bit as its usually boy racer types who want the kit,wheels etc.

jo.king

What about an Alfa Romeo 156 - Such a nice car have one for the last few years! Comes in a 1.6 too!

Paulmee

I thought the term "hairdressers porche" was used to describe the old mazda 323.
The reason I am interested in the coupe is its looks, its reasonable price for what your getting and also I have no intention of modding the car either, i can't stand "boy racers" unless its like the car from the fast and the furious. Then again its Ireland we are taking about.

I understand jo.king's alfra romeo idea- i just don't like the 156, don't know why maybe its the position of the number plate on the right/left side of the car, its looks odd imo.

Im also thinking about the audi a3 which retails at about €26k. It seems a solid car

In terms of insurance any 1.6 car is going to cost be in the region of €2k-€2.5k which im prepared to pay.

jo.king

What age are you - my insurance on the 156 is €1200 and im 26.

Paulmee

Im 22 with 5 years named experience on my mothers car.
Ive had no claims/no penalty points in my time which probably doesn't mean much.

Ill be shopping around for insurance but 2-2.5k were the quotes I got off www.insure.ie. All of my quotes so far have been online
Ill be ringing insurance companies nearer the time which should result in a cheaper quote hopefully....

padraigmyers

Why are you only looking at new cars? Its a lot of money to be spening just to have a newer regplate. OK, you get a gaurentee etc, but I think buying a 2-4 year-old car would make much more finincial sense. I think buying a new car is something you should only do if money is not a factor. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Paulmee

Money is a factor alright.
Thats a good point, i think ill have a look at some of the second hand models, I think Id be best of sticking with cars younger than 2 years though.

Obviously it will be down to the difference in price.

Them new car brochures can sometimes distract one from looking at second hand cars- damm swanky advertising...

dcGT

Potato Man wrote:

Im 22 with 5 years named experience on my mothers car.
Ive had no claims/no penalty points in my time which probably doesn't mean much.

Ill be shopping around for insurance but 2-2.5k were the quotes I got off www.insure.ie. All of my quotes so far have been online
Ill be ringing insurance companies nearer the time which should result in a cheaper quote hopefully....

Just curious, which car had the cheapest quote so far, or are they more or less the same?

DC.

Paulmee

the coupe was the cheapest at around €2100.
The subaru was the most expensive out of the 5-6 cars i tried. Probably because of the subaru's wrx reputation.
The difference was minimal in compared to the others though.
This quote was dependant on completing the Hibernian 1 day ignition course.

dcGT

Potato Man wrote:

the coupe was the cheapest at around €2100.
The subaru was the most expensive out of the 5-6 cars i tried. Probably because of the subaru's wrx reputation.
The difference was minimal in compared to the others though.
This quote was dependant on completing the Hibernian 1 day ignition course.

€2100 is quite reasonable (for Ireland) seeing as you have no no-claims bonus in your own name. Yeah I thought the Subaru might be a tad more expensive, the mere mention of the words 'Subaru' and 'Impreza' would set the alarm bells off in the insurance company's office :rolleyes:

That's a good point by padraigmyers though, buying second would be a better option..... just think of the depriciation in the first 1 or 2 years :eek:

DC.

padraigmyers

If you spent 20K on a 3 year old car, you are looking at a whole diffent bunch, with much better risiduals. My 2nd car was a 318i BMW, bought for €11k, sold 1.5 years later for 8.5k, that car only cost me €2.5k for 1.5 years, thats cheaper than a new Punto would have cost you over that length of time. The price of a car is the price you buy minus what you sell it for.

If you are spening €20-€25k on a 2nd hand car, here is a sample of what you would have to choose from in this weeks Car Buyers Guide
AUDI A4 SE 1600 2002 silver €23,000 ono 36,
BMW 318i 2001 alpine white €20
BMW 318i 2001 met silver €24,950
BMW Z3 Convertible 1900 2001 Metalic Silver €21
HONDA CRV SE 2002 met brown €22,000
LAND ROVER Freelander IES 2497 2001 Alveston Red €22
LEXUS IS 200 Executive Sport 2000 2001 Met €25
OPEL Zafira Comfort 1600 2002 green €20,450
VW Passat Comfort Line Turbo 1800 2002 Gunmetal
AUDI A3 2002 silver met €22,750 14,
AUDI A3 Ambition 1398 2002 Silver €21,950
AUDI A3 Attraction 1600 2002 red €21,495
AUDI A3 TDi 1900 2002 wine €23,950
AUDI A4 1600 2001 met black €21,350 ono
AUDI A4 2000 2001 Blue €22,000
AUDI A4 2000 2001 blue met €22,975 31,
BMW 316 2001 met topaz blue €21,950 64

Paulmee

Thanks everybody again for your help.
Some impressive cars there in that list (BMW, Audi, Lexus), buying second-hand seems a good option. My inexperience in car purchasing was a reason why I was planning to buy new, listening to your feedback has changed my mind.
Ill look into it more in the coming weeks. The mothers insurance policy that im currently on ends in the next month so i was planning to get sorted by then.

padraigmyers

If you are going to buy 2nd hand best thing to do is first decide on about 5 (or less) different models of car you are interested in, then trawl through the Buy & Sell, Car Buyers Guide, Autotrader, the local classifieds and get a good idea of the range of prices that they are going for, this will ensure you know the price you shold pay. Get a good idea of the different extra's eg leather, air-con, alloys, body-kit etc that you want. You can get some very nice extra for very little exta cost when you buy 2nd hand, often a car with body-kit, alloys, leather, all electric, a/c etc may only cost 500 more than a standard model, when those extras may have cost over €3k extra when the car was bought.

Have a look at that kind of money these cars are selling for when they are 2 years older, this will give you an idea of how much you will get for it when you go to sell it, estimate this as about 5% lower then the average of the prices you see because usually most cars get sold for up to 10% lower than they are asking for.

Over a week or two you should be able to spot about 10 cars for sale that you really like, go see the 5 cars you are most interested in, after this you should have it down to about 2 cars that you really want. Now if you are buying private get a machanic to verify that these cars are machanically OK (most machanics will do this at a reasonable price), if you are buying from a garage they should give you a gaurentee for any car that value.

If you have any mate's who really know their cars then its worth recruiting their help for this.

Having bought all my cars 2nd hand I can definetly reccomend this route.

Hope this helps, and at the end of the day you are the one who has to drive the car, ignore any opinions of people on the "image" of the car, no matter what car you buy, someone will tell you a reason why its crap.

Anyway, best of luck with the purchase, let us know how you get on.

unkel

padraigmyers wrote:

If you are going to buy 2nd hand best thing to do is first decide on about 5 (or less) different models of car you are interested in, then trawl through the Buy & Sell, Car Buyers Guide, Autotrader, the local classifieds and get a good idea of the range of prices that they are going for, this will ensure you know the price you shold pay. Get a good idea of the different extra's eg leather, air-con, alloys, body-kit etc that you want. You can get some very nice extra for very little exta cost when you buy 2nd hand, often a car with body-kit, alloys, leather, all electric, a/c etc may only cost 500 more than a standard model, when those extras may have cost over €3k extra when the car was bought.

Have a look at that kind of money these cars are selling for when they are 2 years older, this will give you an idea of how much you will get for it when you go to sell it

Sound advice padraigmyers

I always use a similar, structured, well researched and determined approach