I’m a frequent reader but, a very rare poster. What’s got me to post now is I have owned my current 20VT for 11 years and I feel it’s time to move on, however I just took a 911 tiptronic for a test drive and it was far slower than my mildly tuned coupe.

Does anyone know if there is anything out there that is as reliable, fast, does 25 mpg, seats 2 adults and two teenagers and costs less than £20k.

We also own a Fiat Sedici which is brilliant off-road and in the winter but, is a little small for days out with the family. I’m starting to think I should keep the coupe and buy a big luxury car for the family and work.

What do you guys think I should do?

M3?

Fast and brilliant handling, but almost as predictable as a 911 Carrera

Really? An M3 I always thought a basic 911 was faster?

M3 is not as predictable as a 911. They are very tail happy especially in the wet. Modern 911 are very grippy both wet and dry.
I don't like the tiptronic though. Manual was far nicer unless you are talking pdk which is super smooth and fast!!!!!!!

reality check, a 911 tiptronic is not 'far slower' than a mildly tuned fiat coupe

assuming we are talking about a 997 the minimum it has is 340bhp with the 3.6l engine or 380bhp with the 3.8l and only weighs about 100kg more than the coupe therefore it is not possible it is slower than your coupe

even the 996 with the 3.4l engine has 300bhp

Keep the Coupe.

Simple as that.

There are so many Porsches and BMW's on the road, they no longer have any prestige or rarity about them.

How many Coupe's do you ever see on the road? Mostly, none.

My two cents anyway.

I agree.

doug20vt,
It was a 3.4 996 triptronic and it was far slower than my coupe and if I'm honest, I was sadly dissapointed. I wanted to be blown away by the Porsche but, I just wasn't. I had my 12 year old son in the back and even he wasn't impressed. I plan to try a manual 3.6 in the next week and will let you know.

Shinyshoes and JKD,

I'm starting to agree with you.

I'd hazard a guess that it's the power delivery which has underwhelmed you. The Coupe gives a whizz bang of torque and you're on full boost at ~2.7k rpm, where as the N/A builds torque and power as the revs rise.

I drove a friends E36 M3 Evo a few years ago and it "felt" slower than my GTEC'd coupe, despite having the best part of 70bhp, but a weight deficit of ~100kgs more. If we were in a side by side drag race the Evo would have easily won. It's the power / torque deliver of the Coupe which makes it feel brutal in it's acceleration.

Perhaps you could consider a turbo car to match/beat the Coupes torque at lower revs? Such as an Evo IV / X, Jag XKR, Monaro VXR, or Audi S4 (N/A but with a V8). That said not all of them would match your required 25mpg...

Or be different and treat the Coupe to an upgrade!

you have owned your coupe for 11 years

spend the same amount on sorting your coupe to be faster, handle better and give the body work some loving. Thats what id do.

Agree the guys above Toquesnuff....... And we've have a Sedici for the family runs - big enough for the four of us - Good under-rated cars.

Totally irresponsible option, but just look at them from £10k you can get a Maserati 3200!!!!!!!!! On my want list.....

I had a pair of these on loan for a month and I never managed more than 20mpg, occasionally dipping into single figures

However, I'd still have a 3200GT Assetto Corsa....

^^^^I also want a Mazza 3200...seen a few going for 8k. Probably not as practical though, and as Nigel says, very thirsty

I totally agree. I test drove a 996 porsche tiptronic last year, it was black, had the full GT3 kit and looked amazing however it felt slow to drive and not very exciting and the brakes felt dead. My thought at the time was if I was going to spend 15K I wanted the car to blow me away and the porsche was a disappointment. My coupe was 360bhp at the time and getting back into it was night and day different. That brought me onto my other choice a vx220 turbo. I went and saw a stage 2 black vxt and it was a summers evening, the guy had the roof off and it was sensationally quick and exciting....so I bought it.

My Black vx in action

Just did an evening trackday last week and it was mega I love it.

Now for a big family car I would miss out the M3 and go for the V10 M5, I love the look of them and the V10 must sound mega.

That's just the thing though, once you've driven a turbo car, no n/a car can quite cut it afterwards. Unless you spend a hell of a lot of money, and even then it's not as much fun.

Before I had the Coupe, my mate said to me, "Once you've owned a turbo car, you'll never want anything else again". And I believe him!

Totally agree mate. My friend said the same to me, he had a Vauxhall VXR. I totally understand now.

Back on topic,
M3
M3 CSL
Audi S4
Mitsi Evo ?

Alfa Romeo GTA's are plenty quick enough esp. the 147.

Granted you can't just up the boost and gain horsepower but they are absolutely brutal, have you driven one?

I've always secretly wanted a 147 GTA! Also love the interior and the way it's styled. Then my sister bought the 2.0 twin spark and I found the driving position and general feel of the car horrible!!

I had a Civic Type R at the time and there was just no comparison.

I haven't driven the GTA, but I'm sure it's a lot of fun.

Well I had the same thought as yourself, I kept the coupe for weekend car ( why because they are very rare and this car always get great looks) anyways I bought a Mitsubishi evo VII and wow they are amazing cars, it's a must on your test drive list...

They are any they are different to standard 147's. Comparing a standard 147 with a CTR isn't quite the same.

The V6 is a peach (if thirsty) of an engine. My 147 GTA if far easier to drive that my Coupe and the sound is .

Some good ideas here, thanks for the help.

I love the 3/4200's they even have good sized rear seats for my kids but, they are so unreliable. A friend had a 3200 and he was godfather to his mechanics kids by the end of the first year of owning it.

The last time I thought about a new fast car, in 2003, I went to take a Mondial for a test drive and it broke down before we left the garage forecourt.

My coupe has been incredibly reliable and only blew the engine and turbo once (my fault, I held it in third too long). I’ve only done 25k with the new engine which was polished??? and given a few extra tweaks and a bigger turbo. Had it to 167mph, on the sat-nav, in Germany and it still had more to give but, the nose was getting very light so I slowed to a cruising 150mph. Just love Germany.

I never thought I’d hear my wife say this but, she also thinks I should keep the coupe, as it’s worth more to me than any trade-in and I should look at buying an old luxury car. I quite like this idea and have seen a nice low mileage CLS that’s fully loaded or maybe a big Audi/BMW.

Lancia Thema 8.32

so just midly tweaked then lol, have you had the car on a rolling road to see what it is making

lancia thema 8.32, interesting car although would be horrendously expensive to run and get parts for

how about a supercharged 4.2l jag coupe, that wouldn't feel slow

Jag S-type R is worth a look.

Doug20vt,

I would love to try a rolling road but we don't get many chances of getting to go on one "oup North" I'm in Northumberland and the nearest towns are Edinburgh and Newcastle.

If I keep the coupe which is looking more and more likely. I'd like to upgrade the suspension, currently running on Bilstiens and ebachs, and look at the cooling system as it can run a little hot in the summer if thrashed. It also might benefit from a boost gage as it idles on 2.8bar and sits somewhare above 3bar when running, any tips on what I could do and where I could take it?

Hyperlink,

I like the Jags but, feel I'd be turning into my Dad if I bought one.

Loved Lancia's since I was a kid but, I want reliability.

My mate has EXACT model 996 tiptronic 3.4 in a very similar colour to ink black.. My old coupe used to just PIP it with a gtec and a std exhaust system. The coupe was 239 bhp on the rollers. It didn't easily win though.

I had 911's in the past. Different power deliver. My last one (when I had money) was a 996 turbo (450bhp) when it was the current model. I had dms tweak it to 520bhp. Now that was fast!!!!!
996 turbos have dropped in price now quite a bit.

You'll have to get a 911 GT2