Best beginners RWD/Sports car

[James I]

Rear wheel drive is easy, a fine balance of steering and throttle control with a bit of ability to look through the side window whilst moving forwardish.

Look, easy.

http://www.flickr.co...nit/5088457701/

[Dark_Hero]

What about a smart roadster? Supposed to be a good handler, maybe not much poke though.

Mx5 has become the daddy of sports cars and if you feel it's not fast enough you can always fit a supercharger

[James I]

S2000

RX8

328 or 330 coupe are very good value for money, heavy in juice but cheap to buy.

There are so many cars that could fit your budget, if you are in no rush go and see some, have a drive etc, you don't have to buy, these big car supermarkets are ok for a look or drive.

[Richf]

Mx 5's aren't economical 25-30mpg typically from the mk1's

[logiclee]

You don't need massive power to enjoy rwd. Unless you want to go drifting.

A nice supple chassis with 50/50 weight distribution is still a real joy to drive even with modest power, it's what has made cars like the mx5 so successful.

My wife wanted something a little more practical so she now has a f20 1 Series BMW with 1.6 turbo petrol engine. It's great to drive and gets mid 40's mpg. The earlier models on runflats were a little firm though,

Cheers

Lee

[grr666]

Sold my 57 plate MX5 Roadster coupe for £8k with about 16000 miles on the clock.

Mine was a 2.0 sport 6 speed and was pretty fast really. Nice spec, including heated leather

and of course being the roadster coupe it had the electric hardtop rather than the fabric roof.

Way classier and more grown up than the ragtop IMO. Mine was lowered on Eibachs with bilstein

shocks and handled very nicely. My geo was done by wheels in motion. Arguably the best place

to have your MX5 set up for handling. Mine saw 110mph at the top of 4th gear and still had

2 gears to go. gets a bit noisy above 60 with the roof down but again, the hardtop variant

(which costs a fair few quid more than ragtops of a similar age and condition) is a better bet

at the higher end speedwise as it's a little quieter and dare I say a tad more aerodynamic.

However, the hardtop is very expensive to repair if it goes wrong (Mine didn't btw) and can only

open or close when stationary and handbrake on but you can get an aftermarket module which

will allow on the move closure/opening up to 15mph.

Sold mine to go into the pot for my current car but it was a great fun drive.

Coupla pics

[yellow10plate]

if you are new to RWD a jap spec mx5 is a good call enough power to get to grips with and the jap ones has a all important LSD (limited slip diff) once you have the hang of it opt for a RWD cosworth better then having money in the bank

[Guest BigJase88]

Z3 or Z4 if you can stretch that far

Wouldnt entertain an mx5. But im a bloke so maybe thats why

[Chris GB]

MX5, easy to drive, cheap to buy and run, good beginner choice.

MR2, more demanding / less forgiving / more rewarding more expensive, fussy about tyres.

S2000, a step up in interior quality and power. A step up in weight and cost. A step down in dynamics and steering feel, tricky on limit handling.

Boxter, big step up in quality, excellent drive, big step up in cost to buy and run.

I went MR2, but was used to tail happy rwd cars already.

Chris

[m17rkj]

me and the wife recently took the plunge with a 2004 MX-5, absolutely love it! not mega fast but down a twisty road it's immensely entertaining. we looked at many of the cars mentioned above for similar money (boxster, s2000, rx8, bmw conv, audi conv quattro) but found it to be far and away the most fun and rewarding to drive. I liked the S2000 but found the engine tiresome after a while, the boxster was a close 2nd but ownership costs were worrying and after driving the MX it felt just a little, well, dull, as did the Audi and the BMW. I liked the RX8 too, but the durability of the rotary motor was a concern, as was the MPG and a convertible was always the preferred option :sun: The MX is head and shoulders above all these on pure ownership costs as well as smiles per mile, they give the true 50/50 RWD experience without having to worry about big power biting you in the rear. The wife used the car throughout the winter with Michelin Xice 3 tyres on and ploughed through just about everything a Canadian winter can throw at you (ours has an LSD), she had never driven RWD before but we found a deserted, snow covered car park and within an hour she was drifting like a boss!

https://www.facebook...63&l=2450160487

she's a little dirty here and yes that is my snowboard on the rack I have the winter tyres mounted on boring steel wheels so the nice alloys keep nice.

we're taking her down the Oregon coast all the way to San Francisco in August, taking in the Reno Air Races and a stop at Laguna Seca, should be fun!

Edited 1 May, 2013 by m17rkj

[AnotherGareth]

i want to try a RWD 2 seater or near enough. It needs to be rather beginner friendly, im not a pro behind the wheel but i feel i have a good foundation of knowledge or car control and how everything works to enable me to become a good fast road driver.

You should probably assume that this will be the first of a string of 'fun' cars and not worry overly much about which marque & model to get. If you are really serious about being a good road driver you ought to consider some specific training - obviously people have their own ideas about what that might mean but I'd strongly recommend the route ScoobyChris, ncarring and I all took.

Regarding specific cars, I'd agree with many here that an MX-5 is a great first choice, especially from the point of view of learning about driving. In particular I'd suggest considering a Mk2/2.5 with the 1.8 injected engine, with oem wheels, preferably smaller rather than larger or wider, to avoid losing the feeling of balance. Many say the Mk1 is more 'pure' so it's worth considering as well. I'd avoid any that are turbo- or super-charged, and that goes for other marques and models as well.

Many of the other car suggestions have particular vices that may get in the way of learning about car balance, but in so many ways the Porsche Boxsters are like grown-up MX-5s although with increased running and maintenance costs. Even the 2.5 and 2.7 engines are very nice, great balance and driving feel, but the 'S' models are like grown-up MX-5s on steroids. Boxsters flatter the driver into thinking they are much better than they are, though, so I think an MX-5 is a better choice for an initial foray into RWD.

Edited 1 May, 2013 by AnotherGareth

[faboka vrs]

Whichever choice you go for. I'd budget some money for a day with Don Palmer. Very nice bloke who will coach you limit handling from basics to expert depending in your skill level.

[daverapid]

[KenONeill]

Are there any surviving Rapid Cabriolets?

[TriggerFish]

I'd advise away from the RX-8 - sure it's RWD, but it never really felt it/acted that way.

For me, I'd say an e36 328i with an LSD. Cheap to buy so if you crash it, it's no great loss and loads of upgradable bits for them. Given the range of people who drive them about on the roads, they can't be too bad otherwise they'd never of sold any. An E30 could be an option, but they're going up in value so might not be the best move but could be a nice project car on the side.

I'd love a Z4M personally, considering one as a next car if I don't need to commute but they're meant to be quite tricky/hard to drive I believe?

[ScoobyChris]

I'd love a Z4M personally, considering one as a next car if I don't need to commute but they're meant to be quite tricky/hard to drive I believe?

I've never heard they were especially tricky to drive and most of the fast BMWs seem to take quite a lot of provocation/driving like a tool to get out of shape

A nice review here -> http://www.donpalmer.co.uk/press/7-days-z4m.html

Chris

[TriggerFish]

Ah, maybe it's just me then! I was reading something in evo about them and remember references to 'hard' cropping up a lot. Coulda been the ride though I guess.

[pete8tch]

try an MX5, we had 1 and are looking for another , not fast but huge fun , nobody that drove it didn't have a big smile on their face and the fun for cost is brilliant , the boxster is very good but the potential for costing lots is a worry.

[Jane_i10]

Think ill go for an mx5 then!

Someone want to buy my Octavia

[Neo_VR]

MX5..

HTH

[daverapid]

Are there any surviving Rapid Cabriolets?

Yeah, I look after two of them.

[Chris GB]

Forgot to mention, a mate of mine has a Porsche 911 (a 997 C2S) and he last year bought an MX5 for fun blasts around the countryside and track days.

Chris

[grr666]

I can only add that anyone saying they are a birds car can't have driven one.

And also that they have a great reputation for reliability.

I'd say go to Mazda and get a test drive Ema. I thought the 2.0 was just about

right. Oh and mine had LSD as well

[ruffday]

How about a classic BMW E30 325 cabby.

Or a nice old Ford Capri 280 brooklands.

Not cheap to buy for a good one but loads of fun to drive.

[AnotherGareth]

Or a nice old Ford Capri 280 brooklands.

A good call in some ways but the age means that maintenance becomes significant, especially the part that is fighting rust.

A club I belong to has, amongst its members, a wide range of cars. The thing they have in common is that they're generally very interesting and fun to drive. There's a preponderance of Porsche models -- 911s from the mid-80s onwards mainly although Boxsters and 968s as well. There's a good number of the more powerful BMWs with E39 M5 still having a good showing.

In the 80s the Alfa GTV6 and the Ford Capri 2.8i were considered typical club cars, being really good to drive yet relatively cheap to buy and maintain; I've owned both and certainly recommend the driving experience. The Alfa has better poise and balance, which is why my third is squirrelled away awaiting funds to sort out the bodywork. In that vein the Alfa 75, either the 2.0 Twinspark or the 3.0 V6, ought to be a contender in terms of driving experience -- my wife is on her 5th or 6th -- but keeping them running is a royal pita.

For the last decade, though, the mantle of typical club car has been firmly placed on the MX-5, for the reasons mentioned by various people in this thread.

Edited 2 May, 2013 by AnotherGareth