This will be my first performance car purchase after riding high performance bikes for 30 odd years.

I know Jack all about cars but the R26 is appealing.

What are the main competitors to the R26 and what else is worth considering, I will be looking to buy new


Thanks

Phil

i would say, civic type r, seat leon cupra r, vauxhall astra vxr.
don;t want a vauxhall though. they just torque steer all over the road.
cupra r is a good handling car, but its spanish lol
and the civic type r. nice but common.

or R27....?

There are no competitors as the R26 is soooooooooooooooooo much better than them all.

Go for an R26 mate u won't be disappointed

All nice cars test them all.
Tiger
Grrrrr

This will be my first performance car purchase after riding high performance bikes for 30 odd years.
I know Jack all about cars but the R26 is appealing.
What are the main competitors to the R26 and what else is worth considering, I will be looking to buy new. Thanks Phil
Focus ST, Golf GTi and Astra VXR probably the main 3 culprits. Worth considering if you have the cash is the new Audi S3. Pound for pound and all the group tests put the R26 out in front. For about £17k new you won't find a better hot hatch.

Leftfield answer- Japanese domestic market Civic Type R- a truly amazing bit of kit and very exclusive. You need to like cars that rev! and it would be an import only.
I reckon the above car is probably the only car bar a previous generation Integra Type R (DC5) that will appeal to a hardened biker(Front wheel drive of course)
There are not many 'production' cars out there at the moment that have true steering feel and I am sure this would be on your list of wants.
The next step would be something like the V6 Clio, second generation or a boxster or a Nissan 350Z. Maybe even a RX8 or BMW130i might tempt you.

Last but not least, the new Monaro from Vauxhaul could be worth a look too?

Deary me, I might get flamed for all of the above, but the R26 is still a good car!

The only other one that hasnt been mentioned is the Mazda3 MPS. I drove one and it didnt really feel no diff to the R26 and has for looks it aint got none, it blends in with the rest of the rest of them, where has the R26 depending on the colour stands out like mad. Cus I had the red the day I picked it up I thought it was gonna get robbed because it stood out that much.

fast_eddie Japanese domestic market Civic Type R- a truly amazing bit of kit and very exclusive. You need to like cars that rev! and it would be an import only.

Eddie
Why is that different than a UK type R and where do I look for one?
thanks

Phil

Here you go fella

http://www.200bhpcars.com/new/stockExp.php

About the best in the business from what I can gather. Or there is always litchfield imports but I reckon he has got a little bit expensive since appearing in EVO and the like, but might be worth a comparative look.

http://www.itr-dc5.co.uk/
Have a look around the forum section on here if you are really interested as there is tons of info about the DC5(Last of the line Integra R) and the car above.

The UK Type R is a watered down version of what the Japs get. Both of the above have LSD's as standard!:surrender:and much better suspension set up too.

Cheers

They put a jap ctr up against a uk type r recently on fifth gear - the jap one is faster, handles better and personally I think it looks better. You can get them from Litchfield Imports - they advertise in the back of EVO magazine (the only PROPER car mag). I imagine they would also have a website so try the net. Think they are going for about 22 or 23 grand at the moment

still think the r26 is the best :) Don't know why i would think that :yumyum:
come on number 2 :signs005:

The R26 still has its pro's against the Jap stuff in my opinion. Its a little 'stealthier' than the Honda's and it would be less tiring to drive if you were not in the mood. I reckon it would also be a little more comfortable too, but horses for courses and all that.
It all depends on how raw an ex biker wants his car to be. It might make difference if you have come from the 4 cylinder bikes or the 2 cylinder bikes. Jap stuff=high revs low torque, R26 high torque low(ish) revs.

Well my latest bike was a Hayabusa 1300 CC 160 ish BHP huge power and speed, I prefer grunt as opposed to revs which can become tiresome if your not in the mood, I would prefer a car with around 300 ish BHP but that means lots more money or secondhand.

Reliability is high on my list, hence a new R26

Phil



fast_eddie; wrote The R26 still has its pro's against the Jap stuff in my opinion. Its a little 'stealthier' than the Honda's and it would be less tiring to drive if you were not in the mood. I reckon it would also be a little more comfortable too, but horses for courses and all that.
It all depends on how raw an ex biker wants his car to be. It might make difference if you have come from the 4 cylinder bikes or the 2 cylinder bikes. Jap stuff=high revs low torque, R26 high torque low(ish) revs.

Guess the Honda's will not be for you then-Chipped R26 or Leon Cupra might do then, or a 350Z perhaps.
Or a Scooby or an Evo

hides!!!

Phil you know my thought on what you should get! :yes:

I've got a 320bhp skyline up in the sales section if you want some crazy sideways power!!! :scared:

if your after grunt get an ST its got bags of torque. espically when they have been remapped :)

Well R26 is top of the list so far, drove one yesterday and really liked it, also drove a 197 which I liked but it didn't feel so much of a drivers car the the 26


This will be a weekend only car so needs to float my boat for a memerable driving experience.

Phil

did you test drive any 182's??

Next on the list

i've gone through Focus ST3, Leon Cupra, Golf GTI and Megane R26 over the last few weeks.

this has to be my everyday car doing upto 20k a year. total cost wise (fuel n all) the golf comes out the cheapest. although the focus is super cheap to buy the fuel bill does it no favours. the leon just didn't do it for me.

looked at the megane DCI but couldn't deal with the tiny rev range :)

so, it's the R26 i'm going for. the golf is a brillinat all round car but the megane has that little bit extra. think if i hadn't had a 182 the R26 would have been the easy choice but i wanted something a bit diff which has been pushing me away from the R26.

the focus has an amazing engine note (suspect due to being 5 cyln) it's soooo addictive, but i know it'd work out just too costly to be doing it all day long.

for a weekend car though.....tough decision. i'd say either ST or R26

he went for a clio 182 in the end

good choice. be real sorry to see mine go