Motoring
Best Fun Student Cars
There’s a plethora of guides out there for simple, cheap and cheerful cars out there for students to pick over, but what about something for the young petrol-head who wants an enjoyable motor but on a shoestring budget? Well, resident vehicle fanatic Richard Geary has scoured the marketplace for the top fun cars that are available on average student budgets, and we’ll tell you what to look out for so you don’t have to fork out your food budget to run them.
Puma’s are easily found for £500, going up to £2000 for standard cars, while the rare and sought after 155bhp Ford Racing Puma’s have held their value, and can still fetch over £10,000. As well as checking for full service histories, check the bodywork and alloy wheels for signs of scuffs or damage. Cars with heavily damaged rims or poorly repaired or dented bodywork could well have been thrashed, so avoid them.
If you’re after fun on a tight budget, then look no further than the Ford Puma. As little as £500 is all that’s needed to buy this cute little coupe, and for that you’ll pick up one of the most underrated sports coupes around.
I know, a Porsche on a student budget? I must be mad, I hear you say. But the Porsche 944 ticks all the right boxes when you’re after a cheap sports coupe. £3000 wont find you a turbo, but you can get a nice naturally aspirated 2.5 litre car. Make sure it’s been looked after and maintained well and should stay reliable and dependable up to 200,000 miles. With prices of them starting to rise, they’ll soon become too expensive so snap one up quickly. Classic car insurance is available on them too, meaning the insurance premiums are affordable even for young drivers.
Ford Puma
Porsche 944
Alfa Romeo GTV
The base Puma has a range of three engines to chose from, a 90bhp 1.4 litre unit, a 103bhp 1.6 litre, and a 1.7 litre engine pumping out 123bhp. We suggest avoiding the 1.4 unless price is a real concern and going for the zesty 1.7, which enables the little Ford to complete the 0-60 sprint in 9.2 seconds, and on to a top speed of 126 miles per hour. Couple that to its slick and sporty feeling 5-speed manual gearbox, and excellent chassis, and the Puma becomes a seriously good car to drive. It’s fairly practical too, for such a small coupe at least. It can seat 4, although full sized adults wont be thrilled with the aspect of being bundled into the back seats, and the boot is a decent size. The rear seats fold down as well, making a large space for items in the rear. The awkward shaped boot makes carrying large and bulky items an issue, though. Running costs aren’t too much of a worry either, because even the 1.7 will return 38.2 miles per gallon on average, and insurance premiums are fairly low too. Plus its based on Ford’s popular hatchback, the Fiesta, meaning a looked after Puma should be fairly reliable, and parts are cheap and easy to find even is something does go wrong.
A sleek and sexy Italian coupe can be yours for just £1000. The 2.0 litre Twin Spark engine can be reliable if looked after properly. They need the correct oil and it needs to be topped up regularly. Electrics on Alfa Romeo’s are also problematic, so make sure all the electrics work prior to purchase. More powerful 3.0 litre, V6 versions are also available, and in 2003 the GTV received a facelift with a larger grill and a 3.2 litre V6 replaced the 3.0 litre. The 3.2’s are extremely rare though, and retain their value.
“Couple that to its slick and sporty feeling 5-speed manual gearbox, and the Puma becomes a seriously good car to drive”
This doesn’t mean every Puma on the market is a good buy however. Check the service history thoroughly and make sure it’s had the correct oil used, as the engine was co-developed by Yamaha and requires synthetic 5W30 oil, preferably from a major brand. Also make sure the cambelt has been changed either every 5 years, or every 80,000 miles. All 1.7 litre Puma’s come as standard with anti-lock brakes, alloy wheels, electric windows and remote central locking. Find a car with the Black trim pack and you’ll get air conditioning, leather seats and traction control too, while Thunder trim adds heated mirrors and a CD player.
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UniCov hard black plastics and therefore tends to feel dull and dreary, but the seats are comfortable, and the fun factor when driving more than makes up for the boring interior. Fuel economy is decent for a hot hatch, averaging 34 miles per gallon, but the Renault isn’t green, and road tax comes in at £265 each year. Equipment levels however are fairly good, with a long list of standard equipment. The Clio is also exceptionally safe, earning a 4 star Euro NCAP rating. Reliability shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but small faults can be common. Search for cars that have been serviced regularly and taken care of, and make sure they’ve not been raced, as they’re a common sight on track day events. Also make sure that they’ve been recalled when needed, for brake servos and front suspension arms. Electrical gremlins are common on Clio’s, and often they will have trouble starting in cold weather, so be sure to check how the car starts when cold and whether the engine is hesitant.
“Mazda’s little sports car may be 25 years old, but it’s still regarded as one of the best sports cars ever made.”
Peugeot 205 GTI
One of the old guard of the hot hatchback world, the Peugeot 205 GTI is truly an icon and is quickly being recognised as a classic car, which is causing prices to rise. Good ones are already hitting nearly £10,000 but some decent examples can still be picked up for a shade under £3000. Bag one now and you’ll not only have a rally-bred legend, but you’ll also have firm investment potential. The 1.9 litre commands a higher premium, but the 1.6 litre certainly shouldn’t be snubbed.
Renault Clio Renaultsport 172
If it’s a hot-hatch that you yearn for then the Renault Clio Renaultsport 172 fits the bill very well. This excellent sporty hatchback can be picked up for as little as £1000, but we recommend spending a little bit more for a good one. This performance version of the standard Clio II comes with a naturally aspirated 2.0 litre 4-cylinder engine producing 168bhp, which powers the front wheels through a 5-speed manual gearbox. In a straight line, it’ll reach 60mph in just 7.2 seconds, and keep going until it hits 138mph. But it’s not the power that makes this little French hatch so enjoyable, it’s how the Clio copes in the corners. It has an absolutely fantastic chassis, and seems to deal with any corner at any speed. Steering is rapid and precise and the gearbox is lovely and smooth. The handling hasn’t affected road comfort at normal speeds though, whilst it’s a hard ride it’s still comfortable on standard road surfaces, and could easily be used as a comfortable daily driver.
4-cylinder unit, powering the MX5 to 60mph in 9.4 seconds, and onto a top speed of 119mph. What the 1.6 lacked in straight-line grunt, it made up for with a wonderful raspy exhaust note and an eagerness to rev and be driven hard. In 1994, Mazda introduced a 1.8 litre unit, which evolved slightly over it’s 9 year run, but regardless of year would propel the car to 60 in around 8.3 seconds, and keep it going up to 123mph. Yet the MX5’s enjoyment doesn’t come from power, it’s the twisty stuff where the Mazda truly excels. Almost perfect weight distribution, plus rear wheel drive, means it’s absolute joy to fling down a country road. The steering is responsive and full of feedback, and the tires are skinny enough to make driving a thrill, but still grippy enough to make sure you don’t throw yourself into the ditch. You’d think then, that with the hard suspension needed to make the Mazda so enjoyable when being driven hard in the corners, that it’s be about as comfortable as being beaten with sticks at normal speeds, but no. Somehow the MX5 deals with bumps and undulations in the road remarkably well. It’s only on the motorway where comfort becomes an issue, due to deafening wind noise against the canvas roof, and the short gearing means the engine screams away at speed.
Suzuki Swift
The Suzuki Swift may not be a hot hatch, but if you want a practical, cheap to run hatch that you can use every day that’s still great fun to drive, then you can’t do much better. We recommend staying away from the 1.3 litre, and going for either the 101bhp 1.5, or the 123bhp 1.6 litre Sport. The Sport costs around £1500 more than the standard car and does the 0-60 sprint 1.0 second quicker. That doesn’t make the 1.5 litre slow, though. It’ll still reach 60 in 10 seconds, and the agile and responsive steering makes it one of the most enjoyable small hatchbacks available. Prices start at around £1500, and insurance premiums should be some of the cheapest around.
Mazda MX5
No list of cheap cars would be complete without the superb Mazda MX5 making an appearance. Mazda’s little sports car may be 25 years old, but it’s still regarded as one of the best sports cars ever made.
However, we’ve still not come to the most incredible thing about the MX5. Its total reliability. MX5’s have been known to do over 200,000 miles and keep going, meaning if you find one with a full service history that’s been looked after, you wont have to worry about much going wrong with it. The only issue with them is they can be prone to rust, so check under the sills and arches. Running an MX5 is cheap as well, and average fuel consumption of 35 miles per gallon is possible out of either engine, while tax is £230. Go for an early car, and most insurers will allow you to take out a classic car insurance policy, which will bring premiums down massively. Just check with insurers first before buying cars badged as a Eunos roadster. While still the same car, these are Japanese imports, and can often see insurance premiums rising for younger drivers.
Toyota MR2 SW20
Often dubbed ‘the poor man’s Ferrari’, the SW20 Toyota MR2 is one of the cheapest ways into a mid-engine sports car, with high mileage examples available for just £1000. Cheap doesn’t mean that it’s no good though, the 2.0 litre Toyota gets from 0-60 in just 7.7 seconds, and is thoroughly enjoyable in the corners. Just be careful of modified cars, and watch out for snap-oversteer, which is prominent with mid-engine cars.
MG TF
The boot isn’t the largest in its class, but the rear seats do fold down making it easy to carry large items. The Clio does hold 5 people, but adults will struggle for room in the back. The interior is filled with
For £1000 both Mk1’s and Mk2’s will be available to you, and all engines are excellent apart from the post 1995 1.6 litre with just 90bhp, which is far too little even for the ultra-lightweight Mazda. Early cars were available with only the 114bhp 1.6 litre
Also a mid-engine, rear wheel drive sports car, the MG TF can be found on the market for as little as £500. We suggest steering clear of these cheaper cars though, as many suffer with the common headgasket fault that plagues MG’s 1.8 litre cars. Spend a bit more for a car with a full service history that’s been looked after, and you’ll bag yourself a good looking little roadster.
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