Surely the quickest Q car for this sort of money is a BMW 540 4.4- 286bhp, with good power through the rev range.
For £2K you're only going to get the 4.0V8 (286bhp) in the E34 and even then you'd be lucky to get a good'un.
The 4.4 (still 286bhp but more torque) was only available in the E39 onwards.
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Agreed on the Mondeo V6.
For no apparent reason Ford built quite a few pre-facelift Mondeos (93-97) with the V6 in the basic LX trim, so apart from the "24V" badges there's nothing whatsoever to indicate that these particular unassuming, anonymous Mondeos have a 176bhp V6 under the bonnet.
I've got a 1994 one, cost me £800 a year ago, and can give a surprising number of cars a good run for their money. Mine's had a respray at some point so it doesn't even have the 24V badges on it (or a Ford badge, or a Mondeo badge for that matter), so it's a rather tatty looking, but deceptively quick little number.
Absolutely awful on petrol though, I get about 24mpg :D
It's done 97000 miles, and still runs like a dream, TBH I see no reason whatsoever to change it for something else.
www.fruitforums.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid...8
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Alex,
We had an M reg V6 Mondeo a while ago and absolutely loved it. Dad's had his share of fast cars and swears that apart from the Focus, the Mondeo is the best car he's ever owned.
If the current one wasn't so common/boring then I'd have one in a shot.
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Actually I tell a lie, it's a late 1995 model, not a 1994, but I'm sure it doesn't make much of a difference.
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would look at carlton Gsi quite impressive for what it is though to be proper Q car it needs to lose the spoiler. the old volvo 960 is quite impressive for what is a rather bland looking car. agree with mondeo v6's they can look quite bland,thats what a Q car is all about after all, no point in having something that looks fast. the idea is to be un-noticed . the lotus carlton is essentially an excellent Q car only thing is everybody knows what they look like and you aint never gonna get one for two grand!!!!!!!...cheers...keo.
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The totally standard looking Moggy Minor on a K plate that overtook me on the M1 last weekend. A brief application of oomph in the name of curiosity showed it to be cruising up hill at a GPS verified 105 MPH. A far cry from my father's Series II split screen 803 cc three speed Moggy back in the early sixties.
A quick gander at www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/technicaltips/alternateeng...l shows that the motor could be from quite a wide range of conversions. The most impressive I ever saw was Nick Mann's V8 nitrous turbo Moggy going up Prescott hil climb and a very tidy Fiat 2.0 twin cam conversion.
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Surely a Q car of less than £2000 should be ordinary, which rules out cars like 5-Series and Morris Minor because people make note of them. Ford (not RS), Vauxhall, Rover, Saab, Volvo or any Japanese barges would fit the bill better?
What about Toyota Carina E GTi 92-95 with 180bhp or Mazda Xedos 9 2.3 Millar Cycle with 220bhp? Light and fast, no one should make note of these two.
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I agree about the Carina but the Xedos 9 looks very sleek to start off with.
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Carina E Gti - 180 bhp ??
Really??
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Very short run of two years, it's a copy of an early BTCC car. The Carina E GTI 2.0 Saloon has the Celica GT (the four headlight one) 2.0 engine with 180bhp (same 4A-GE engine with difference map, inlet & exhaust manifold and fast cam), ran from I believe 92-94 or 93-95. It was then backed off to 153bhp for the rest of its life, along side the 130bhp version.
How to find such a car is another problem altogether...
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An ST's hardly a Q car though is it?
The old 24v was because it was no different than other Mondeos bar the engine. The ST has massive bumpers and all that malarkey doesn't it?
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Not the early saloon - it looks exactly the same as any other Mk2 Mondeo saloon. No spoiler, no bodykit.
The bodykit came with the hatch in late 1997. It was standard on hatch but only an option, after 97, on the Saloon. So, all the P reg ones are kit-less as are many of the later ones as well.
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The general criteria for a Q car is as the OP said ".. big, anonymous, cheap, powerful ..."
Mk2 Mondeo ST24.
I suppose 2 out of 4 ain't too bad.
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Which two does it fail on?
It's big, its cheap, its anonymous and it's certainly as powerful as many of the suggestions here.
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Which two does it fail on?
Yes it's cheap and powerful but it's not big (at least not QX, Omega, Legend "big") and it's not anonymous, at least not the ones with that bulbous bodykit anyway...
So I suppose it's 2.5 out of 4 ;-)
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I never knew that Mike.
Anyway, it's 3 out of 4. It's big, cheap and powerful ;-)
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Most people don't realise, which makes it a better Q car. Even the Ford magazines don't realise, they did an ST24 buyers guide and were at pains to ensure people didn't buy what they thought was a 'A Ghia saloon somebody had stuck the badge on'.
The only clue as to what's under the bonnet is the badge on the back and the V6 badge on the sides.
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Watch out for adark metalic blue G reg Jaguar Sovereign, behind you.
If it's the one we used to own, it'll blow you away. Other than the tiny badge on the bootlid saying Janspeed, it's outwardly a conventional old luxury barge.
Under the bonet, it's had a twin turbo (Janspeed) engine conversion, with top half of rebuild.
Not done by a boy racer type, either! It was carried out less than 2000miles from new! We bought it from the leasing company,4 years down the line 65k up.Been operated by the recrutment arm of Barclays bank - nice perk for some over important suit, no doubt!!
Bet you'd not need to pay £2000 if it's still around!!
VB
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A friend has a very aging, weary and somewhat rusty Granada, the bug eyed model. However it has a Cosworth power plant.
Quite why he ever bought it I will never understand but I understand it used go like the proverbial stuff off a shovel.
It probably still goes a bit but he's frightened to find out, in case the bottom half leaves the top half behind :-)
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Thanks for all your experience and advice. I'm kind of leaning towards the Mondeo V6 - high spec, low milage can still work out extraordinarily cheap for 7-8 year old car, it's a lot of car for the money.
I never, ever thought I'd own a mondeo... The patter of tiny feet changes a man in ways which are continually surprising.
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What about an Alfa 164 V6? At least you won't be driving a Mondeo then...
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Aww... My comedy {dives for cover} bit didn't work :(
Now I can't do the follow-up of:
{pokes head out}
And you'll have the best sounding V6 ever under the bonnet.
Gutted.
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If you don't care about appearance - that is to say, a bodykit is something you are bothered about, ensure it's the Ghia X model you buy. This is the one thats loaded with everything you need and plenty you don't. Aviod the Si and ST24 as they are no cheaper but lack leather etc and the Si's pre 98 don't have aircon.
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Don't get a boring old Mondeo...be different!
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Yeah, thanks for that! It took me a little while to work out that performance was identical, and leather was only half at best in the st24 - It's the Ghia X V6 Manual, black inside and out I'm looking at.
And yes, I know it's boring as hell - but it ticks all the boxes. I've just bought my first house, and my first baby is coming in a few weeks - my budget is tight. I was totally fixed on a Soarer Twin Turbo, until I realised that I needed a hatchback more than I needed 280 brake... For my limited budget I can get a comparitively recent, genuinely low milage car which is reasonably quick, and drives pretty well, with low running costs, reliability and crash safety. I need a car for my family not my ego. So good bye japanese spaceships, and hello Dagenham's rep-mobile.
Unless anyone can persuade me otherwise...
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Yeah, thanks for that! It took me a little while to work out that performance was identical, and leather was only half at best in the st24 - It's the Ghia X V6 Manual, black inside and out I'm looking at.
Good luck. Early Panther Black cars have the 'Truffle' coloured interior - this is a sort of mixture between beige and vomit. Later ones gained the darker of the two colours available - 'Alchemy' - which is a very dark blue.
In 1999, Midnight Black appeared - at least a decent interior colour. Glad mines Midnight Black.
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I think the Mondeo thing has gone the otherway now. Don't forget Ron, it's a fully loaded, quick car. Hardly a 1.8 LX.
Find a decent one and enjoy it. Reliable, comfy and quick.
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If its reliability you want, go Japanese.
Nissan QX's is he most relaible car Nissan has ever produced, its engines are economical, refined and very smooth, + it has Climate control, and all the usual electics, which never go wrong. Also, Toyota's Camry is a very good buy.
If you want European, go for a Vx Omega 3.0/2.5, or even German.
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dare i mention a rover 620 ti...very fast and understated!
get a nice V plate for less than 2K
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Bought a Volvo 960 Estate. Very sure footed, really quite powerful, totally boring looking - I love it!
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VW Golf VR6? Not quite an R32 but then the R32 isn't discreet about its talents.
Don't know how long VR6's were made for or how easy they are to find, mind!
cheers, SS
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Bought a Volvo 960 Estate. Very sure footed, really quite powerful, totally boring looking - I love it!
SHHHHHHH! Dont tell everyone they'll all want one . .. i had the 960 saloon and i was very impressed with it a big luxury barge with fairly good roadholding and quite impressive speed wise it will cruise ton up all day long if you want it to. the best thing is how bland it looks just a box on wheels...cheers...keo
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>>How to find such a car is another problem altogether...
>>
My BiL had one until a couple of years ago. A 92/K 2.0 GTi, very quick. Also confortable and very reliable as I remember.
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>> Surely the quickest Q car for this sort of money is >> a BMW 540 4.4- 286bhp, with good power through the rev >> range. >> For £2K you're only going to get the 4.0V8 (286bhp) in the E34 and even then you'd be lucky to get a good'un. The 4.4 (still 286bhp but more torque) was only available in the E39 onwards.
How about the E28 M5 the original, last sporting saloon without the electronic gadgets maybe?
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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How about the E28 M5 the original, last sporting saloon without the electronic gadgets maybe?
A fair/good E28 M5 would be even harder to find for £2K or even double that - virtually impossible I would think!!
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> > A fair/good E28 M5 would be even harder to find for £2K or even double that - virtually impossible I would think!!
I'd agree with that. As a case in point, a two owner 'B' plated E28 M5 with just under 140,000 miles showing was the mystery car on User Car Roadshow broadcast on Men and Motors yesterday. Although largely tidy, it was replete with rust bubbles in the roof and was up for just under five grand.
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To be fair though that wasn't an M5, it was a M6, which are held in much higher regard.
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Ah, yes, you are correct. Sorry for the misinformation.
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Vauxhall Senetor 3.0i 24v ?
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My 960 blew up, or at least the auto box did... complete with lots of smoke and cursing. A jolly good time was had by all. Fortunately I got all my money back!
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