edit : typo in the title, how sophisticated.

Ok so it isn't really an XFG, but it looks quite similar!!

I've just bought myself a car for track days & rallies etc.

£500, 1.5l-16v DOHC Mazda 323f GXI
89bhp (lol)

I can't quite believe a car with such little power comes with Traction Control.

Only 500 quid!? Man, that's a great bargain! It looks good too

500 quids! What's wrong with it?!

yep - some guy leaving the country who couldn't be bothered to re-register it in the UK in order to sell it, so I bought it for about 1/3rd of what I believe I could get for it, 58thou on the clock...

That's a great deal. How much it would cost to re-register it?

Wtf... £500 can't even get a half decent car round here for that cheap

Apart from the "ricer-roney" rims, its a good buy

Too rounded to be an XFG. Not enough power either (and probably too much mass).

Quote from z3r0c00l :

89bhp (lol)

89 hp isnt that weak.
especially when u r a guy (almost typed an "a" instead of "u" whoops ) who doesnt like to stop on every gas station to fill up.

Yeah, it's really a lot like XFG. I mean, both are FWD and.. umm... yeah, that's about it.

The cost of re-registering it is £38 plus tax £110, and MOT, £50 if it goes through ok...

speaking of the MOT that's why I've stuck the ricer rims on it, they were £350 with new tyres all round, I'm willing to pay an extra £130 on top of the cost of the 4 tyres I would've bought anyway for alloys over the standard wheels, which btw I've kept and will be getting a set of Conway mud tyres wrapped round them at some point.

@Forbin - you're right, it's slower, heavier and uglier, I'm dreaming, but I'm going through university, and when this came up so cheap I threw buying my cousins bmw 325i out the window, just too cheap to say no, especially with current petrol prices!

Nice wheels, what year is it??

Quote :

speaking of the MOT that's why I've stuck the ricer rims on it, they were £350 with new tyres all round, I'm willing to pay an extra £130 on top of the cost of the 4 tyres I would've bought anyway for alloys over the standard wheels

Hafords? I got the same wheels but in Hi-Silver (not quite chrome!)
I did exactly the same, and for the same reasons, when I got mine

Got to say it though, MY Suzy Swift is the most XFG-like car around, the right shape, near-enough right powah (103bhp), and not far off the weight either...performance stats are very similar too...0-60 in about 8.x secs, and top end of just over 115....Now say the Swift aint a XFG!

Also, Mrs B today bought a 1.4i Honda Civic (5door), 1999, about 65k miles, Air-Con, and in excellent condition; and we got that for £1700.. at least she is happy.

PS: anybody wanna buy a 1995 Escort 1.4 LX... 97K, T&T, built-in paddling pool (stuff your shower, Clarkson! )

Only £300 ovno

Quote from z3r0c00l :

speaking of the MOT that's why I've stuck the ricer rims on it, they were £350 with new tyres all round, I'm willing to pay an extra £130 on top of the cost of the 4 tyres I would've bought anyway for alloys over the standard wheels, which btw I've kept and will be getting a set of Conway mud tyres wrapped round them at some point.

You seriously think it makes any difference with 89 HP whether you have alloy or steel wheels (ha, you're not getting me Tristan! )?

Thanks - I quite like them, but I'm not really bothered about how they look. They are from "Wheelmania", I saw them advertised on eBay, these are "Team Dynamics" wheels, their Motorsport models in white, although they are no-where near as light (or as expensive) as a proper set of OZ touring car racing wheels. Personally, I'd never trust halfrauds with anything.

As for the wheels? it makes a substantial difference, these ones are 3kg lighter all in per wheel, and the rubber contact patch is larger, allowing me to obtain higher lateral g, resulting in increased corner speed, and more importantly corner exit speed, meaning I may well be a car ahead at the end of the follow straight than I would otherwise be.

If you've ever been to the UK I don't think you would sniff too hard at 89hp, the insurance for my age group is £2600 fully comp, and £1300 third party only, that isn't even fire and theft. I have however been to Austria, and I absolutely loved it, if I lived there I would drive down to Italy on a daily basis just because of the road that joins the two over the mountains is THE BEST DRIVING EXPERIENCE I have ever had.

The place that I work just got a newer one of these in, the 323 sport, black, insanely sexy....well after "it" happend.

The noodles were thrashing it around the backroads before they even put insureance on it, so it's pretty fecked down one side, front left is bent at about a 45 degree angle. It went on the recovery truck at an angle and well, it came off the same so it fell off to, just to add to the cars injury.

must say - that's a nice car, for a great price...
good for you

Quote from z3r0c00l :

If you've ever been to the UK I don't think you would sniff too hard at 89hp, the insurance for my age group is £2600 fully comp, and £1300 third party only, that isn't even fire and theft.

First off, that seems high...

Second, I didn't think any insurers did Third Party without F&T now?!

I know one thing, where the 323 (we in the States call it a Protege) lacks in horsepower, it makes up in the suspension. Take a look at the back suspension; it is really set up well.

@angry_angel; It is very high, young male and high risk unfortunately. Most companies will do third party only, but you have to ask for it specifically.

@Bawbag - yeah I've seen the newer facelift sport models, look markedly better, go a damn sight better too! Shame its now bent!!!!

@jayhawk - I have had a look underneath, anti-roll bars are nice and solid, once I've got the front and rear strut braces in it should be pretty much sorted. I was going to bring the suspension down by about 35mm to sharpen it up a bit, but the standard shocks are the weak point, so I'm currently saving for a set of adjustable coil-overs. May well have to have them imported from the US, america has more performance kit for the "Protege" than I can find from the UK. BlackDiamond drilled and grooved discs and serious pads to match for example...

A mate of mine drives one of them, his is a diesel though. Nice enough car. Probably quicker once you rip all the guff out of the inside.

I'd dearly love to rip everything out that isn't structual, and whack in a bucket seat, but sadly I've got to commute 80 miles a day in this thing... insurance quotes dictate only a single car.

Also, if I want to enter the 2008 Lombard Rally, the internal trim must be intact aside from the rollcage fitment, so I guess I'll just have to live with it being deeply slow while I need it for commuting.


Guess I'll just have to buy a caterham superlight once I cash in this degree crap for a job.

Yeah if I was going to buy a track car (which I nearly tell myself I'm going to do each summer, despite not needing a car for any other reason) I'd build a super seven. Bags of fun for **** all money.

What year is that thing? Looks awefully new to only have 89 hp. I haven't heard of any cars since the 80's with less than 100 hp. That looks like what we know here as the Mazda 3, which is the model design that came after the Protege, which was the 323 from the 80's (I think).

And here I thought we were the ones with the crappy and underpowered/underhandling cars available.

I'm looking at Edmunds.com. What you show is the Mazda Protege 5 here in the US. 2.0L 16V inline 4 with 130 hp. Available 2 years, 2002 and 2003. The 2.0L 130 hp is the only engine that was available. 25 city / 31 highway mpg rated. This looks like a very nice prospect to replace the car I'm currently stuck with since trading my truck on something for the wife.

Finally I have found a vehicle that in it's lowest trim level in the US (actually, the only trim level) is greater than the lowest trim level of what's available outside the US!

That is a nice looking car you have there. Especially the price as it appears to go for around $8000-10,000 US for our version (2002 or 2003).

It is an early 2001 model, just before the facelift came in. This banner from another forum I frequent shows the model shapes for the years:



1.5L GXI 16v, and it really is 89hp - they even did a 1.3 8v... I'd tell you how many horsepower, except, no-one cares.

The US designation for the car is the Protege5, they do a saloon in America also. I really did want atleast the 1.8, preferably the one you are talking about, 2.0 sporting model, but this was too much of a bargain to pass up, even if it is crap. I'm hoping to scrounge atleast 1.1g of cornering force out of it somehow!

I would recommend the car generally, handling is relatively good, although its still a big hatchback, but the suspension makes a big difference compared to the focus/astra. The build quality seems good and it appears to be unfailingly reliable according to everyone else, just, a bit boring!

A car like that would cost 6000 quid in Denmark.

I'm moving away from this car-unfriendly country.

They always say "we want people to buy more safe cars, that doesn't pollute much"... So we still pay 180% in taxes when we buy a car. Isn't that obvious?

Stupid danes... Your car is looking sweet, by the way!