[Akash_1806]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to build a fun to drive 200hp street/track car under 6 lakhs which should be mod-friendly. All the options mentioned here are pre-owned due to the given budget constraints. Options are-

1. 2011-12 Honda Civic 1.8 MT (130hp stock)
2. 2011-12 Skoda Superb 1.8 TSI MT (160hp stock)
3. 2011-12 Honda City 1.5 MT (116 HP stock)

I am planning to use the car for Autocross purposes as well as my daily drive. The mods which I have planned for the car include a stage 1+ remap, performance exhaust with valvetronic endcan, aftermarket air filter, set of lowering springs, aftermarket alloy wheels, decent set of tyres and upgraded brakes.

This being the 3rd vehicle in the family it needa to be a little light on the pocket in terms of maintenance.

The budget of the cars should be less than 3.5 lakhs as the mods planned for the vehicle will easily take upto 2-2.5 lakhs. Also, it needs to be a petrol vehicle so that we are able to use the vehicle for at least a period of 4-5 years in Delhi/NCR.

I would request the experts to guide me on the same, all help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Akash

[govigov]

A 7th gen / 8th gen Accord V6 should easily put out 240 / 270 bhp in its stock form. 8th gen accord v6 engine is great with the VCM delete kit. It should be within your budget as well.

[SS-Traveller]

Your thread came about 4-5 years too late, especially considering your location is Noida.

Modified cars, especially those with silencers that sound modified, are cars that traffic cops in the NCR region drool over. And an old cheap car that's approaching or completed 15 years would make them dance with joy!

[GTO]

Would suggest using up the entire 6 lakhs for an Abarth Punto. It's one of the best driver's cars to have been sold in India and you'll have a lot of fun with it. Because it will be newer than the options you have listed, you'll be able to use it for a longer time in Delhi-NCR too.

Don't be stuck on "200 BHP" with a budget of 6 lakhs. Instead, focus on "fun to drive". Other cars that you can consider are a pre-owned Octavia 1.8 TSI, Polo / Rapid 1.0 TSI, Polo 1.6L TDI, Tiago JTP (if you can find one) etc.

I've driven some 200 BHP cars which were boring, and some 100 BHP cars that were a lot of fun. Also, I've had as much fun on my favourite mountain road in a Figo 1.5L TDCi as I have with a BMW M340i.

Somewhat related thread (Is it necessary for "fun-to-drive" to only involve fast + tight handling cars? I don't think so!)

[sunikkat]

If your budget is strictly within 6 lakhs look for a Laura TSI. If you can extend Octavia MK3 TSI would be the pick. These with stage 1 will easily take to 200 bhp. And beyond that mod potential are unlimited.

[Akash_1806]

Originally Posted by govigov

A 7th gen / 8th gen Accord V6 should easily put out 240 / 270 bhp in its stock form. 8th gen accord v6 engine is great with the VCM delete kit. It should be within your budget as well.

I was on a lookout for an Accord but was not able to find one in decent condition, and if the condition is still somewhat okay then the prices are 8 lakh+.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Your thread came about 4-5 years too late, especially considering your location is Noida.

Modified cars, especially those with silencers that sound modified, are cars that traffic cops in the NCR region drool over. And an old cheap car that's approaching or completed 15 years would make them dance with joy!

I totally understand your point and that is the reason why I am going for a valvetronic setup. Also to mention, all the vehicles listed above use petrol as fuel and are about 9-10 years. This gives me a usable life of 4-5 years in Delhi-NCR.

Originally Posted by GTO

Would suggest using up the entire 6 lakhs for an Abarth Punto. It's one of the best driver's cars to have been sold in India and you'll have a lot of fun with it. Because it will be newer than the options you have listed, you'll be able to use it for a longer time in Delhi-NCR too.

Don't be stuck on "200 BHP" with a budget of 6 lakhs. Instead, focus on "fun to drive". Other cars that you can consider are a pre-owned Octavia 1.8 TSI, Polo / Rapid 1.0 TSI, Polo 1.6L TDI, Tiago JTP (if you can find one) etc.

I've driven some 200 BHP cars which were boring, and some 100 BHP cars that were a lot of fun. Also, I've had as much fun on my favourite mountain road in a Figo 1.5L TDCi as I have with a BMW M340i.

Somewhat related thread (Is it necessary for "fun-to-drive" to only involve fast + tight handling cars? I don't think so!)

Hi GTO, I really love the Abarth Punto but I don't know why my family holds a grudge against Fiat. And to add to it, Fiat has shut shop in India sometime back. I have tried looking for a decent, well maintained examples of Octavia/Laura 1.8 TSI but found very few examples that too had 90k+ kms on the odo.

Diesel options are out of question as I already have one diesel vehicle at home, a 2014 Nissan Terrano used solely by me. The second vehicle at home is also a compact SUV, Ford Ecosport so I am not on a lookout for them. This is more of a project car for me which will be replacing my ex army Gypsy, hence the options.

Originally Posted by sunikkat

If your budget is strictly within 6 lakhs look for a Laura TSI. If you can extend Octavia MK3 TSI would be the pick. These with stage 1 will easily take to 200 bhp. And beyond that mod potential are unlimited.

I tried to look for a decent, well maintained Laura TSI but was not able to find one at a decent price or the mileage on the odometer was too high for a German make. The price bracket is quite strict so extending the budget will be quite tough.

[lamborghini]

If you want a light on maintenance car, I'd strongly avoid getting something and modding the day lights out of it, and especially a 10-11 year old luxury car - something goes wrong & parts will cost a decent amount of money.

Also, it would be good to buy something simple & do research while on the go. For instance to achieve the 200bhp figure on a honda city you would need to turbo it. A remap on a NA petrol car will not provide the gains you're looking for.
Similarly lowering springs on a Civic / City would be overkill if you want to daily it - they scrape speedbreakers as it is!

I'd honestly suggest buying a newer vehicle and doing it up slowly over time addressing the weaknesses as you find them - and would therefore suggest considering one of the following options:

1) Punto Abarth : better tyres required + better brakes are always good though you wouldn't have to spend on suspension or alloys.

2) S-Cross 1.6 : better tyres, a remap, better brake pads and this would be a brilliant daily driver. Can even lower the car if you need

3) 2012 Honda Civic : keep some change aside for repairs since this would be an older vehicle instead of spending it all on mods.

4) Polo 1.0 TSi / Rapid 1.0 TSi : do the mods as they are required. Avoid the DSG.

[Livnletcarsliv]

200 bhp mod output from any of the cars that are within 3.5 lakhs budget for DAILY USE is not a good idea. The only exception is the stock Accord V6. You don't need to do much of mechanical mods to the Accord and you can limit yourself to cosmetic upgrades like alloys, tyres only.

A fun to drive car need not have 200 bhp at all. For eg - Ford Fiesta, 1st gen Swift, Ford Figo, Fiat Punto (even if its not Abarth), Tiago JTP, Ecosport, S Cross 1.6 DDiS, Polo 1.2/1.0 TSI, Rapid/Vento Petrol, City 1.5 are all fun to drive cars which doesn't need any kind of mechanical modification per se.

And of course, stage 1/1+ remap cannot achieve 200bhp in any of the cars you've mentioned (except for Superb). You need to probably go with Stage 3 and above to achieve your number which is not advisable to use a daily driver.

So, my suggestion and recommendation is to set realistic expectations and focus more on the "fun to drive" part rather than pure numbers. Of course, you can do basic mods to any car that you buy and also use it as a daily drive.

[KK_HakunaMatata]

I concur with comments from fellow BHPians to consider fun to drive factor than the number on papers.

If not already considered, would suggest Skoda Laura 1.8 TSI, with the gem of an engine and better handling than Civic, Superb which you have mentioned. You should drive once to know it's capabilities.

Offcourse, not to forget, you should be ready to cough up some money for maintenance.

KK

[srikanth.vemuri]

As several others on this thread have recommended, the Skoda Laura 1.8 TSI would be the one to go for. Following factors make it the best pick-
1. The engine's tuning potential
2. Simple, and hence more reliable, manual transmission
3. Comfortable chassis/suspension in stock version; significant upgrade potential
4. Relatively manageable footprint. This is the smallest 1.8 TSI in India (ok, 2nd smallest, if you count the briefly available Audi A3)
5. Good space and comfort
6. Build quality that was lost to subsequent generations

Caveat- It's not a zero maintenance car, but it won't be far off from the cheapest car in your particular shortlist.

[Akash_1806]

After going through all the responses I believe that if I am planning to keep this car as a project car then I will not use it as a daily driver. Sat down with the family, had a discussion and decided that will use our Terrano Diesel for daily drives and Ecosport will be used by dad.
So now the daily drive aspect does not matter much. This will solely be a project car, a fun to drive vehicle with not much of cosmetic mods. A sleeper kind basically.

The reasons for modifying the car are plenty but one of them is that I ll get to learn, that too a lot. I want the car to be a little unique in it's own way, as the gypsy has spoiled me in those terms.

I ll also mention the cars which were not considered and the reasons behind that-

1. S Cross 1.6- The only thing wrong with the car is that it's diesel.

2. Figo 1.5 TDCI/Polo 1.6 TDI- The same case as S Cross. Both being diesel vehicles.

3. Accord 2.4/3.0V6- I was not able to find an example which was not abused, in a decent price. Either they were abused or out of my budget at 8l+.

4. Polo/Rapid 1.0 TSI- These vehicles are totally VFM but they are not unique or different than the others. There are hundreds of modified examples of this car and I feel it's way too common in this part of the country.

5. Fiat/Abarth Punto- I really don't have a problem with Punto but my family has some old grudges against Fiat. To add to it, Fiat has shut shop sometime back in India.

6. Octavia/Laura 1.8 TSI- Lovely machines, love the way they drive and have seen decently done up examples but again I am not able to find a low mileage car in my budget.
No Octavia available for sale and I had a look at 3 different Lauras, all of them had 90k+ on the odometer.

7. Ecosport or other CSUVs- I have one 1.0 Ecosport Titanium and a Terrano XLD 85 at home. No point in getting another similar car and modifying it.


These are the reasons which are the basis of the above mentioned list.

[paras211]

Laura tsi + remap plenty of upgrades possible too

[srikanth.vemuri]

Originally Posted by Akash_1806

So now the daily drive aspect does not matter much. This will solely be a project car, a fun to drive vehicle with not much of cosmetic mods. A sleeper kind basically.

6. Octavia/Laura 1.8 TSI- Lovely machines, love the way they drive and have seen decently done up examples but again I am not able to find a low mileage car in my budget.
No Octavia available for sale and I had a look at 3 different Lauras, all of them had 90k+ on the odometer.

If it's going to be a project car, maybe the low mileage criteria can be relaxed? If it won't go through the daily grind of a beater car, it should hold up ok. A manual Laura should somewhat mitigate the risks of an expensive repair, especially as the 1.8 tsi is a relatively ubiquitous engine with good support and extensive literature for mods. Haven't heard of horror stories surrounding the engine, unlike the dsg gearbox.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by Akash_1806

After going through all the responses I believe that if I am planning to keep this car as a project car then I will not use it as a daily driver.

The reasons for modifying the car are plenty but one of them is that I ll get to learn, that too a lot. I want the car to be a little unique in it's own way, as the gypsy has spoiled me in those terms.

I ll also mention the cars which were not considered and the reasons behind that-

1. S Cross 1.6- The only thing wrong with the car is that it's diesel.

3. Accord 2.4/3.0V6- I was not able to find an example which was not abused, in a decent price. Either they were abused or out of my budget at 8l+.

4. Polo/Rapid 1.0 TSI- These vehicles are totally VFM but they are not unique or different than the others. There are hundreds of modified examples of this car and I feel it's way too common in this part of the country.

6. Octavia/Laura 1.8 TSI- Lovely machines, love the way they drive and have seen decently done up examples but again I am not able to find a low mileage car in my budget.
No Octavia available for sale and I had a look at 3 different Lauras, all of them had 90k+ on the odometer.

These are the reasons which are the basis of the above mentioned list.

There are some unique builds even with these above mentioned vehicles that could be worth looking at even though they don't meet your criteria so to speak:

1. S-Cross - Dr. Naren's 200BHP lowered S-Cross 1.6

2. Polo - You're right, the car is very common. But I believe there is a Polo in Mumbai running a 1.8TSi transplant with a manual gearbox. This would be a mod I would be interested in doing more research on : making a manual, 5 door Polo GTi

3. Accord - it has to be a 2.4MT or a 3.0V6. Avoid the 3.5 with the cylinder deactivation technology.

4. Laura 1.8TSi : I came across this on the TBHP Classifieds, but the joy of building it on your own & also making sure everything works fine & has been carried out at a proper garage will be time consuming and it would be recommended to keep a buffer for maintenance.

Also look at the Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi markets to look for good options, though you will have to bear the cost of re-registration.

[knshailender]

As many have already suggested, my advice would also be not to be fixated on 200bhp. There are many fun to drive cars that might not put out 200bhp on paper.
Along with the cars others have suggested, I'd add Lancer Cedia and BMW 3 series E90 to the list. Though the BMW might be slightly out of your initial budget, it would be well worth it.
Happy shopping!