T-sport Alternatives

[Chris81]

It's now been 6 months since I bought my t-sport and overall, I think I made the right choice. The brief was small hatchback, around 100bhp, not too high an insurance group.

My shortlist included the following cars, although I had reservations about all of them, except the Yaris!

Yaris t-sport - the eventual winner, need I say more

Suzuki Ignis Sport - an acquired taste, but quite capable

Fiesta Zetec S 1.6 Petrol mk6 - only because the ST was out of my price range but its still a good looking car

sportKa - old as the hills but known for great handling

Corsa 1.8 SRi - very chav but the quickest on paper

Didn't want anything French/Italian despite them making quite a few warm hatches.

Other than the Yaris, I only actually got round to driving the Ignis Sport and I was quite tempted but the residuals are extremely weak and build quality didn't seem that great. After that, I came across the right t-sport at the right price so I made the decision to buy it.

I suspect this has all been discussed before but seeing as there have been quite a few new members lately I was wondering what alternatives you considered, and out of interest, if you've come up against them on the road and if you're still glad you chose the t-sport! B)

[monkeyalan]

My g/f owns the T sport but she considered

VW polo 16v (100bhp version)

skoda fabia - same engine as above

fiesta zetec

clio 1.4 16v

we eventually narrowed it down to the T sport or the polo and a good Yaris came along first.

in the end I sold my mk3 golf gti and bought a polo 16v anyway so i got both! :D

The polo has a much smoother sounding engine and seems to pull better from low revs but the Yaris has a much more modern car feel to it.

[sport54]

If size weren't so important I'd have had a Lupo Gti, they're an absolute hoot. 125bhp pocket rocket

[monkeyalan]

that's probably my next car in a year or two !

[Mat-O]

I considered a:

Saxo VTR

Ford SportKa

Ford Fiesta Zetec S

Triumph Spitfire 1500

In the end I thought saxo's are too common, sportka's had a really nice interior but were a little girly, and were a tad too pricey.

I really liked the Zetec S, and think it may be better looking than a T Sport, but when I sat in a TS compared too the ZS there is no comparison, the TS interior is like a Audi compared to the ZS.

I am planning on travelling to university in it when I go, and a spitfire just wouldn't be practical for that purpose.

[kimi]

After going out in jerrys wifes car you should also consider the Colt CZT

Lorraine used to have a T sport and she hasnt regretted getting the Colt.

[kularm]

If you want an alternative Id get the Skoda VRS. Its quick, and you get a thumping milage out of it. ALso the interior is much much much much much better than any alternative, at the end of the day look at the cars that inspire it, all german made. Try a test drive, once you get past the fact its a skoda and a diesel, you'll realise how good it is. I was gonna buy it, never had the cash to get it though, but its not even that expensive

[rallybunny]

I was looking for a new shape Micra 160SR/Sport SR. Similar power etc, but thankfully I discovered in time that they were minging.

[Kev Mc]

After going out in jerrys wifes car you should also consider the Colt CZT

Lorraine used to have a T sport and she hasnt regretted getting the Colt.

Yeah, I wanted 1 of those when I was looking to replace my Yaris before I replaced the Golf but they were either brand new or about 1 year old at the time & I prefer to buy cars that are a few years old & have low mileage so I wont be stung by the massive depreciation so it wasn't a realistic option at the time, did like them though, especially the performance of them

[Chris81]

Hey, I'm not looking to change my t-sport, I was just wondering what else you'd considered before you bought your t-sport!

I would have liked to have tried a Fabia vRS or a Colt czt but they were out of my price range, or rather for the same money as I paid for my 55 reg t-sport I'd have had to get an older or higher mileage car. The Colts are coming down in price now but the Fabias remain strong - a 3 year old vRS with average miles is still commanding £8K!

[Kev Mc]

I never actually bought a T-Sport but while I was trying to decide what to get as my 1st car I looked into pretty much every car under the sun. I wanted something that was cheap to insure, got a good MPG, was reliable & was capable of protecting me if I had a crash. There was nothing that even came close to the Yaris so I set my heart on 1 before I even started my lessons, took me ages to pass but by the time I did I'd had enough saved up to buy 1 & went to an auction a few weeks later which had 2 going through that I liked the look of, I bought what I felt was the better of the 2 & never regretted it once & as a 1st car I'll recommend 1 to anybody

[Toyota Sport Rocks]

My main criteria were as follows when deciding on a new warm / hot hatch:

Acceleration 0-60 (not too bothered about top speed)

Style

Price

Equipment

Insurance group

MPG

Reliability

Residual value

Also quite keen to have something a bit more unique than a Corsa or Saxo

Cars I considered were:

Yaris TS

Seat Ibiza FR Diesel

Corsa 1.8 Sri

SportKa

Alfa 147 2.0

VW Polo GTi

MG ZR 105 / 120 / 160

In the end it was a straight fight between the Ibiza FR Diesel and the Yaris TS. I quickly ruled out the others for the following reasons:

Corsa 1.8 Sri - Insurance too high, not unique, pricey, build quality.

SportKa - Lower equipment levels, performance not quite as good as TS.

Alfa 147 2.0 - 0-62 only 9.3 secs despite engine being so much bigger than TS, price and Italian reliability.

VW Polo GTi - Price, insurance, thirst, dull style.

MGs - Only the 160 had better acceleration than TS, and wasn't worth the money.

The Ibiza FR Diesel had a lot going for it including:

Much better MPG than TS

Much more torque

Good equipment levels

Stylish

However the TS was about a grand cheaper than the Ibiza FR Diesel and was quicker to 62mph so just pipped it.

I'm really glad I chose the TS as it is easily the best all rounder in every category above.

Next car though could well be the Seat Ibiza CUPRA Diesel which has a ridiculous amount of torque, 160 Bhp and 0-62 in 7.6 secs. I'll be happy with the TS for at least a few more years though.

[Yaris_Tsport]

well i was stuck between t sport and a starlet glanza but could not find a company to insure the glanza. so the t sport came first. Would have loved to have got a lupo gti but could not find one for the price that i paid for the yaris.

Sportka?????unless you are a girl a bloke can not drive it.

[Ryan1985]

I wanted a EK9 shape Civic VTi but I couldn't find a decent one anywhere. My mate who works at Toyota told me they had a nice black Yaris T-Sport in and it was too good to resist!

[Yaris SR Kid]

After going out in jerrys wifes car you should also consider the Colt CZT

Lorraine used to have a T sport and she hasnt regretted getting the Colt.

1.5 turbo, very nice!

[Mat-O]

Sportka?????unless you are a girl a bloke can not drive it.

I think they look quite aggressive with the bodykit, and with the leather interior and 16" alloys, it looks really nice. Only thing I don't like about them is you can't see/hear the exhaust where as on a T-Sport the standard has quite a nice rumble.

(Also most people consider the Yaris a girls' car, as much as I object...)