With 20 to 25 thousand in your pocket, we want a not too large car with at least 200 hp under the hood. What will it be: a delightful Japanese coupe, a derivative of an already sporty German hatchback, or an Italian two-door with GT features?
Ah, summer! Dolce far niente, or: blissful idleness. Or going out with the car. Making beautiful tours to everywhere and nowhere, preferably with a somewhat handsome four-wheeler. If you still have vacation money left over, we have three nice compact coupes for you on offer, under the – regrettable – motto: they don’t really make them like this anymore.
Toyota GT86 2.0 D-4S – 2013 – 102,763 kilometers – € 22,888
With the MR2-Celica-Supra, Toyota had a nice line-up of sporty models for a long time, until hybridization struck and everything mainly had to be green. The Japanese were very successful with this, but there were also enough enthusiasts who dropped out. To get them back on board, Subaru and Toyota jointly developed a two-door coupe (called BRZ and GT86 respectively) with a two-liter boxer engine that sent 200 hp to the rear wheels. The press was enthusiastic, but the sales figures were unfortunately disappointing. You look for a used BRZ with a lantern – and then you usually find the automatic version. We want to keep everything in hand and therefore go for the manual transmission. We find it in this Toyota GT86. Unfortunately not in the sparkling orange, but subdued gray-black. It also comes from Germany. However, from a caring owner, because the GFV-95-G has a so-called anti-tumbler drop-down set from Australia that consists of sixteen valve lifters with just as many locking clamps. In the event of a ‘sticky’ valve (after, for example, a long period of standstill), over-revving or excessive valve clearance, a dropped tumbler will not cause engine damage. In addition, a year of Bovag warranty is included in the asking price and, in any case, the mileage is reasonable – especially for a Japanese car.
The atmospheric two-liter needs high revs and makes a great roar. It is then wonderful to play with the GT86. It loves making turns. The car steers directly and with a lot of feeling, to go out of the corner drifting, if desired – with ESP and traction control switched off. You feel the moment of breakout perfectly coming thanks to the playful, light-footed character. Everything revolves around pure driving pleasure. Yet the suspension and damping are forgiving, so that the comfort level is sufficient.
Perforated pedals and sports seats dominate the otherwise not too exuberant interior where there is room for two children in the back. Cruise and climate control, extensive audio, automatically folding exterior mirrors, hill assist and keyless entry are some of the goodies in this 1,205 kilo light/heavy fun package.
BMW 228i Coupé – 2015 – 149,102 kilometers – € 18,945
Nothing is what it sometimes seems. With the term ‘BMW 2-series’, thoughts still often go to the high MPV, but this BMW 2-Series is a beautiful, low two-door. Some will therefore label it as nothing more than a 1-series Coupé that has been given a higher number for marketing reasons, but compared to its predecessor, a lot of legroom has been gained in the back in particular, so that you can actually speak of a slightly larger car. And then the designation ‘.28i’: in the past that meant a juicy six-cylinder in-line engine, but here there is a blown four-cylinder two-liter – good for top performance, despite the presence of the eight-speed automatic transmission (it is also available with manual transmission) of the HK-866-T. By the way, that license plate has already passed into seven (!) hands in a relatively short time. That calls for buying Bovag warranty – fortunately the asking price is a lot lower than that of the GT86. The first owner, by the way, had taste: the beautiful blue paint contrasts nicely with the lightly executed interior. In addition to the items we mentioned with the Toyota (except for hill assist and folding exterior mirrors), we also find heated front seats, leather upholstery and a navigation system in the 228i. And then the driving. Up to high speed, the rear-wheel drive coupe reacts neutrally and although the electric power steering does not directly overflow with feeling, you quickly become good friends with the German. Force things (and then we are talking about illegal speeds …) and the front throws in the towel first. The car then slides safely over the front wheels. And just like with the GT86, the builders have also built in a portion of comfort. It is not a rock-hard car that will eventually become irritating. All in all a cool occasion that deserves an eighth owner who keeps it longer than the seven previous owners …
Alfa Romeo Brera 1750 Turbo Italia Independent – 2012 – 163,901 kilometers – € 21,950
Something strange was going on at Alfa Romeo: at one point they offered the GT and the Brera, whereby you could assume that the former lived up to its name and the latter – partly because of its (exaggerated) four exhausts – was the sportier of the duo. The reality turned out to be the other way around, because the Brera suffered from being overweight. The facelift in 2008 brought an improved front suspension (with stiffer springs and dampers) and a new engine, and that made the Italian coupe much more light-footed. Because we have already portrayed a GT in Looking For, we therefore present you this post-facelift Alfa Romeo Brera: it is the oldest of our trio and has the highest mileage, but is also the most luxuriously executed. Just like the 228i, it lacks hill assist and keyless entry, but its additional equipment compared to the GT86 also possesses things such as xenon lighting, electrically operated glass panoramic roof, carbon finish in the interior and electrically adjustable front seats with memory, all executed as the action model Italia Independent unknown to us. The S-828-GJ is namely import, is at an Italy specialist (nice) who does not mention anything about warranty (too bad).
Like the GT86, this occasion delivers 200 hp, but because a turbo is blowing its tune here, the power development already takes place at low revs. In whatever gear you have the manual six-speed gearbox, accelerating always does it. The accelerator pedal response is not super alert, yet the Brera feels more lively than ever with this engine. An electronic limited-slip differential is present to process that force properly. In the event of loss of grip in the corner, it ensures that the wheel with the most grip is also given the most torque. As a result, the front wheels (the Brera has front-wheel drive) bite into the asphalt in sharp corners and understeer is long absent and the Italian – thanks to the light, but communicative steering – can be wonderfully directed over a winding course.
