Nova Daily Car?!

[Dan Darkin]

Hey All,

At the moment i have a 1.4 16v Clio as my daily car. It has been reasonably reliable but its time for it to go and get a replacement. - I am doing a bit of travelling at the moment. 350-ish miles a week!

I have an Endurance Rally Nova 1.4SR and i love it. Its a great car and has never let me down.

I was thinking about getting a GTE/GSi as my daily. From what the rally car has shown me is that nova's seem mega reliable, fun to drive, rev like mad(!) and are generally easy to work on.

Do you guys think it would be suitable for motorway driving? - Like i said i do about 350 miles a week. One motorway trip, rest are just a 35 mile round trip to work.

Any thoughts?

I have been looking at other cars (diesel)! But i am undecided whether i want something big and is diesel, or small fast hatch which is a lot of fun!

(I'm 19 by the way so nothing too quick ;))

Cheers
Dan

[mk1nova_rich]

Personally I wouldn't set my sights on any particular model of Nova...buy one solely on its condition (GTE/GSi's etc love to rot away unnoticed behind the skirts and bumpers)

Engine wise/mechanically all models are solid as a rock, and should be relatively trouble free and cheap and easy to maintain. Watch out for any that have purely been abused though

[Dan Darkin]

Ah right, thank for that. I would preferably like to go for GTE/GSi - saves me from messing around. Would still settle for a 1.4 though!

That's what i have noticed, from my experience anyway! What sort of miles do they carry on going to, if well maintained?

[mk1nova_rich]

Considered a 1.4/1.6 16v??

[Dan Darkin]

Possibly, as long as it didn't affect my insurance much - it's still stupidly expensive at the moment

[Jack]

GSi/GTE will be big money if they're in good condition, plus insurance on one for 20k a year will be strong too.

Not sure I'd want to do that kinda mileage in a Nova either. Get a nice Cav TD instead lol

[Will F]

Like Jack said - for the money of a T&T'd GTE or Gsi (£1.5-2k ish nowadays), you could get a much better/economical/comfortable car.

[Nova_Tek]

I agree with going for a solid Nova over a particular model but of course having one that's nippy and won't be revving it's nuts off at motorway speed will be more comfortable.

My 1.2 carb was good on the motorway. Would easily bring back 46+ mpg on long runs although 4 gears wasn't very quiet at that speed lol. Once the suspension was modernised i.e. quality springs and shocks. It made things more steady at high speed. They're all reliable, easy to work on and maintain. Just find one with a solid body and sound engine.

But as always there are far more modern/refined cars for next to nothing now-a-days. Cars like Cavaliers (ok not that modern) can be had for decent Nova money but will be miles more refined. it's down to choice and how much you've been bitten by the Nova bug ;)

[brucer]

i use a gte as a daily, only do 5 miles to work then back again. doing short distances like that isnt that bad to have but you would have to sort out a better 5th gear for motorway cruising.

for the miles your doing i would look at something comfy, maybe a vectra b diesel. should be able to pick up a y/51 plate model in reasonable condition for just over a grand.