Econobox for street, autocross and rallycross. Which kia/hyundai?

The tricky thing about the Hyundai/Kia Traction control/stability control on newer models is that it will appear off and unless you do something like autox/rallyx, then it will intervene.  For example on the 2019 cars, you can press to disable trac. control, or do a long hold to disable trac control & stability control - but it still isn't fully off.  So, make sure you confirm that someone has actually driven that particular model/year in anger before committing to it.  

Again, shouldn't be a problem in this budget, but if you find yourself considering something newer, be wary.

FWIW, the closest to a competitive stock car I think you will find in this budget/utility range is either a *beat* 8th gen Si, or a decent Sentra Spec-V.  Both have torsen diffs which are magical for Rallyx purposes.  Both have their downsides as well.

In reply to ProDarwin :

Probably one of those things that it's unknown until tried, and sometimes driving style plays a big part. It wouldn't b be fun if the ignition cuts off in the middle of a run. 

Have seen some Si's in the price range but trying to avoid three doors.

I can attest to the 14 Koup, 10 Forte Sedan and the 12 Rio SX. Its defetable. I know because I've heard the wife's screams in all of them

In reply to bobzilla :

Good to know. No comments about the screams...

There's a 2011 forte5 sx not far from me but the guy is asking $6500, I would be happier at $4500.

I'm also wondering whether the rio/accent 5 door would be better, since the forte5 is bigger than my xj. The xj felt fine on the course but smaller would be better.

In reply to NoBrakesRacing :

Rio/accent run 23" tires right?  15" wheels and tires are so much cheaper. They would be a compelling reason for me to stick with those.

In reply to NoBrakesRacing :

how many miles on that SX? 

The rio/accent runs a 205/45/17 with a 4x100. 

In reply to bobzilla :

80k, one owner. NADA and Blue book have it on the top range of retail. It's been for sale for a month. 

In reply to ProDarwin :

The previous generation may run 15", they do look smaller. 

Those can be found cheap,  I remember when they were advertised for $8995 new

NoBrakesRacing said:

In reply to bobzilla :

80k, one owner. NADA and Blue book have it on the top range of retail. It's been for sale for a month. 

That would be the one to buy! Not for $6500 but yeah. 

In reply to NoBrakesRacing :

Still a 24" tire and a 4x100 pattern.  It would take to 15x8s or 9s pretty well I imagine.

bobzilla said:

CyberEric said:

The base Fiesta is a good suggestion. It’s a lot of car and they are getting really cheap for how new they are.

You might be able to get a Mazda 2 for that price if you’re lucky.

But you can't autox a base fiesta. Not legal

Not stock, but lowered on a used ST suspension or on a B-Stock suspension kit, it would be legal in STH. THe 4 x 108 is odd, but there are many cheap options from older Focii and several suppliers cater to the FiST with wheels.

I forgot about the Mazda 3, I love them with fat minilites, they just look right! Probably a better interior as well.

+1 in the Mazda 3. With the 2.0 you get 148 hp and probably around 2600#. Nice cars that handle really nicely.

In reply to bobzilla :

I'm going to try and look b at it on the next few days

In reply to ProDarwin :

Easy enough to have two sets of wheels and tires. 

At what mileage should I consider a kia/hyundai not worth the effort? 

150k, 180k, 200k?

Thanks

depends. An Alpha car (06-11) 200k and above the drivetrain is fine but the rest of the car starts to need work. The chassis on hte newer cars last longer but you could run into engine issues around 200k. If it's over 150k, it needs to be cheap. If it's under 100k, rock on. 

With that said, I'm seeing these 12-18 cars with 200k miles on them lately. So.... YMMV apparently. A lot of it will jus depend on how it was taken care of.

edit: keep in mind this is my observation of rustbelt cars. By 200k the cancer has usually crept in making them harder to deal with

In reply to bobzilla :

I'm hoping to stay in the 100k to 150k, not really seeing many over 200k which says something. 

No rust here in Texas, of course, but I think mechanicals take a beating with the heat, as does paint. 

I'm seeing 14/15/16 Elantra 2, 4 and 5 door manual trans cars in, and under your price range locally.

I really liked the Elantra's I test drove and the car I ended up with is basically an Elantra anyway, only with a little more power and potential.

NoBrakesRacing said:

Good morning, 

Wanting to replace our kia sorento with a car that I can use on the street, and do the ocasional rallycross and more occasional autocross. Would stay in the stock class, most likely. So only tires and better dampers as needed. Manual only. 

The only reason for less autocross is the great rallycross group nearby that tends to be small. Can do a dozen runs vs 3 or 4 in the autocross. Otherwise like both and the different driving styles.

Need a car that can carry two kids, in booster and forward facing car seats. So need abs and airbags to make me feel better.

Budget $5k or less, unless it's perfect, wouldn't mind if it's $2k either as it's for a third car, but need reliability. 

I like that I can get a kia/  hyundai with 150k or less on that budget, that still looks good and is less than 15 yrs old,  plus has a timing chain vs belt.

Thinking of spectra, elantra, forte, veloster. Would like a 5 door but they seem to be just north of budget. Same with SX's.

Drove a veloster and liked the vehicle, but had the auto and was sloooww, turbo models can sometimes be found in budget. Interior a little strange but can get used to it. Right side rear door would come in handy for school drop off. Does remind me of a flattened Nissan Juke.

Thoughts? 

Thank you

Late 90s Kia Sephia.

It is a Korean built Mazda Protege, down to the BP engine.  It was only sold in California/Oregon/Washington but this also means that a larger percentage of them didn't rust apart and get crushed fifteen years ago.

I wouldn't screw around with the Korean-engineered cars, they are all chunderheaded for maintenance.  If you rallycross seriously, you will be breaking a lot of axles and front diffs, and the rallycrossable Hyundais are a right pain in the ass for that sort of maintenance.  If you're not rallycrossing seriously, anything with four wheels will work so the question becomes "what is already in my driveway?"

NoBrakesRacing said:

In reply to dxman92 :

Thank you

I have not driven this generation versa, and I kind of like the shape.

I know the Nissan's reliability is not considered the best, but I'll let someone that knows more speak about that. 

I do know that I had a rental first generation versa and I thought it was the worst vehicle I had ever driven. I have since then had a Fiat 500L rental which I consider the worst car I've driven.

I had a 15 Versa Note from 27k to 85k miles roughly and the only issue I had was a front cv boot that had to be replaced (under warranty). Otherwise, it was gas, oil, brakes, and tires. Very roomy interior. Served me well as a Lyft driver for a couple years. Not sure if he is still active around here but Dankspeed had a Versa Sedan and could probably could give you insight on that.

Here is a Versa Sedan for sale for reference:

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=567938206&zip=19446&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D19446%26city%3DLansdale%26incremental%3Dall%26modelCodeList%3DVERSA%26makeCodeList%3DNISSAN%26transmissionCodes%3DMAN%26listingTypes%3DUSED%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26location%3D%255Bobject%2BObject%255D%26state%3DPA%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Dinclude%26relevanceConfig%3Ddefault%26searchRadius%3D50%26isNewSearch%3Dfalse&listingTypes=USED&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&modelCodeList=VERSA&makeCodeList=NISSAN&searchRadius=50&makeCode1=NISSAN&modelCode1=VERSA&clickType=listing

In reply to Peabody :

I wish those prices were down in texas too, everything seems to have gone up $1000 in the last six months. 

Thank you

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Thank you.

I'm looking for something a little newer, this millennium at least, 

Have seen some sephias, they are usually beat up, plus ugly. 

Don't plan on being that serious into rallycross time wise, as I have small children and plenty of hobbies. 

My radar is a bit al over the place too, saw a latest model celica than sounds interesting. A bit far but if I find the time. 

In reply to dxman92 :

Thank you

I'll look into them a bit more.