BMW 130i, Golf R32 or something else

[survivalist]

Sorry, another 'what car' thread.

Looking for something with a bit of character that is fun to drive but, crucially, has rear seats and (ideally) rear doors. The reason for the comparison is they both have larger petrol engines that are a bit more interesting than a 1.8/2.0 turbo.

Will mainly be used for trips into town and short/medium day trips/weekends

Thanks
S

[survivalist]

In what way was the R32 disappointing? Not had a chance to drive one yet, so keeping an open mind. GTIs have never done much for me though.

The M3 is a good shout. Only issue is that I have a Z4M Coupe I can't bear to part with and having 2 BMWs with the same engine may be a bit geeky even for a car geek like me. Also a bit concerned about reports of rust on the E46 in general, as well as the apparent lack of honest E46 M3s on sale - a lot seem to have a number of questionable modifications.

[survivalist]

Thanks for all the replies. Budget is around 12k. The Alfa looks interesting, will have a look. Not really looking for a barge, more for a runaround with an interesting engine. I did think about the E46 M3 but there don't seem to be many good ones for sale.

Opinions on the R32 seem to be split down the middle, guess I need to find the tim for a test drive.

[survivalist]

Mr Tidy said:

Ah, I see what you mean!
No mention of budget - get an M3 / M5 from whatever fits the Op's budget, which from what he has mentioned may not be limitless - maybe 130i is the best option if he needs rear doors.
Hope he does tell us what he gets in the end.....

What I got in the end, for now anyway, was... none of the above.

Mannaged to test drive a couple of 130i. Found the electric steering on the face lift models disappointing, while the interior of the pre-facelift is noticably poorer. Quite liked the R32 'feel' but did find the handling a bit odd - felt 'sporty' but not particularly dynamic or satisfying.

So the end result was something else. A E90 shape BMW 335i Estate. Doesn't quite have the same 'chuck around' feel of the original contenders, but is fairly quick and has decent steering. However, rather than being addition to the fleet it ended up replacing our boring family 530d bus due to realisation that neither me or Mrs Survivalist wanted to drive it. 6 weeks later the only thing I miss is the fuel consumption and full electric seats.

Only dilemma is that this car replaced our existing family transport, so still leaves a gap. Now I need to find something fun, loud and ideally v8 powered- but still capable of taking 2 adults and at least 1 child.