325ti or Cooper s or something else?!

[Jonstar]

Been driving an mx5 mk2.5 for the last couple of years which is awesome but I'm doing a lot more mileage these days so may be tempted by something with a few more toys and that's a bit more comfortable.

With a budget of circa £3k I've been looking at a few cars:

325ti facelift - seems massively underrated, straight 6, 192 bhp, RWD, lovely interior and lots of toys, boring?

Mini cooper s jcw (r53) - possibly one of the last great hot hatches, sounds good with lots of torque, handles well, unreliable? Overpriced?

I've ruled out the celica t sport and the clio 182 as I just couldn't get on with that driving position. May consider a civic type r but I've gotten used to good steering feel and I'm just not sure I could deal with its electronic system.

Have I missed something?

Thanks in advance

[Jonstar]

s m said:

325ti or R53 Cooper S? Hard choice as although both are hot hatches, a bit different to drive. Both sound great but I'd probably side with the ti if I had to choose

Considering you've had both, why the 325ti?

[Jonstar]

Hmm I think you guys have made up my mind on the 325ti. Now I need to find one, the facelift model is incredibly rare. I know the running costs will be a bit higher but hopefully the engine, noise and comfort will make up for that! I was also pleasantly surprised to see that despite their weight they still do 0-100mph in 17 seconds which is type r pace aswell!

Cheers