What car - practical and fun under £5k

[Craikeybaby]

After 10 years of running a small 2 seater roadster as my only car I have decided it is time to buy a "sensible car". At the moment we have 2 cars, my MR2 Roadster and my fiance's Fiat 500, both are great at what we bought them for - sports car/urban runaround. However, there have been a few occasions recently where for logistical reasons, we have had to take the 500 on longer drives, which have ended up on some pretty good roads. So I think it is time to expand the fleet and get something which can be filled with luggage/people/bikes and driven to Scotland or Wales, whilst still being fun on mountain roads when we get there.

I'm going to be keeping the MR2 for track days/blats out/driving holidays etc, so the new car doesn't need to be too focussed.

Some requirements:
Fun to drive - I value handling and feedback over straight line acceleration
5 door hatchback/small estate
Not too big - my fiance isn't too keen on driving something much bigger than a Golf and anything bigger than a 3 Series wouldn't fit on the drive
Not an SUV
£3k to £5k

Nice to haves:
Enough space for a mountain bike in the boot with the seats folded
Standard double DIN headunit
Not too crazy on insurance

My options so far:
Mk5 Golf GTI
Subaru Impreza WRX Estate - although blue with gold wheels has been banned
BMW 1 Series - I'd love a 6 cylinder one, but think I'd need to up the budget, assuming I can actually find one for sale

Does anybody have comments on the suitability of the above cars, especially how fun they are to drive. Or can you suggest other cars which I should be looking at?

Edited by Craikeybaby on Monday 3rd August 14:23

Edited by Craikeybaby on Monday 3rd August 20:03

[Craikeybaby]

What are the mk4 Golfs like handling wise? I thought the mk5 was meant to be a big improvement.

I think an E46 330i would be a good choice, but like you say it may be "too big". Also when I've looked previously there wasn't that many for sale, loads of 320s, but very few 330s.

[Craikeybaby]

I'd not thought of a Mazda 3 MPS - I've had a few Mazdas in the past, so will add that to my list.

I was guessing Impreza/Golf GTI wouldn't be cheap to insure, will get some quotes, hopefully being the wrong side of 30 will help.

Edited by Craikeybaby on Monday 3rd August 20:05

[Craikeybaby]

Are the lesser 1 series or 3 series worth looking at? Are they still fun to drive?

A few of my mates have Z4s and I like the straight 6 soundtrack, so would a 6 cylinder 320i be worth looking at?

[Craikeybaby]

Fiancé/Dad/best friend all think Golf GTI too. Although I've been looking at the Leon FR, which seems to be the Seat equivalent, how close are they?

[Craikeybaby]

stevep360 said:

I reckon the Leon FR would meet your needs, but you might discount one if you look at the interior - especially compared to the Golf...!

Thanks! That sort of information is useful to know!

[Craikeybaby]

battered said:

As MissChief says, you've answered your own question.

Re the OP - any hatch Golf size and up with the rear seats folded will take a bike with the wheels and seat off. In fact they will take 2 bikes standing up and camping gear, I know. Some will take a wheel-less bike in the boot with the back seat still in place, but not all. Having had booted cars with bikes, I'd say that this is to be avoided. Yes, you can. It's just not much fun. Quite often I ended up dismantling it, chucking it in a bike bag and tossing that on the back seat, because to do otherwise costs you 3/4 of the boot. This isn't a bad solution, it's a good way to contain all the filth and it takes me 5 minutes tops to remove wheels, seat and pedals. A cheap bike bag is £30.

Thanks, I've only ever ridden from home since getting my bike, so hadn't even thought of bike bags.

[Craikeybaby]

I'm revisiting this now. The weather has been nice, so I've been using the MR2 lots.

My wife has ruled out an Impreza, and insurance is quite high, so I'm reluctantly removing it from my list.

I'm swaying more towards a BMW, as my Dad has just replaced his E class with a Volvo and loves it, except for the FWD handling. I'll try to test a Golf GTI or a Leon FR, but it is looking more like a 120i will be my next car. So on that note any comments on the '04 to '07 1 series? Things to look out for? SE vs Sport spec etc.

[Craikeybaby]

FD3Si said:

Craikeybaby said:

I'm revisiting this now. The weather has been nice, so I've been using the MR2 lots.

My wife has ruled out an Impreza, and insurance is quite high, so I'm reluctantly removing it from my list.

I'm swaying more towards a BMW, as my Dad has just replaced his E class with a Volvo and loves it, except for the FWD handling. I'll try to test a Golf GTI or a Leon FR, but it is looking more like a 120i will be my next car. So on that note any comments on the '04 to '07 1 series? Things to look out for? SE vs Sport spec etc.

My only experience of them is with snapping springs. Our neighbour's 55 plate 120D has broken 3 front suspension springs over their ownership(when parked!) and at least once has gone to pull away and it's ripped through the tyre and caused a fair bit of collateral damage. Seems to be a relatively common issue. Cheapish to fix though, especially DIY (although took a fair bit of fiddling to get it out and back in again!)
About a month ago there was a proper Blitz Spirit moment as half the street appeared to try and bump it backwards a few metres to let the tractor that refused to reverse go past down our narrow street!

Edited by FD3Si on Monday 12th October 12:29

Do you know if it was the Sport version? My understanding is that they have different (cut?) springs.

Edited by Craikeybaby on Monday 12th October 13:46

[Craikeybaby]

ManOpener said:

FN2 Civic Type R. IMO just as much fun as the EP3, better looking and a much more pleasant place to be.

Do they do a 5 door?

[Craikeybaby]

Forrester is too big.

[Craikeybaby]

ZX10R NIN said:

A bit over but some haggling should see you get within £500 of your budget.

3.2 A3 Sportback
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

I'd choose the ST the engine is a cracker they are a bit juicy but a great car.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

That ST looks decent, they were a bit above budget when I was looking before. Not convinced by the A3 though, as per the first post I'm more into handling & feedback from the car than straight line speed. Or is that one model that Audi managed to get right?

[Craikeybaby]

To tie up the thread, I have bought a BMW 120i, there are a few niggles to sort out on it, but it is an 11 year old car. I'm enjoying driving it.


BMW 120i by Lewis Craik, on Flickr