Interesting daily/family car for under £20k

[mpit]

I'm out of ideas, hopefully some of you guys have some good suggestions.

I'm looking at ditching my E92 M3 and the Soul Destroying X3 and moving towards a proper track car and then something a bit more interesting for daily/family duties.

Requirements are;
5 Seats
4-5 doors preferable
Somewhere close to 40mpg on a run (I do around 800 motorway miles a month)
Dynamically interesting - ie. fun to drive and preferably fast.
Ideally something that isn't going to half in value over the next two years.
Capable of towing a bonus.

I'm starting to think that my requirements are unrealistic for the budget - I can find cars that meet a few, but none yet that meet them all.

My thoughts so far;

B8 S4:
+ Very nice place to be, stable price, more doors, available as estate, decent towing rating, FAST with a remap
- Short on Motorway MPG requirement by 5-10MPG

Cupra ST 280:
+ Supposedly does 40+ on a run, available as estate, dual clutch option
- Likely to suffer on depreciation, not rated for towing,

MK2 Focus RS:
+ Depreciation proof, sounds great
- Image, 3 doors and if it's anything like my old ST, not capable of anything above 34mpg on the motorway.

Am I asking the impossible?

[mpit]

You're right, the difference for the motorway journeys alone isn't that great.

When I consider my total usage (another 10k a year) the figure rises to £1567 (assuming the rest of my driving would be the difference between 20 and 30MPG).

Although it's not totally black and white - The drop between my current of 45 in the X3 to 25 is around £1800 and if you consider that buying a modern diesel would probably see around 60MPG, that difference rises to nearly £250 - basing both roughly on 20k a year.

I suppose you are right, it's not a big deal when you look at the cost over the year - until you consider that £1800/y is £150/m.

If something doing 25mpg was acceptable, it kind of begs the question of 'why not a B7 RS4' in that case - a car that seems to be totally depreciation proof.

Edited by mpit on Wednesday 25th May 11:19

Edited by mpit on Wednesday 25th May 14:01

[mpit]

w1ntermut3 said:

really nice condition n54 manual and some money for a big FMIC and a remap?


I get 32 to the gallon on a motorway run.

N54 being like a 335i? Not really for me, to be honest. I'm surprised at 32MPG, I thought they'd be better than that on a run. My E92 M3 is knocking on the door of 30 if you cruise at 70

tankplanker said:

Large family car, performance and over 40mpg would push you towards a diesel. I can't see many petrol engined, performance family cars getting 40 mpg or over, even something like a 335d will require careful driving.

Spend less on the car and use the money saved to get something more interesting?

When I say 40MPG, I'm talking cruising at 70, but I think you may be right. Although, the Cupra will supposedly do 40 on the motorway, quite comfortably? Too new to meet the depreciation requirements.

Vaud said:

mpit said:

If something doing 25mpg was acceptable, it kind of begs the question of 'why not a B8 RS4' in that case - a car that seems to be totally depreciation proof.

Can you tow with an S4 / RS4?

Ah yes, you can't tow with the RS4 but you can with the B8 S4.

Towing isn't that essential, to be honest. It's a bit of future proofing - having no where to store a trailer currently, whatever I get for track needs to be drivable to the track for now.

[mpit]

fk1_6 said:

I have a B8 S4 with MRC stage 2 and it is properly fast but can't deny it will be some way short of your target MPG, I average mid 20s with mixed driving so expect low to mid 30s at best cruising. Maybe a 335d would fit your needs better?

I was working off 30-35mpg motorway when I mentioned it was short by 5-10MPG.

How do you find yours as a daily car?

I'd really rather avoid going Diesel if possible.

300bhp/ton said:

Failing that, I guess it depends on your interpretation of "interesting". Personally I find the SEAT and the Audi rather dull uninteresting cars. They are the sort of thing someone buys when they want people to think they are into cars, rather than actually having an interest in cars.

And honestly, I don't see what they will offer over your M3, surely keeping that would arguably be better than any of the 3 cars on your hit list? It does fast, fun, driver involvement with a modicum of practicality better than most things.

The trouble is, my M3 has two doors, does 27MPG at best, is £10k over budget and is very modified, currently.

Normally I'd agree with you on the dull thing, but they are about as interesting as a sensible, practical daily family car gets, though.

[mpit]

tankplanker said:

I can get 40mpg at 70 out of my Golf R if I reset the MPG count but it'll not get anywhere near 40 over the entire run if you include to and from the motorway. I'd expect the Cupra to be better as its lighter and less powerful but normal driving on a variety of roads or use the throttle much and you'll get a lot less. If it was me I'd either drop the 40 mpg requirement and the budget a little, or look at getting a high MPG snotter and go three cars.

Is the Golf R worth a look? I've always been worried that when they hundreds of £250/m lease deals end next year, they'll drop like a stone.

I'm certainly open to the concept of something a bit cheaper but less economical.

[mpit]

300bhp/ton said:

So I guess, what is "Dynamically interesting" about a SEAT 280?

Well, I've not driven one, but seeing as it's done under 8 minutes around the Nordschleife, I imagine it's got to handle pretty damned well.

[mpit]

300bhp/ton said:

lol.

I meant more by what does "dynamically interesting" actually mean?

I guess, to me, it's something that is fun to drive, or handles well.

[mpit]

Brave Fart said:

Bloody hell mate, exactly how big is this bonus of yours?

Took me a minute


As for speed over handling, that's really not what I want.

If just speed was a thing, then it'd be a really easy choice of a fast diesel model. I want to be able to enjoy driving it on a country road if I find myself in a position to do so.