Daily driver, 6k to 11k, motorway and track capable.

[BusaMK]

I now increasingly find myself driving an Audi TDI estate up to 95% of the time, the other 5% I have a Hayabusa engined kit car for trackdays and sunday mornings. The audi is 40mpg on an 80mph run, reliable, and practical, but just getting too boring, every drive is just plain dull, and it's also going to depreciate. I feel like I should really put off having a boring estate for when kids/responsibilities arrive later down the line, and spend a little bit more on fuel to turn a dreary commute into a good drive, especially as I now have access to another estate in the family which I can occasionally borrow for load lugging and towing the kit car to track days.


So currently wondering what to do...even though I drive 300 miles/week I'd gladly deal with 28mpg but nothing less, and lose some comfort if the drive makes up for it, especially If I can do servicing myself without need for complicated Vag com etc.

Ideally something light, manual, RWD with four seats/boot a bonus, but happy to consider some odball options if I can manage 30 mpg on a run. I also want the added bonus of having something track viable/LSD, if the weather is too bad for my kit car when I have a day booked. Currently the VX220 is favorite as it's apparent frugality is more useful to me than the disadvantage of two less seats, and the E46M3 is also a tempting bet.

I have done the turbo jap tuning thing and not interested in going back to the harsh ride, ear plug exhaust drone, relatively poor reliability, economy, and image. So what options do I have?

Currently on my list of consideration is the following -

E46 M3 (but worried about hidden bills, reliability, and running costs of an 'M' engine, and isn't it a little too '3 seriesish' inside)
E39 M5 (but worried about hidden bills + fuel costs)
E60 530D M sport (manuals rare and will hidden TDI related bills negate the diesel economy)
BMW 130i M sport (perhaps a bit bland)
VX220 Turbo (fantastic chassis, not very versatile, but 35 mpg on a run?)
Honda S2000 (Not sure on the look)
Boxster (not really fast enough)

Anything else I've missed/not considered? Anyone been in the same boat?